Chapter 17

Ruby woke up in a strange place with a splitting headache and a terrible pain in her gut. "Where am I?" She asked of the blurry figure at her bedside.

"The infirmary." Blake replied.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"You were stabbed." Blake answered. "The injury was pretty severe but you'll be alright."

"Someone attacked us?" Ruby asked. "I don't remember anything."

"Not exactly." Blake sighed. "As I understand it, you and Pyrrha got very drunk and decided to spar with real weapons. She won and you almost died."

"Oh...but that doesn't sound like something we'd do." Ruby said.

"As I said, you were both incredibly drunk." Blake explained. "Probably trying to drown your sorrows or something."

"That actually makes a lot of sense." Ruby sighed. "We have both been pretty down. Where's Pyrrha now?"

"Probably in her room crying." Blake answered. "That's the last place I saw her. She was really broken up about hurting you."

"I bet." Ruby said. "She shouldn't blame herself though, I was just as stupid."

"You know how she is." Blake shrugged. "She blames herself for everything anyway."

"Where's Yang?" Ruby asked. "I bet she's really worried."

"Weiss has her confined to her quarters." Blake replied. "Probably to keep her from killing Pyrrha. She tried to attack Pyrrha but Weiss stopped her."

"That's not surprising." Ruby sighed. "Damnit, I feel like I'm breaking up our group now."

"So fix it." Blake suggested. "You might be the only one who can."

"I'll try." Ruby said. "So why are you here? I wouldn't expect you to be the one watching over me."

"It's kind of by default." Blake said. "Weiss is keeping an eye on Yang to make sure she doesn't try anything, and Nora and Ren are protecting Pyrrha in case Yang gets past Weiss. I suppose they're also there to make sure Pyrrha doesn't do anything stupid."

"Well, thanks for caring about me." Ruby said.

"Don't mention it." Blake said. "We're allies after all, and Yang thinks we'll be more effective if we're also friends. I have to admit she has a point."

"I thought we were already friends." Ruby said.

"Maybe we were." Blake said. "Alright now, get some rest. It'll help the healing process."

Yang banged on the door. "What do you want?" Weiss asked, standing on the other side.

"I want to go see my sister." Yang replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to go strangle Pyrrha?" Weiss accused.

"I want to do that too, but I'd settle for seeing Ruby." Yang said.

"Alright Yang, I'm going to unlock this door." Weiss said. "When I do, you are to go straight to the infirmary, no detours. If you even attempt to approach Pyrrha's quarters, Nora and Ren are under orders to subdue you. Then I won't be letting you out again for a long time."

"Fine, just let me out." Yang said impatiently. "I just want to see my sister."

"Don't make me regret trusting you." Weiss said as she unlocked the door.

Yang pushed through the door and headed for the infirmary without saying another word to Weiss. She considered trying to get to Pyrrha but decided success was unlikely and knew failure would only hurt her relationship with Weiss. She walked the corridor that connected the residence with the castle proper. Just beyond was the infirmary. One of the clerics led Yang to Ruby's bed. She was asleep and so was Blake who was sitting in a chair at her bedside. Yang put a hand on Blake's shoulder and she was immediately grabbed by the wrist. "Oh...it's you." Blake said.

"Yeah, it's me." Yang said. Blake released her and Yang withdrew her hand. "Has she regained consciousness yet?"

"Yeah, we talked for a little bit." Blake replied. "I explained what happened. Now she's just resting."

"Alright, well, I'm just going to hang out here for a bit." Yang said. "You can go if you want."

"Sure, sleeping in a bed beats this damn chair." Blake said as she got up.

Yang took Blake's place in the chair. Ruby was sleeping quite soundly as Yang looked at her. She felt guilty. Perhaps if their own relationship had not taken the turn it did, Ruby would not have gotten drunk and done something so stupid. That sadness and guilt shifted to rage as Yang thought about Pyrrha. She was supposed to be the responsible one, the mature one. Then she'd gone and impaled her sister while in a drunken stupor. She clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked and turned white, her fingernails digging into her palms.

"Oh, hey Yang." Ruby said.

Yang snapped out of her rage. "Ruby...you're awake." Yang said. "Well, I guess I should get going. I'm sure you don't want to see my face. I'm glad you're alright." She started to get up.

"Yang wait." Ruby said. "Don't go." Yang sat back down. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" Yang asked.

"About the whole thing with our mothers." Ruby replied.

"Oh...that...of course." Yang sighed. "I'm really sorry…"

"No, I should be the one apologizing." Ruby cut her off. "I've been really unfair to you. Getting hurt like this made me realize how dangerous my emotions can be. I got drunk to try to deal with my pain, but that's not healthy. I should have worked it out with you."

"Ruby...I…" Yang trailed off.

"You have your mother's face, but that's not your fault." Ruby continued. "You didn't choose your mother. I hate her, but I shouldn't take that out on you. I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Yang said, her eyes tearing up. She leaned over and embraced Ruby. Ruby squealed in pain as Yang pressed against her wound and Yang immediately released her. "Oh...sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through all this, losing your mother, finding out what happened the way you did, getting hurt...you didn't deserve any of this."

"But none of it's your fault." Ruby said. "I'm just glad we can be happy together again. You're the best sister I could ask for."

"The same goes for you." Yang said. "I want nothing more than for you to be happy."

After chatting with Ruby for a little longer Yang returned to her quarters. Weiss was waiting at the door. "Hey princess." Yang said. "Looks like Ruby doesn't hate me anymore."

"That's good." Weiss said. "But I don't think she ever hated you. She just had to work through some things."

"I guess." Yang said. "It doesn't matter. We're back to normal and that's what's important." Yang laughed and reached for her door. "Well, back into the prison cell I go."

"About that." Weiss said. "Since you were trustworthy enough to go see your sister without doing anything untoward, I'm ending your confinement. I won't be locking you in and Ren and Nora won't be guarding Pyrrha."

"I still intend to make her pay for hurting Ruby." Yang warned.

"Yang, would you please try to look at the situation like a sane human being." Weiss sighed. "It was an accident, a stupid, drunken accident. Pyrrha feels terrible already. She's taken a self-imposed emotional beating and she doesn't need a physical one from you to drive the point home. Besides, do you think Ruby would be happy if you hurt Pyrrha? If you want her to actually hate you that would be a good way to make it happen. And it's not like you've never accidentally hurt Ruby. Remember how bad you felt when you broke her jaw? I've never seen you so depressed. Pyrrha's feeling exactly the same way now. You can be mad, you have every right to be, but don't do anything stupid."

"I...I won't." Yang said. "I promise."

"Good." Weiss said. "I'm trusting you."

"How are you doing?" Weiss asked, approaching Ruby's bedside. Ren and Nora were already there, chatting with Ruby.

"I'm alright." Ruby replied. "Just a little achy."

"Good, I'm sure you'll be on your feet in no time." Weiss said. "I'm glad you straightened things out with your sister. I could see how it was weighing on both of you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I caused so much trouble." Ruby sighed. "It was stupid of me."

"You're only human." Weiss said. "I'm just glad the two of you can move on now."

"I wanted to let you know that we're alright too." Ruby said. "Your father was involved in my mother's death, but that's no reason for me to hold a grudge against you."

"Good to hear." Weiss said. "I assume you have no problems with anyone else?"

"Nope." Ruby confirmed. "I never had an issue with these two, and Blake and I are certainly friendly now."

"What about Pyrrha?" Weiss asked.

"Of course I don't have an issue with Pyrrha." Ruby replied. "I'm actually worried about her. Blake said she's taking it hard."

"She is." Weiss said. "I'm sure once you're up and about she'll be back to normal too."

"If Yang doesn't kill her." Ruby sighed.

"I don't think we have to worry about that." Weiss said. "At least I hope we don't."

Pyrrha sat on the edge of her bed crying. She had been crying on and off ever since she had injured Ruby. When she was still drunk she had been hysterical. Now that she was sober it was worse. Her guilt and sadness now had the backing of rational thought. She had lost control of her emotions, done something incredibly stupid, and Ruby had almost died as a result. Weiss, Ren, Nora and even Blake had stopped by to tell her not to be so hard on herself, that it was not all her fault, that Ruby did not want her to be so sad, but she could not help it. The training accident in Nikopolis had been bad, but this was so much worse.

Pyrrha realized she was more than Ruby's girlfriend. She was Ruby's mentor, and maybe even a motherly figure. Both on a personal level and as a noble warrior, Pyrrha was supposed to protect Ruby. Ruby obviously trusted her, and Pyrrha had betrayed that trust. She had failed Ruby on such a basic level. And when Ruby really needed her, really needed the emotional support, Pyrrha had been no help at all, too focused on her own anger and hatred. That too was a betrayal, not just of Ruby but of everything Pyrrha was supposed to stand for, everything she strove to be. If she could harbor such hatred, such homicidal rage toward another human being, even one as despicable as Cinder, how could she be a valiant warrior of justice?

The door to her room swung open. Yang stood in the doorway. "Pyrrha." Yang said emotionlessly.

"Yang." Pyrrha said. She stood and faced Yang. "I'm truly sorry for what I did to your sister." She wiped the tears off her face. "I willingly submit to whatever you have in store for me."

Yang approached Pyrrha, staring at her impassively. She closed in until the two were just inches apart. Yang took a deep breath. Pyrrha closed her eyes and waited for the blow she knew was coming. Then, suddenly, shockingly, Yang embraced Pyrrha. Pyrrha opened her eyes and looked to her left where Yang her placed her head on Pyrrha's shoulder. There were tears in Yang's eyes. "I forgive you." Yang said, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry for threatening you."

"But Yang I...what?" Pyrrha stammered.

"You didn't hurt Ruby on purpose." Yang said. "You would never do that. You're too good a person and you love her too much." She released Pyrrha from her embrace and took a step back.

"But I'm not a good person." Pyrrha sighed. She was crying again. "All this anger and hate I've been feeling...it's vile."

"It's human." Yang countered. "We all have feelings and thoughts we're not proud of. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I'm supposed to be better than this." Pyrrha persisted.

"Nobody's perfect." Yang said. "And you're definitely a good person, I can tell by how torn up you are about all this. You truly care for Ruby. It's killing you that you hurt her, even though you didn't mean to. You're taking on way more guilt than you deserve. That tells me all I need to know about what kind of person you are. The best kind. I'm glad Ruby has you."

"She deserves someone better." Pyrrha continued.

"Sure, she deserves an unattainable ideal, but that's never going to happen." Yang laughed. "You're the best reality has to offer."

"I keep telling everyone I'm not that great." Pyrrha said.

"And everyone keeps telling you you are." Yang encouraged. "Come one. Ruby needs you now."

"I don't think I'm the right person." Pyrrha admitted. "I couldn't help her before. I don't think I can help her now."

"This isn't a choice Pyrrha." Yang said. "This is something you have to do. It's your duty. Her mother's death is still a huge weight she has to carry around, and with this face I'm not going to be the one to lift it, even if we did patch things up. She can hide it, but I can tell she's still hurting. Only your support can get her through that."

"But I don't know what to do." Pyrrha complained.

"That's okay." Yang said. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Thank you." Pyrrha said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Alright, come here." Yang said, stepping forward and holding her arms out. "Let's have a nice hug and stop crying." They hugged one another. "You've got quite the front." Yang said with a wink. Her hands, around Pyrrha's back, drifted lower. "And quite the rear."

Pyrrha forced Yang back. "Okay, that's enough." Pyrrha declared. "Don't make me tell…"

"Weiss?" Yang laughed. "Go ahead."

"No, Ruby." Pyrrha said with a devious grin. "She's very protective. She said she'd cut off you hair while you slept if you tried to steal me."

"Okay, no need for that." Yang said, suddenly on the defensive. "I'm sorry, I just revert to flirting to diffuse any heavy emotional situations."

"Oh, I know." Pyrrha said. "Now, I should probably go talk to Ruby. I don't know how I can face her right now, but…"

"She doesn't blame you, so what's the trouble?" Yang cut in. "Just go. I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

Pyrrha summoned the courage to visit Ruby at the infirmary. She arrived at a bad time. One of the clerics was attending to Ruby's wound, leaving it in full view. Ren's magic had closed it but left behind a large and deeply discolored scar. Before Ruby's body hardly had a mark on it, but now there was a very visible reminder of the damage Pyrrha had done. Beyond the scar, Ruby's skin looked abnormally pale, probably from the loss of blood. Her face contorted in pain as the cleric worked. Pyrrha froze as her emotions surged. Seeing Ruby like this was painful. In the moment Pyrrha hated herself, knowing what she had done as a result of her own anger and lack of self-control. She could not even cry.

The cleric finished, covered the wound up and left. Ruby noticed Pyrrha. "Hey Pyrrha!" She said cheerfully. Pyrrha just stared at her, unable to move, unable to speak. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha finally said. There was a distinct lack of emotion in her voice.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Ruby said. "We both did something stupid, so it's my fault as much as yours. I just as easily could have hurt you. If you hadn't dodged my attack I probably would have cut you in half."

"Maybe that would have been better." Pyrrha said, her voice still a disconcerting monotone.

"Don't say that." Ruby said. "I know you blame yourself but I don't want you to. I don't want you to be sad."

"How can you be so kind to me?" Pyrrha asked. "Don't you see what I've done?"

"So it hurts a little." Ruby shrugged. "Now I'll have a sweet scar like Weiss!"

"It's not just the physical pain." Pyrrha continued. "I betrayed you. I'm supposed to protect you, but I hurt you, almost killed you. I let my emotions control me and you paid the price."

"You didn't do it on purpose." Ruby said. "I know you would never hurt me intentionally."

"But I'm a knight." Pyrrha said. "I'm supposed to protect the innocent. I'm supposed to be a paragon of virtue. I'm not supposed to let myself get wrapped up in anger and hatred. I'm not supposed to get drunk and harm innocent people. It goes against everything I stand for, everything I believe in. But here we are."

"Pyrrha, you're being way too hard on yourself." Ruby encouraged. "You're still a 'paragon of virtue' and all that. Only someone with a heart of stone could go through what you had to go through with Cinder and not end up an emotional wreck."

"No, I'm a terrible person." Pyrrha said, her voice breaking. She rushed forward, fell into Ruby's arms and started crying. "I'm so sorry! What I've done is unforgivable!"

"No it isn't." Ruby said. "I forgive you. There, forgiven."

"Just like that?" Pyrrha sobbed into Ruby's shoulder. "No, that's not…"

"It is." Ruby cut her off. "That's all there is to it. You made a mistake. You owned up to it and apologized. I accepted your apology. I'm sure you won't do it again. That's it. Now please, let's go back to the way things were. I just want us to be happy, together."

"Oh Ruby…" Pyrrha wept. She took a few deep breaths and regained her composure. "I think...I think I'm okay now."

"Good." Ruby said. "So...could you get off me, this hurts a lot."

Pyrrha suddenly recoiled. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She gasped.

"That's okay." Ruby laughed. "So come on, be happy. Smile."

Pyrrha did her best to smile. It was still difficult. She still felt guilty and still harbored her hatred of Cinder. In the back of her mind she still felt like she was not the valiant knight she wanted to be, and maybe never would be. But maybe if Ruby could still accept her, that would be enough. "Thanks for supporting me through everything." Pyrrha said. She remembered what Yang had said about Ruby's loss of her mother, about how even though Ruby looked like she was back to her usual happy self, she was still hurting. "If you ever need help, or if you just want to talk, don't hesitate."

"Don't worry." Ruby said. "Everything's good now."

Pyrrha suspected that was not the case. "Are you sure there's nothing?" She asked.

"Well, there is one thing." Ruby replied. Pyrrha was eager to hear it, eager to help in any way she could. "I'm pretty thirsty, could you get me something to drink?"

"Oh...alright." Pyrrha said, doing her best to hide her disappointment. Ruby was still hiding her pain away. "I'll get right to that."