Author's Notes

For this chapter's AN, I'm going to do something different. I'm not going to apologize for the amount of time its been since my last update. Without getting overly sappy about it, I've been through a lot in the past few months. I separated from my significant other, lost a grandmother and had the other diagnosed with lung cancer, began seasonal work for my sister again, and even landed my first few freelance film jobs—all while battling thoughts of depression and suicide. I'll also confess that in said months I've had time to write, edit, and complete this chapter, but I didn't. Why? Because a lot of the time, I just don't feel like I'm getting enough feedback for this story, thus losing a huge amount of my motivation to write. Even though I practically beg for reviews in every one of my chapters' AN, stating how much I enjoy reading them and how they fuel my desire to continue writing this story, I'm not satisfied with the amount I get. The simplest way I can explain this is that every time I look at the vast difference between the amount of followers and favorites, and reviews this story has, it frustrates me. I don't mean to pin the blame entirely on you guys, especially those who make it a habit to leave a review on every new chapter, but this is honestly how I feel. In the past when misfortunes in my life brought me down, I always had the reviews that you guys left to cheer me up and encourage me to keep moving forward. But now, I'm struggling to the point where I'm no longer sure if I can finish this story—which honestly devastates me.

If you cared to read this, I'll end this with two things. One, I hope that you're able to sympathize with how I feel and take it upon yourself to fulfill my simple request.

Two, I have started a Patr(e)on where I will be striving to create written and video content; my username there is the same as my username here: "Kuribayashi"

Please leave a review.

The White Rose of Vermilion Arc II, Chapter Twenty-Three.

For Her

Trudging tiredly through the snow, Ruby flinched even harder as a frigid blast of air almost knocked her off balance and into a large snowbank. As night fell, so did the temperature—the result of a powerful snowstorm descending upon Vermilion. Spotting a smaller store wedged in between two larger ones, she sprinted to its front porch and let out a cry of relief as the wind suddenly lifted from her back.

She then ravenously turned her attention to the oil lantern that hung delicately above her, safe from the wind. With trembling hands, she grabbed hold of her war-scythe and lifted it up so that its tip slipped through the lantern's handle. Carefully keeping said blade straight so that the lantern couldn't slip away, she eagerly lowered it down. But with her fingers too numb from the cold, she miscalculated and let her weapon slip through her fingers a bit too fast, and just barely caught the lantern with both hands in time before it could shatter at her feet. Lazily letting the polearm fall noisily onto the wooden floor, she clutched at the lantern and pressed it against her bosom, reveling in the soft warmth that emanated from it.

After Weiss Schnee's coronation, and back in the privacy of his personal quarters, Captain Arturas finally revealed to her why it was that she had been selected to attend the prestigious ceremony instead of their standard-bearer: a letter. Written by the soon-to-be heiress herself, Ruby listened as some of it was read to her, others mostly summarized for her. In vivid detail, Weiss recounted their first encounter and, in her own words, the 'unfortunate' events that led to Yang's scheduled execution, their bloody fight, and the subsequent realization that in her desperate pursuit to impress her father, wrongfully imprisoned two innocents. Feeling entirely responsible for the consequences of her actions, she expressed in her letter that more than anything, she wished to make amends.

As she was to venture beyond Vermilion's walls and to the fringes of Weischandel's borders as she oversaw the inspection and reinforcements of their province, she had also been tasked by her father to recruit her own personal guard, a small elite group of soldiers, to escort and guard her along the way. Weiss finally concluded in her lengthy letter that it was in her hopes that by inviting Ruby to attend her coronation, she would give off the impression that she was sincerely attempting to become a better and wiser leader. A leader who would then humbly choose the seeker she had wronged to be the first to join her personal guard, so that they could work together towards a mutual goal: the safety of their province and its people. Before she had any real chance to articulate verbally her initial reaction, Arturas spoke swiftly and bluntly about his own surprise to the heiress' letter.

He thought it was a poor, overly-sentimental, and dangerous decision.

The captain acknowledged that Ruby was a skilled seeker. Although uncommon for someone who had the amount of training she had, it was ultimately understandable as her background was in hunting. But what both worried and angered him was the vast difference in training, discipline and loyalty that Ruby lacked in regards to the standard of being a member of a noble family's personal guard.

Formerly known as the White Guard, Captain Arturas sadly reminisced of the famed group of elite soldiers who were tasked with protecting the Schnee family. Revered throughout the province as the best of the best, they had a legendary reputation for thwarting assassination attempts and acts of treason. However, the White Guard came to an end after the warden, out of rage and grief, executed all but four surviving members after an unknown group successfully infiltrated the manor one night and assassinated both Winter and Marina. Only by Weiss' desperate pleas did he spare the guards who successfully fought off an assassin from killing the young Schnee—their names none other than Cassius, Brutus, Leo, and Simon.

Soldiers who either had years of experience or were born from the most prestigious military families who had served the noble family for generations, had failed to prevent one of the province's most tragic disasters. And now Weiss Schnee, the last of the warden's family to have survived that horrific night, was now to be escorted and protected by someone who tried to kill them!

Ruby remembered the crippling humiliation she felt when Arturas emphatically voiced his disdain when his plea for Weiss to reconsider both points of her request was met with a compassionate yet firm decline. Surely, the warden would not allow for such an outrageous idea. But the following morning when he summoned all garrisoned officers and ordered them to submit a list of their best soldiers for Weiss to choose from, along with Weiss' subsequent coronation, made her will all but ironclad.

Seeing that Weiss' request for Ruby to join her personal guard was an offer and not a demand, Captain Arturas stated that he had no other choice but to strictly order her to come up with a decision by the next day. If she chose not to join, she and the rest of her company would simply finish their basic training and officially be integrated into the Weischandelian Army. But if she chose to join, he could only ask the heiress to allow her to finish her basic training first before her reassignment.

Catching herself on the edge of falling asleep, Ruby straightened her back and sighed tiredly. With yet another life-changing decision ahead of her, she thought it better to ponder her choice in the comfort of a warm home and not out on a freezing porch. Grabbing hold of her war-scythe as she stood up, she dusted herself off, hung the oil lantern back onto its hook, and headed back into the raging storm.

Straining to open the front door to Valkyrie's Bakery as the wind blew relentlessly against it, Ruby let out a pained whimper. If it wasn't her aching body not being strong enough to prop open the door wide enough, it was her war-scythe's height that clumsily blocked her from fully entering. Rocking her body backwards, she was finally able to pull open the door wide enough for her twirl in just in time for it to shut right behind her. Immediately feeling the snow on her bangs beginning to melt, she took a step forward—

—and fell backwards against the door and onto the floor.

On reflex, she dropped her weapon to caress the back of her head, only to be hit in the face by her falling weapon. "Oww-" she began to say as she suddenly felt something digging into her neck. Looking behind her, she saw that the end of her hooded cloak had been trapped in the door. "-oh, come on!" In total disbelief, she crossed her arms, pouted, and shut her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Opening her eyes, Ruby saw Yang kneeling before her with an apron and mittens on. She was younger, and the familiar fireplace behind her was the one from Celica Ironworks.

"I-I finally got a groundhog today. A-And then right as I was about to grab it, a fox swooped stole it from me…" Sitting against the front door, she watched as a pair of small bruised hands messily wiped away her tears before they folded across her chest. To her sides laid a makeshift bow and a handful of crudely constructed arrows.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You'll get it next time, okay?"

"..."

"Are you going to spend the night like that?"

"Mm."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"But who's going to help me eat the sweet rolls I made tonight?"

"…Me."

A heartwarming giggle. "That's my Ruby. Come on."

Taking off one of her mittens, Yang then reached a hand outward and cleanly wiped away the remaining tears, her hand comforting despite the numerous callus and scabs.

"Yang," Ruby whispered as she placed a hand over where her elder sister had caressed her several years earlier after a bad day of hunting. Slowly, Yang and Celica Ironworks faded away, and she was back in Valkyrie's Bakery.

Saddened by the bittersweet memory of Yang, she put on a smile nonetheless for her before turning her attention back on how she could escape without having to open the door again. After a moment of thought, she simply loosened the straps around her neck, lifted the hood up, and wiggled out of it from beneath.

Standing up, she looked down at the still stuck hooded cloak as she rubbed her neck. "Stupid, dumb, neck trap," she grumbled as she stuck out her tongue. Shaking her head a moment later at how silly she was acting, her mind soon drifted to the idea of a hot meal and bath.

Heading over to the fireplace, she carefully placed a handful of logs over the dying fire. As the embers slowly caught hold of the dry wood, she grabbed a pot that sat on the opposite side of the fireplace and hung its handle over a hook directly over the fire. Attached to a crank off to the side, she turned it, lowering the pot so that it sat just inches above the spreading fire.

Not wanting to track any more water in the house, she trained her ear upstairs and listened intently. Reassured upon hearing Nora's light snore, Ruby quickly undressed and hung her wet clothing and armor onto the nearby drying rack before scampering upstairs to her room to change.

Once clothed in a fresh pair of pajamas and socks, she returned downstairs and began to run a bath for herself. Unlike Celica Ironworks, which could only house the bath in the backyard and had to be filled by hand, Valkyrie's Bakery had a small room off to the side dedicated to bathing. A small cistern on the roof collected rainwater and with the simple twist of a valve, could funnel enough water into the bath below to fill it within minutes. All that was left was to add several heated stones to warm the water. Returning to the fireplace, she grabbed hold of a fire poker and used it to lift the lid off the pot, revealing a dozen or so large stones. Judging by the sizzling sound they made, they were ready.

As she lowered the lid and prepared to lift the pot up, she heard a doorknob twist. Looking up, she flinched as the front door swung open and in stumbled a heavily bundled person covered head to toe in snow. Grabbing hold of her hooded cloak in one hand, the individual then shut the door with their other and locked it before turning to face her. Lowering their scarf so that they could speak more clearly, she saw that it was Cardin.

"Why was your cloak stuck in the door?" he asked in between gasps for breath.

Ruby shook her head as she made her way over to Cardin. "It's dumb, you wouldn't want to know" she said as she took it from him. "Did you come from work?"

Unslinging his pickaxe and gently laying it against the wall, the boy nodded. "We hit a new reserve today, and the foreman was offering fifty Lien to anyone who would work overtime." Pulling off his frozen hat and scarf, he revealed the rest of his face which was covered in soot and grime. "After I got a ride back, I was just so cold. Nora's place was on the way before my own, so I thought I'd stop by here to warm up a little bit." He then froze in place and slowly looked up at her. "Is that alright?"

Ruby blinked. "Of course! I was just about to heat up the bath for myself, but you can go on ahead if you'd like. I wouldn't mind."

Cardin closed his eyes as he smiled. "Thank you," he said a moment later as he reopened them, "But you should go on ahead first."

"Are you sure? I can wait by the fire, really."

Pulling off one of his gloves, the miner extended three fingers and brushed them down his cheek, wiping away a layer of soot. Turning his now black fingers to Ruby, he raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to go after me? With the water full of this stuff?"

He suddenly reached out to Ruby, whose eyes went wide as they approached her. Without warning he then lunged towards her. Letting out a playful yelp, Ruby turned and ran around the room as Cardin chased her with his fingers reached out. Quickly losing her breath from laughing so hard, Ruby collapsed onto the sofa and held up her arms in surrender. "Okay, okay, okay! I'll go first. But you," she suddenly said sternly, "need to sit here and warm up while I do, okay?" She then got up and patted where she sat.

"Yes, my lady," Cardin said with a grin. To this, Ruby frowned and hit him gently.

Heading back to the fireplace, she laid her cloak onto the rack to dry with the rest of her clothes, and lifted the pot off the hook with the fire poker. As she headed towards the bath, she turned around to face Cardin. "I'll be quick."

"Take your time."

"Hmm...nope!"

Only spending a fraction of her time in the bath for relaxation, she was out rather quickly. As Cardin went in for his turn, Ruby prepared a small dinner for the two of them: two leftover loaves of bread, a potato, and some salted beef. Boiling the potato and salted beef together, they were ready to eat by the time Cardin finished his bath.

As they ate, she listened as he told her of his day. From his defined shoulders and arms, to the ruggedness of his voice, and to the tired look in his eyes, almost everything about him seemed to have changed ever since he traded a cleaver for a pickaxe. But while these certain things changed, the most important thing about him remained the same: his spirit. Watching him enthusiastically pantomime his way through his story, in between unsightly gulps of food, warmed her greatly. To see her dear friend revert from the broken and aimless state she found him in, back to his usual driven and kind self reminded her of just how much she would miss him.

If she were to leave.

Quietly setting down her plate, she placed a hand over her mouth and bit her lips. Not now, she pleaded to herself, Not in front of him.

"-Overall, it's tough job," Cardin said after a content exhale. "But it's been good for me. And I'm happy to have it, I truly am." Glancing over, his eyes met Ruby's and his smile faded. "Ruby?" Despite trying so hard to keep herself composed, the simple utterance of her name in that tone was too much. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a choked hiccup came out, followed by two tears. The miner furrowed his brow in panic. "W-Was it something I said?" With a quick shake of her head, she turned towards him and rested the side of her head against his chest. "What's wrong?" he asked as he gently wrapped his arms around her.

She inhaled sharply before speaking. "Weiss…is now the Heiress of Weischandel. She was coronated today."

"I saw the flyers on my way home," he said after a pause.

"The warden, he thinks war is coming. He's sending her to our borders to reinforce them. And," she said as she clenched her fists, "she's asked me to join her."

"Join her?" Cardin suddenly pulled back, his eyes wide with surprise.

"As part of her personal guard."

"What in God's name for?"

"I don't know." A half-truth, a half-lie. "But I only have tonight to make up my mind." Letting out a sigh, she grabbed hold of Cardin's arm and stared numbly into the fire. "I won't know what's happened to Yang until I prove myself completely loyal to him. If I go, serve and protect her, that'll show that I'm loyal, right? That I'm trying to atone for what I've done? But I'm scared," she said as she looked back at him, "scared of what could happen once I leave Vermilion not as a huntress, but as a soldier." Lowering his head, the miner slowly stood up. Ruby, who still had her hands on his arm, felt the slightest sting in her heart as his sudden movement brushed her away. She watched as he walked slowly to the fireplace and proceeded to stare into the fire.

"What should I do?" Ruby whispered, her voice dry and cracked. With half of his face turned towards her, she could see that he appeared to be in deep thought. But as she focused more on his expression, desperately trying to decipher what it was he was thinking, she noticed something change. The reassuring and lively spirit she saw in his eyes slowly began to lose their color, and within a matter of seconds, reverted to the ones of the sick and heartbroken boy she had rescued and patiently nursed back to health.

"Cardin?" she asked nervously.

Cardin blinked once, then twice, before lowering his hand back to his side. "I'm still here," he said as he looked back at her, "I'm still here." His eyes now focused again, he turned around and gestured to her. "Have you spoken to the others about this?"

"I haven't."

"Not even Nora? Should I go wake her? I could also walk you to Ren-"

"N-No, that's okay."

Cardin leaned back and slightly tilted his head in surprise, his posture was reminiscent of Yang whenever the latter was about to lecture her. "Ruby, no matter what my opinion is, y-you can't just seek advice from just one person. From me of all people."

"But you're the one I want to ask," she suddenly blurted out. Catching herself too late, Ruby put a hand behind her head and tried to backtrack. "I mean…I think you're the right person to talk to about this."

"And why is that?"

"Out of everyone, I've talked to you the least. Nora, Ren, Blake—I feel that they would give me very strong answers," she said quietly. "And I think you would tell me something different."

After a long pause, Cardin ran his hands through hair and nodded solemnly. "I…haven't told you about my family, have I?"

"You've never told me about them."

"I haven't even told Ren," the boy replied wistfully. "Don't worry, this is about your question. I promise."

Slowly realizing the direction he was heading in, Ruby readjusted herself on the couch and took in a deep breath as she prepared herself. "Take your time," she teased.

Unsure of how he would take her light jab in an attempt to brighten the mood, she smiled in return when he chuckled. It pleased her even more when she saw the tightness in his shoulders disappear as he finally allowed himself to stand comfortable instead of keeping his neck and shoulders locked in place. When he finally began to speak, his tone was frail and uneven. But as he continued, the memories he was pulling from became more vivid, and so did his delivery.

"Like many low-born families, the Winchester family were peasant farmers who worked the fields of a Vermilian noble who lived on the outskirts of the capital. For years, we threw out our backs in the summer and starved in the winters—all in the hope of buying our freedom and escaping to a new life within the capital. But by the time I was ten, we only had enough Lien to buy the house we rented, and only halfway to being able to free ourselves from the pact that bound us to the land. And that, my father could not accept. So in the early months of the following spring, when our lord answered Warden Schnee's annual call of reinforcements to be sent to the Northern Wall, my father volunteered himself to be a bricklayer. It was a menial and dangerous job that killed dozens of men each year, not counting those who lost their lives to the Grimm themselves. But the seasonal stipend was what attracted him; in one summer alone he could make double of what he earned as a farmer. Seeing as how I was old enough to cover for my father's absence, our lord permitted him to go, and he set out with the other men who were either unlucky enough to be drafted, or desperate enough to volunteer themselves. While he was gone my mother and I spent our days working the field and our nights praying that he would return home to us in the fall.

And he did!" he suddenly exclaimed with heartfelt relief. With those words, it seemed as if the cool and tough miner that stood before her reverted to his younger self, lost in the tender memories of his father returning home safely. "While other men came back in hastily assembled caskets, he came back with two years' worth of Lien and stories of mankind's great victories over the Creatures of Grimm. So overjoyed were he and my mother that they decided to have another child, for their goal of buying our freedom and moving to Vermilion were just around the corner. In the weeks before the end of the following summer campaign we were told by the midwife that the baby would come around the time my father would return. To us then, it seemed like our prayers had been answered: we would be able to start a new life just in time for the little one. Then came the night when my mother went into labor. For hours, she battled the excruciating pain with all her spirit and, for a while, it seemed as if she would deliver the baby safely."

Cardin lowered his head and covered his mouth with his hand, effectively breaking the flow to his story. When he lowered it, his smile had vanished. Ruby felt her chest tighten.

"My father came home in a casket that night," he said quietly, his voice barely audible over the soft cracks of the fire, "Killed by a beowolf trapped underneath the rubble he was helping clear after the final battle. I tried to hide the news from my mother, but it was of no use. Her grief too much to endure, she passed away, leaving a healthy baby girl in her place. 'Isabella. Her name is Isabella.'" Beginning to choke and stumble over his words, Cardin placed a hand against the brick fireplace to support himself. "With the Lien my father paid his life for and the baby sister my mother died in order to bring into this world, I bought our freedom and moved into Vermilion. But even then, my misfortunes continued. As winter approached, I could not bring her to potential work out of fear that the cold or dirty working conditions would make her ill, and I didn't trust the tenants we stayed with to look after her either. As my Lien dwindled, I found myself unable to relocate to a better home or hire a wet nurse to feed Isabella. To make things worse, the animal milk I used to feed her was no longer enough. She grew weaker and weaker, until at last she was taken in the night. I returned to the countryside to bury her beside my parents," he managed to say before beginning to sob. Ruby was left speechless, and could only watch in stunned silence as his tears glistened from the fire's light as they fell to the floor. "With Isabella gone, I began to take whatever work I could find, eventually leading me to be hired by the Lie family." He then gestured to Ruby with a short wave of his hand. "It wasn't long after that when I first met you and your sister."

Chills spiraled down her back as she was brought back to that day. Rushing home after another day of shadowing Qrow, she managed to catch Yang just as the latter was getting ready to leave for work. Boldly declaring that she had found a place that sold ale at an impossible price, Ruby had no trouble persuading her alcoholic of a sister to follow her; they instead arrived at the The Dragon Butcher, the closest butcher's shop to their home. Yang's resulting fiery and frightening temper from the deception quickly subsided when Ruby revealed her very first kill: a small pheasant. With a quick appraisal of the meat provided by the owner's son and his quiet assistant, the aspiring huntress hoped to prove to her skeptical sister that the apprenticeship was working, and that she had possibly found a reliable source of income.

It was also first day she met Lie Ren and Cardin Winchester.

Hanging his head in shame, Cardin sniffed. "From that very first moment I met you two, I was filled with jealousy and even more bitterness. How was it that your sister managed to raise such a healthy and happy younger sibling? Why did God let her keep you, but didn't do the same for Isabella and I? Was it punishment because I fancied m-" he said before abruptly stopping, "-m-money? Was I the one responsible for letting Isabella die? These questions...they pierced my soul like poisoned hooks, and I couldn't free myself of them." Clenching his fists, the boy looked up at her with reddened eyes, "So I hated you for it."

In an instant, all the scattered pieces that were months of intimidation, disrespect, and eventual bullying that she never understood the reason for came together. Trembling in her seat, said slowly worked the courage to look at the large scar over Cardin's left eyebrow-the result of Yang savagely beating him unconscious when she caught wind of his bullying. Despite the way he treated her, she never wished any ill-will towards him, to let it dampen the spirit she so desperately needed to maintain for Yang. Even now after his confession, it still brought her sorrow.

Upon realizing where she was looking, he waved his hand in blunt dismissal. "Don't be sorry. The way I treated you was disgusting and I got what I deserved." Placing a finger over the scar, he slowly traced his fingers over it. "After that...I finally realized that if I continued to let my past control my life, I would not live to see the future my parents sacrificed so much for." Having spoken for so long, Cardin took a moment to massage his throat. Exhaling loudly, he then let his arms fall to his side and then faced Ruby directly.

"I love you, Ruby Rose," said Cardin with absolute conviction, instantly dispelling the hesitation and grief that had taken hold of him, "In the years since you've forgiven me, I've considered you my family and loved you like the sister I failed to raise and protect myself. You've given me purpose, joy, and hope. You...you gave me my life back."

Unable to stay quiet any longer, Ruby sprang from her seat, around the coffee table, and into Cardin's arms. Barely caught in time, she held onto him tightly, even after when he solidified his hold on her. As he slowly lowered her dangling feet to the ground, the huntress felt him return the intensity of her embrace—something she knew he always shied away from. "Thank you for telling me this Cardin. I...I hope you know that I-I love you too. You're like the big brother I never had."

Pulling back, he smiled at her with a familiar look of love in his eyes. "You have no idea how much that warms my heart, truly. But it doesn't change the fact that you are not mine to lose," he suddenly said matter-of-factly. "My father did not have to volunteer himself at the Northern Wall-but his desire not to spend the last years of his life toiling away on some noble's farm is what motivated him to take the dangerous risk that he did. I found myself in the same situation when I moved to Vermilion with Isabella. I could have taken the same risk he did, in the hopes of earning enough to raise my sister properly, but I was afraid-afraid of the risk that came with it." Squeezing her shoulders gently, he sighed. "Even though I want you to be safe, and am terrified of what may happen to you if you decide to follow the heiress...that choice is yours and yours alone. No one worth a damn can find fault with your decision, not even me."

Since the beginning of their friendship, she came to see him as someone who had a strong sense of morality, so it didn't surprise her too much to hear such wisdom and maturity in his words. But the revelation that he was almost consumed by the demons of his past, only to overcome them and eventually become an irreplaceable part of her life, it reminded her so much of Yang. Redemption awaited them both. Was all this a sign that it awaited her too?

"Big idiot" Ruby mumbled as she buried her face in his chest once again. Too tired to care when she was greeted by the unpleasant and strong scent of coal, she patiently resisted the desire to cough and simply focused her attention on the sound of Cardin's heartbeat. Like an anchor, she felt grounded and secure amidst the powerful storm that raged on both fronts.

Having shown his bare soul and bleeding heart to Ruby, Cardin exhausted what little strength he had left and soon retreated to the couch. Beginning to feel sleepy as well, she curled up into a ball next to him where she listened to him encourage her one last time that she talk it over with the others, as well as asking her to tell him her decision if she were to accept Weiss' invitation into the soon-to-be resurrected White Guard. Promising that she would do the latter, the two engaged in small talk for a while. Only upon the sensation of a blanket drawn over her and the feeling of a forehead touching hers did Ruby realize that she had fallen asleep. Only able to muster enough strength to half-open her eyes, she looked up to see Cardin slowly pulling away from her. Smiling softly at her, he then slowly tiptoed to the door and exited quietly.

As her eyes stung from fatigue, she spent her last waking moments repeating his words over and over to herself. Believing that there was significance behind the timing of the first day they met and the night they met again before she would make one of the most important decisions in her life, she felt her faith in God refreshed, and thus made her decision with a growing sense of determination.