I bring you the third chapter of Fire & Thorns! Ruby and Roman talk a little more this chapter :D Thanks for the continued support guys! I'm trying to update twice a week on top of writing new chapters. I think it's a good pace for me right now. :-)

Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Reflections

It felt like days had passed when it quite possibly had been mere hours since he asked her that question. She had chosen to keep silent, refusing to look him in the eye and turned away, curling back under the old blanket that had covered her body as she slept. She kept her back to him.

He hummed at times, quietly but it felt like it was amplified in their dark little cell. Every sound he made was dangerously loud, ricocheting off the walls into her ears. She could barely even try to sleep without reacting to every small echo. She shouldn't be afraid.

He didn't persist, simply chuckling after she went quiet and mumbled incoherent words.

At some point, she fell asleep.

"Weiss! Where is Yang? Where is she?!"

The white haired girl's eyes iced over, suddenly grave. Ruby's chest constricted as she shook Weiss roughly.

"R-Ruby... Yang- She's-..." her voice trailed off.

The room changed.

Mist clouded her vision and Weiss was gone and in its place, was a battlefield.

Ruby was now outside at the entrance of Beacon Academy. Explosions surrounded her. Battles were going down and the walls were crumbling. Half of Beacon was set ablaze, bodies were strewn across the paths. Blood ran like rivers across the floor.

"RUBY!"

She jolted, looking up to see the body of her team mate being held by large golden glyphs. But they were doing more damage than good. She could see the burn marks enclosing around Blake's body as the barriers closed in on her body, squeezing her tighter and tighter until marks covered her bare skin. Her screams were earth shattering, painful and sharp.

"BLAKE!"

She tried to run but the more she ran, the further she got from Cinder, whose arms were snaked around Blake, suffocating her.

"RUBY!"

"BLAKE!"

Ruby shot up, gasping out for oxygen her lungs so desperately needed, feeling the instant sense of cold air attacking her skin like ice shards. It felt good. Sweat piled up on her forehead as she breathed in deeply, trying to ease her burning lungs.

Where am I?

Then she remembered. Again.

"You're quite the screamer. Mind keeping it down sweetheart?"

She turned to the sound of the cocky tone and glowered. Hating him. He really was here.

"Don't call me sweetheart," she hissed with venom. Torchwick remained sitting against the cell bars, two or three metres away from her position with one leg outstretched while the other was curled up against his torso. He had his elbow rested atop with clear signs that he had been leaning his head against it. There was a faded pink mark on his cheek.

He grinned scornfully. "If you wish, I prefer Red too."

Bastard. He still hadn't let go of that old nickname. To this day, not once did she hear him utter the name Ruby and she was happy to keep it that way. She hated the thief with a passion and would hardly give him the pleasure of making up witty remarks about her name. He had that awful glint in his slanted eyes, even in this poor lighting she could tell.

She sighed quietly, releasing her frustration before sitting up straight. The strange make-do bandage on her arm was still there but something seemed familiar about it, she couldn't exactly pin-point what it was yet. How annoying!

"So anyway, now that we have come to terms with your name preferences, what were we talking about before you so rudely turned away and went to sleep?" Torchwick's voice echoed once again.

"We weren't."

She looked up to glower, wishing he would shut up so she could think for a second. He seemed to continue as if she hadn't even said anything.

"You know, I swear we were discussing something pretty important..." he feigned thinking hard, rubbing the edge of his chin with his hand whilst looking up at the ceiling.

The throbbing in her temples seemed to ignite, gradually increasing in strength with every passing moment. Was he always this irritating? Why the hell did they put me with him in the first place? She turned to look out at through the bars into the passage of darkness behind where she was dragged through not too long ago. The thought made her shiver as she brushed it off.

It didn't seem like anyone else was here. It was far too quiet.

"Hm, yeah, that's right! I asked you if-"

Was he still talking?

"Where are we Torchwick?" she snapped, interrupting him.

He seemed surprised, catching her gaze before grinning. "Isn't it obvious?"

Not really. For all she knew, they could have been moved to another region other than Vale. What a horrifying thought.

"Still in Vale Red, don't look so anxious," Torchwick snickered. He raised his chin up defiantly. "Although, we could do with a little more light, maybe a radio or -"

He continued to mutter useless words and Ruby blocked him out. The bars of the cage didn't seem too tough, perhaps if she gathered enough energy she could use her semblance to bust out. How hard could it be?

"- fabulous really, but a nicer cell would be good too," Torchwick paused for a brief moment, possibly catching her disinterested face. "Don't bother kid, these bars are laced with anti-whatever-power-you-might-have-basically, magic. My guess is Dust. They're indestructible."

Ruby narrowed her eyes sharply. "There has to be a weakness."

"Rewind Red, if you haven't noticed, but you seem to be lacking that pretty little toy of yours."

He meant Crescent Rose, and yes, she realised that but she still had power. She tested her body strength, raising both elbows, moving both legs around under the blanket that was bunched up to her waist and tried out her bandaged arm.

Time stopped. She halted on suddenly seeing a flash of an image, picturing the familiar grey material. Her eyes scanned over the fabric tied around her arm, a faded dark spot where blood had managed to seep through but had stemmed the flow of blood. The fabric was awfully familiar and now she knew why.

Wavering, her blood ran cold as she slowly turned her gaze up, eyes trailing up to the figure sitting across from her. Past his darkly clothed legs and bare arms, her eyes grazed over to his neck – where the grey scarf was tied around like a neckerchief.

It was the same kind. Did he...?

Her breathing hitched in her throat, swallowing the lump that had formed and left her parched once more. Even the hairs at the back of her neck stuck up like they had been electrocuted. The mere thought of him touching her was enough to make her feel bile come up her throat. It sickened her to the bone but worse, she felt a heavy feeling of something new inside her chest. Something that ached but tingled at the same time.

Almost like he could sense her eyes on him, Torchwick shot his green eye to catch her staring, piecing together her movements and attention. He clearly had seen her clutching her arm and her eyes questioning the material around his neck. For a moment, he looked unaffected and then he rolled his eyes in annoyance. A frustrated sigh left his lips.

"Yes, you're welcome." He turned his face away.

Ruby faltered, suddenly forgetting all previous feelings of disgust. "Excuse me?"

Torchwick continued to point at her arm that she pulled back away from his view as he gestured the make-do bandage.

"How dare you even touch me!" Ruby cried out defensively.

"Remarkable. Man does something considerate and what does he get for it? Grief!" he scoffed, chewing his bottom lip in aggravation before sighing. "I'm not the bad guy here Red."

Now it was Ruby's turn to scoff. "Not the bad guy? You will always be the bad guy!" she could feel her blood boiling beneath her skin. Torchwick remained silent, taking in her outburst. "I don't even know how you can just sit there, acting all macho and sarcastic when everything that is happening right now is your entire fault!"

He seemed taken aback by this, eyebrow arching. "My fault?"

"Yes, YOUR fault." Did she have to repeat herself?

"Pray tell how this apocalypse is any of my doing? Cinder is the one giving the orders here so I'd check my facts if I wer-"

"You were the one to rob us of our Dust. You were the one to steal every little speck you could find, handing it all over to Cinder when it could have been used to ward off the creatures. Due to this, Cinder was able to gain control of the creatures of Grimm who have torn our world apart. Don't even try to utter a word in denial Torchwick," she spat out each and every word knowing her tone was immensely acidic. She poured out every ounce of hatred she had for the man in them. If words could hurt, she would have kept going but her throat was beginning to dry up and she no longer had any water.

Everything had been his fault. Without the precious Dust, they didn't stand a chance against the creatures of Grimm when they suddenly attacked Beacon with Cinder as their leader. With that much Dust within her grasp, she had the power to destroy them all for good and now she had an army of Grimm monsters, destroying their world.

Two years ago, they knew nothing about the importance and powers behind Dust. Now it was too late.

If Torchwick had left well enough alone, they could have had a chance, anything, to help them prepare for the brutal battle that followed. That day would always haunt her mind.

Ruby noticed the immediate silence, no movements, no sharp and witty remarks nor a response to react to her words. She forced herself to look him in the eye and understand his body expression. To her surprise, Torchwick looked somewhat lost in thought, as if relaying what he had been accused of and now he was trying to think of the possibilities of what may have happened had he never chosen the life of crime.

His bangs helped shadow his visible eye as his chin dipped down slightly and he began to fiddle with a loose thread or something on his trousers. What was he thinking now? Did he feel bad? For his sake, Ruby hoped he did.

There came a sudden grunt. The corners of Torchwick's lips tweaked upwards, almost as if he was... laughing at her. His shoulders were shaking as he lowered his gaze and Ruby began to grow rather irritated with his choice of action. Why wasn't he taking this seriously? Is everything a joke with him? Ruby balled her hands into tight fists.

"Tch, kids, you're all the same naive and juvenile little delinquents," he murmured, easing a few fingers through his fiery orange hair at the back of his head that was a little uneven. He seemed to take a deep breath before looking up with a straight face. "Yes, I stole a lot of Dust. Yes, I was gathering said Dust for Cinder. Yes, the apocalypse is somewhat my fault but you have no clue of the full story sweetheart." His eye glazed over with a sheet of ice that it made Ruby shudder.

"I said don't call me sweetheart you thieving little rat."

He smirked at that. "And if you haven't noticed, Red, I'm sitting in a prison cell with you."

Ruby shot him a glare, wishing she could fold her arms in a huff had her arm been in better shape. "Yes, and I asked you about it. What are you doing here Torchwick?"

The smirk refused to leave his lips and instead he seemed livelier, choosing to stretch his arms out upwards and yawned.

"This is getting rather tiresome. So tell me Red, how bad is it out there?" he leaned back against the bars almost too casually that Ruby wanted to shake him to his senses and force him to tell her how he survived that day. But by diverting the subject of their conversation, she could barely even get an answer and he knew it annoyed her.

Why is he avoiding the topic?

"Hey!" she tensed at the familiarity of the phrase. "Just answer the question!"

Torchwick merely chuckled and waved his hand as if to swat a fly. "Persistent... That still hasn't changed since the first time we met."

An image of the day outside From Dust Till Dawn over two years ago flashed in Ruby's mind. She shook herself harshly as if to shake the memory away.

"And you're still the wimpy thief running away when the going gets tough," she smirked at long last, pleased to see him flinch and glare in response. "If it weren't for Cinder, I would have taken you out that day itself."

He seemed to think about it and nodded. "Perhaps. But you see Red, you forget that if it wasn't for that meddling huntress, you'd have blown up into smithereens." His lips curled up into a conceited satisfied smirk. It sunk in that it was possible, seeing as he had the Dust crystals and in the end he would have used them against her. She was still a little foggy back then on the importance and powers of Dust crystals.

"I'd rather have died fighting than to run away with my tail between my legs."

"I do so enjoy these conversations but I'm beginning to miss the idea of being alone in a cell," Torchwick puckered a dark brow, turning his face away to analyse their prison.

"You won't have to wait long. I'll be getting out of here."

"I'm going to enjoy watching you try kid."

Somehow, she didn't like his tone, there was something condescending about it and her worst fear would be if he had been speaking the truth. She glanced back to the rusting bars that were punctured into the stone concrete brick walls that enclosed them in this space. The lock itself would require a key but perhaps she could try kicking it. It would have to give way at some point.

With a defeated sigh, she looked back at the empty bottle of water that she had thrown away and regretted drinking the entire contents. She should have saved some, arguing with Torchwick tired her out and now her throat was complaining.

"Water won't come so easily Red." She looked up to see him smile half-heartedly. "It'll be a while before we get anything more."

Ruby traced back on his words and paused.

"We?"

Almost as if he had just said something he shouldn't have, Torchwick lost the smile and turned his eyes away, mumbling something under his breath that she couldn't make out. He seemed to stiffen.

"It is not of import."

No, wait. What did he mean it would be a while before they got anything? Her eyes flickered warily to the empty water bottle, studying its battered plastic. Then it dawned on her like thick and heavy rocks, weighing onto her shoulders. It came to her attention that they were in what was once a one-man cell,with the single thin mattress under her and the blanket on her lap. Only one water bottle.

Ruby looked up with wide and open eyes, traumatized for the first time that day, at Roman Torchwick with his hidden face, his rigid body and shifting eyes. Something tightened around her heart, twisting it painfully that she felt like she couldn't breathe. The steady beating of her pulse began to quicken.

How did she not notice it before? She just assumed the water was provided for her by Cinder...

"Hey."

Her voice was weak and echoed, seemingly louder than it sounded. The atmosphere became tense as if the walls of the cell were closing in on her. Still, Torchwick didn't look up, keeping his chin down and picking at his gloves like he hadn't heard her call to him. But he was listening.

"Did you give all of this up, for me?"

That sounded wrong. Way too wrong. He seemed to notice too and looked up in bemusement.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Her cheeks inched a degree higher, suddenly feeling stupid for saying anything. She stumbled on her words but quickly tried to correct them.

"T-That's not what I mea- I meant, this," she gestured to the blanket, the bedding underneath her and the pointed to the plastic bottle across the floor ", did you give your things to me?" Her voice was shaking now, she hoped he wouldn't notice. She was petrified of the answer.

That awful gut feeling that he had stirred up some kind of emotion inside of her. Maybe because it was hard to even believe that he actually had a selfless side to him. He always acted in his gentlemanly manner but that was all an act, wasn't it? The idea of him ever showing compassion was enough to make anyone recoil from repulsion. Roman Torchwick was the bad guy. Bad guys aren't considerate of others, especially not their enemies.

Torchwick took a few seconds, probably trying to come up with a suitable answer that would prove her right, that he really was selfish. He hadn't given up anything for her, like he would think to bother about her well being.

At long last, he sighed and chuckled uneasily making Ruby narrow her eyes in doubt.

"Technically speaking, they aren't mine." He shrugged it off so casually and the knotted feelings in Ruby's stomach began to twist around uncomfortably even more. "But," he sighed once again, stretching his arms again and stifled a groan, "I suppose you could say that I'm sharing, these things with you."

No. He wasn't supposed to say that. Ruby straightened her form, suddenly eager to ease her racing mind.

"You're lying! Don't try to prove yourself to be the nice guy here. I know you Torchwick, you don't have the heart."

His face became grave, the one eye suddenly iced over with a layer of bitterness and hostility. Somehow it stung Ruby, piercing through her. She was in denial, she knew that. He had never looked more intimidating. His jaw hardened as he swallowed, she could see the movement behind his little scarf as he did. She meant every word.

It felt like hours, sitting in the silence before Torchwick made a move. He hadn't removed his icy glare from her face and instead he shifted, bringing himself to stand up. Ruby eased back in her position even though she knew he was still a good few metres away. Now that she had a somewhat good view of him standing, she noticed how much of a difference his hat and cane had made. Torchwick was hardly a threat without them, he looked too vulnerable. Normal even.

He raised his nose slightly, as if he were looking down on her. "When you have nothing left to lose, you begin to lose yourself."

The words were frighteningly daunting. Ruby felt an overwhelming wave of chills engulf her body. What did he even mean? He always spoke in riddles that it was maddening. Her eyebrows furrowed together, feeling her skin crease on the bridge of her noise.

She had to say something.

But once she opened her mouth, the echoing sounds of footsteps drowned out her words. Dread piled up inside her gut, creating endless nerve-racking knots in her stomach because those footsteps, were far too familiar. Her attention was snapped up by the darkness behind the bars, to the passageway that led to the exit from their cell. Torchwick too, seemed to have frozen, turning his gaze whilst grinding his teeth against each other, waiting for whoever was coming.

The sharp echoes of glass sounded across the passage, its familiar - Clink. Clink. Clink.

Ruby felt her throat dry up, her heartbeat raced so fast until she could feel her pulse in her eardrums. Sharp feelings of anxiety stabbed at her stomach as she gripped onto her blanket.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Before even a shadow could appear, the first detail to take in was the ever-radiant orange and yellow glow of her markings. And worse, as Ruby forced her eyes to trail upwards, she was faced with a pair of glowing amber eyes, fire burning within them.

Cinder Fall, had arrived.

Excite!

I hope Roman was 'in character' enough o.O RWBY episodes aren't long enough to get to know the character's really well :-( only downside.

Thank you for the reviews! They get me fired up :D

frik1000: I swear I need to re-read my work at least a hundred times. That line does sound horrible now! Sorry! Also I'm so used to writing 'the World' in normal stories that I subconsciously referred Remnant as 'the Remnant'. I'll do my best to avoid this! Thank you for the praise! What happened in Remnant will be revealed chapter by chapter instead of all at once :-)

GateMasterGreen: Thank you for reading and for the lovely comment! I hope my story can prove to be some form of entertainment for non RomanxRuby readers.

Foxtrot Agent 21: Thank you, I'm glad you're so interested! :-) I'll update when I can but I won't give up on this story anytime soon! (Hopefully won't give up at all!)

Thank you UNknown123 for your review too.

Til next time! Reviews are greatly appreciated! x