A Mother's Sacrifice
A RWBY Fic by AndrewJTalon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and VIZ. Please support the official release.
This is a fic I wanted to get out for Halloween but things just didn't quite work out. It uses my fan-canon for RWBY, in particular the Arc Family. So if you're confused by that, sorry. I just hope you enjoy it despite that.
It was a tingling sensation in the back of her neck. One Isabel Arc had associated with dread and fear from the first moment. The first time she met... Her.
She looked out into the darkness of the woods near the farm. She could see the hint of red in the darkness. She took a deep breath.
It was time.
"Izzy?"
Isabel looked away from the window over the kitchen sink at her husband. He smiled in concern, even as he dried the last of the dishes.
"Everything all right?" He looked out the window. Isabel shook her head.
"It's fine," she said quietly. "Just... Could you finish up for me? I need to check on something outside."
Nick frowned. It was a strange look on her spouse's face. Still, he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"Of course... If you want to talk about what's wrong, I'll listen. I promise."
Isabel smiled, but her eyes were very sad.
"I know you will," she said softly. "I love you."
Nick's smile returned.
"I love you too," he said.
Isabel walked out of the warm kitchen. She saw Jaune pretending to study while reading a comic. Lilac was doing some sewing nearby, not minding his distraction. The twins, Coral and Verdy, were giggling over a weapons magazine. Orchid was working on a programming project.
Jaune started and looked up, as though sensing her presence. He grimaced in guilt and switched to his text book.
"I got it, I got it Mom," Jaune said quickly, "Um, the signs of renal failure are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, swelling, changes in urination frequency-"
"No, no, it's fine," Isabel said gently. She smiled warmly. "I'll be back, all right? Everyone just sit tight... And stay inside, all right?"
Jaune stared at her in concern.
"Mom?"
"Are you all right?" Lilac asked, a gentle frown on her kind face. Orchid stared at her mother intently but said nothing. The twins looked up in concern.
"Mom?"
"What is it?"
"Just stay inside," Isabel said with a voice of maternal authority and force. None of her children moved as she went out, the floorboards creaking in a familiar pattern. She shut the doors behind her and walked off the porch. She walked down the steps, remembering every step's creak and groan. She walked out into the woods, the stars shining clear and bright overhead.
She followed a dirt path deep inside the copse of trees, until she reached a small pond. A Fuujin-style stone lantern stood nearby, lit and casting a faint orange light over the lily pad covered pond.
In the dim light stood... Her. Tall, shapely, with pale skin and blood red eyes. Her hair white as bone with black streaks running through it. She wore a black cloak that waved slightly in the nighttime breeze. Her very presence seemed to chill the air. Isabel took a deep breath and walked up to her. She then knelt before her.
"Queen Salem," she greeted her with a voice devoid of emotion.
"Hello Isabel," Salem said gently. "Stand up, child, stand up."
Isabel obeyed but kept her eyes downward. Salem hummed.
"Your children have grown strong. I can feel the love you have for them. The pride."
Her voice was heavy with nostalgia.
Isabel sucked in a breath.
"I have done as you asked," she said, "I have researched all the old magics. I have no power in it-"
"But your mind is like one gifted by the gods, child," Salem said, almost gently, "Your Semblance is an echo of magic... But a strong one. It is why I made that deal with you, in your grief and desperation." She spread her hands out.
"Have I not kept my bargain? Have I not repaid it in full? I saved you. I saved the man you love. I saved your son when your medical arts could not heal him."
Isabel winced at every one of those statements. She nodded but an inch.
"I have done as you asked, searched for weapons to use against Ozpin," she said.
"They are weapons your family will wield for me," Salem stated firmly, "You will free this world from death with me. Your family would not exist if not for me. Your son would have died stillborn if not for me-"
"And you would make them your slaves, to be disposed of when no longer needed," Isabel said, holding back her anger with great difficulty. Salem stared intently at her.
"That is the way of the world," Salem said, "This war is older than your family has lived on this globe. I have seen things, known things you cannot grasp in my eternal search... My search for an end to death."
"Yet more than that, you seek freedom," Isabel argued. Salem snorted.
"There is no freedom for me-"
"The gods you gained power from, who made it so you were cursed," Isabel spoke up, "They are not my God. They may have claimed to have created this world, but they were lying. I have found... A loophole."
Salem stared intently at her. Isabel shook and reached into her lab coat. She held out her Scroll shakily. Salem took it, and scrolled through the spell book pages Isabel had scanned.
Isabel took a deep breath.
"Their curse that links you and this Ozma... It does not care who takes up the burden. They do not care, as long as two human souls, a woman and a man, are suffering their immortality."
Salem's red eyes glanced up at Isabel. They widened slightly. Isabel stood her ground and met her gaze evenly.
"You... Would have to switch with someone else. Take their life... Their identity," Isabel said quietly. "But you would be free... You could die. Only naturally, but... You would."
Salem stared at the magic runes and calculations. She slowly nodded.
"Yes... Yes. It could be done. But the other... Would have to continue the war on Ozma. There is no other way."
"That is true," Isabel said, "They would be bound to that fate. They would have to carry it out... But they would be in your place. Whereas you would be in..."
Salem's eyes narrowed.
"Yours?"
Isabel stared back, silent.
"You would give up your life? Your identity? Your family? To take the place of an ancient cursed witch?" Salem asked skeptically.
"To save them from your service?" She slowly nodded.
"I-I would."
Salem stared for a very long time at Isabel.
"What makes you think I would give up my power?"
"Because you are a prisoner of fate, Salem," Isabel said quietly. "You would have freedom at last. You would have... Everything. As long as you lived... L-Lived my life. As long as you didn't break the bargain... You would be free. And I... Bound to your fate."
Salem stared for a while longer.
"... You could not reveal who I really am," Salem stated. "You could not change my plan. You would be doomed... You would accept that all for your family?"
Isabel shakily nodded.
Salem smiled. It was not pleasant in the slightest.
"Then... It shall be done. Thank you, my child. When I am free of this world... You may have it. May you find a way to conquer death yourself, and get revenge on the gods. As for me?"
She reached out her hand, the clearing billowing with Eldritch energies that blotted out the broken moon and the stars.
"I shall know peace at last," she hissed.
Isabel stared at her hand. She closed her eyes. Even now, her emotional control held.
She reached out, grasped Salem's hand... And everything went black.
Nick had finished the dishes. He joined his children in the living room, looking over his sword and checking its electromagnetic systems with a seasoned eye.
The doors to the Arc Farmhouse opened, and shut. The floorboards creaked in a new pattern. The Arcs all looked up in concern... A concern that vanished as Isabel stepped into view.
"Hey Mom," Jaune greeted, followed by his sisters, "Everything all right?"
Isabel smiled softly. She nodded, a flush on her cheeks.
"Oh, everything is just fine, Jaune," she said, "Just fine!"
Nick frowned in concern. Isabel beamed back at him. He cleared his throat.
"That thing you were worried about-?"
"Oh, it's all been taken care of, Nick," Isabel chuckled. "Everything is... perfect."
For a moment, Nick swore he saw a hint of red in his wife's eyes... Yet it vanished. He frowned but then shrugged as Isabel walked in and began to chat happily with her children.
Probably just a trick of the light, Nick reasoned, Still... Nice to see her smiling again.
A dark female figure stood at the edge of the woods. She stared at the Arc family through the large living room windows. Her red eyes were filled with tears that ran down her cheeks. She sobbed softly, before she bowed her head.
She turned away and vanished into a dark portal to return to the castle she was now bound to.
The Queen of the Grimm had a destiny to fulfill.
Bit more spooky but turned into something rather tragic. Still, I hope you enjoyed it.