"Sniff."
The stacked timber within the hearth emitted a foreboding crackle, accompanied by flames that flirted with its periphery, menacingly poised to engulf it entirely. These flames pirouetted within the hearth, serving as the fifth source of illumination in a capacious chamber, where the flickering fire reigned supreme. Willow Schnee emitted a hiss as she endeavored to alleviate the pain emanating from her cheek by gently caressing it with her hand. Although her injury was already on the mend, the act of touching it elicited a lingering ache. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
Willow raised her wrist to delicately wipe away her tears. This marked the fifth instance in which her spouse had struck her, with each blow leaving her feeling increasingly despondent. The searing sensation of her skin, where his hand had made contact, still lingered. The pain persisted, haunting her psyche like a phantom limb. Her entire being felt akin to an extensive bruise, one that she knew would never heal properly.
It is not solely the physical harm that she endures, but also the constant belittlement that leaves her feeling devoid of worth. However, nothing could inflict a deeper wound upon her than the harsh truth she discovered five days ago: her marriage is a mere facade. When Jacques proposed to her, she was taken aback and, in her astonishment, she accepted. At that time, she was unaware of Jacques' true motives for wanting to marry her, but as their union progressed, she came to understand. Jacques married her solely to acquire the SDC from her father, delivering a profound emotional and psychological blow to Willow.
Consequently, she embarked on a gradual descent into alcoholism.
Willow reached for both the glass and her bottle of alcohol. She started towards her bed before sitting down, then poured herself a generous measure of the dark amber liquid before drinking it all down on her small glass. She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples with her palms; she wished she didn't have to resort to this. But this was her way of coping—washing away her deep state of depressive compliance in her unhappy marriage, having not bothered to do anything to better her life with Jacques. She hated herself.
Willow closed her eyes and lay down on her bed, allowing the alcohol to numb her nerves. The alcohol did little to ease the pain on her cheek but it always left a bitter aftertaste after she drank it. That being said, it wasn't completely useless. She knew how to drink enough to get drunk, and it felt good to drink something strong. She's almost tempted to pour down another one.
As the whiskey slid down her throat, she savored the sharp sting of it. Every sip felt like salvation as it flowed down her throat, cooling her soul in its passage. Willows's eyelids drooped slowly and she let the liquor warm her up from the inside out.
For a moment, she forgot about her miserable life, forgot about Jacques, who never seemed to care for her; she didn't even remember him slapping her.
Willow rolled over onto her side, facing the wall, and curled into a ball. She buried her face against her pillows to stifle sobs. Tears pricked her eyelids again as thoughts of what could have been if she hadn't married Jaques plagued her mind. Her body shook from the effort of suppressing her sobs, but she remained unmoving.
Willow's eyes opened.
Did she hear something just now?
It sounded like something heavy fell.
No, that can't be right. She must be hearing things.
Yeah, that's got to be it. Maybe it's just the side effect of her alcohol.
Right?
Willow turned her head towards the window to investigate. It was then she noticed the perceptible shift in the atmosphere.
The air was silent.
Willow shuddered. There was something off about the air tonight—something unnaturally ominous. She sat up slowly as she listened to the soundless air around her. There weren't any crickets playing music in the grass or owls hooting outside of her bedroom.
Willow's heart hammered against her ribcage. Her pulse throbbed. She didn't understand why it was so silent, but it was unnerving, so she decided to remain still while listening to the night around her. Willow slowly threw her legs over the edge of the bed before she firmly sat upon the mattress, the sole of her heels firmly planted against the floor as she stared ahead at the window in the room. Without another thought, she quickly made her way towards the window and stopped.
She gazed through the window and blinked in surprise. To her astonishment, just a few feet away from her window, there lay a black stone-like sarcophagus. Willow found herself frozen in shock, her eyes fixed incredulously upon the object that had seemingly materialized out of thin air. The sarcophagus rested upon the grass, concealing whatever lay within. The front of the stone and the sides of the sarcophagus were adorned with intricate red markings.
With a sense of curiosity overpowering her, Willow exited her room and approached the stone, unable to divert her gaze. Once she drew near enough, Willow attempted to decipher the inscription on the stone with the aid of her lantern, but alas, the symbols eluded her comprehension. None of the peculiar symbols were familiar to her. She ran her hand across the lid's surface to examine the markings. As her fingers traced the surface lightly, the markings suddenly glowed brightly.
Willow's breath caught, causing her to stop her actions mid-stride. The markings continued to glow, growing brighter in every second. A slight hiss blew from both sides of the sarcophagus as the pressure seal was broken, causing Willow to retreat several paces backward. She tried to peer through the cracks of the casket, but the aperture only allowed a glimpse of its interior.
The glowing markings vanished.
After taking a momentary break from gazing through the cracked entrance of the sarcophagus, Willow resumed her cautious trek toward the open mouth of the coffin. After another moment's pause, Willow placed both hands on the half-opened lid's sides and slowly pushed. Stone scraping against stone filled the air as she pushed the heavy lid wider apart. Said lid fell to the earth's floor with a thud. She peaked her head within the tomb.
Her eyes blinked with disbelief once more. Within the confines of the coffin, there lay…
A man.
The man in question was unclothed, a sight that immediately caused a flush of warmth to spread from Willow's neck to her cheeks. Furthermore, he possessed an impressive height, standing at approximately seven feet tall. His long, straight hair, a shade of dark gold, gracefully framed his noble facial structure. From what Willow could discern, his physique appeared to be well-built and muscular. Delicate scars adorned his cheek, nose, and brow, adding a touch of character to his countenance. Based on his appearance, she surmised that he was in his middle years, possibly in his early thirties.
His eyes were closed, and Willow deduced that he was obviously asleep. However, what truly strikes her is the fact that the slumbering man is terrifyingly handsome; he exudes an uncanny aura of invincibility and strength, embodying the essence of a formidable warrior. Willow observes the figure intently, completely captivated by his striking features. She cannot help but find him utterly fascinating. With utmost delicacy, Willow gently brushes back the long, thick locks of hair that cover his face using her index finger.
Her gaze follows the outline of his prominent cheekbones, descending gracefully from his chin. They are pronounced, yet possess a smooth shape. Willow traces them absentmindedly, her eyes gracefully following the contour of his angular jaw. Her gaze settles upon his full lips. He appears chiseled; she can imagine how firm they would feel upon hers. It brings goosebumps across her skin.
Willow paused.
Wait, what in the world is she doing?
She retracted her hand as fast as she had touched him. Willow retreated several steps away from the sarcophagus, turning away from it and cupping her cheeks in her hands. Thoughts began to appear in overdrive.
What am I thinking?! You found a man sleeping in his coffin and the first thing you do is touch him? Of course, he wouldn't want you to touch him, Willow! What is wrong with you?!
Willow bit her lip. Her cheeks flushed as a wave of self-loathing washed over her. She lowered her hands from her flushed cheeks and took a deep breath before exhaling deeply. She was getting too distracted; she needed to focus on the important matter at hand. To get some redemption for her sins, Willow tries to think about what to do next.
But Willow honestly couldn't think of anything. She wasn't sure how she should tackle this situation; should she tell Jaques? No, not a good idea. She can't take him to that man, especially him... that's a stupid thought in the first place. Not only would it be a horrible sight, but he might be taken off to some lab and experimented on or something just as equally horrible.
Should she tell Klein? He's loyal to her, pretty good at keeping secrets, and doesn't like Jaques just as much as she does. Now that she thinks about it, telling Klein might not be such a bad idea.
Willow looked over her shoulder and gasped.
The man was awake. Sitting upright in his position.
And he was staring directly at her.
Darkness was all William found himself surrounded in. There were no windows that he could see, not even in his most lucid moments and certainly not with the light of the full moon pouring through them. The void was absolute and it stretched on forever as far as he could see. And that wasn't including how deep and dark it was because nothing could be seen beyond the very edge of where he stood.
William looked around. He had no idea what to expect. It was like there weren't any boundaries for the void at all. He was just alone and floating aimlessly into oblivion, probably never to wake up again until a new threat arose from the darkness. Or maybe this was just another nightmare, possibly the first normal dream he'd ever had in eons. But honestly, he didn't care anymore.
William blinked. He saw a light far away from where he floated. He squinted, trying to get a better look, and the light suddenly grew brighter before growing a bit big until it took shape. In an instant, the light disappeared then reappeared again in front of him. Standing before him was an illuminated silhouette of a woman.
She possessed slate-blue eyes, and her hair was fashioned into a low ponytail cascading over her left shoulder. She gazed at William, who reciprocated her gaze, perplexed by her presence yet reluctant to utter a word. William could not discern the reason, but there was an inexplicable familiarity about this woman. Perhaps it was the manner in which she styled her hair, or perhaps it was her eyes.
The two individuals locked eyes, both unwilling to relinquish their unwavering gaze. They remained motionless, suspended in a tense stalemate, until the woman cautiously advanced two steps towards William. However, before she could draw any closer, William's entire world abruptly shifted, as if burdened by an unseen force. His feet detached from the ground, and he began to plummet backwards.
In an instant, his entire world succumbed to an abyss of darkness.
William's eyes shot open.
He faced forward and bolted upright.
William turned to his right and met the blue eyes of a woman staring back at him.
A/N: And that was chapter 2, young readers. Now, some of you guys might already be wondering: what time period are we in? At this time, Weiss, Winter, and Whitley aren't born yet. Willow is at the age of twenty-three at this time; still a young beautiful woman. Summer Rose and her team have graduated from Beacon, Tai and Raven aren't together (yet), and Qrow is being Qrow. Next chapter will be short but only because not much will be going on besides Willow's interaction with William/Doom Slayer.
It might also feature Willow learning about William's history before he even arrived in Remnant. One unfortunate thing William will discover is that he doesn't have all of his weapons. No they are not scattered or lost. They just didn't came with him, except his armor. So he is back to square-one. With all of that said, I'll take my leave. See you all in the next chapter!
