Ruby XVI

Cinder, Jaune, and I were seated in front of the Headmaster's desk. The three of us had been called to his office in order to discuss the happenings at the library last night, so naturally we told him everything. I found Jaune's retelling of events to be reductive, inaccurate, and not at all worth listening to, but I still let him say his piece. Then Cinder said hers, and finally I gave him my version of the story.

"Everytime something stupid happens around here, one of you three has something to do with it. Why is that?"

"What? I've been a model student ever since I started attending lectures again." Cinder said.

"Model students don't murder their classmates. And don't think I've forgotten about you and your fake letter of recommendation, Sir Arc. Were it not for me personally intervening on your behalf, the board of magistrates would have had you expelled! And this is the thanks you show me!?" Ozpin was shouting and a vein on the side of his neck began to throb. I had never seen him that angry before.

"With all due respect, my Lord, what could we have possibly done to avoid fighting them? They came into the room with thirty men and threatened everyone inside. We had to do something," said Jaune.

"Yes, and you decided to do something stupid! You should've ran and found help. The next time something like that happens go looking for me, or one of the professors. You want to help with serious matters? Well that's how you ought to do it. If anything had gone wrong that night you'd be dead, do you understand?"

"It feels like I've been dead my whole life, only last night did I truly begin to live,"

"This is why I hate talking with young men. You lot are filled with piss and vinegar; and false courage to boot. If I were a less patient man I'd have a gruesome punishment in store for you, Sir Arc. You know not how lucky you are to have encountered me in my advanced age. Time cools the temper, as you'll learn soon enough," Ozpin said, immediately contradicting himself. He sure was yelling a lot for someone whose temperament had simmered down with age. In all likelihood he was the same brash man he was before, only now his position as Beacon's headmaster required a certain degree of tact. "And what do you think of all of this, Ruby? I've already given you a major conduct warning before and you fulfilled the stipulations of your punishment without complaint. In fact you clean chimneys quite well. That being said, this will be your second major conduct warning. What do you think should happen when I give you your third?"

"Are you asking me to pick my own punishment, M'lord?"

"Indeed I am,"

"The student handbook says that anyone who receives three major warnings gets sent home. So, if I ever do receive a third warning, I think expulsion would be the most fitting punishment," Everyone seemed shocked, but I meant what I said. The way Weiss talked about me yesterday was disgusting. The idea of someone obsessing over me like I was some kind of doll or necklace was infuriating. I wanted to be a hero, not some Lady's odd fixation. That is to say nothing of how she talked about my friends. If being special means being placed above the people I care about then I want no part in it. I'm nothing special so I asked him to punish me just like he would anyone else.

Ozpin only laughed though. God, I hated that smug little laugh of his, light and airy it was, like he knew something that no one else did.

"Are you sure? You could pick anything for your punishment, and I do mean anything. You could even choose to forgo it entirely,"

"That isn't what I want. If the rules say that a third strike means expulsion, then that's what I want to happen,"

"I see, that's a novel perspective. I've never offered this to anyone else before, but I'd imagine that most students would take me up on the offer and propose a lighter punishment for themselves,"

"You think to little of young hunters, my Lord,"

"Perhaps I do," he chuckled, "Though I must ask what you plan to do when I issue your third warning and command you to pack your bags? You'll never see any of your friends again, you know that right?"

"I do not intend to receive a third warning,"

"But what if you do?"

"I won't," my face felt hot and for a moment I feared that I may start to cry. I hated crying, but I could hardly help it. Oz was pushing all of my buttons.

"Well, you two should consider yourselves lucky to have made a friend like Ruby Rose. Because of her willingness to accept the consequences of her actions, even when given the chance to avoid such responsibilities, you, Cinder Fall and Sir Arc, will be spared any punishment. No infractions will be issued against you and you can continue on at Beacon in good standing. Be sure to thank her for being the only one of the three of you who's willing to act like a leader," Ozpin commanded us to leave his office.

Before we left, Cinder asked to borrow one of the books from his shelf. He obliged and we saw ourselves out. Cinder was focused on her new book, but Jaune wasted no time disparaging the emerald lord once we were out of earshot.

"That old man must be going senile. If we didn't fight back the damage would have been worse,"

"The building was completely destroyed. I don't see how it gets much worse than that,"

"How about the lives of the students that would have been lost that night? If we had fled, who would have protected them?"

"Jaune, do you have any idea where we are right now?"

"Where are you going with this?" He asked, confused.

"This school of ours is no ordinary place of learning, it's a breeding ground for future killers. I see your point, but you have to see things from the headmaster's perspective as well. If those students could not fend for themselves under the pressure of such a mild threat, then they'd be no good as hunters. Ergo, Oz wouldn't want anything to do with them,"

"That was no mild threat! You and I know that better than anyone, we were there. They almost killed you. We fought for hours and left The Brothers with wounds so grievous that many of them surely succumbed to sepsis, or some other grizzly fate. That night, we killed. We took people's lives. Does that sound like a mild threat to you?"

"No, but to him it most certainly is. That's the difference," Our aimless walk had led us to the courtyard where I dueled with Cardin. What ever happened to him? Eh, bugger the thought. Anyways, Jaune held his hand out in front of him to catch the falling snow. The icy flakes were coming down slowly today, like cold bits of powder. Cinder tried to say something to him, I can't remember what, but he didn't even acknowledge what she said. Instead he fell to his knees in the snow.

"Is that it then? Is killing all we have to look forward to once we graduate?"

"I'm afraid so," Said Cinder.

"That's funny, when they tell you what it means to be a hero nobody ever seems to mention all the blood. I can only imagine how many lives my clan has taken, and for what; for honor? For murals? Could any of that really replace even a single human life?"

"No doubt there's an Atlesian trader somewhere who could tell you," I joked.

"Ruby!" Cinder elbowed me in the arm and I shut my mouth. Jaune was clearly having a moment and I was more than willing to give him the space he needed to process everything he had heard that day. He just didn't seem to get it. Hunters negotiated with Death on a daily basis, exchanging pieces of ourselves for more time, until there was nothing left to barter.

Jaune got up from his knees. Cinder offered him a hand, but he declined. He didn't really seem to be in the mood to deal with either of us.

"No thank you, I'm fine. There's something I have to do right now,"

"Can't it wait?"

"No, I'm afraid it can't. Thank you, Cinder, for trying to help me stand, but as I am now I can't accept your kindness. There are parts of me that must be put to the sword. Please pray for me, I beg you, pray that when next you see me I will be a different man,"

"I think the man you are now is already plenty decent,"

"Thank you, but I have to go," He started to walk off but then I remembered something.

"Jaune!" I called, "Is it really true what Oz said? Did you really forge a letter to get into Beacon?"

"I did much more than that. I lied during every step of the process and created fake documents to support the lies I told them. The only time I told the truth was when they asked me for my name," and with that he was gone. He made way in some odd direction and neither of us bothered to follow him.

That left just the two of us. I soon realized that Cinder was even more stunning in the snow. The way it caught in her raven hair and clung to it in small wafers was adorable. A faint, rosey blush came about her cheeks, a response to the cold no doubt.

"Do you always have to be so mean to him?" She asked.

"I wouldn't have to be mean if he wasn't always acting so dramatic,"

"You can be pretty dramatic yourself, you know. It's a little ironic to write him off because of that,"

"Well what am I supposed to say? He wanted to be a hunter so badly that he lied to get accepted here, but then he goes and acts surprised at the fact that warriors are expected to kill people. Can't you see he's being dumb?'

"Perhaps, but can't we also agree that killing people isn't easy. It's not the same as finishing a Grimm. My memories of my old life haven't come back yet, and I'm beginning to think they never will, but last night when I saw what I had done, it was like I had taken a life for the first time all over again. It felt like the room was spinning and I could hardly stand. Jaune's reaction makes sense to me so please try to show some compassion. Surely you remember how you felt when you first killed a man,"

"Last night was my first time,"

"No," It was the only word that slipped past her lips, the only thing she could manage to say. I could do little more than look at her. Oh, Cinder, my lost lady, far from home and yet ever near to my heart, there are so many things I wish I could tell you, and sadly none of them are lies. I wanted so badly to be able to lie to her that day, to say that I had the misfortune of having to take several lives in the past and that that was why I was unphased. Instead I told her the truth and I still regret it.

"It's true. The man who tried to hurt the girl in the library was the first person I ever killed. My second was the fool who had accompanied him, he refused to yield so I didn't have a choice,"

"And you're not bothered by any of that?"

"Of course I'm bothered! I'm bothered by the fact that The Brothers think they can use violence to intimidate people on school grounds. What bothers me is how this city becomes a more perilous place with each passing day and how the prospect of any lasting peace has practically vanished,"

"And what of the men we killed? You don't feel bad for them? I can tell just by the look in your eyes that something worries you so don't lie,"

"Perhaps I do mourn for them, but if I got placed in the same situation again I would make the same choices. Though I suppose I would try not to get shot in the leg again. The way I see it I was given a choice between the lives of you and our friends and the lives of some cretins I don't even know. I chose you, and I'd do it again too. If that makes me a villain in your eyes I'm sorry,"

"No, that's not it, it's just… I don't know," Cinder trailed off. I gave her a hug.

"I know things have been hard lately. Life is something we should try to protect, but things rarely seem to work out that way," Tears ran down her face, falling on top of my head, and I stained her coat with mine. The two of us stood there in the cold for a while, I don't even remember how long we were there for exactly, but neither of us were eager to leave.

Eventually I managed to peel myself off of her and suggested we visit Tyrain. At first she was confused and didn't really understand why. Since Ozpin had put bounties on the heads of every member of The Brothers Grimm, Tyrian was probably nervous. It was the perfect time to try to extort him for information and favors.

Luckily for us Cinder remembered the location of their secret hideout. The Brothers were operating out an abandoned dust factory that had been shut down for its excessive use of child workers. The place had gone to the dogs and they had picked it clean of every bit of dust it had. There was no one inside. The only person we managed to find was Tyrian himself, pacing back and forth in the basement.

Emerald and Mercury were there as well, pestering him about payments for some job I knew nothing about.

"All I'm saying is you should pay us before you flee the city. You say your word is good, but how can we know that you'll ever return to Beacon? For that matter, you coming back in one piece isn't even on the table. You and your men were far too hasty and now Ozpin is out for blood,"

"You would have me pay you for a job you left unfinished?"

"You never told us what you wanted us to do! You only ever told Cinder and she was always vague about the details with us. Now that her memories are gone there's no way to know what you asked of us. So just give us our money already!"

"Again, I can't pay you for something you never did. At any rate, what's all this about Cinder? Are you saying she has amnesia?"

"Indeed he is," Cinder said, "I can't remember anything. I'm surprised that I even remember this place to begin with. Although, if I search my memories, if I really look, I can vaguely recall your face. And your eyes, those silver eyes, I remember those especially well,"

"I see,"

"Now that I have a closer look though, I can tell your eyes aren't all silver. They're half silver, like a silver and gold mix. Ruby, is Tyrian a cousin of yours? You two are the only people I know with eyes even approaching such a fabulous color,"

"Oh no, he's no cousin of mine, though I must admit I am quite smitten with him. And what I love most about him are those eyes of his," I lied. Maintaining that charade got harder as time passed. By that point I was exhausted with the whole thing. He may have been named after a shade of purple, but Tyrian's life would soon end in a splotch of red.

"You two are lovers?" She asked, incredulous.

"More or less,"

"Well… you two ought to be wary of unknowingly committing incest, what with the uncanny resemblance," Cinder seemed sad. The idea of me and Tyrian being together upset her. At the time I wasn't sure why, but the reason became clear later.

"Could we please be serious? The strongest hunter in all of Vale has marked me for death. I'm living on borrowed time, my friends!"

"And whose fault is that?" Emerald and Mercury said in unison. They were both frustrated with how in sync they were with each other. Their sibling-esque banter had a tendency to give way to moments like that. Rest assured, neither of them were ever happy about it. Cinder and I got a good laugh out of it, so all's well that ends well.

"Look I know I overplayed my hand last night, but it wasn't my fault. We were mislead! It was the spriggan girl who set us up that night. She fed lies to our informants through a series of proxies and convinced us that the stone was in the library. With how much foot traffic that place sees, it was only a matter of time before someone else found it, we had to act!"

"All this for a rock? I'm afraid I don't understand, sir,"

"Please don't toy with me, my Lady. Can't you remember even a single word of what we discussed?" Tyrian said. Since when the hell was Cinder a lady? I suppose it was possible that she was always nobility and the rest of us just didn't know it. She was Tyrian's friend before she even knew any of us. However, if she was a girl of noble birth then I would have probably already known about her. I was well read on the topic of Vale's noble clans and on no family tree did the name Cinder Fall appear.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember any of what you told me. It took a great deal of effort to even remember your face, and please refrain from calling 'your ladyship,'"

"So it really is true then, you've lost all of your memories,"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," Emerald shouted, "but you refuse to listen,"

"Tell me, Cinder, do you recall the prophecy of the three kings? It was written in the days of Salem and Ozymandius, back before light had left the isles and The Masked God was still with us,"

"No, I haven't,"

"Then it would be my honor to regale you with the tale. I first heard the story from a traveling merchant who sold pots and pans. If any of this begins to sound familiar, stop me. The Masked God created four races of men back on the isles. First came the Spriggans, then the Faunus, next were the Giants, and last came the humans, made in his image, or so the legend goes. The firstborn among each race was given a noble title and appointed king of their people: four races, four kings. One day, each king received a dream in the night. All of them saw the same thing. In their shared dream a star fell from the heavens and bled all the way down. The shimmering trail of blood fell to the earth along with its body and guided lost people to green pastures. No one knew what it meant at the time, except perhaps for the Giantlord, who abdicated his throne soon after receiving the vision, a most cowardly act indeed. For that reason, most people these days refer to it as the prophecy of three kings,"

"That's an interesting story, but that's all it is. It's just a story, sir,"

"No, my Lady, it was all real, down to the last detail. Pieces of that fallen star are still around today,"

"That can't be true. If that story is real then why are the four races so divided? Isn't the blood of the star supposed to lead lost people back on the right path?" I said, careful to keep my mask from slipping, so to speak.

"Ah, bold of you to assume stars can bleed. No, my dear, the blood must come from somewhere else," Tyrian always seemed right at home when he was telling stories and weaving tall tales.

"It's certainly an interesting story. Do you have any proof?"

"Just look into my eyes, then you'll know if I'm lying. It will all be clear in a second, provided your feelings for me are genuine,"

"Oh, I don't know if I could do something like that, there's people around,"

"It will only take a second, just look into my eyes for a bit," He sat down on a table so that the two of us were roughly eye level with each other. I didn't know he was clever enough to put me in a trap. Dammit all! Damn! Damn! Damn!

I didn't even have the slightest clue what he was talking about. How would staring into his eyes convince me of anything? Did he think himself so handsome that anyone would believe whatever he said so long as they got a good look at him? The whole situation was absurd, but if I couldn't do it my entire scheme would fall apart.

It was stupid, but what other choice did I have? I got close and stared. All of my focus was on his eyes. That was only for a moment though. After a while of looking into his eyes the world around me began to fade away. And no, I don't mean to imply that the world around me was fading away in a romantic, or metaphorical, sense. Like I've said before, I would kill myself if I ever found myself growing genuinely attracted to Tyrian. No, no, what was happening was that the world around me was literally shifted into something completely different. "Do you see it?" Tyrian asked, his voice seeming to come from every direction at once

"Tyrian, stop it!" He was beginning to scare me.

"No, just watch. See for yourself what is to come,' That was when things began to become a bit more clear. The new world around me came into clear focus and I saw the events that were described in the prophecy of the four kings. The night sky was a lovely ebon sea, punctuated by bright lights. The cosmos seemed to be more lovely than I had ever seen them. In the midst of all of that one light shined much brighter than the others. Its color was an icy blue color and behind it was a long streak of red, slashing through the night like a knife. As it passed overhead, its glow made me realize that I wasn't alone.

Hundreds of people were around me following my every step in close throngs. When I looked back to behold the size of the crowd that had gathered a few things became clear to me. For one, the number of people in the crowd was enormous. Surely there must have been enough people there to make up an entire city. Hundreds of thousands of people were there. And second, all of them looked miserable. Every person was clothed either in simple rags or wore no clothes at all. The gaunt looks on their faces told me that their nudity was not by choice. Women carried babes who had withered into little more than swaddled corpses and Men wept bitter tears as they marched. All of them had their eyes fixed on the falling star.

When I awoke I was unsure of whether or not I was truly back in the world I knew. Cinder was holding me in her arms, the frantic beating of her heart snapped me back to reality. I must admit, however, that I neglected letting anyone know that I was awake for a few seconds longer than I should have, for the sole purpose of laying my head against her chest just a little while longer.

"How?" I asked, mumbling into Cinder's breasts.

"Ruby!" She was happy to see me back alive, that made my heart skip a beat or two. Emerald and Mercury, likewise, breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that I was, in fact, still alive. If Tyrian wanted to make people less suspicious of him and his stories, this certainly was an odd way to do it.

"Tyrian! How did you do that? What did you just do to me!"

"Haven't you heard? People with silver eyes can share memories with each other. It's a very simple trick, I could show you how to do it sometime later if you're interested, but that's a matter for another day," He knelt down to where we were and asked, "Did you see it?"

"Yes, it was more like a nightmare than a dream, but I did in fact see it,"

"And what did you think?"

"Y-you said," I stammered, "that people with silver eyes can share memories, didn't you?"

"What of it?"

"I think I want to know who showed you that vision? If your words are to be believed, then this vision of the falling star was first seen over four thousand years ago on the Isle of Lamoors. In order for it to get to you, there would have to be an uninterrupted line of silver eyed hunters, dating back thousands of years, passing down the memory of this dream from one mind to another. So who was it? Who revealed these awful sights to you," If he even so much as alluded to it being my mother I was going to kill him, right then and there.

I was tired of his games by that point, tired of everything. With blood already on my hands another kill would mean nothing. Say the words you bastard, do it! Do it! Show me your true face, monster! Speak, and speak fast, so that I can make you regret wearing the guise of a man for as long as you did! Oh, how I wanted to kill him, even if I didn't have the strength to do it. With the last of the air in my lungs I would curse his name, of that I am certain. So, as ridiculous as it may seem, I wanted him to say it. If he said her name, that would've made my day, but he didn't.

Instead Tyrian just rambled on about some silver eyed giant he met several years ago in Vacuo who sold him a set of butter knives. I asked him if he ever knew my mother, Summer Rose, but all he did was give me dumb look like he was confused or something. By that point I was done with all of this and wanted to go home. First my day starts with that big green bastard Ozpin yelling at me in his high tower and then I had to talk to Tyrian and treat him as though he wasn't completely fucking stupid. No, I'd had just about enough. Wordlessly, I picked myself up and began to leave.

"Wait, Ruby, wait, aren't you going to lend me a hand? What about the bounty on my head? You know they're going to kill me right!?"

"Good riddance. You've been a thorn in my side ever since the day we met," I could hardly believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. My cover was completely blown and I, in so little words, had given the game away.

I let it slip that I didn't really care about Tyrian. However, to my surprise he wasn't mad. I guess one could have described the expression of his face as morose, shocked even.

"Ruby, please, you have to help me. The fallen star is here, it landed somewhere in Beacon. Please if you just help me find it I can leave this place in peace, I beg you,"

"And then what, will you put it back in the sky?"

"No, nothing of the sort, I was just going to sell it. Once I got my hands on enough money I planned on living a relaxed life, cuddling with some comely maiden on a beach somewhere. Sometimes, when I envisioned that dream of mine, the comely maiden was you, but I guess that's off the table now isn't it?"

"You're awfully disrespectful for a man with a bounty on his head,"

"Whatever do you mean? I'm just a man who speaks his mind because he's confident in his strength. Even the four of you together couldn't take me,"

"You should be able to leave just fine on your own then. If that's all you wanted then I'm afraid I must take my leave, good luck, sir, hope you manage to keep your head on your shoulders. By the way, Ozpin can stop time so have fun dealing with that," I tried to finally leave, but that little idiot stopped me, again!

"Ruby, Ruby! I know I've been a nuisance and I know that I may not have made things easy for you, but please! I've never asked you for anything, please. I must have the star before I can leave this place. If you would just help me find it, if you could bring it to me, then I would leave. I would be out of your hair in an instant. What do you say? Can you pretend to care for me one last time?"

"I'll think about it," I said, lying. The four of us left his dank little haunt and made way for home. Tyrian could die for all I cared. He killed my mother, so him disappearing forever and him being put in the ground were basically one in the same to me. Whether he lived and never showed his face again or died tomorrow, what difference did it make? Either way he would be gone so there was no reason for me to help him. In a sense, I had won. Tyrian had been routed and, even if I didn't have any proof, I knew for a fact that he killed my mom. I could see it in his eyes.

My only regret was how little I had to do with him finding himself in such a bind. Sadly, it feels as though Tyrian would have been put in a tight spot like this regardless of whether or not I had done anything. Oh well.

However, I noticed that something had slipped out of Cinder's coat and fallen into the snow while we were all walking. I went and picked it up and handed it to her. It was the book that she had been reading earlier, the one that she had gotten from Ozpin: To The Stars From Blood it was called, such a grim title. I liked her a lot, but Cinder was a strange girl.

"Thanks, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost this. Ozpin would have been so mad," She laughed, "I always had a fascination with stars and constellations, so when I saw this book in Ozpin's collection I just had to ask him to let me borrow it!"

"Was this the only book on the stars you saw on his shelf?"

"Oh no, he had several options for me to pick from, I only chose this particular book because the title was so eerie. It sounds like something a cruel king or maybe a mad poet would write, don't you think?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself,"

"Thanks!" Cinder was really happy to have her book back, but our conversation raised eyebrows. Was Tyrian right? He said that the star of the four kings landed somewhere in the area where Beacon was built, long ago, and Ozpin just so happens to own dozens of books about stars. That's suspicious.

On top of that Cinder seemed to be subconsciously drawn to the book, compelled by a supposed lifelong interest in the subject despite the fact that she had amnesia. It was an interesting situation to say the least. However, if the fallen star was real, then perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone. If I could get my hands I'd have a lot of power over Tyrian, perhaps I could even get him to confess. Either way, if that thing is real, better it be in my hands than his. At any rate, that was a problem for another day.

We dropped off Mercury and Emerald at the mortuary. Cinder offered to walk me home.

"Can I hold your hand?" The question came out of my mouth as natural as the breath in my chest. I didn't hesitate to ask her, not even for a second.

"Of course, it's awfully cold out,"

"Right, this should help keep our hands warm, but that's not why I asked. I just wanted to hold your hand,"

"Really?"

"Yes, I just really like the way you smile and some of the things you do. I'll be honest, your jaunty little mannerisms, and some of the odd things you do, have made this past month a lot more bearable," I laughed.

"What do you mean 'the odd things you do'!? I'm not odd! You're the odd one, laughing at people's suffering and macabre things like that," Cinder's was clearly a bit miffed at what I said, but it was all in good fun. And besides it was all true so what did it matter?

"You got a point, I guess I'm kind of a rotten woman, but I really did mean what I said. You've been the only thing keeping me going for a while now. I just wanted to say thank you for being by my side. If there's anything I can do to repay you for your kindness please let me know,"

"Think nothing of it! You saved my life after all, if anything I should be thanking you,"

"I don't care about that, that's in the past. The fact is you've been helping me right now, in the present, and I want to repay you,"

"You want to pay me back that badly?"

"Yes, desperately so,"

"Well then, I can't think of anything you could do for me at the moment, but maybe later tonight you'll be able to come up with something," She gripped my hand a little tighter. It's not like it hurt, but it certainly made her intentions clear. Cinder was beautiful and I liked her a lot, but I wasn't ready for what she was proposing.

I had no interest in men, for the most part, so laying with women seemed like the next best option. However, with me being a virgin, the thought of being intimate with another person, of being naked with them, of sharing sweat and fluids, and who knows what else with them, it irked me.

Although she walked me to my door that night, I couldn't find the wherewithal to kiss her. After thanking her, I returned to my empty dorm, and crawled into bed. That night I held my pillow tightly.