Allow me to start this off with an apology for taking so long to get this chapter done. There are no excuses such as work or such. Instead an addiction reared its ugly head. No, not drugs...worse.
I rediscovered two of my favorite games. League Of Legends and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
And they ate my time like Ruby eats cookies. And while I still wrote plenty of this in this week since the last chapter, these two games have been constantly distracting me, and likely may continue to do so. But hopefully it won't take me so long to release the next chapter. XD
Now on to the chapter!
Chapter 6: An Amused Heiress
It would be early in the afternoon, maybe an hour since leaving, that Yang and Blake walked back down the hall of the hospital, tailed by Sun Wukong, whose arms were loaded with several bags. "Sorry about the other day..." Blake said, feeling a bit bad about having to cancel. Sun shrugged, "No big. This was an emergency and much more important. Let me see if I have this straight though...your teacher made Weiss fight Yang..." He said and Yang shook her head, "Nope. That was my idea."
"Right...but right that after that she had to fight a Boarbatusk, with absolutely no time to gather her strength."
"Yup."
"...and then she was surprised when Weiss AND Ruby got hurt?"
"Pretty much."
Sun let out a low whistle, "Gotta say. You people in Vale are crazy." Yang rolled her eyes with a smirk, but didn't bother to argue it. "Anyway. I almost hate to ask but...what was the damage?"
Blake sighed, reaching up to gently tug at a lock of her hair, "Weiss has a deep laceration along most of her arm from Myrtenaster and almost died from blood loss, not to mention the risk of infection from its contact with a creature of Grimm, on top of strains on her body from the cold of her own ice. Ruby..." She glanced over at Yang, who was staring ahead of them, before continuing, "She took the full brunt of a hit that would have easily killed Weiss. Her aura took most of the damage but...she still wound up with three broken ribs, her arm broken in seven places, as well as various cuts along most of her right side. Her right eye was hit as well...they're not sure if she'll be able to see through it when it heals, but Ruby doesn't know that."
Sun visibly recoiled from the description, "Ouch...well, I'm glad they're both alive at least." He said, earning a nod from Blake as they turned a corner. Sun thought to himself for a long minute before speaking again, "Hey, have you guys heard from that one girl? Orange hair, kinda weird, kicked alot of ass at the docks?"
Blake glanced over at him, "Penny?" She asked and Sun nodded. She shrugged, "We haven't heard a word since she disappeared. Weiss is glad for it I'm sure, but I'm a bit concerned. The things she did...that much power..." She visibly shuddered at the thought of what that girl could do. "Well, if she can do that then I'm sure she's fine." The group was silent from then on until they got to the room.
Yang took a deep breath, steeling herself before she turned the handle and walked in, only to duck back out with the widest grin at the first sight of Weiss and Ruby. "Blake, give me your Scroll. I forgot mine and I need to take a picture."
xXxXx
Weiss' exhausted mind was slowly dragged from its dreaming state by voices nearby and she shifted in her sleep. 'Go away...' She thought, but the voices just continued. Eventually her mind decided that sleep was impossible and the haze cleared, making her slowly wake up and causing the voices to become much clearer.
"-st too priceless~" Yang said and a click was heard.
A laugh, definitely a boys, was heard, "Gotta admit, they do look cute together."
"They're going to freak out when they see the picture." Blake said, just a hint of amusement in her voice as another click came from somewhere.
"They'll get over it~" Yang told her.
Weiss grit her teeth, "Go. Away." She muttered. Wait. Something wasn't right. Did she grab a pillow in her sleep? No...hers was under her head. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself looking at soft, black hair. "What?" She asked, only to have her 'Pillow' move in her arms and she realized that it wasn't a pillow, it was Ruby. 'I-I must have...rolled over and grabbed her!' She thought, her cheeks turning a bright red tint. She turned her head to see Yang, Blake and Sun standing at the foot of the bed, with Yang holding a scroll taking pictures of the two of them with a cheeky grin.
"Morning, princess~" She said, "Or afternoon."
"Yang..." Weiss warned, her gaze narrowing. Yang waved a hand to dismiss it before collapsing the scroll, "Relax, I just took a few pictures to have proof of the moment~" She said.
Weiss said nothing, simply laying her head back down. Her arms remained wrapped around Ruby. For one thing, her left arm was pinned beneath the girl. And for another...it was very comfortable. And she didn't want to admit it, but she liked it alot.
"Although..." Sun said, "If you wanna do more, feel free to ign-" A smack to the head interrupted him, "OW!"
Weiss' cheeks flared a brighter red and she looked over to glare at Sun, "Shut up!" She shouted.
Her girlfriend shifted in her arms, "Weiss, why are you yelling?" She whined softly, "I didn't do it, I swear..."
Weiss' glare intensified as if to say "See what you did?" before she turned back to Ruby, "Sorry, Ruby." she said. Ruby groaned softly, her hand going to her bandaged chest as she drew her legs up to curl up into a ball. "Ruby?" Weiss asked, concerned.
"Hurts..." She said, still half-asleep, but awake enough to recognize the pain. Just seeing that made Weiss become aware of the sharp pains coming from her arm, but she tried her best to ignore it.
"The painkillers must be wearing off." Blake said, walking over to the door, "I'll go get a nurse."
"Thanks." Both Weiss and Yang said in unison, surprising both of them before Weiss helped Ruby sit up. The look of just sheer pain on her face was enough to make even Weiss want to curl up and cry, but instead she slowly rubbed Ruby's back, whispering reassurance that she would be okay. After only a minute the nurse, an elderly woman with graying brown hair and brown eyes, walked in with a couple of pills, with Blake close behind carrying two cups and a pitcher of water.
The nurse saw Weiss in Ruby's bed and frowned, "You can't be there." She said.
"And why not?" Weiss asked. She was not in the mood to be chastised, her temper made shorter by the pain in her arm.
"The bed isn't big enough. One of you can fall and get hurt." The nurse told her, giving Ruby two of the pain pills and Weiss the remaining two.
"Bullshit." Weiss muttered, thanking Blake when she handed her a cup of water, Ruby doing the same for her own. The bed they were in was plenty big enough. She could scoot over at least three inches before hitting the edge, and Ruby had more room on the other side.
"Hmph." The nurse looked at her, annoyed, "Get to your own bed, miss, before I call security and have them make you."
"Hey, lighten up!" Yang told her, "They've been through hell lately."
The nurse turned toward her, "That doesn't change the fact that this is wrong." The nurse told her, giving a pointed glance over to Weiss and Ruby.
Weiss' glare became furious as what she said made her realize something. This wasn't about a bed. This wasn't even about regulations. And it certainly wasn't about safety.
This was about two girls being in the same bed together. "How dare you?!" She demanded. Of all of the stupid, ignorant things to do, this woman had the gall to make a fuss over two girls being together? And at a time like this?
"No, how dare YOU?" The nurse walked over to the other bed, "Miss Schnee, I know where my morals stand. And I know where school conduct stands as well." she said, starting to tidy the bed up. "I would not have my hospital corrupted in such a manner."
"This is ridiculous!" Weiss snapped, "There are no rules stating that two students cannot share a bed. The closest thing is that students aren't allowed to sleep in another teams dorm except under special circumstances!"
The nurse straightened and turned toward the heiress, "Do I need to call Professor Ozpin?" She asked.
Ruby quickly shook her head, "N-No ma'am, that won't be necessary!" She said. What was Weiss doing? Speaking out against someone in authority was completely unlike her.
Weiss glared at the woman, crossing her arms in front of her and gritting her teeth as pain lanced up her arm, "Actually, yes. It is completely necessary."
Ruby looked at her girlfriend, "Weiss..." She said. She didnt want her to get into trouble.
"No, Ruby. If Ozpin says it then I'll go back, but not a moment before." She said, turning to look at her, "I won't let some bigot tell us what we can and can't do."
"Hmph." The nurse huffed, pulling a scroll from her pocket and opening it. She dialed a number and a video screen came up, quickly answered on the other end. "Yes? What is it miss Woods?" Ozpin asked. From the video it appeared that he was in his office with a pile of paperwork to his left and a much smaller one to his right. It would be anyone's guess which one needed to be done.
"Sorry to bother you, sir. I found two students sleeping in the same bed and they insist that they be allowed to do so." She told him, "As a nurse and a woman of faith, I cannot allow something like this to go on and set such a poor example for other students."
Ozpin remained silent for a long moment before he spoke, "I will assume that you are speaking of Miss Rose and Miss Schnee?" He asked. Weiss seemed surprised. How would he know who she was talking about? Unless...this nurse, Woods it seemed, apparently didn't like the idea of a gay couple sharing a bed. Maybe he knew this and deduced that it was them? After all, there was also the fact that not many people would be sharing a hospital room with another person, given that hardly anyone was injured in the academy.
"She is, professor." She spoke up before the nurse could.
"I see." Ozpin said, reaching up and fixing his glasses, "Miss Woods, you are of the christian faith, correct?" He asked. "Yes, sir." the nurse said.
"Interesting...you follow the holy bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but does the bible not hold scripture within it saying 'Judge not lest ye be judged before the eyes of the lord'?" he asked. A nod from Woods, "Then why do you judge them, miss Woods?"
Weiss smirked. Ozpin used her own scapegoat to discriminate against her. "Sir, this isn't right!" Woods told him.
"By whose standards?" Ozpin asked, "There is no breach in the school's rules, which everyone must abide by, even you. And while that includes freedom of religion, I would have you understand that many people interpret the bible in different ways to suit their own purposes." He told her, and Weiss could swear she could hear an accusation in his tone.
"Now you just-"
"No." Ozpin told her, "You do realize that the bible has hundreds of translations, correct? Not to mention several interpretations are possible for each book within it, all of which vastly deviate from each other. Within that book Jesus himself never spoke out against men lying with men or women lying with women. And while most of your religion are accepting and kind toward others, some such as yourself use it to belittle those you see as unworthy, causing the entire religion's name to be sullied. In short, miss Woods, you are to stand down immediately."
"But these two girls-"
"Are allowed to sleep in whatever manner they deem fit. They are partners, Miss Woods. Not strangers." Ozpin's tone was decisive and firm, and even through the video Woods shrank beneath his gaze. Ozpin brought his mug up to take a sip from it before he continued, "I will see to it that their room is assigned to a different nurse, miss Woods. One that will not make them feel uncomfortable. Girls, I apologize for this...misunderstanding." With that the screen went dark, leaving the scroll shaking in the nurse's hands. Ruby could almost hear her teeth grinding together.
The sound of cracking knuckles grabbed Woods' attention and she looked at Yang. "I think you should go." The blonde told her.
Nurse Woods looked as though she would stand her ground before she became aware of the two other standing students, both obviously of the same opinion as Yang, and she grudgingly nodded and walked over to the door, slipping her scroll back into her pocket and opening the door to step out. Before she did, however, she turned to look at Weiss and Ruby over her shoulder, "I guess some will readily join the damned." She said before walking out and slamming the door behind her.
Yang turned to rush after her, but was stopped by Blakes hand on her shoulder. "She's not worth it." The faunus told her. Yang looked back at her, every fiber of her being wanting to shrug off that hand and rush after the prejudiced nurse, but after a moment she took a deep breath, glanced down and nodded. At that slight movement Blake let go and walked back over to pick up the pitcher of water, wanting to busy her hands with even a menial task so that she wouldn't be tempted to go herself. Sun, meanwhile, took his bags to the same table and began to unload them.
Weiss sighed, "What a bitch..." She said, wincing as her arm throbbed. She quickly took the pills, downing the cup of water from earlier. Ruby did the same, though Weiss had to hold the cup for her while she put the pills in her mouth.
Once that was done Sun spoke up, "Well...that was interesting." He said, seeing Weiss turn her glare toward him, "Hey, what's with that? Look, I brought fruit!" He said, placing the fruit from one bag at the foot of their bed. Several apples, a few oranges, a bunch of bananas and a small watermelon. Weiss looked down at them, curious. Where would he have gotten these?
Ruby's eye flicked over every piece of fruit and she smiled for a moment before realizing something. "Aww! No strawberries?" She asked. Sun shook his head, "Sorry, red, fruit stand was picked clean of those."
His choice of words made Weiss wonder where these fruits came from and her gaze turned up toward Sun, who held his hands up, already knowing what she was thinking, "Hey, I bought these, so no need to get testy." He said.
"Weiss..." Blake warned, walking over to refill their water cups.
"Blake, this isn't a faunus thing." Weiss said, "This is a thief thing. Even if he were human I would be suspicious. I mean, come on, he was a stowaway!"
Sun shrugged, "Fair enough I guess." He said, digging into his pocket and pulling out several coins, "I earned some money selling a few trinkets I brought from home. Figured I would need it and that you guys could use the food."
Weiss nodded, "Then I apologize for thinking you stole it." she said, her tone sounding sincere. His explanation seemed genuine at least.
Another shrug, "No big. So, watermelon?" He asked, lifting it up. Blake drew a knife from god only knew where and nodded, taking it from him and quickly cutting it into five equal pieces, handing them out to everyone. Ruby took hers and grinned before she remembered something, "Oh! Yang! Did you get it?!" She asked. Yang smiled to her sister, reaching into her pack and pulling out an MP3 player along with a pair of earbuds, "Here ya go, sis. You should clean up your dresser, it was a pain to find this." She said, tossing the player to Ruby, who seemed ecstatic as it landed on the bed in front of her. It was a simple thing that played music and videos, but it was one of the best things in the world to her. "Thanks Yang." She said, setting down her watermelon and picking it up. She had it turned on, connected to the hospital's wi-fi and downloading an entire album in less time than it took Weiss to start eating her watermelon.
Yang only gave a small shrug, starting to dig into her own. It was cool and sweet, but she wished they had a bit of salt to go with it. Ruby essentially inhaled her piece once it was back in her hand, eating every bit right down to the rind before Weiss had even taken a few more bites of her own. What was more impressive was that she hadn't swallowed a single seed. In fact, the leader of the team smirked at how packed her cheek was with them and was already getting some idea of what to do with them. Her silver gaze settled on her sister, who noticed the look in her eye and started backing away slowly, "Ruby..." Ruby's eyes narrowed, "Ruby, don't you da-"
A single black seed smacked her forehead, interrupting her. She quickly reached up and wiped at the spot, laughing, "Damnit, Ruby!"
Ruby smirked, as if asking 'Watcha gonna do about it?' before she spat another one, hitting Yang in the same spot.
Yang took a bite of her watermelon, spitting a single seed in her direction, but instead of hitting Ruby it veered off course and hit Weiss in the cheek, sticking to it.
Both girls froze at the look of horrified shock that was plastered over the heiress' face. "Y-You...You just..." Weiss was beyond forming complete sentences. Instead she took a large bite from her fruit and spat several seeds at Yang, who dodged every single one.
What followed was a battle of seeds that left the floor practically covered in them, especially after Sun and Blake joined in, until each and every seed had been used as ammo and the five were left laughing at the sheer childish nature of their little game, brushing seeds off of themselves. Even Weiss seemed to have loosened up enough to enjoy it, even though she had taken plenty of hits. Ruby smiled over at her as the heiress laughed, and she couldn't help but love the sound almost as much as when she had heard her sing before.
Their laughter eventually died down enough for them to hear a gentle knock on the door. "U-Um, sorry to i-intrude, but I'm coming in." A timid voice said from the other side and the door opened, allowing a girl to step into the room. She had silver hair that was a bit messy, icy blue eyes that were partially obscured by the light glare from her glasses and seemed a bit thin. She wore a dark blue turtleneck and black skirt, and her socks came up to her knees. She held a clipboard to her chest with a small book bag draped over her shoulders, and seemed to be very nervous, "M-My name is...Maria Silva, and Professor Ozpin t-told me to come check on you." She said, "Amanda didn't give a report on your c-conditions..."
Yang seemed confused, "Who?" She asked.
Maria fidgeted slightly, "M-Miss Woods...the previous nurse."
"Riiiight...the bitch." Came the reply, making Maria give hesitant nod, "Y-Yeah...sorry...Amanda can be very...prejudiced."
Yang shrugged as Maria walked past and over to Ruby, carefully tiptoeing around the seeds on the floor, "No need for you to be sorry. She's the one who should apologize." she said.
Maria gave a small smile, "She won't...she refuses to." She said, reaching into her book bag and pulling out several things to test temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels and anything else she would need to document. Weiss looked over at her, "Aren't you a bit young to be a nurse?" She asked.
"Weiss, don't be rude..!" Ruby said, only to be surprised when Maria let out a small laugh, "It's alright." She said, "I-I'm a student at Beacon just like you...I volunteer here."
Ruby just stared at her for a long minute before she spoke again. "...but you're shorter than me."
That comment made Maria's shoulders droop, "Y-Yeah..." She said. It seemed that her height was a bit of a delicate subject.
Ruby saw this and immediately panicked, "N-Not that that's a bad thing! I think it's kinda cute! I mean you're...what, 16?" She asked.
Maria's shoulder's sagged even more and she mumbled something so low that Ruby couldn't hear. "W-What was that?" She asked.
"I'm...18..." Maria said a bit louder.
All four girls went quiet when she said that, the same thought going through every one of their heads. 'Wow she's short...' If Weiss had to guess she was maybe 4 and a half feet tall, and she was usually pretty accurate with estimates.
Ruby grinned, "Still, nothing wrong with that."
Maria gave a small smile in return, "Th-That's what my partner says. She's always nice to me." She said, looping a cuff around Ruby's unharmed arm and taking a measure of her blood pressure. She glanced between her and Weiss, continuing to smile.
"What?" Weiss asked. Why was she smiling like that?
Maria shook her head gently, "You just...remind me of her and I." she said, waiting a moment and removing the cuff from Ruby's arm. As she did her fingers grazed Ruby's arm and she felt a chill. Which was odd, seeing as the room was a bit warm. That's when she noticed just what Maria was wearing. "Hey...aren't you a bit warm in that?" She asked. Maria seemed confused before she looked down at her own clothes and smiled, shaking her head, "Oh, n-no. Actually I'm just a bit chilly in here." She said, leaving both Weiss and Ruby utterly confused. After that she was quiet as she took the tests. Yang went out of the room to get a broom as Blake tried to make tea with just hot water from the tap in the bathroom, becoming a bit disappointed when it didn't turn out right. Sun tried to help, but quickly regretted it as he became the guinea pig for all of the failed teas.
After Ruby was done, all normal if Maria was right, the small girl walked over to Weiss' side to repeat the process. Her only problem was when taking blood pressure, and it only showed at the horrified look on her face. She tapped the gauge on the cuff, seeming concerned and quickly scribbling on her board "VERY high blood pressure. Probably needs to relax more." before taking the cuff off of her. Blake sneaked a glance over the girls shoulder at it and couldn't help the snicker that escaped her, walking back over to Sun and whispering what it said to him, leaving them both trying their best to hide their amusement. After that Maria made a small bow, "I'll come and check on you later, okay?" She asked. Ruby smiled and raised her hand to wave goodbye, "Kay. Take care, Maria." Maria smiled back to them and walked out of the door, passing Yang in the hallway, who was carrying a broom and dustpan.
Yang walked into the room and shut the door behind her, "Cute kid." She said, "Name seems familiar somehow..." She gave a shrug, setting the dustpan down and getting to work sweeping up the seeds.
"Yeah...I know I've heard it somewhere before..." Blake said, a hand coming up to tap her chin. She just couldn't quite place it.
"The Silva family?" Weiss asked. Blake nodded and the Heiress thought for a moment, "If I remember right they're supposedly the descendants of someone powerful. I can't remember the exact name, but all Silva are rumored to have incredible power behind their semblance. The Silva and Schnee families have had strong ties with one another for as long as either can either can tell, but even so, I don't remember ever meeting this girl."
"Hmm..." Blake seemed a bit distracted. She knew the name from somewhere else, but couldn't remember where. Giving a soft sigh she decided it was best just to leave it for now and busied herself with helping clean up seeds, much to Sun's relief as he dumped another failed tea cup into the sink.
Weiss was about to say something else but was interrupted by a yawn she quickly brought a hand up to cover. She should probably go back to sleep soon. By the color of the sunlight in her window it was late in the evening anyway.
Wait...evening? Wasn't Sparring in the evening?
"Hey...Yang, how long were we out?" She asked. Yang looked over at her, a small pile of seeds at her feet, "What?"
"Yknow, unconscious. After the fight."
"Oh! Uh...two days I think?" She said, recounting the events since in her head and nodding, "Yeah, two days."
Weiss lay back against the pillows, looking up at the ceiling. Two whole days? Was she really hurt that badly? It didn't seem like it. Wait...
She bolted upright, "What about classes?!" She asked.
Yang grinned, waving a hand to dismiss the heiress' concerns. "Don't worry so much! We're taking notes!"
Blake smiled a bit, "I'm taking notes." She said, scooping some seeds into the dustpan.
"Right!" Yang said, giving a thumbs up.
Weiss let herself flop down onto the bed again, letting out a groan. "That doesn't exactly make me feel better." she groused.
Ruby laughed softly, gently laying down beside her and shifting just a tad closer, "Well...at least we have a break, right?" She asked, looking over and smiling to her, "We can just lay in bed all day."
Weiss looked back over at her, thinking the situation over. With what Ozpin said, them staying in the same bed wasn't a problem. And it did feel...nice. She returned Ruby's smile and nodded.
Suddenly a soft chirp was heard from Ruby's MP3 player and the girls attention went to it, looking at a message that had popped up and her smile turned into a grin, "YES!" She cheered, immediately putting an earphone into her ear.
Confused, Weiss took a look at the screen. The message was a notice that a download had completed for the newest album by a girl named Casey Lee Williams. The album was simply titled RED.
The name immediately grabbed Weiss' attention. It was a name she knew well, and by Ruby's reaction, she wasn't the only one. A small smirk played across her lips as her head turned to look up at the ceiling before she closed her eyes, trying to relax and fall asleep.