Chapter 11 Memories
Friday afternoon classes had ended and the four of them were sprawled on their beds deciding what to do with the weekend.
The freewheeling discussion was interrupted by the ringing of Yang's scroll. Ruby sat up in time to see the look on her sisters face as she answered. " Hey Unc'! What's up?" The blonde turned and looked down from the upper bunk, a worried expression on her face. " Okay. We'll be right over."
The other girls had gotten to their feet as the two sisters dropped to the floor. Yang put her hand on Blake's shoulder and gently pushed her back onto the bed. " Sorry guys, he just wants to talk to Ruby and me. Probably family stuff. We'll be back in time for dinner, most likely."
The instructors wing was new territory for them. They had never entered this particular building, mostly out of fear of what might happen if they were caught. Stories were still circulating among the students of what had happened to the last person foolish enough to enter here without permission.
They hadn't spoken a word on the walk across campus, each silently wondering what their wandering ' Uncle' might need to say to them this evening.
Yang let Ruby do the knocking when they arrived, as her own brand resembled a jackhammer and might bring down one of the teachers on them.
Passing through the door was like stepping into a memory.
The room was an exact copy of the one in the house they had grown up in. Every item had been duplicated, down to the framed photograph on the dresser, They stopped for a moment in wonder, not knowing that the two rooms served as a refuge from the world for a man who had no other place to call his own. It felt as if they had never left home.
Yang glanced at the picture, feeling guilty. She'd snuck into that room at the age of eight, after overhearing a discussion between Qrow and Edda. He'd left again a short time afterwards, leaving the door unlocked. She knew that the two of them had been talking about a mystery woman that he'd been following for years, someone that the girl felt she should know. Something in the conversation made her want answers.
An errant elbow had sent the frame crashing to the floor, revealing a note hidden behind the picture. Sure that this was the clue she needed, she'd taken her sister to a deserted farmstead...and nearly gotten the two of them killed.
Replacing the frame a week later without being caught was the hardest thing she had ever done. Neither her father or uncle were willing to let either of them out of the house without supervision for the next month. Disobeying that order hadn't come easy.
Ruby glanced longingly at the picture. Two men and two women, one of them her own mother. Unbeknownst to Yang, her little sister had more than once snuck into that room just to look at the photo. She had very few memories of Summer Rose and the picture was the only one of her in the house. Her father had refused to come in here, the memories were still too painful for him.
Whenever she felt downhearted, the smile on that face always made her feel better.
She still had no idea who the other woman with the black hair was, none of the adults had ever mentioned her.
Sitting at the table, Edda watched the girls as they looked around the room, seeing the silver and violet eyes find the photograph. Having found the one in Patch out of position several times over the years, he surmised that this was not the first time they'd seen it. He'd never locked that room anyway, deciding early on that the girls would have found a way in just out of curiosity. The missing note hadn't been that much of a shock, he'd spotted blonde hair hiding behind corners more than once while talking to Qrow, though how it had been found eluded him. Still, there was much to tell, and little time to tell it.
" Ruby...Yang? Come sit down, there are things I must discuss with you."
When the girls had seated themselves, he turned to the younger sister and took her hand.
" Ruby, your sister knows some what I will tell you, but not all." Looking to Yang, he took her hand also. " I promise both of you that I will tell you everything I can, though it may only answer some of your questions. Before I start, I want you to know that some of this will be painful, but it is the truth. I love you both and would do nothing that would cause you harm, but you are old enough to decide if you want to hear it."
Yang looked at him gratefully before taking her sisters hand. " Ruby...I need to hear this. I hope you'll understand why afterwards."
Ruby was confused by the two of them. What hadn't she been told? " Yang? What's this all about?"
Edda was the one to answer her question. Nodding to the dresser, he said " It's about how that picture came to be." Rising, he released their hands before retrieving the photo. Seated once more, he gazed on those four young faces, letting his mind roam back over the years.
" I come from the far northern islands, where the summer lasts only a month or two at best. When the time came that I was old enough, my size and strength were too valuable to the village to let me go to the fighting schools that were my true calling. By the time I could attend I was a good eight years older than the average student. In Patch the teachers saw age as less of an issue than aptitude, so my parents sent me there. None of my childhood friends had come with me, and there were no siblings such as you two have. I was alone in a new world."
He set the picture in the center of the table and took their hands once more.
" Your father and uncle decided to help me for some reason, and I was grateful for the friendship they showed a lonely young man. We shared many adventures and grew closer as time passed. One day, just before we came to Beacon, I asked them to become ' brothers in all but blood'. They were agreeable and we swore an oath, that we would be as family from that day forward." He smiled at Ruby. " That is why my symbol is as it is, three arms each grasping an elbow forming a triangle. It reminds me daily of my second family, one that is as dear to me as the first."
" Oh! So that's what it means!" Ruby looked over at the shield on the bed. " You never told me that before! So, that means you really are our uncle!"
" In all but blood. I cherish the two of you as much as I would my own children, if I had any." He sighed wistfully.
" But on initiation day our plans for forming a team here fell apart. We had assumed, in our arrogance, that we would simply join together in the woods and continue as we always had. Unfortunately my launcher malfunctioned and landed me far short of my goal. As luck would have it, I ended up in the middle of a fight. A young blonde girl was surrounded by a dozen or more Grim when I came crashing down, nearly on top of her. Her magic had already accounted for three of the beasts, and between the two of us we defeated the rest quickly enough." He grinned at the memory.
" It was the first time in my life that I was berated by someone that I'd helped. She was most unhappy about being teamed with me, thinking that her magic made my aid unnecessary. She eventually forgave me, and has remained my dearest friend to this day. Although.." he rubbed his shoulder " she never misses a chance to smack me whenever she thinks I need it!"
Understanding dawned on Yang as her eyes widened. " Ohmygod! Goodwitch! You were partnered with Goodwitch!?"
The two girls burst out laughing, enjoying his sheepish look. Having been on the receiving end of several of the instructor's tirades, they could only imagine what must have happened between her and their irrepressible uncle.
" And a good thing too!" he admitted. " Although she seems hard from the outside, she needed me as much as I needed her. We made a good combination, her intelligence and my power were formidable and we learned much from each other. She taught me about magic, and I taught her everything I knew about weapons. Over the years her own skills have increased to the point where she is now one of the greatest magic users in the world."
He sat up straighter. " You two are lucky to have her as your teacher. That woman loves her students, although she'll never show it to you. She wants you all to understand just how serious our job is, but as in Miss Schnee's case, she will go to great lengths to help any of you. So the next time she seems to be angry , remember that she does it because she cares about you!"
Ruby touched the edge of the frame. " And this?"
Edda sighed again as he covered her hand with his. " By the time my new team returned to the cliff top, my brothers had already formed a team of their own, with your mothers."
The young redhead looked up at him, puzzled. " Mothers? What do you mean?"
He took her smaller hand in his, and looked deep into those silver eyes. "Ruby...Yang's mother was not your mother." pointing at the black haired figure with his free hand, he explained "This is Yang's mother, your father's first love."
The younger girl looked at her sister, seeing tears in those violet eyes that were turned to the man.
Yang's emotions were jumbled at the revelation. " So...it's true?"
The gray eye softened, moistened with unshed tears. " Yes. It's true." He paused for a moment to let them come to terms with the news. " I want you girls to understand that your father loves you very much and wanted to keep this knowledge from you, not to hurt or deceive, but to ease his own pain. The loss of the two women he loved very nearly killed him. If not for Qrow's aid, I honestly don't think he would have survived the experience. Qrow and I agreed to keep the secret, but only until you were judged old enough to understand why. I think you are both ready now."
He looked again at his brothers face, frozen in time so long ago. 'Forgive me Taiyang, but she must be told. Her own vision showed me this.'
" Yang...your mother left us shortly after you were born, and none of us know why. Your father and I spent many months searching for her and found nothing. With his spirit sinking by the day, I swore an oath to him that I would continue on until she was found. That is why you have rarely seen me in your lifetimes."
He reached over and hugged the blonde. " I'm sorry, but the trail has disappeared. Not even a rumor exists now about her. That's why I was willing to come when Ozpin called. I can only apologize for failing the two of you, for failing my own oath."
Yang buried her head against his shoulder. She didn't know what to say to the man who'd spent more time looking for an answer than she had, so she settled for holding him tight for a moment.
When they separated, she looked up at that scarred face as if seeing it for the first time. Her hand went to the eyepatch.
" The flame, it's for me isn't it?"
" Yes. I swore that oath to your father, but I did it for you. You were the spark of joy that kept your father going, but I knew that someday there would be questions you needed an answer to. And so I left you all, hoping to find out why she had gone, to know what it was that could take her from her child."
Reaching to his belt, he withdrew a scroll and handed it to her.
" Here is everything I have learned of her whereabouts. Every note, every contact I ever made in the last seventeen years. Hopefully it will help you find those answers. "
"..the rose, that's for my mom isn't it?"
Ruby's whispered question made him leave his seat to kneel next to her. " Yes. For her, and for you." Gently he wiped a tear from her cheek. " Every time I look at you, I see her again."
Lifting her from the chair, he returned to his own, setting her on his lap and rocking her like a child.
" Your father was not the only person to love Summer Rose. She held my heart also, though she was fated to stand at your father's side." He held the girl tighter for a moment. " Had it been otherwise, if fate had been kinder to me, you would not be here." Her silver eyes widened at the admission.
" Now, though, I realize what a tragedy that would have been. You are a very special person, my dear, as was your mother. I'm afraid I took her loss as badly as your father did, but he had you girls to soften the blow."
" What about you?"
" I...had no one. Your father was overcome with grief, so Qrow had all three of you to care for. His mistake was assuming that my heart was as strong as my arms. I became..lost. A week later, I left Patch and traveled into the wilds of Vale, seeking an end to my pain. Another week had passed before poor Qrow realized that I had gone, but he could not come seeking me until your father's safety was assured. Yet he had reports of me, the 'madman' who attacked any Grim he could find no matter the size or number." He barked a laugh. " Caravans praised me for protecting them! They didn't know that all I really wanted was to die!"
Yang's hand on his arm stopped him.
" I'm glad you didn't. We couldn't have handled losing both of you!"
He smiled sadly at her concerned face. " I couldn't have died then. The vision I had from you, Yang, had already told me. This room exists because your future self would have to be here today. But ,at that time, I was blinded by endless grief, unable to do anything but strike out randomly in hopes of an end. Three months later Goodwitch and Qrow found me in a field, the rotting bodies of Grim piled around me. They told me later that saving me took nearly all of her powers of healing, and judging by the scars I believe them." He touched the embroidery gently. " I see more clearly now, what the loss of a loved one costs. Yet , those who are left behind must go on with their lives." Impulsively he kissed Ruby's forehead. " Qrow told me later that you brought a plate of cookies to my room and sat with me while I was still unconscious. I don't think I ever thanked you for that, little one. Even at a young age you had a great heart, and I hope that never changes."
The walk back to the dorm took longer, both girls paying no attention to the path as they pondered the new information.
Outside the room, Yang stopped and turned to her sister. " Should we tell them about this?" she asked, nodding towards the door.
Ruby had already made the decision on the walk back. " Yes. We're a team and they need to know why we might act the way we do in the future. Weiss and Blake deserve to know anyway, because they're our friends!"
Yang smiled as her sister opened the door. Edda had been right, Ruby always seemed to think of others before herself. That was what made her special.