The flight of an arrow, the air parting around it with a sharp sound.

The head buried in tender flesh, becoming red with blood.

She walked to her, a boast rising to the tip of her tongue.

A pair of emerald eyes rose to meet her amber ones, and she felt herself lose her balance from that stare alone.

"Do you believe in destiny?"


Cinder sat up in her bed, gasping for air. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and the back of her neck. A familiar, sinister heat bubbled inside her. Her blankets would be sticking to her skin if they hadn't been hogged by a certain someone, as they always were.

Ruby's eyes opened a few seconds later, fixing immediately on her girlfriend. She smiled for a moment, taking in the sight of her, only to frown as she realized something was wrong.

"Cinder?" She asked softly, sitting up beside her. "Is everything okay?"

Cinder did not respond to the sound of her voice. Her eyes were fixed on the wall opposite to her bed, glowing slightly. Ruby edged closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It had been years, but she still recognized that look.

"Hey… I'm here. Your Ruby. Everything's okay."

Cinder's breathing softened slightly, and she turned her head to look at her. Her hands scrunched the duvet, a little vapor rising from her fingers. She winced and raised her hands away from the silk and shook her head.

"I…" She gulped, taking another shaky breath. "I killed… Pyrrha…"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ruby tilted her head dubiously. "Pyrrha's back at Beacon. She's probably sleeping with Jaune right now," she blinked. "I mean, not sleeping with Jaune. Like, sleeping in the same bed as him. Just like us! Not that we didn't sleep together before sleeping in the same bed," the redhead's eyes narrowed. "They probably slept together too, now that I think about – you know what, I'm just gonna stop talking."

Her flusterment was enough to elicit a smile from Cinder, albeit a small one. Ruby was always able to calm her down, most of the time without even trying.

"It was a nightmare. I was at the top of Beacon tower, I think, but… everything was falling apart. There were Grimm everywhere, or at least it felt like it," Cinder rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Pyrrha showed up. We fought. I buried an arrow on her chest and she…"

Cinder stopped talking. The flames inside her had faded, leaving her feeling cold. She didn't know why, but she needed to get out of this bed. Away from Ruby. Away from everything.

"Cinder," Ruby pressed herself to her. "It was just a nightmare."

"It didn't feel like a nightmare," Cinder muttered. "It felt like… something more…"

"You're a good person. You didn't kill Pyrrha," Ruby insisted, assuming a firmer tone of voice. "Now stop being silly and we can go back to sleep."

Cinder nodded mutely, laying down and turning on her side. Ruby followed suit, staring her in the eyes.

"Ruby… What if I'm not a good person? What if all of this is… wrong?"

"Shh. That nightmare, or whatever you thought it was… It doesn't matter."

Ruby slipped closer, giving her a kiss. And though it was a brief one, a tiny second in the grand measure of life, it sparked the flames inside Cinder back to life. But unlike before, they were burning low, gently, welcoming.

"We're here," Ruby said. "That's what matters."


Surprise!

For clarification: this is set after Mira was defeated, and long before the Epilogue. Ruby is still attending Beacon.

No, this is not the start of a sequel or anything. It's just a little piece I've been meaning to write since the end of Volume 3. Now that we know just how wicked she is, this story becomes a tad more difficult to believe. But that's the beauty of fanfiction - this is another version of Cinder, a version that was just different enough to be swayed by Ruby's goodness. And that is what I wanted to write about.

I decided to finally put this to paper - or, uh, Word document I guess - on a whim. Writer's block will do that to you (damn you Of Vale Blood!). But I've also been meaning to write something in this story for a while, as a sort of commemoration of the continued readership it's been getting, and the milestone of 600 favorites! Woo! I'm glad so many people have picked up Falling Roses after it was already over. Let me take this opportunity to welcome and thank those new readers!

Now, about a potential sequel... I know a lot of people want to know more about Yang, to mention just one thing. And, yes, I have plans for that. Whether I'll get to writing that is another matter altogether. I'm pretty swamped with fanfiction already. If I were to write a sequel, it wouldn't be very soon. The soonest it could happen - and this is not a promise, okay?! - would be after Of Vale Blood is finished, but even then I'd wait a while.

Anyways. I don't think I have anything else to say. Hope you guys enjoyed this little one-shot!

-Zeroan