The moon hung high in the night sky, its light reflecting off the curve of Ruby's scythe. The night was quiet, and more or less peaceful as she sat beside the dying embers of the campfire she and Cinder had cooked their dinner on not too long ago. She never really liked being on watch, it was a necessity when camping out in the wilderness, but all the same spending so much time alone with her thoughts wasn't always pleasant. So easy for her to start getting lost in unpleasant memories, or worse, in fears of the future.

Whether it be the mistakes of her past, or consequences to come for mistakes she was making right now, it seemed like there was always something for her to beat herself up over all night long. A small sigh drifted out of her mouth. As much as she loved her sister, loved all her teammates, and her other friends, a part of her really wasn't looking forward to meeting back with all of them. She was... scared of how they would all react. To Cinder, to her for being by Cinder's side.

She always did her best to banish those thoughts when they came up, to focus on happier things. Things like… Cinder calling her a cute girl back at that last town they'd stayed at. A dusting of pink settled on her cheeks at the thought. That'd quickly become a favourite distraction of hers, in the nights since then.

It was just a really nice feeling all around. She didn't exactly get compliments based on her appearance often, and the few times she could remember were all just her sister or Dad trying to encourage her. Not that she didn't appreciate those, but there was always a sense that they were just saying it to make her feel better, rather than it being a legitimate compliment. Coming from Cinder though, and stated so matter of factly, it felt really genuine. It was very… affirming to know Cinder saw her that way, made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Made her feel like a cute girl. She couldn't help giggling a little. It was a nice way to feel.

As she sat and thought, Ruby's gaze drifted across their small campsite, eventually settling on Cinder's sleeping form. Actually sleeping, which was something of a rarity. Cinder didn't sleep much, Ruby had noticed over the course of their time together. Not that it was particularly hard to pick up on. When it was Ruby's shift on watch, and her turn to sleep, Cinder would just lay awake, motionless on her bedroll. Only occasionally would she drift off, and even then it was brief, always ending with her waking with a noticeable start. It was a little worrying, and Ruby always wondered if she should try saying something, but at the same time Cinder very clearly seemed to not want to discuss it. Still… whatever was affecting her, it mustn't be easy to bear.

At the very least though, right now Cinder seemed a lot more peaceful than usual. It was something, even if it might not have really meant much. She let her eyes drift back up to the sky, to the shattered moon and the blanket of stars hanging so high above them. That was at least one nice thing about being on watch, the night sky looked pretty amazing out here, so far from the kingdoms. That was a comforting thought, in a way, being far away from the kingdoms. It'd be a long time yet before that meeting she was dreading actually had to happen. In the meantime, she could just focus on this one little journey, keep everything nice and simple. Just her and Cinder, and the road they had to travel. Easy, when she put it like that, when she ignored everything else.

As Ruby continued to stare up at the heavens, she gradually became aware of the increasingly loud sound of Cinder's breath. It had been soft and even just a few moments before, yet now it had very quickly become rapid, shaky, and stilted. When Ruby looked down, she was met with the sight of Cinder gradually starting to toss and turn. It was only a little at first, but quickly ramped up, the maiden shaking her head back and forth almost violently.

Alarmed, Ruby shot up to her feet, only to pause almost immediately. What could she do? What should she do? Cinder having nightmares was something she'd noticed before, but it had never been like this. This seemed like so much more, more intense, more painful. It was clear that she needed help, but what? Should Ruby try to wake her? Try to restrain her in case she hurt herself? Would those just make things worse? Would Cinder get angry at her if she tried anything? But she couldn't just ignore her, could she?

As Ruby stood there, plagued by indecision, Cinder's breathing turned to pained gasps, as if she couldn't get enough air. Cursing her hesitation, Ruby raced over to Cinder, arriving at her side just in time to almost get smacked in the face by Cinder's hand when it suddenly shot out into the air, clawing at something that wasn't there.

Vaguely, Ruby remembered getting told that it was a bad idea to wake someone during an episode like this, so she settled for instead reaching out and taking Cinder's hand into her own, holding it firmly, and placing her other on Cinder's shoulder, trying to stop her from flailing about too much. "It's alright Cinder, I'm here, it's alright," she murmured softly, hoping that her voice might offer some level of comfort. It'd helped during some of the other times Cinder was panicking, although she wasn't exactly conscious to hear right now.

It seemed to work, at least a little. Cinder's movements calmed a touch, although she was still gasping raggedly through it all. Her lone eye was squeezed tightly shut, like she was in great pain, and as she looked closer Ruby was able to notice a thin stream of tears trailing out of it.

The sight was enough to send a sympathetic pang wailing through Ruby's heart, and without thinking she reached a hand up to Cinder's cheek, cupping it and swiping the tears away with her thumb. What surprised her, though, was that Cinder leaned into her touch, those gasps for air turning into some kind of pained whimper as Cinder sought out whatever comfort she could find.

It only lasted for the briefest of moments, however, before Ruby felt Cinder's movements still. Then, that golden eye shot wide open, staring up at Ruby in confusion at first, quickly giving way to something more horrified as Cinder pushed herself up and scrambled away, putting some distance between the two.

"I- what-" it almost looked as if Cinder couldn't quite decide what emotion to feel in that moment, a part of her still seemed to be panicked from whatever nightmare had been tormenting her sleep, a part of her just seemed to be confused, a part was mortified that Ruby had seen her like that, and yet another seemed like it might be angry at Ruby for trying to help her. "What the hell were you doing?" was the response she eventually managed to spit out.

"Cinder," Ruby did her best to sound placating, "I'm sorry, it seemed like you were having a pretty bad dream, I just wanted to help you. Are you okay?"

Cinder stared at Ruby for a few moments, then tore her gaze away. Her breathing was still uneven, shaky, and as Ruby looked more closely it became clear that she was ever so slightly trembling. "It was nothing, forget about it."

A slight frown curled the edges of Ruby's lips. She could definitely understand the feeling of not wanting to talk about something like this, of not wanting to acknowledge the things that tormented her sleep and kept her awake at night. All the same though, she could see how much this was affecting Cinder, how painful it was for her. Ruby couldn't bring herself to ignore something like that. Especially when the one suffering was… was someone she cared about.

Carefully, Ruby shuffled forward, closing the distance between her and Cinder. Cinder eyed her suspiciously the whole while, but refrained from commenting. Soon the two were more or less face to face, Cinder curled in on herself in a loose ball, and Ruby on her knees, hands wringing in nervousness that she was doing her best to clamp down on. She really truly wanted to help Cinder with this, with everything, but at the same time understood that Cinder didn't exactly like accepting help; that went doubly so when it came to a problem as personal as this. She really didn't want to mess this up, was scared of pushing Cinder away even a little, but she was determined to try nevertheless.

She did her best to swallow that nervousness down; what Cinder needed right now was someone confident, someone she could find comfort in, not an unsure mess. "It doesn't seem like nothing," she kept her voice soft and gentle, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Cinder shot a glare at Ruby that was probably meant to be intimidating, and might've been if it wasn't for the state that she was still in. "Of course I'm sure," she snapped.

It shouldn't be surprising that it wouldn't be that easy to get her to open up. Still, Ruby knew that she wanted to do something, anything for Cinder. Maybe starting small would be the right course, pushing harder when she was clearly already hurting would do no good, so for now Ruby should just focus on being there for her and easing into it. "Well… would it be alright if I just sat with you for a bit? Until you feel a little better?"

For a moment it looked as if Cinder might object to even that, but then her expression seemed to soften just a little. "You can do what you want," she murmured eventually, curling in on herself just a little more.

With a careful nod, Ruby shifted around so that she was sitting beside Cinder. Their shoulders were just barely brushing against one another, and for a short time they just sat, each staring into the softly glowing embers of their campfire. Ruby struggled to get her thoughts into order, to figure out what to say, while beside her Cinder struggled to get her body under control, to even out her breathing and to stop trembling.

It took Ruby more than a little by surprise when she realised that at some point, Cinder had started leaning against her. It was only slight, but all the same Ruby shifted to better support her. "Are you okay, Cinder?" Ruby asked eventually, her voice tender and laced with worry so thick that she couldn't possibly hide it, even if she wanted to.

"It was just a nightmare," Cinder replied with a quiet sigh, "I have them all the time. I can handle it on my own."

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to."

She scoffed at that. "You don't understand."

"I know I don't, Cinder, but," Ruby paused for a moment, feeling a pang of hesitance, but forced herself to continue, "I want to understand. I want to understand you, what you're going through, what you've done. I don't want to force you, if you really don't feel comfortable talking, but I can see how much this is hurting you so," she carefully reached over, resting her hand atop Cinder's, "I want to help you, if you'll let me."

Cinder pulled her hand away as if on instinct, her body tensing slightly, then relaxing after a few seconds. "Ruby…" she stared into the fire as her voice trailed off, her expression dark and unreadable. "The truth is I'm being selfish. If I talked to you about this, you'd realise how wrong you were to ever give me a chance. But… I guess you deserve to know what I really am."

When Cinder's lone eye hesitantly flicked over to meet Ruby's twin silver, Ruby gave a small nod of encouragement. "I'll listen to whatever you have to say, but I don't think anything will make me think I was wrong about you."

A small smile found its way onto Cinder's face at that, however briefly. "You're far too trusting for your own good," she murmured, maybe just a little fondly, as she looked back to the dying fire. "Where to start…"

She was quiet for a few moments after that, then carefully leaned forward and raised a hand towards those remaining embers. With a flash, the fire sprang back to life, its heat washing over the two women. It took a moment for Ruby's eyes to adjust to the new light, but soon she was greeted by the sight of Cinder, face pensive and troubled, awash in the flickering glow of the flames.

"I grew up in Mistral," Cinder eventually began to speak, each and every word seeming like a struggle to force out, "On a farm, that was also kind of an orphanage, I guess. I never knew my family, my earliest memories are from when I was already there. There were lots of us, kids, there, and not much to go around. I was small, scrawny, and unpopular, so I tended to get the smallest portions of food, and get all the worst jobs shoved my way. The adults who ran the place never really seemed to care what happened, as long as we stayed more or less in line."

Cinder paused a moment, seeming to collect her thoughts, and already Ruby wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in a comforting hug. She could tell, though, that this was only the beginning, and things were sure to get worse from here.

"Anyway, I was there for years, until I finally got the chance to leave. When I was around 10 a woman from Atlas came to visit, and out of everyone there, she chose to adopt me. At the time I was… excited, so happy, I thought… thought things might finally be good for me. I was going to have a new family, a new home, and I was going to live in the city of dreams. I was going to be happy, But uh, well, it didn't quite go like that."

This time when Cinder stopped, Ruby noticed her clenching her teeth shut, noticed her hand rolling up into a tight fist. On instinct, Ruby placed her hand up onto Cinder's shoulder, rubbing it gently. It made Cinder stiffen in surprise at first, but then quickly she softened, relaxing with the light contact.

"The madame who adopted me, she ran a hotel in Atlas. This big, fancy place. I was so impressed when I first got there, the biggest building I'd ever seen, everything so bright and shiny. Then, it turned out that she didn't adopt me because she wanted a daughter, but more because she wanted a worker. I had to clean the place, do the laundry, serve food, everything really. It was… hard. They hardly fed me, I was sleeping on the ground in a little storage room, there was always just so much work to do, and if I ever made a mistake she would… punish me," those last words Cinder barely managed to choke out, a sudden shudder running through her body.

Ruby could feel her body getting colder and colder with every word Cinder spoke. Even with just this abridged version of things she could imagine how bad it must've been, and all while Cinder was still just a child. "How…" Ruby spoke hesitantly, already dreading the answer, "How did she punish you?"

Cinder froze at the question, and almost seemed to shrink in on herself as she forced out an answer. "She made me… I had to wear a collar. It was laced with lightning dust, and she had a remote that would activate it. She'd shock me over and over, until I begged and grovelled."

"Oh, Cinder," Ruby's voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes, "I'm so sorry." It was just so horrible, so unfair.

"Don't!" Cinder growled dangerously, her sudden reaction making Ruby jump just a little. "Don't… don't look at me like that. Save it for someone who deserves it."

"Of course you-"

Ruby didn't get a chance to finish before Cinder cut her off, "No I don't!" Cinder rounded on Ruby as she spoke, "Why do you keep insisting that I'm something I'm not!? I'm… I've always been a monster, and no matter how hard you try to pretend, that's never going to change, so just stop. Just… just let me finish, and you'll understand."

Now that they were facing each other, Ruby could clearly see how much Cinder was struggling to hold it together. Her lower lip was trembling noticeably, even as she attempted to keep her mouth shut tight, and despite her apparent anger tears were streaming down from her lone eye. "Okay then, tell me the rest," Ruby kept her voice barely above a whisper, trying to be at least a little calming.

"Alright," Cinder paused and sucked in a deep, shaky, breath, before forcing herself to continue, "One day a huntsman named Rhodes came to visit the hotel. I saw him down in the lobby as I was cleaning, saw him showing off his weapons to the other guests, and I thought… thought that maybe, maybe if I had some way to defend myself I could… I don't know, fight back, escape, something. It was stupid, but all the same I snuck into his room that night and took one of his swords. He found me pretty quickly after, I thought that he'd hurt me, or turn me in to the madame, but instead… instead he gave me a chance. He gave me a way out. He started to train me to fight, and all I needed to do was stay strong until I was old enough to attend one of the huntsmen academies, and then I could be free."

A deep frown settled on Ruby's face at that, but she recognised that it would be best to keep her mouth shut, to not speak out until Cinder was done. All the same, this definitely didn't sit right with her.

"I tried, I really did but… I just wasn't strong enough. Wasn't good enough. Too weak and pathetic to make it. The madame found out about what I was doing with Rhodes, wanted to stop me, and… I couldn't take it anymore, I lashed out and killed her. And then, it just so happens that Rhodes came to visit that night, and saw what I'd done. I was so stupid, I actually thought that it was a good thing, that maybe now I could run away with him and be safe, but no." Cinder stopped short, then slowly buried her face in her hand. "He… finally saw me for what I was, and so drew his weapons to try and bring me down. And then I killed him too. And then I ran, and kept hurting and killing until Salem found me, made me hers, and… well, you know more or less what happened from there."

Ruby's mind in that moment was a tumultuous roil of emotions, and yet one feeling rose clear above all the others: horror. No-one should have to go through something like that, especially at such a young age. Perhaps the worst part was how true it all rang. It all fit so well with what Ruby knew of Cinder, made everything just… click into place. She didn't doubt for a second that it was all true, even if it was a very condensed version of events. And then on top of all of that, the way that Cinder seemed to blame herself for what happened, seemed to think she'd committed some unforgivable sin in what she'd done. It was horrifying.

Cinder glanced back to Ruby, and gave a sad smile on seeing the look on her face. "I guess I've finally managed to make you realise what I am."

With a start, Ruby realised that Cinder was taking the horror writ clear across her face as some kind of condemnation, and sprang to deny it. "Cinder, no," Ruby reached out, closing her hands once more around Cinder's, "You aren't a monster."

Slowly, Cinder's eye widened, and her shoulders sagged. "You heard what I said, didn't you? I killed them. I didn't have to, I just had to endure, but I couldn't and so I killed them. And… and I killed the one person who actually tried to help me."

"I don't care!" Ruby practically shouted back, righteous anger starting to well up in her chest. "None of that makes you a monster. You were a child who didn't deserve to go through any of that. The only monsters in that story were the people who put you through it all, and the person who didn't save you when he could've, who expected you to put up with that treatment for years, and who turned on you when you reacted like anyone would've."

"I- You- I don't-" Cinder stammered, until a massive sob wracked her body, accompanied by a fresh wave of tears streaming down her cheek. "You know what I've done, even aside from this. I just- I don't understand." It seemed that whatever floodgates had still been holding strong this whole time had properly come crashing down now, as more and more tears came pouring out of that lone golden eye.

Without a second thought, Ruby pulled Cinder into a tight hug, one that Cinder readily accepted. More and more sobs raced through Cinder as she buried her face deep into the soft fabric of Ruby's hood. All Ruby could do was hold her, speak to her softly, gently, "I'm not ignoring anything you've done, Cinder. At Beacon, at Haven, at Atlas, I remember all of it. But I think I understand it, better now than ever, and I still believe you can change. I still believe that you can heal, that you can be happy."

Cinder curled deeper into Ruby's embrace. She looked so vulnerable right now, more so than Ruby had ever seen before. There had been a handful of times on their journey so far when Cinder had let her guard down a little, when Ruby had caught glimpses of what lay behind those walls, but this was the first time she had laid herself so completely bare. "I'm… I'm scared," she sobbed out, voice muffled against Ruby, "Scared that I can't, that I'll just sink further, that I'll… hurt you, too."

Carefully, Ruby brought a hand up to Cinder's head, and began to slowly stroke her hair. "You can, Cinder. I know you can. And I promise that, whatever happens, I'll be with you every step of the way. I'll support you through it all. I promise"

They stayed pressed tightly together like that for the rest of the night. Even as Cinder's sobs slowed, and eventually stopped. Even as her breathing grew soft and even, and she slowly drifted off into a gentle sleep. Even as the sun gradually peaked over the horizon. Ruby never let go, and never stopped whispering that, over and over again. "I promise."