Thank you all so much for reading until the final chapter! I sincerely hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Chapter 10. Life And Death
Ruby's mind was blank, barren, and her body felt numb.
Her jaws hung open in a silent, helpless scream, chest throbbing as she carefully gathered Weiss into her arms. Even the slight motion of moving her sent more blood spilling from where the arrow protruded at the center of her ribcage.
Ruby screamed again, too horrified to do anything else.
She could hear curses from the shadows, voices that hissed furiously before footsteps hurried off somewhere Ruby could not pinpoint.
She knew the arrow had been meant for her; for whatever reason, those people had wanted her dead. But Weiss, her faithful knight was always on alert, even on a night that should have been jovial and carefree.
And now...
"Weiss...!" Ruby's cries echoed about the empty room, and she could hear herself clearly – how weak she sounded, like a lost child.
Weiss' eyes were closed, her body limp in Ruby's arms, her aura doing little to heal the dire wound.
Ruby wanted nothing more than to remove the arrow, but she knew that Weiss would only bleed out faster unless there were medical personnel and supplies present.
But they were alone and had no such luxury. Her father and all of his men had rushed off to intercept the Grimm; there was no one left who could help Weiss now.
"Weiss-!" Ruby cried her name again. "Weiss, please! If you can h-hear me just... just open your eyes, please!"
The distraught echo of her voice carried around the ballroom and bounced back to her own eardrums. Her eyes were trained on Weiss' closed ones, and Ruby vigorously wiped the tears away to stop them from blurring her vision.
The arrow had met its mark at the center of her chest, and given their slight difference in height, Ruby knew that if Weiss had not shielded her, it would have pierced her own heart.
"It should be me..." Ruby mumbled, coughing on more sobs. "Weiss, you can't die! It should be me-!" She was screaming now, defiant of what was before her, unable to accept the cruel reality. "It's not fair! You can't die, Weiss! I love you-!"
Ruby crumpled over her knight, the scarlet leaking slowly down from the wound, spreading through the fabrics of Weiss' pure white dress. Ruby screamed another broken sob into her collar, hiccuping as she inhaled to cry out again.
In a fleeting second of silence, she caught sound of a faint pulse in Weiss' neck, and Ruby quickly lifted herself up again.
Weiss was still alive.
She tried to channel her aura to share it with Weiss, but she knew it would do her little good; if anything it would only prolong Weiss' suffering.
"Weiss... you can't die... I need you... I love you... please don't leave me..." She sniffled hard before dipping her head, her trembling lips gasping before pressing an unsteady kiss to her knight's cheek.
Ruby bit her lip, feeling her warm tears leave her own face and pass on to Weiss', and she slowly moved her mouth to hers. Gently, she kissed her there, pushing air into Weiss' lungs, silently begging her to breathe.
She sent her thoughts out, sent her aura, sent her love.
Please, Weiss... please, oh god please...
One of her hands found one of Weiss' and squeezed, praying for a twitch of her fingers – anything.
Ruby could only hope she had not imagined one.
She pulled back, rivulets of tears drenching her face, and her dress was stained with salt and blood. But her eyes remained focused on the girl in her arms, waiting expectantly for a miracle.
Weiss shuddered just before her pale lips parted and a thin breath escaped, her eyes fluttering open ever so slightly. Ruby felt a fresh wave of tears come over her.
"Weiss-!" She leaned over her, showering her with soft kisses, her tears running down all the while. "It's okay, it's guh-gonna be okay, Weiss."
She felt the older girl heave a breath, but it was feeble, almost non-existent with how weak it was. But somehow she managed to rasp a word on it.
"Ru...by..."
The princess' eyes lit up at the sound of her name.
"Weiss. You're gonna be okay. I-"
"Please... don't... lie to me..."
Ruby inhaled sharply and whimpered. Her wobbling smile faded and her face contorted as more tears came forth.
"I-I'm not... Weiss, I'm not lying... you're gonna be okay..."
"Ruby..." Her voice was delicate and soft, as if to say 'look at me...'
Weiss was accepting what lie ahead of her.
But Ruby refused to.
"No, Weiss-"
But then, her voice faded behind a much bigger sound.
It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
There was a deafening crack, as though the earth itself had shattered. The castle shook, all of Vale and possibly all of Remnant shook, as though they were naught but marbles beneath the hooves of an endless stampede. The decorations dropped from the walls, some tables fell sideways, and everything felt like it was about to collapse.
Ruby shrieked in fear, throwing herself over Weiss protectively.
"W-What was that?" she yelped. "Wh-What's g-going on...?"
She looked down to find terror in Weiss' eyes as well, but she had no answers either.
The rumbles of the mighty sound lasted only a few seconds and started to fade away soon afterward, and the castle stopped trembling. And then, silence ensued as though nothing had ever happened.
Ruby was motionless for a moment, still shaking, expecting some kind of explosion, as if a war were going to break out any second now.
A sputtering cough from Weiss was all that pulled her back to the present.
"Weiss?!"
When she next looked down, Weiss was heaving for breath in her lap. A single cough was quickly followed by a mouthful of blood and Ruby whimpered again.
Weiss' lungs were filling with blood. She was drowning.
"No, no, no..."
A whisper, a plea.
And then, Ruby's voice rose to its highest point, desperate and borderline insane.
"NO! Daddy! Yang! Someone help! ...Mommy..."
She threw her head back and wailed, blubbering like the child she was.
She was helpless. She could do nothing for Weiss. The love of her life was dying in her arms and Ruby was doing nothing for her.
Weiss' coughing started to die down, and Ruby lifted the girl up again, squeezing her hand, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead. "Weiss... I... I don't know what to..." She shook her head, dislodging more tears in the process. "You can't die... if you die... I'll kill myself..."
Weiss grunted, and Ruby looked miserably down into her eyes.
"No you won't..." Weiss chided softly. "You've got... a kingdom to look after... only now..." A sad smile upturned her lips. "Only now... you'll need to find someone else... to look after you..."
"No, Weiss, no... don't talk like that..."
"Ruby..."
But before she could go on, Weiss picked up on the sounds of footsteps rushing their way. She feared the attackers had returned and was about to beg Ruby to run when another cough interrupted her.
Ruby watched her with tormented eyes before her gaze lifted to the entranceway of the ballroom. Two figures rushed in, and Ruby called desperately out to them.
"Yang! Blake! Please...!"
Yang looked up at the sound of her sister's voice.
"Ruby? What the hell was that huge-" She gasped when she finally caught sight of her sister. Blake froze beside her.
"Oh, no..."
Without wasting another second, they raced across the empty room, avoiding the fallen tables and objects before leaping onto the stage beside them. Yang dropped to her knees and embraced her little sister, though Ruby refused to let go of Weiss.
"Oh my god..." Yang whimpered. "Oh my god, what... what happened...?" She pulled back and looked down at Weiss. Ruby leaned into her sister's embrace and the tears started anew.
"She... She was singing for me... And then the next thing I knew th-the guards were shouting about a Grimm attack and then everyone ran out and-and in all the commotion... someone tried to shoot me but Weiss... Weiss..."
"No..." Yang shook her head. "Oh god, no..."
She kept one arm around Ruby and reached her other hand to Weiss, wiping some of the blood off her lip.
Blake knelt down beside the white knight, her golden eyes dismayed, appalled, and scared. Weiss' breath shuddered as she met the Faunus girl's gaze.
"Don't... give me that look, Belladonna... You'd have done the same for Yang..."
Blake's ears went flat as she was forced to listen to the gurgle of blood in the girl's throat.
"But I didn't have to..." she murmured. "This shouldn't have happened, Weiss."
"Well, it did," she said hoarsely. "And now that the... the two of you are here... there's only one thing left to do..."
All three of them were shocked that Weiss seemed to have an idea, and Ruby nodded her head, leaning down closer to her to listen. Weiss' breath was shaky against her ear, but the princess made sure to hear her every word.
"Please... bring me my rapier..."
Ruby sat back and gave her sister a questioning look, but Yang and Blake seemed equally confused.
And then it hit Ruby.
The arrow she was struck with was infused with Dust! Weiss' rapier has Dust in its chambers so maybe somehow we can cancel them out or even heal the wound!
Blake seemed to be thinking similar thoughts, but Yang was skeptical.
"I think we should try to find a doctor."
Weiss laughed dryly. "In... all of this chaos? You'd only be wasting your time... and mine..." Ruby tensed at those words, and Weiss continued. "All of the doctors are... l-likely on the battlefield. The Grimm are attacking and the... military is fighting as we speak... there will be no doctors here... so please..."
The slowness of her voice and breathing suggested Weiss was running short on time.
Ruby sent her sister an imploring look.
"Please, Yang. There's no other way..."
"Just-" Weiss forced her voice out once more before Yang could get up. "It needs to be done... somewhere else... so please take me outside... to the castle's courtyard... I don't want it to be here..."
Blake's ears flattened and she immediately tried to refute her.
"We can't move you while you're in that condition. It'll only make the wound worse and the blood flow faster. If anything, we should all compile our auras and try to heal the wound after pulling out the arrow."
Weiss met her eyes again. She could see the uncertainty in Blake's and she knew the Faunus girl was not entirely confident about her own suggestion. Weiss shook her head.
"Believe me... aura won't help me now..."
So there was only one other thing to do.
Blake hissed under her breath.
"Where is your rapier?"
"...My quarters..."
When Blake received her answer, she looked to Yang urgently. The blonde swallowed hard and gave Ruby another squeeze for reassurance, as much as she could muster.
"It'll be okay," she murmured. "There's gotta be a way..."
She stood, but before she and Blake could leave, Weiss called weakly out to them.
"Blake... Yang..." She looked up to each of their gazes in turn. "Thank you..."
There was something about the way she said it-
None of them liked it.
Blake nodded before swiftly turning away, as though unable to bear looking at the dying girl a second longer. Yang gave a small smile to Weiss before she and Blake tore off across the room and disappeared.
Ruby watched them go, and when she next looked down at Weiss, she wished she had not.
The blood had seeped into the entire area of her dress covering her torso, and she was shivering slightly. The once vibrant mist-blue eyes were now beginning to become dull, and Ruby's throat tightened.
Her knight blinked up at her, and there was a plea in her eyes, making Ruby remember she needed to bring her outside. She hesitated a moment, leaning down to kiss Weiss' lips gently.
"You'll be okay... I promise... Just hold on..."
Weiss gave her a withering look before closing her eyes, saying nothing.
Ruby did not know if it was better that she was saving her breath, or troubling that Weiss had not agreed with her.
Steeling herself, Ruby gathered Weiss properly into her arms and stood.
Almost instantly, Weiss curled in on herself and cried out in pain. Ruby hushed her with guilty apologies, kissing her cheeks again and again as she slowly walked them off of the stage and across the length of the ballroom.
Ruby assumed at least some of the guards might have been sent back to defend the castle, but there was no one else in sight. There was a creeping sense of trepidation that her attackers might still be present, waiting, so she kept her senses on high alert.
But there was nothing, no motion in the shadows other than her own, no sounds other than the tapping of her shoes and Weiss' struggling breaths.
In a matter of minutes, she had brought Weiss out to the courtyard where the grass was dyed a light bluish color beneath the moonlight. There was a howling breeze, and a foreboding shiver ran up Ruby's spine as she stepped quietly.
Past the wind, she could hear terrifying sounds; shouts of the military as they fought a vicious battle just beyond the castle walls. The citizens were shouting in fear, ordering their loved ones to take shelter in case the beasts broke through the King's ranks.
Ruby felt so sick.
She knew she should have been out there helping to keep things in order, helping to calm her people and offer them solace and some form of comfort.
But Weiss was dying in her arms...
She collapsed to her knees slowly, cradling Weiss with care as she sobbed into her collar. The night was cold, and her knight's body was growing equally so.
Weiss had yet to reopen her eyes or say a single word, and Ruby could hear her feeble pulse, fluttering faintly, growing softer by the second. The breath that left her body was impossible to notice, and if not for the thin wisps of white that ghosted over her lips, Ruby would have assumed she had stopped breathing altogether.
She tightened her embrace, begging for Yang and Blake to hurry.
She held a kiss to Weiss' chest, caressing her silken tresses.
"Weiss, stay with me, please. Just hold on..." Ruby pulled back to look down at her.
In the moonlight, Weiss' complexion was ashen, her skin a sickly pallor, her hair the color of dry bones, stark and lifeless. The red rose in her hair was falling apart, almost all of the petals having slipped off.
The sound of frantic footsteps over the grass alerted Ruby's attention, and she released a breath.
"Weiss, Yang and Blake are here. Come on you... you've gotta tell us what we have to do..."
Blake and her sister reached them just then, falling to their knees. Blake held Weiss' rapier, ears flat as she awaited instructions.
The distant sounds of battle and chaos unsettled them all, but none of them were leaving here until something was done to fix this.
Yang wiped her eyes and tapped Weiss' shoulder gently.
"Weiss, come on... you've gotta help us out... tell us what to do..."
There was no response from her, and Ruby felt her stomach flip, knotting painfully. She ducked her head down again, pressing an ear to Weiss' collar to listen for her heartbeat. What she found was almost inaudible, weak and straining, her breath shallow.
Ruby sobbed again.
"Weiss, no..." She lifted her head and held a long kiss over her scar. "Come on... you can do this..." Another kiss to her lips, and Ruby pushed her air inside. "Don't leave me, Weiss. I need you. I love you..."
The confession was no surprise to Blake or Yang, merely a confirmation of what they already knew.
Blake watched the entire scene anxiously, ears flat and hands shaking as they held the rapier, eager for something to do that could help.
Another moment passed, and still Weiss did not open her eyes.
Yang cursed under her breath.
"C'mon, Weiss..."
They were all crying softly now, their tears slipping down their cheeks and seeping into the cold soil.
Ruby wailed, wiping more blood away from Weiss' lips before kissing her again, begging.
There was a soft tremble of her chest, and Weiss inhaled sharply, her eyes fluttering open like a small blessing. Ruby whimpered her name in relief.
"Weiss... we brought your rapier. S-So just... tell us what we have to do..."
Half-lidded blue eyes flicked to the side to see Ruby spoke the truth. Weiss wheezed a shuddering breath.
"Then please..."
Another cough, and Ruby leaned closer, held her tighter to listen better.
It was another painstaking minute before Weiss could speak again.
"Ruby..."
"Yes? Weiss, I'm here." She gazed down into Weiss' pained eyes, and Ruby knew she was fading.
Weiss inhaled again, and this time her voice came out on a sob.
"Ruby... please kill me..."
Even the distant shouts of the battle went silent then.
Ruby's throat constricted and her silver eyes were hollow. Blake and Yang had frozen in place, all hopes of finding a way to help Weiss entirely vanished now.
Ruby bit her lip hard and shook her head.
"Weiss... what are you saying? I can't-"
"Ruby..." Her voice was broken in a way that suggested she could not use it for very much longer. "Please. I'm sorry, but... I need you to do this. As your knight... there is no other way I would... rather die... than in the nostalgic castle courtyard... by the hands of my beautiful princess..."
Ruby wailed, falling forward into her knight's chest as she cried, all the while forced to listen to Weiss' fading heartbeat.
She wanted to scream that she refused to do it.
But she knew she had to.
For Weiss.
Somehow, it all felt terribly inevitable.
Slowly, Ruby lifted herself up, and her distraught eyes met Blake's panicked ones.
"Blake..."
There was a solemness in her voice now, all childish whimpers gone. She sounded old beyond her years, like this was not the first time she would have to take a friend's life.
The Faunus girl jumped, ears flattening against her scalp as she clung to the rapier.
"Ruby... you're-"
The princess nodded once.
Blake looked to Yang, and she was equally as appalled, equally as hopeless and dead inside. The blonde turned her eyes to her sister, then Weiss, and she let out a helpless growl.
"Weiss... damn it, you think I'm... I'm gonna let you turn my little sister into a murderer?"
There was a gurgling laugh, and it made all of their stomachs churn. Weiss squinted up at the elder sister in the moonlight.
"Yang... at this point... she'd be no murderer. She'd be a savior... she'd be... doing me a merciful favor..."
Yang cursed under her breath and looked away.
Ruby's eyes went back to Blake's and she held out one hand, nodding toward the rapier. Blake flashed a frightened look to Yang, horrified that she was going to allow this.
But when her eyes returned to Weiss' form – pale and weak and stained with her own blood – Blake understood just how badly she needed this.
The Faunus girl dipped her head and offered the weapon to Ruby.
Once Blake's hands were free, Yang took them, pulling her into a bitter embrace.
Blake made one last promise to Weiss.
"We're... we're gonna find who did this... and make them pay," she vowed.
"How are we..." Yang wiped her eyes. "How the hell are we ever supposed to find... someone like you for Ruby...?"
They were unsure if Weiss heard them or not, as her eyes had closed once again.
Ruby leaned down, kissed her once more, and earned one last glance at those mist-blue pools.
The princess forced herself to speak, her voice trembling and yet firm; she needed to say this with surety.
"I love you, Weiss. More than anything. I'll always love you, no matter what..."
"I... love you... Ruby..."
One last sob.
One last kiss.
Then, Ruby laid Weiss down gently into the cool grass and stood.
She steeled herself, forcing the shaking in her arms to stop as she positioned the rapier's tip just above Weiss' heart.
Her knight's eyes had closed for the last time.
Ruby acted before she could stop herself.
A howl tore from her throat, taking most of her spirit with it as she plunged the blade down, piercing soft white flesh until the sanguine blood poured freely.
. . .
. .
.
. .
. . .
She could feel Weiss' final heartbeat as though it were her own.
And yet somehow, just before it finished, something... happened.
The night that had shrouded all of Vale in blue and silver now took on an orange tint, like the rust of forgotten treasures. The moonlight changed colors, dyeing the rest of Remnant in candle-like beams.
There was a mighty gust of air, one that made the surrounding forest tremble in its wake.
Ruby knew not how she managed to stay on her feet, sobbing and using only Weiss' rapier for support as she leaned her weight into it, standing over its owner's body.
But in that split second, everything seemed to freeze, even the screams and shouts of the distant battle in the forests.
As her tears dripped repeatedly down onto Weiss' still form, Ruby struggled to open her eyes, having noticed the orange mist that surrounded her now.
She refused to look down at Weiss' body, and instead looked to Blake and her sister, wrapped in an embrace like stone.
They... were not moving.
It did not seem like anything was, other than herself, and only the sounds of her own sobs echoed through the air now. She wiped her eyes and looked around - anywhere but down.
Another almighty gust of air caused her to direct her gaze to the night sky, toward the only other source of sound and motion.
She collapsed to her knees, but could not tear her eyes away from what she saw.
Deep red skin stretched tight between the junctions of two giant wings, their sheer massiveness easily blocking out the moon and the stars. The claws at the end of each wing were all the size of horses, curling into deadly hooks that could sear stone clean in half.
A puff of orange mist steamed out from a pair of nostrils atop a large, broad head, depicted just like it was in the ancient scrolls.
Eyes like the gold his kind had hoarded for centuries. Scales hard and scarlet like the dried blood of enemies. Neck thick and long, body as great as the royal castle, tail long enough to wrap around the Emerald Forest entirely.
Ruby gazed upon the Ancient Dragon and was humbled, awed, and terrified.
There was no other thought in her mind in that instant, though her hand did subconsciously curl around Weiss' still one.
The princess dipped her head, not sure what to expect; was he here to set their world aflame once and for all? To devour every last one of them?
The orange mist he breathed grew thick around her, and she realized he intended to land.
That was the first time she glanced down at Weiss' body. The rapier Ruby herself had stabbed her with still protruded, just inches above the deleterious arrow.
But the fresh blood was no longer a vibrant red – rather it was a subdued orange color.
Upon looking up and blinking past her tears, Ruby found the same mist surrounded Blake and Yang, who still had yet to move.
Before she could get the chance to consider another thought, the slow flapping of the mighty wings got closer. She looked skyward to watch the superior beast land in the courtyard before her, his claws sinking gently into the earth, tail swishing out over the dead grass behind him as if to rouse it.
His eyes went directly to Ruby's, pitch-black pupils narrowed to slits, and his great mouth curved to reveal dozens of pearl-white fangs, each the size of swords.
Ruby did not budge, certain there was nothing she could do before such a presence.
Perhaps this was her punishment for killing Weiss. If so, she would gladly accept it and join her on the other side.
There was a faint ringing in her ears, as if something was trying to get inside her head, and there was little she could do to prevent it.
Then, a soft yet deep voice echoed through her skull:
"Greetings, young princess."
Ruby gasped, but it did not take much to realize the Dragon was... speaking to her.
There were a thousand things she could have said in return, a million questions she could have asked. And yet she was too baffled to ask anything other than what she did.
"You... You can talk?!"
His eyes closed, teeth showing in a grin as laughter like thunder rumbled through her mind.
"Dear girl. I've been alive as long as this planet itself. I know every language, even the ones you cannot hear or make sense of."
Ruby did her best to keep her jaw from dropping.
He sounded weary, tired, and old. There was a sadness in his voice that reminded her of a grandfather who had lived long enough to see all of his children and grandchildren perish. His was a voice that spoke of a burden infinite knowledge and just as much wisdom.
When it was clear there was no malice in his eyes, that he did not intend to kill her – at least night right away – Ruby scrambled for something to say.
But the Dragon beat her to it.
"I'll have you know I haven't had such a good laugh in a thousand years. You're a peculiar one, Ruby Rose."
She was about to ask how he knew her name, but quickly remembered why that was hardly a surprise. So she parted her lips and spoke cautiously.
"Why... are you here?"
The Dragon tilted his head to one side before letting out another puff of orange air.
"Right. I presume my motives and intentions of being present here this time are unclear. But I assure you, the reasons I am here now are not the same reasons I have shown myself to humanity in the past. No – I am here now to put an end to my curse. And yours."
Ruby blinked up at him and wiped her eyes once more.
"My... my curse...?" She looked down at Weiss' motionless, blood-stained body before her, and her hand tightened helplessly around those stark white fingers. "I'm sorry but... I-I don't think you can do anything to help me now. Weiss is... already gone..."
The Dragon let out a low hum, as though he were considering a few things. He then lowered his head, curling his body up into a more comfortable position as he folded his wings onto his back and settled before her.
"Silly girl," he rumbled. "Have you not noticed how your sister and her friend have frozen in time? The same is true for the Grimm and the people in the forest, as well as for the rest of the planet."
He gave another puff of rustic air.
"I have stopped time for all but yourself and I. Were I to resume it, your knight would breathe her final breath, but as things stand, she lives yet. Just barely – but she lives. But there are some things I need to discuss with you first and foremost."
Ruby was silent and unmoving as she listened to his voice in her head.
Weiss... was still alive.
Even after all she had been through, all she had suffered in these past painstaking moments.
She did not know how to react to such a thing, but she knew that aside from holding onto an iota of hope, she could do nothing more but listen.
She was scared to beg him to spare Weiss' life, worried that if she asked something of that greedy nature it could put him into a fit of rage. If it was equivalent exchange he wanted, Ruby would give it to him; she could risk a bargaining dragon, but not a furious one. So for now she was silent.
The Dragon sensed her fretting and flicked his tail once.
"I am about to bestow many truths upon you. Listen now, and ask later."
Ruby met his eyes again and nodded steadily.
His voice rang in her head shortly afterward:
"The first curse I ever gave to humanity was in fact the only curse I ever gave them. But at the time, I was so full of rage, so blind in my anger that the ill-intent with which the curse was cast manifested.
That malice took form, not only in Grimm, but it seemingly gave the curse a mind of its own – an ability to pass on from person to person indefinitely. It was an error in judgement on my part, and I was entirely powerless to stop it, even in my levelheadedness. The actions I had taken in my rage would forever hold consequence, and Faunus and humankind's curse was a constant reminder to myself of my own recklessness. They suffered due to my own carelessness.
The process of passing along this curse has gone on for a thousand years, and for a thousand years, I have struggled to discover a way to put a stop to it - to no avail."
Here he paused, and grinned again.
"Until now."
Puzzled, Ruby's eyebrows furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
The beast continued:
"It is a strangely simple solution... You are aware that you, young one, are the one who harbors my curse, are you not?"
The girl's posture straightened instantly.
"It was... me? Not Yang?"
"It appears you never knew," he grunted. "But this wouldn't be the first time a host was unaware of their burden until it was too late."
Ruby's heart clenched as her gaze inevitably went back down to Weiss, still and cold and almost ghostlike, the only color on her person being the red of dried blood and a faint dusting of orange.
The Dragon sensed Ruby's discomfort and continued his discourse.
"In the past, those who bore my curse were often shunned by others, shamelessly ostracized or exiled to die alone, so no other could be harmed by the curse. Some took on a mindset of self-sacrifice and would willingly take their own lives. Others still would use their misfortune to take as many lives as possible before they themselves perished. And they often did such things subconsciously, even before they bore knowledge of their curse. Once they knew of the dark magics they harbored, their senseless acts of violence would only increase and become more severe."
The regret and disappointment in his tone lingered for a moment, but with his next phrase it vanished.
"But not you. Even though you did not know of your curse until now, the fact that it is you who bears it should mean that yourself and everyone around you is discomforted by your presence, even without knowing why. For years now, you should have been seething with an inner hatred, and other horrible feelings.
"And yet, you were always joyful. Even as a future ruler of this kingdom, you never once pondered thoughts of killing or being killed simply for the purpose of seeing bloodshed. There is a light in you that was never present in any other person who bore my curse. And it is that very light that allowed me to finally see the solution to all of this."
He lowered his head to the ground, his gaze slipping away from Ruby's for a moment to instead travel over Weiss.
"Your knight knew all along that you – not your sister – bore the curse. She kept quiet for your sake, no matter what might become of any others involved, no matter how much that silence hurt her or anyone else. When you slept and she left you at night, she would retreat to the archives and research for hours, piecing together parts of this puzzle that no one else ever could. She learned the truth behind your colorless eyes.
"And still she never abandoned you, never feared you, never left your side. Instead, she loved you unconditionally. She knew that loving you was a death sentence, and yet she never left you."
He nudged Weiss gently with his muzzle and met Ruby's eyes again.
"Even at the cost of her life, she never left your side. And there is no doubt in my mind that even after her soul had left its vessel that her spirit would have stayed by your side until you'd joined her in death."
He lifted his head slowly, blinking once. Ruby had started to cry again, each drop seeping into the dusty soil, providing a small quenching to the arid earth.
The Dragon gave a small nod.
"Such pure tears..."
Ruby sniffed, gasping softly as she reached out a hand to Weiss' face. Her knight's pale lips were parted in a cry of pain – what should have been her last.
And yet Weiss' expression was one of acceptance, and even relief that Ruby of all people had been the one to take her life.
Ruby moved close to her, resting the girl's head in her lap, feeling the chill of her silken hair.
The Dragon watched with silent eyes, ever-patient until Ruby was ready to hear more of his words. She looked up, wiped her tears again, and nodded.
"Actually," he began. "Your mother came very close to breaking the Curse herself. But in the end she was overcome with fear and fled her kingdom, her family, and everyone she ever loved who loved her in return. She did not believe those around her loved her enough to want her to stay. She did not trust them, and she had doubts in herself. When your sister had been under the impression she bore the Curse, she'd intended to take a similar course of action.
"But not you, or your knight. She gladly accepted her fate, because she knew your curse. Your curse, Ruby Rose, is to – with your own two hands – kill the one that you love dearest. And for you to kill her proved your eternal affections for her.
"She accepted that, she trusted you, and she loved you without question or doubt. And that is part of what lights the path to what can break this curse. Accompanied by the natural light in your heart, it might be just enough to illuminate the answer that will put an end to all of this once and for all. Both of your souls are entirely pure - untainted."
His words sunk into Ruby's mind slowly, one by one. But everything made perfect sense, as though she had always known these things somewhere in her soul.
She felt it was now or never if she was going to make any kind of request. Resolved, she bore her unwavering gaze into his.
"Can you... save Weiss?"
He was silent, but something told her he had been expecting such a question.
He chose his words carefully:
"Whilst I may be able to stop time, I cannot give it back."
Ruby continued to hold his powerful gaze, seeking more from him.
He admired her forwardness, and continued:
"However, you and your knight have provided me with an answer I have searched fruitlessly for a thousand years to discover. And, under my spell of frozen time, your knight has yet to breathe her last. Therefore..."
He leaned forward, his face mere inches from Weiss.
"I believe that in exchange for such invaluable knowledge, I may be able to give back the heartbeats that were prematurely stolen due to a curse I myself cast."
Ruby held her breath and dared not move as she watched the great beast.
His jaws parted, and a glow like the colors of a winter sunrise lit behind his teeth. He clamped his jaws carefully at the tip of the rapier's hilt and extracted it from Weiss, dropping it aside - and yet not a speck of blood left her body.
Then, he removed the arrow infused with Dust and swallowed it, a sound almost akin to a purr rumbling in his chest. The Dust stirred within him, glowing as it worked its way back up his throat and sparkling to life on his tongue. A gentle roar left him as he released his breath; it was like fragments of a rainbow spiraling down over Weiss, seeping into her colorless form.
Ruby watched, sending out her silent prayers of love for the girl in her arms.
When the last bit of color had absorbed into Weiss' skin, Ruby leaned forward and kissed her frozen lips.
There was a low growl and a long sigh from the Dragon above them, and Ruby lifted her face again to observe him. He raised his head to the sky and let out a long, thin hum.
It was a sound of release, tranquility, and peace.
It was the sound of a beast who had been confined to darkness and distress for a thousand years finally breaking free.
Ruby shivered, and five words rang through her head; there was a magic about them like no other:
"The curse has been lifted..."
She looked closer, and she could tell he was smiling.
And in that moment, it felt like something changed in herself as well, like a small coil of misfortune had been uprooted and disappeared.
She was free.
The silence ensued for a while, and she feared breaking it.
But when the great Dragon started to uncurl his wings, she knew she needed to speak up.
"If... If the curse is broken... what does that mean...?"
His smile never faded as he returned his golden eyes to hers.
"It means that mankind is free from my old mistake," he rumbled. "Of course, humans and Faunus have plenty of their own struggles to overcome, but no longer shall the curse of a dragon haunt your people. The Grimm will no longer attack you, so long as you let them be. In time, balance will be restored, just as your mother wished."
His wings stretched out to feel the air, and his tail unfurled.
Ruby called out to him again.
"But what about you? If your curse is broken then... what happens to you?"
He paused in his motions only to laugh again.
"My dear princess. I'll have you know you're the first to make me laugh twice in a thousand years, let alone twice within such a brief amount of time." He lowered his head, still smiling. "I sense you fear the end of my curse signifies the end of myself?"
Ruby nodded her head timidly.
Still, he smiled.
"Precious child. I shan't perish until Remnant itself crumbles and becomes dust in the universe. Until then I will rest at the center of the planet until something calls me forth once again.
"In the past, I would awaken every hundred years or so, angry at myself for being unable to break the curse I had cast upon this world, even after so long contemplating it.
But now that it has been lifted, no such blinding rage resides within me any longer. I will spend my future years recollecting all I have learned – all you and your people have taught me – to ensure these mistakes never happen again."
He glanced briefly down to Weiss, then back to Ruby.
"Come springtime, I promise to display my gratitude to you and your knight."
"Spring...?" Ruby repeated.
He nodded and extended his wings fully, so that they covered the sky.
"Trust me when I say it will be a time you will never forget."
And with those words lingering in her mind, she watched as he flapped his wings, and rise up.
The place where he had rested was not flattened, but rather the grass was budding with small flowers, even in the winter cold. The wind his wings propelled shed the dead leaves and branches off of the trees to make way for new ones in the near future.
He climbed up higher into the sky before vanishing altogether within the blink of an eye, the only evidence he had been there at all being the orange mist he left behind him.
Ruby waited, anxious and yet knowing what was to come.
There was great shaking of the world beneath her, akin to the one she had felt before while inside the castle, and she now recognized it as the Dragon parting the tectonic plates of the planet to return to his dwelling deep within.
Then, stillness returned to the time-frozen world.
A moment later, the orange mist started to dissipate and the moonlight took back its omnipotent glow.
Time resumed its reign once more, and Ruby almost felt as though everything she had just experienced had all been a dream.
It was odd to hear Yang's and Blake's soft sobs resume, as the sounds reached Ruby's ears from the outside, and did not come to her from within her mind as the Dragon's voice had.
But there was something else – something much greater – that proved her existence with the Dragon just now had not been a figment of her imagination.
There was a thin gasp from her lap, and Ruby instantly looked down.
The tears that had been trying to dry jumped back behind her eyes in a matter of seconds before spilling forward.
Weiss was coughing in her lap, her chest rising lightly with each bout, but there was no blood this time. The cruel red was still encrusted into her white dress, but her fatal wounds had been healed.
The only other splash of red on her person was the rose in her hair Ruby herself had placed.
The young princess held her breath, putting a palm to her mouth as her cheeks rose uncomfortably up to squish her eyes as the tears continued.
Weiss was breathing again.
She wanted to believe it was real, but she was unspeakably scared it was a cruel illusion.
Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she started to tremble, completely unaware of Blake and Yang being freed from the halted time behind her. Their faces were wet with tears as well as they parted from one another, looking meekly to Ruby as they listened to her strangled sobs.
Yang was about to call out to her, to tell her to leave Weiss' body for now and to come away from it to settle down.
But when she observed her sister closely in the moonlight, she was baffled by the scene before her.
Apparently she was not the only one.
Blake's ears had flattened as she looked to Yang and to Ruby and back again.
Neither was certain of what they saw, but neither wanted to say anything about it either, lest it ruin the scene before them.
And yet Ruby knew it was no illusion.
Weiss was coughing softly in her lap, her wounds healed by the ancient Dragon's kind act of mercy.
But Ruby waited another painstaking moment, just to make sure...
And like a miracle, Weiss' eyelids lifted, slowly and as if the moonlight pained her vision. But the vibrant blue color they revealed was the last indication Ruby needed to confirm this was reality.
"Weiss...?"
Her voice was tentative, muffled behind her palm as she swallowed sloppily, inhaling a shaking breath.
For a moment, all four of them seemed to hold their breaths, waiting for something obvious but still so necessary.
Weiss breathed first, and it was a feeble breath, but it was all she required to whisper what was most important to her:
"Ruby..."
At the sound of her name, the girl dropped the hand from her mouth and sobbed aloud, eyes unable to stay open a second longer as the tears soaked her face anew. She caressed Weiss' face with one hand, the other finding one of Weiss' where it rested over her stomach. Ruby squeezed her hand with a gentle desperation before she leaned forward and collapsed softly onto her knight's chest.
"Weiss...! Weiss!"
She was only vaguely aware of Blake and Yang's dumbfounded murmurs and questions coming form behind her; she could tell them about the Dragon later.
But for now, Ruby needed this.
She clutched onto Weiss' small hand for dear life, her other fingers surprisingly less fervent as they laced through her white bangs, stroked over her cheek.
Ruby was hysterical, whines and whimpers dragging up the back of her throat and tumbling past her lips in blubbering hiccups, wailing and letting out her voice as much as she had to.
But they were relieved cries, ones that could only be elicited from the lips of a girl who had watched the love of her life die – killed her herself– and then by some miracle get her back.
Her mind was a discombobulated mess, her chest even more so, but the release of her tears and sobs was liberating. Between them all, Weiss' name slipped out again and again.
Weiss could not refuse her princess' actions, for although she had not been conscious for what seemed like a long while, she felt she had an inkling of what might have transpired in that courtyard.
So Weiss lay quietly in Ruby's embrace, closing her eyes and using that time to remember how to use her lungs. She was frightened there would be excruciating pain, like there had been before. But she found all of that had vanished, save from a very slight ache in her sternum; and that was something she would gladly welcome if it meant the rest of the pain had passed.
They forgot the rest of the world for a while and simply cried – sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly.
Yang was not as bad as her sister, but she needed to bury her face in Blake's shoulder to keep her voice down. Disbelieving as she was, she knew she would worry about answers later, but for now it was better not to question things.
Blake held her tightly, taking occasional glances over to the other two as if expecting it all to have been a fabrication after all. But she could hear Weiss' soft sobs for herself, and her ears flicked enough times to convince her of the realness of it all.
Yang clung to her, and Blake hushed her, kissing the side of her face and the top of her head, cajoling her to get the sobs out of her system.
Ruby continued to cry as well, her voice rising up into the cool night. She was shivering for a lot of reasons now, but she did not care. There was an almost timid warmth coming from Weiss, but it was warmth nonetheless. She could feel her knight's fingers twitching gingerly in her own, curling and uncurling slowly, as though she was trying to remember how to use them.
After a while, Ruby's throat was starting to run dry, and her voice turned rasping from excessive use, her sobs growing quieter. She was exhausted, as though she had just lived an entire lifetime within the course of an hour, and perhaps in some ways, she had done just that.
She felt almost as though she were about to fall asleep, but she refused to give in to such a temptation so soon.
She needed more than this.
When she finally grew still and her cries subsided, it was easier to get the proof she sought.
She could feel Weiss breathing faintly beneath her; it was not weak, but rather pacified. Ruby slid the hand on Weiss' cheek away to support her shoulders instead, scooping her up a little and pressing herself as close as possible.
Another small sob escaped her when she had quieted herself enough to hear the beat of Weiss' heart. It felt like mere moments ago when that sound had been dwindling, and coming to a premature stop.
But now it was a stronger rhythm, slow but full – alive – and Ruby needed the reassurance of its sound more than anything.
"Weiss..." she whispered. "God, Weiss..."
She just wanted to listen to that sound and fall asleep here and now – the rest of the world could wait until morning.
But she stopped herself from losing grip on her conscious when she felt Weiss cough again, very softly. Ruby pulled herself back, her eyes fearful as she met Weiss'.
"Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Weiss. It-It's probably hard for you to breathe like this, I bet you hurt all over, oooh god I'm so sorry..." She dipped herself down again, one hand caressing the girl's face as the other massaged slow circles over her collar to help her breathe easier.
Weiss sighed, going almost limp beneath her touch, but she too refused to let her conscious slip away just yet.
"Ruby, it's alright..." she murmured. "I'm okay."
Ruby whimpered and shook her head.
"No, Weiss. I-"
She stopped however when an unmistakable sound reached their ears.
Rather, it was an assortment of sounds – voices and hooves, armor and movement.
The troops had returned.
Yang and Blake heard it as well, and the two girls quickly wiped one another's tears before helping each other up to their feet. They stumbled over to the other two, none of them sure what to say or where to start. Ruby looked up at them, conflicted.
Yang cleared her throat and went first.
"Ruby... I... I don't know what the hell just happened. I don't... I mean I can't make any sense of it..." She got down on her knees beside them and took one of Weiss' hands in both of hers, rubbing her smooth skin gently. "I don't know what's going on... and something tells me you do?"
Her eyes were fixated on Ruby's.
Her younger sister seemed to be considering things for a moment before she nodded once.
Yang went on. "I figured as much. But... you can tell us later, okay? Dad's home now. We should... we should get you guys inside and get you some help. You can tell him everything then, okay?"
Ruby sniffled, and when she blinked again there were more tears.
"Okay..."
Her eyes went back to Weiss' enervated ones. The white-haired girl sighed again, her breath a soft puff of white as she did her best to smile. Ruby reflected the gesture, chuckling softly.
Then, she leaned down and kissed her gently, so tenderly it made Weiss cry harder, but she never broke the contact.
Ruby tried to channel everything she felt into that kiss, all of her love, her elation, her bliss and thankfulness, hoping Weiss could feel it.
And she did.
Weiss felt everything, and she did her best to tell Ruby as much without words.
At last, the brunette pulled away, and it was hard not to go back for another, but she did not want to hinder Weiss' breathing anymore. Her knight's eyes were fluttering closed now, the exhaustion overtaking her.
But not before one last whisper left her:
"I love you... Ruby..."
Ruby nodded and hugged her gently.
"I love you, too. More than anything."
She felt Weiss' last conscious breath leave her body, and then she was still, led softly away into a world of dreams.
Ruby sat up again, wiping away more tears as Yang slid closer. Her sister ran her fingers through Weiss' bangs, mumbling incredulous words all the while. Her fingers uncurled at the side of Weiss' neck, checking for a pulse just to be sure. Once she had found it, Yang met Ruby's eyes again, lavender swirling with a million questions. But she could see just how badly Ruby needed rest, so she held her tongue for now.
"Let's go back inside," the blonde murmured. "It's cold out here."
Blake knelt beside them, her gaze flicking between the sisters.
"I'll take Weiss. Yang, I think you should help Ruby."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right."
Blake slid closer to Ruby, and it almost pained the younger girl to let Weiss go, to feel her warmth leaving her lap. But she knew they needed to do this, and she carefully transferred her knight into Blake's gentle arms.
The Faunus girl scooped her up, one arm beneath Weiss' knees and the other beneath her shoulders. She felt light, like nothing at all without her armor now, and Blake too soon found herself with Yang's doubts that the girl was actually alive. She dipped her head and pressed a soft ear to Weiss' collar, more than surprised to hear the faint thumping of her heartbeat.
Meanwhile, Yang got to her feet as well, taking Ruby's wrists and supporting her unsteady balance.
When she was finally on her feet, Ruby felt she could not stand for a second longer, a combination of relief, exhaustion, and the fading scare of it all weighing heavily upon her. She threw her arms around her sister and the wheezing sobs started again.
"Yang..." she rasped. "Y-Yang... Weiss, she- oh god..."
"Shhh, easy lil' sis." Yang bent down to lift Ruby up into her arms in the same manner Blake was holding Weiss. "I don't know what happened but... I know it was hard for you. Harder than anything. But you made it through, Ruby. You both did."
Yang tucked Ruby beneath her chin, rubbing her back as best she could from this position.
"It's okay, Ruby. Weiss... is alive. She's gonna be okay. We all are." She kissed Ruby's head, feeling her sister nod vigorously against her shoulder, but crying too much to say anything. "Shh, shh... Don't worry. I've got ya."
It was not long afterward when Ruby went still, her whimpers dying down into little snores.
Yang met Blake's patient eyes and they shared a nod.
They left Weiss' rapier behind to collect tomorrow, and headed off toward the castle with the precious girls in their arms.
. . .
They had been entering the castle at the same time the King and his men had returned, so naturally, they were seen right away.
Yang's father ran to her when he saw Ruby limp in her arms, but the blonde quickly reassured him, telling him all she knew, promising Ruby would shed light on everything tomorrow. He noticed the blood that soaked Weiss' dress, and when they told him she was alright, he refused to believe them.
He sent for a doctor, and once she had been fetched told Blake and Yang to take the girls to be changed and tended to.
As they were making their way slowly up the stairs after the doctor, Blake's sharp ears caught sound of many mumbles and phrases from the men and women in the castle below.
Evidently, the White Fang had been in the forest as well, slaughtering Grimm left and right as they so loved doing. The King's soldiers and military had tried both to stop the senseless killing while still trying to defend themselves.
It had been a chaotic scene, all while under the shroud of night.
But during the middle of the battle, the Grimm had suddenly come to a collective halt and retreated immediately, as though a greater presence had ordered it. The White Fang had slipped away into the shadows, and though puzzled, the King and his men had started the march home soon afterward.
There were many questions that needed answering, but it appeared the only person who knew the answers was asleep in her elder sister's arms.
There was a silent, collective agreement throughout the castle to save explanations for the morning.
Presently, Yang called out to the doctor in front of her as they walked down the castle hallways.
She directed the woman to Ruby's quarters, and they all slipped inside. The doctor turned on every light as Yang and Blake laid the sleeping girls down onto the bed beside one another.
A quick once-over of Ruby had the doctor declaring she was merely fatigued and that a good rest would be her only medicine.
But she could not fathom how Weiss had clearly lost so much blood and slept now as though nothing had happened.
Yang and Blake told her all they knew, about how she had been struck with a Dust-infused arrow.
The woman merely shook her head, utterly baffled. "It didn't pierce her heart, but it was close," she told them. "She bled out slowly. There's over a pint of blood in her dress. She should be dead... But she's in stable condition."
Yang and Blake carefully undressed the two girls, peeling away their blood-soaked dresses and slipping them into looser, warmer nightgowns. The doctor could do nothing more than check pulses and breathing and deem both girls to be more or less fine.
They fetched two glasses of water and placed them by the bedside table, but that was all.
When all had been said and done, Yang thanked the doctor for her services before the woman left the room, reminding them to call for assistance in the night should they require it.
Blake sought Yang's eyes then, and it was clear to each of them how tired they were as well. Faunus ears flicked uncomfortably as Blake went to the bed and ran her fingers lightly over Weiss' forehead.
"I don't want to leave them alone tonight."
"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Me neither. We can crash on the floor, I guess."
"No princess of mine is sleeping on the floor," Blake declared.
She then left the room only for a moment, long enough to journey to Yang's quarters and bring back a thick blanket and a nightgown for her. She tossed them at Yang before shedding her own clothes and slipping quickly into the loose pants and baggy shirt she had brought for herself. Yang changed as well, putting her dress aside before laying out the blanket on the ground.
"It's still technically the floor," she noted.
"On a blanket. Not the floor directly," Blake corrected her.
They turned off the main lights, leaving only several candles aglow all around the room.
Before they settled, they went to the bed one last time.
Blake looked over each girl in turn, watching the rises and falls of their chests in the darkness. Yang leaned down to kiss Weiss' forehead before skirting the bed and doing the same for Ruby.
"Rest up, you two," she murmured. "We'll be right here if you need anything."
Her gaze lingered for a moment, as if to make sure they were both really there.
Then, she felt a light tug on her wrist as Blake coaxed her toward their makeshift bed.
They all but collapsed to their knees before rolling the blankets out, slipping underneath, and pulling them back up over themselves. It was a cold night, but they never would have guessed it as they wrapped one another in tight embraces, breathing together.
The two shared a few clumsy kisses and heartfelt murmurs in the darkness before they could stay awake not a second longer.
There was a unanimous sigh, one that said they would deal with things in the morning, and then they were still, welcoming slumber and the healing it promised.
Ruby woke in the stillest hour of the night, the one where it was far too late for any person to be healthily awake, and far too early for any creature to be stirring.
It was the hour that bred melancholy, and possibly even a bit of uncertainty, but somehow seemed to transcend fear.
She blinked her eyes open to a dark room, illuminated only by several candles about the room on shelves or dressers. She did not remember right away what had happened to herself, and a slow turn onto her side found her gazing down at the floor.
Blake and Yang were there, wrapped in one another's arms, quiet and peaceful.
All was still and quiet, and Ruby felt she was breaking a spell by moving, but as the memories started trickling back to her, she was left with no other option. Tears had jumped into her eyes again, a small gasp leaving her lips as she slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows.
Frantically, she looked about, casting her gaze out into the far corners of the room only to discover what she sought was merely inches away from her.
She turned slowly onto her other side, voice rasping as she choked out her name:
"Weiss..."
Her tone was many things – first fearful Weiss was not breathing again, then relieved that she was, then doubtful it was real.
Ruby rested on her side to face her loyal knight, reaching out a shaking hand from under the blankets, and in the process allowing some of the cold night air to slip into the cove of warmth. Her fingers twitched before they could make contact with Weiss' face, curling back – uncertain – until at last she needed to almost force herself to do it.
"Weiss..."
A reassurance to herself - that was what it was. Speaking Weiss' name reminded Ruby she was alive.
Of course the slow rise and fall of the other girl's chest was helpful as well, and Ruby slid closer, keeping herself up to gaze down at the beauty before her, the girl who had saved her life so selflessly time after time.
Again, her gaze went to the scar over Weiss' left eye, and Ruby recalled the time when they were younger when an assassin had tried to claim her life. Even when she was just a child, Weiss had never hesitated to throw her own life on the line to protect Ruby, no matter the consequences.
Presently, Ruby dipped her head, blinking away a tear from each eye as she pressed her lips to that scar, light and loving.
A small, almost inaudible sound from beneath her had the princess pulling back, biting her lip.
Weiss' eyelids lifted slowly, as if it required great effort to do so, but the beautiful blue they revealed in turn was worth it. Her irises focused, first on the ceiling for a moment before shifting to the source of warmth at her side. She swallowed, breathed, and spoke.
"Ruby..."
The younger girl whimpered softly.
"Weiss... I'm sorry. I woke you up, didn't I? You need to rest, I'm sorry-"
"Ruby..."
Her gentle voice was nothing like it often was when the sun was up. Now it was thin and timid.
And yet, there was something different about it that made it all the more wonderful.
There was truth in it, not like the times when she often tried to disguise her fatigue, plaster a smile, or conceal her exhaustion in a guise of reassurance.
Now, she was tired, and she was not afraid to hide that truth from Ruby.
The princess held her gaze, watching, waiting for Weiss to tell her whatever it was she needed to say.
But her knight's eyes had closed again as she focused on inhaling a shuddering breath. Ruby leaned over a bit and lightly pressed her lips to Weiss' collar by means of encouragement, the message there silent but decipherable only to her knight.
"It's okay. Take your time. You can do it."
Weiss relished the contact, thrived on it, and before long she reopened her eyes and tried again.
"Ruby... there will be plenty of time for me to... rest later... I woke now because... I sensed my princess needed to hear my voice."
Ruby felt a swell of emotion rise up in her chest, and she nodded.
"Yeah... Yeah, I... I just needed to..."
She could not finish, but Weiss understood. The edges of the knight's lips curled up into a small smile, something rare and tiny that anyone else would have missed.
But Ruby saw it, and it made her let go of the fears at last. Her fingers curled through Weiss' long, loose tresses, brushing over her cheeks and forehead.
"I-I just..." She was crying now, but doing her best not to be too loud and wake the others. "I kept thinking... this was all just a dream... that I'd wake up and... and you'd be gone..."
A tear transferred from her face to Weiss', and her thumb wiped it away gingerly.
Weiss sighed, blinked, and spoke again.
"Even... if that were the reality of all of this... even if I were gone, I'd still be with you, Ruby. You know that don't you?"
A nod, and the princess' face was distraught, and Weiss felt instantly guilty for making her think about it. She continued, her smile audible in her voice now.
"But that's not... the reality, Ruby. This is. I'm here, I'm alive, and I'll do anything to prove it to you."
She just... wanted her to stop her pained crying. It broke Weiss' heart to see it, to hear it, and Ruby had done far too much of it in the past twenty-four hours. It needed to end now, for all of their sakes.
Weiss knew what the girl wanted – what she needed – but could see Ruby was too scared to ask for it, scared she would hurt Weiss somehow.
So the white-haired knight initiated it, drawing her hands slowly out from the blankets and reaching them up slowly to cup Ruby's face. The brunette stopped her sobbing when she felt those small hands pulling her down, and she made sure to keep her weight on her elbows and off of Weiss as she helplessly gave in.
They kissed, small and tentative at first, leaving plenty of room for air. Their lungs expanded in time together before exhaling slowly, and Ruby draped one arm around her knight's shoulder, one forearm on either side of Weiss' head as she leaned over her chest.
There was a pause, a moment to breathe, and they each used it as much as they needed to. The candles flickered around them, their only audience, keeping the room warm and lit.
Then, the second kiss, fuller but still a bit hesitant, longer-lasting, but easy to pull away from when necessary.
Ruby gave the poor girl a break, trailing butterfly kisses over her cheeks, forehead, and nose, shielding Weiss from the cool night air with her own body. Their chests pressed ever so lightly against one another's, but Ruby was mindful of herself, making sure it was never an effort for Weiss to draw precious breath.
A few moments passed in this manner, and Ruby waited patiently, ready to stop if Weiss needed to, ready to continue if she wished. She felt those small hands move behind the back of her neck, cradling her head and bringing her down one more time.
The last kiss started as a breath shared between them, but when their lips came together, it was infinitely more. It was chaste, and spoke of all they had lost in the past, and all they had found in one another.
It told of the times they had almost lost their lives, and demonstrated the reasons they were still alive now. It broke down their fears and swept them all aside, rebuilding with confidence, acceptance, and love.
So much love.
Ruby had thought she had cried all she could today, but somehow more tears dripped down her cheeks now as she finally pulled back. Weiss was crying too, but it was silent due to her enervation.
Ruby wiped her own face before cleaning her lover's with a gentle thumb.
"I love you, Weiss. I can't... I can't say it enough..." She felt the words would lose meaning with the frequency with which she uttered them.
But Weiss dashed those fears instantly.
"I know you do. I know it, Ruby."
Weiss breathed her love in every breath, felt it in every touch, existed with it in every heartbeat.
And Ruby knew it as well, because it was the same for her.
She finally cracked a smile that reflected Weiss', tired but triumphant, void of uncertainties of any kind.
Keeping her loose embrace on Weiss, Ruby lowered herself down, resting her ear against her collar. She felt and heard Weiss sigh one last time, her arms wrapping around the princess' shoulders to keep her close.
Ruby listened to every beat of her heart, not wanting to miss a single one after all they had been through. More so than the warmth of their bodies moving together, that familiar rhythm proved to Ruby the realness of all of this. Every little thump was a second Weiss was alive, loving her, even when she slept.
When they were together, they did not feel like there were any wasted heartbeats; every last one meant something.
So Ruby listened to all of them, snuggling close, letting nothing else in the world but Weiss fill her senses. She listened to Weiss' pulse slow as she finally fell asleep, her breathing soft and deep – relaxed, unafraid. Every heartbeat of hers was beautiful, every breath magical.
Ruby felt herself slipping before long, and she soon followed Weiss into the realm of slumber.
Whatever came tomorrow could wait – for now, they were alone beneath the stars, free of their respective curses at long last. Ruby no longer was cursed by the Dragon, and Weiss was no longer burdened by the inability to display her unbridled affections for her princess.
They were free, they were safe, they had each other, and nothing else mattered.
A/N: Thank you for reading through until the end! I hope it was satisfying and somewhat acceptable for you!
Epilogue preview: Despite the snow, the crops seemed sturdier than usual this year, and there was an abundance of food to go around.
Every day was special and bright.
But there was one toward the heart of the season that would prove brighter and more special than any other.
Please review!