This was initially supposed to be two chapters, but I felt like it worked better as just one lengthy one. It's almost as big as the two previous ones put together, and it allowed me to stop postponing this first scene.

3. Pretending

The vegetables were fresh and washed, picked clean for any flaws, and the water was boiling in waiting. All she needed was something to add flavor, to avoid the bland taste of steamed produce. Even after all that time, the feeling of eating, letting food run through her taste-buds, was still new and exciting. She had found that she was rather fond of cooking, allowing her free reign over the wild experiments she liked to perform. Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, she wanted to try them all, apart and mixed together, to discover all the wonders she had missed out on for so long. It didn't even matter the late hour of night it already was, she was consumed by the need for stimuli.

It was, of course, not as fun to do by herself, with no one to accompany her in the results, but that also meant nobody to experience the many, many disasters. At least, that's what she told herself, trying to calm the overwhelming loneliness. She yearned so for some company, for the return of her friends.

As if brought forth by wishful thinking, her necklace started pulsating in a low tune. It was a thread holding small red crystal, one of the little things they had managed to salvage from the wreck that was her father's laboratory. It had surely proven a useful tool.

The ginger girl retrieved it from her neck, and gently blew on it before placing it on the floor and sitting in front of it. Not long after, the image of a familiar face appeared out of thin air.

"Hey, Penny. I know it's been a while..."

The former-statue mustered up the severest and most disapproving tone she could, before answering.

"Ruby Rose, what took you so long?" She had barely finished speaking when she burst out in laughter, unable to maintain the farce of being upset. The huntress had that effect on her, it had only been an instant and she already felt lonesome no more. "I'm kidding. I'm glad you had time today."

"Sorry I didn't talk sooner, it's been busy on the road. How are you doing?"

"I'd be better if you were here and not out on some fool's errand." Surprisingly, those words managed to leave her mouth without damaging her smile.

"And how's... you know..."

"I'm fine, Ruby, really. It's not that bad yet, you don't need to worry."

There was a silence between them, but it wasn't a comfortable one as it had once been. There were too many things hanging in the air, too many words left unspoken to one another. But the stillness didn't last, as the silver-eyed girl decided to break it.

"I'm so close now. I've almost got her. She'll be able to make you better, she has to."

Penny knew better than to try to dissuade her to give up. She had tried too many times with no results. They sure made quite the stubborn pair.

"How about Blake? Have you found her yet?"

"No, I still don't know where she ended up when we split up. But I have a new travelling partner now!"

"Oh really?" It took a lot of self-control to hide the jealousy in her voice.

"Yeah, a guy called Roman. A real sleazeball, but I can handle him." Ruby made a toothy grin, in a very endearing fashion that only she knew how to.

"I'm sure you can."

"Well, I should probably go to sleep now, it'll be a long day tomorrow. Just wanted to check in, see how you were doing."

"You'd better return fast. I miss you."

She reached her hand forward, desperate to touch the figure in front of her. The archer mirrored the movement, and their fingers moved closer but never managed to establish contact. The crystals only transmitted image and sound, they could not recreate the warmth and spark of a real person's skin. It was useful, but it was never enough...

"I miss you too."

And like that, it was over. Penny put the necklace back on and promised herself she wouldn't cry, as the loneliness started to creep back inside her aching heart. Nothing in the world could replace what she wanted the most.

I miss you too.

Ruby severed the connection, feeling her smile fade away. It was hard pretending to be okay for the ginger girl. Pretending that they didn't have their days together numbered. She had placed her entire hand on this hunt, and was struggling to see the payoff for the bet. If she lost, she hadn't just sacrificed countless hours of her life, but perhaps even the final ones of her friend, time she should've spent by her side. But it was too late now, she was all in. The question was whether or not the opponent was confident in those odds.

THUMP THUMP

"Rise and shine, Red. Lots of ground to cover today, and the sun's wasting away."

The short-haired archer reached in vain for her hunting knife, startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. Slowly her head started to process the events of the previous night, shedding light on where she was and who was making all that ruckus. She was used to waking up to a quiet forest, and the sudden change of pace threw her off guard.

Her recovery complete, she got up and proceeded to get ready. It didn't take much effort, she had gone to sleep wearing the only outfit she had brought. Extra clothing would've only slowed her down, and she washed them (and herself) whenever opportunity presented itself. Not that lack of spare clothes was strange for someone of her social standing.

She strapped the bow and quiver on her back, placed the knife in its concealed sheath and tied the satchel to her waist. Finally prepared to face the day, she unlocked the door and walked downstairs. Roman was sitting in the hall, nibbling at a piece of rabbit leg that had survived the prior evening. When he saw her enter, he pushed a plate with the rest her way.

"At long last, she awakens! Come on, eat up. We have a long way to go."

Ruby sat down across from him and accepted the offering.

"You do know I never actually said I was going to travel with you, right?"

"Why? Am I not pretty enough for you? Or maybe you prefer girls?" The huntress tried her best to fight the raging blush in her cheeks. Having just woken up wasn't the best condition for her bluffing skills. "Oh my, I sense a story there... You'll have to tell me all about it on the way north."

"Are you always this smooth, Roman? Or are you trying to make me feel special?"

"As if, you're way too young for me. You could never appreciate my refined charm." She started to violently choke on her breakfast, falling into a coughing fit until tears were forming in her eyes. "Laugh all you want. Back in the capital, ladies would line up for a piece of the great Roman Torchwick."

"You've been to Vale? The city? What's it like?" Her eyes lit up for a second. So he really was from the city. He could teach her so much, about the world and beyond.

"I could tell you... while on the road. Seriously, sweetie, I have to get going. Better make up your mind fast."

"Ugh fine, I'll tag along for today." There was no way she would pass over such an opportunity, but there was no need to let him know that.

The man got up and grabbed a black walking cane that was resting against the table. He then gestured towards the door, and proceeded outside. Ruby took a couple of bites out of the meat, not wanting to waste any, before hurriedly following behind.

The ground was wet and muddy, and the trees curved slightly, still bearing signs from the storm of the night that had passed. They were lucky that the weather had cleared up, a bright blue sky above promising no more rain. It would most undoubtedly make the march ahead more bearable.

"Is that yours or did you steal it?" She pointed at the cane he was holding while they began the trek out of the village.

"Oh please..."

They walked silently for hours, only addressing each other when strictly needed. The fallen noble had quite the in-depth knowledge of the area and its dangers, expertly guiding her through the best paths. He was no hunter, that much was obvious, and Ruby was mostly just humoring him. As long as he didn't make any rookie mistakes, she would have no reason to correct him.

She normally wouldn't have been so quiet. She enjoyed conversation as much as anyone, and her current companion, unlike the previous one, was clearly a talker himself. Yet the feeling on the back of her head, that sensation of being watched, was nagging her endlessly once again. She took furtive glances behind, but only ever saw small fauna, rabbits and birds, nothing suspicious. It was driving her insane. Her instincts had never been wrong before. Off by a little, sure, but never wrong. Was it just because she didn't trust Torchwick? True, he was shady and immoral, plus she knew next to nothing about him, so she couldn't really feel completely safe around him. But she wasn't sure whether or not that was the full extent of the problem.

After many paranoia-fueled hours of silence, the man decided he was tired of not listening to the sound of his voice, and spoke.

"So... what did you want to know about Vale?"

The archer nearly forgot all that had been bugging her, and desperately tried to sort through the countless question buzzing inside her head. In the end, she opted for a casual one, so as not to betray her fascination with the place.

"How big is it?"

"Oh it's big. That house we were just in? There are thousands of those."

"Thousands? That must be huge..." In truth, she didn't know how much was a 'thousand', but she understood it was a big number.

"And that's nothing! You should see the castle, one room in it was larger than that house. It even had a ball room that was almost the size of that whole village."

"Wooow..." Her eyes were genuinely sparkling. "What's a ball room?"

"It's where they make fancy parties and dances for the nobles, with more food and drink than you've seen in your entire life. No offense."

"You were one of them, weren't you? A nobleman, I mean"

"Very astute, Red. Yes, I was." He looked down while speaking, showing a slight tinge sadness seeping through the cracks on his mask.

"What happened?"

"There's a man in the capital, they call him The General. He's a foreigner who came from a faraway land, no one really knows why. But he really made an impression, a great fighter with cunning for strategy, it wasn't long before King Ozpin made him the commander of the royal army. He became his right-hand man, and one of the most powerful people in the kingdom."

Where's he going with this?

"Well, it turns out that if you piss off the right hand of the King, you get slapped by it. And by slapped I mean exiled."

Ah, there it is. "Let me guess, you stole from him, didn't you?"

"You got me. As did he, that's kind of the problem. But I had to do something, couldn't let that stuck-up prick think he was better than me!"

"Considering you got caught, I guess he kinda is..." Ruby made a sly smile, taking the obvious jab at his pride.

"How dare you? After all I've done for you?" He made an offended gasp, but the red-hooded girl struggled to be certain it was fake, so she changed subject.

"Do you miss it?"

"Being filthy rich? Surprisingly, no. I do miss my enormous wardrobe, but not having to put up with morons who think money gives them power over everyone. And it's much easier to rob everyone blind when no one knows who you are. This..." He raised his arm, pointing to the open area around, full of trees, fresh air and peace. "...is what I like. It's where I was born, and it's where I belong."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'where you were born'? I thought you were from the city."

"I was, but before that I lived out here in the forest. I used to be a scavenger, a hunter like you, until... my whole family was wiped out by lycans. Those filthy animals took everything away from me." His tone grew dark and bitter. He was evidently uncomfortable recalling his tragic youth.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You don't have t-" The huntress began to offer her condolences, but was promptly cut off.

"That day, over what was left of the ones I loved, I swore I would never let anyone step over me again, that I would make it by any means necessary. So I moved to the capital, then lied and cheated my way to the top. Fake smiles and vain promises will carry you a long way, Red. Learn that while you can."

She couldn't muster up a response. That man had been to hell and beyond, and made it out stronger. A complete scoundrel, but stronger. Now that she saw it, there was actually quite a lot in common between them. She almost scolded herself for not trusting him sooner. His words felt truthful, and she had a newfound respect for him. Plus she had been wrong, he was a hunter. It made sense with how familiar he was with the terrain, and the many flaws could be explained by being out of commission for so long.

The silence deepened as they kept hiking up the path, neither feeling like speaking after the air had become so heavy. Eventually, Roman was again the one who caved in and tried to change the topic.

"So, about that girl of yours..."

The huntress sighed loudly. "There's no girl."

"Now now, are you really going to try to lie to me? Lying is what I do, darling. You can't fool me."

Ruby glared at her boots, kicking a small pebble that was in the way. She didn't want to talk about it, but after he'd poured his heart and soul in front of her, it felt ungrateful not to give some in return.

"Fine, there was a girl, but it's complicated."

"What's her name?"

"Penny."

"Do you like her?" His eyes were staring at her like vultures circling around prey, waiting for the right moment to kill and feast on the carcass.

"No! I mean, I don't know. Maybe... We're friends, that's all." She stumbled heavily on those words. It was hard enough to be answering about such deeply personal matters, but it was even worse that she actually didn't know herself. Penny had always been an oddball in her life, ever since they had met in the forest, a naive huntress and a murderous marble statue battling it out and eventually befriending each other.

"I'll take that as a yes. Is she cute?"

"Like you wouldn't believe..."

"You like her, she's cute, what's complicated about it?"

The weight of the world was suddenly on the young archer's shoulders. She wanted to say it, to lift herself of the shackles buried deep within her heart, but it wasn't so simple. Firstly, Roman was still a stranger, and she had told him enough to repay the debt. He was just an acquaintance that would be gone in a day or two. Secondly, saying it out loud would make it real, materialize both the crisis and her failure to deal with it. She wasn't sure she was ready to handle the emotional fallout of her actions. Yet, against all odds, she gathered all the courage she could muster, and offered the best explanation she could.

"Penny... she's sick. It's bad and I don't know how long she has. It could be years or it could be weeks."

Ruby didn't specify on the ailment, but he didn't pry either. It was normal for people to fall ill and for no one to know what plagued them. If it was truly bad, anyone without medical training would just give them herbs to dull the pain and pray it wasn't contagious. Doctors were rare and expensive, and only found in the larger cities. Those who couldn't afford it had little hope for a cure, and no choice but to await death, and the subsequent cremation to avoid spreading. A nasty solution, but an effective one.

"Then why are you here and not with her?" The question she often asked herself as well.

"I'm trying to find a witch. She can cure her. I just have to make it in time." It was half a truth. She had mostly just ran away, pretending the problem wasn't real with the pretense of finding a solution. She hadn't wanted to face the redheaded girl every day wondering how long they had. But she really did believe in finding a cure, one that would not just make her friend better but also fix the mistakes she had made.

He considered what she'd told him for a moment, then smiled with the closest thing he had to warmth.

"That's pretty romantic, I like it. Well then, let's hurry up so you can save the day."

The day had been long and intense, both physically and emotionally, so it was with relief that the duo greeted the sight of the lonely shack Torchwick claimed to be his residence. It was rough and unrefined, contrasting with the owner's own poise, but it would do wonderfully in the night that would very soon follow.

The ginger man motioned to open the door, and Ruby stopped, finally feeling the many hours of hiking on her muscles with a sharp and consistent pain. Hopefully she could just sit down until the next morning, to let the soreness fade.

The inside was bare and empty, wooden walls with nary a piece of furniture to cover them, only a bed, two chairs, and a set of stairs up. Almost desolate to imagine he lived there, really it looked like nothing more than a temporary safehouse, a place where one would rest before moving on. It didn't look too safe, cracks across the surface meaning the structure was unstable and could crumble down if pressured too much.

"NEO, I'M HOOME! AND I BROUGHT A GUEST!" His loud shout startled the huntress, and he quickly turned to her with an apologetic smirk. "My associate, the one I told you I was meeting. Lovely girl, doesn't speak much but I'm sure you'll get along just peachy."

Ruby looked up and saw a little girl giddily descending the stairs. Well, she was short, significantly lower than the archer herself, but her eyes made it hard to pinpoint age. Those ardent irises weren't the eyes of a child, and it was difficult to tell the exact color. She had knee-high white boots above black pants and a similarly black shirt under a white vest. It was well-fitted and elegant, resembling the apparel of a professional fencer, a combat outfit for gracious and well-trained fighters. Her hair, which she wore in a neatly tied ponytail, was parted at the middle between brown and soft pink, further proving the girl's love for duality. It was even more eccentric than her partner, making her undoubtedly stand out in a crowd despite her height.

Neo jumped up and hugged Roman briefly, before switching her attention over to the visitor.

"Neo, this is Ruby, our honored guest. Ruby, that's Neo, my friend and long-time associate."

"Pleasure to meet you." She stretched her hand forward as a greeting, and the petite girl accepted it with a smile. It seemed innocent enough, but there was still something chilling about those eyes. They were cruel and fiendish, filled with lust for blood.

Hypnotized by that frightening gaze, the huntress did not notice the metallic object wrapping around her wrist. She only realized what was happening when it clicked loudly, binding her hands together. She struggled against it, but to no avail.

"Hey! What is this?"

"Sorry, sweetheart. It took me so much time to bring you here, I'm not letting you leave until my employer sees you." Roman took off his hat, and looked at her directly. He wasn't smiling anymore, no semblance of kindness or warmth in his face, just contempt.

"Employer? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Red, do I really need to spell everything out for you? I've been paid to find and capture you. You are a precious rarity, not many people can survive an encounter with an enraged witch. My employer wants to know how you did it."

The man standing there was not the same person that had travelled with her that day. He was angry, almost even disgusted by her presence. She was used to be flared at like something not-quite human, but it was different with him. It wasn't cruelty out of ignorance and close-mindedness, it stemmed from some kind of unexplained hatred. If that was the real Torchwick, who had she met at the deserted village?

"You... You lied to me?"

"Weren't you paying attention? 'Lying is what I do, darling.' And you bought every single word of it. I'd be proud, but it was almost too easy." She wanted to cry, to scream at how cheated she felt. She had cared for him, for his sorrows. Yet in front of her she saw only a monster. Had it all been a ruse? "Oh, don't look so offended. It wasn't all lies, I just adjusted some details here and there."

Despite the shackled wrists, she could still somewhat move, and that she used that freedom to retrieve the concealed knife and lunge at his throat. He would not get away with abusing her trust.

Neo intercepted the jump with a punch to her elbow, the force making the knife slip from her fingers. Then she took a knee to the stomach, and was promptly pinned down to the floor. For someone of such a small size, the bi-colored girl sure made an efficient enforcer.

"You've got spirit, Red. I respect that. But it's time you grew up. Neo, take her upstairs to our other guest."

The mini-warrior dragged her up by the chain on the handcuffs and pushed her towards the stairs, before they were interrupted.

"Wait. There's something else I want." Roman reached for her pocket, and took out the amber-colored crystal. "I heard you talk to it last night. I wonder how it works..."

"No, please!" He waved his fingers to send them away, and Ruby was forced up the steps to the second floor, with a hand clasping her mouth shut. Just before entering the room ahead, she heard two voices downstairs.

"How do you... Oh! Well, hello there. You must be Penny."

"Where's Ruby?"

"She's busy right now. I'm Roman, her travelling companion."

"Oh ok. Salutations, Roman!"

The sounds faded as she crossed the doorway, and so did the worry about what that exchange might cause. Instead, she found a new motive for panic.

On the floor was a girl, chained to the wall by the arms. Her clothes were rugged and torn, and her disheveled and dirty black hair a shadow of what it had once been. She was pale, weak, defenseless even, and didn't seem to be awake, but was at least clearly alive. Still, Ruby couldn't help but call out for her, hoping it wasn't real.

"Blake?"

The prisoner feebly moved the head up, and opened her eyes, revealing a pair of bleak golden irises.

"Ruby? They got you too?"

Lots of stuff happened this time. Now we know where Blake is, and what's up with Penny... or at least some of it. Oh and Roman, I swear that was one of the things I had the most fun writing so far.

Took A LOT of liberties with Neo's redesign, she's the character I changed the most outfit-wise, since she's kind of a mystery. Also her being a fencer was because her weapon reminds me of a fencing sword, it's such a small and slender blade.

I'm sure you have a lot of opinions over what transpired this chapter, so please don't forget to review with them.