Disclaimer

I don't own anything. RWBY is not owned by me. It is owned by talented people. I'm a nobody. Please don't sue me.

Grimm Meetings in Vale

Weiss laid on the bed, staring at the woman in her arms. It was strange to think that only months before awakening like this would've been followed by either her immediate departure, or kicking the doxy out of her bed so that she could sleep off her hangover. Maybe if they looked particularly pretty under the moonlight she'd go for another round before sending them on their way.

Ruby wasn't just pretty. Okay, objectively she was just pretty. Weiss had slept with the most beautiful and exclusive courtesans in Vale. She had seduced noble women who had suitors who traveled half the world to write sonnets and compose songs to their beauty. She'd even trysted with the most exquisite priestess of the goddess of beauty right on the altar of her temple while blushing acolytes watched from the shadows.

Compared to them, objectively, Ruby wasn't nearly so physically attractive. She'd seen too much harsh weather, too many lean years when crops failed, or bandits or Grimm destroyed food stores, and had done far too much hard work and fought in too many desperate battles to ever fit the perfect standards of Valean beauty. Her most gorgeous feature, her unique silver eyes, were hidden in sleep, and in exchange her cherubic face drooled freely while she let out wheezy little snores.

She should have found it a bit repulsive. She'd certainly kicked women out of her bed for far more petty reasons than drooling on her in their sleep. But for some reason Weiss didn't move an inch, continuing to study Ruby under the pale moonlight. Why had she worked so hard to finally bed this strange barbarian girl? For no other woman had she promised exclusivity. For no other woman had she wined and dined them for a month before finally drawing them into her bed. For no other woman had she ever eagerly continued sharing her bed for more than a month after their first time.

No bard had ever composed a ballad about a peasant girl who mumbled in her sleep about dogs stealing her strawberries. No poet had ever written a sonnet about a farm girl who could slay the fiercest Grimm with a single swing of her battle scythe. No artist had ever painted a moon faced girl drooling on her own shaggy wolf cut locks. But laying there, staring at Ruby, all Weiss could think was that all of those men and women were fools, as nothing had ever moved her cold Schnee heart as much as the barbarian girl in her arms.

And nothing had ever filled her with so much fear. In such a short time she'd become dependent on Ruby in a way she hadn't been on anyone else in her life. Sure, she could walk out the door and go back to her endless line of warm bodies, petty crimes, and exciting fights, but she knew that she'd ache for the barbarian girl she'd be leaving behind. How had she let her get so close? What would she do when she screwed things up and Ruby left her? How could she let herself get this vulnerable?

Weiss just stayed awake, staring at the girl who had stolen a heart she had long thought turned to stone. Should she end things now, before her departure broke her entirely? Was it already too late? She hated herself for snuggling in closer as those thoughts filled her head, finding comfort in the person who filled her with such unease.

When dawn finally came and sunlight began to stream through the window Ruby mumbled, her face screwing up for a moment, before finally her eyes fluttered open. She blinked, looking around in confusion, until her eyes settled on Weiss. Immediately her face lit up with an easy grin, and Weiss felt herself both falling for the barbarian all over again, and bitterly envying her that simple happiness.

"Morning," Ruby murmured, stealing a quick kiss. "How long have you been up?"

"A bit," Weiss deflected.

"You look a little tired," Ruby said. "You sure you slept okay?"

Weiss smirked. "I don't know. Maybe I just need something to wake me up."

Ruby blushed as red as her name for a moment, before she lowered her lashes and looked up at her with her best attempt at bedroom eyes. Obviously she'd seen Weiss do it often enough to make her own crack at it, although on her it looked more adorable than erotic. Still, Weiss felt her heart warm, and she smiled despite herself.

How could she ever end this? She was already in so, so deep…

Beacon wasn't the richest tavern in the city. It didn't have marble floors and silver spoons, ready for the nobility to sup like at the Grey Swan. It also wasn't the poorest, with a muddy layer of dirt and beer for a floor and tables that frequently inflicted splinters on those who risked sitting, like the Saucy Wench down by the docks. It also wasn't a den of iniquity like Junior's, nor was it a staid, intellectual place like Tukson's Tea.

Beacon was like its tables. They were made of solid oak, lovingly smoothed and polished by generations of mugs and dishcloths. The cheapest dives favored fragile furniture, cheaply replaced after a brawl and unlikely to break bones when used as weapons, while the richest focused on soft, expensive furnishings that were a treat for both the body and the eye. Instead, Beacon was practical but built to last, and despite the obviously rough crowd people didn't fight within the range of the proprietor's heavy arbalest.

Few people walking the streets found the place, but those who did were steady customers. The crowd was a curious mix of mercenaries, foreigners, soldiers of all stripes, cutthroats, duelists, adventurers, and important underworld figures. Even Weiss walked carefully around some of the tables, her usual reckless disregard for danger absent, her bored gaze carefully observant as she stayed well away from some of the more volatile patrons.

Ruby grinned and ran ahead a few steps when she saw Yang and Blake sitting at their usual seats. They were at a small square table with four stout wooden chairs around it, two to a side. It was close enough to the bar that there was no trouble grabbing their own drinks if it was busy, but far enough away from the entrance where there wasn't too much foot traffic. In short, it was perfect, and over the past months the four of them had made a habit of visiting it several times a week.

"Yang! Blake!"

"Hey, sis, ice queen," Yang said, taking a long pull from her tankard.

Weiss' face screwed up with annoyance. "I thought I told you not to call me that."

"You did," Yang said lazily. "I just didn't care."

"Yang," Ruby grumbled.

Yang flashed her a winning grin. "So, that a new blouse?"

Ruby looked down at what she was wearing, a little surprised that Yang had noticed. "Yeah! I stopped some thugs from roughing up a seamstress over on, uh, Fur Ground Terrier Street-"

Weiss rolled her eyes as she sat, gesturing for a barmaid. "Fairground Terrace."

"Yeah, that!" Ruby said. "Anyway, she made this for me! For free!"

"That wasn't all she wanted," Weiss grumbled.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

Blake smirked. "Jealousy? From you?"

"No," Weiss said sharply.

"Jealous-schnee doesn't become you," Yang said.

Weiss scowled fiercely, but before she could make a comeback the barmaid sauntered over. She leaned against the table, intentionally flaunting her heavy cleavage just inches from Weiss' face. Weiss hadn't cheated on her the entire time they'd been together (and given how many hours of the day they spent together, and what they did most nights she would know), but she certainly looked, and her eyes were glued down the floozy's dress the entire time she ordered.

"That good for you?" Weiss asked.

"Huh?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Your usual mead. Is that good for you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Ruby said. "Thanks."

Weiss leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Of course."

Ruby smiled, happy at the gesture, but she couldn't help but notice the way Weiss' eyes went right back down the barmaids blouse while she placed their order. Ruby didn't want to be jealous, but she kept thinking back to how she'd met Weiss. Looking down, she bit her lip at the sight of her own body. Sure, she always thought she looked good, but as Weiss had pointed out, she was a barbarian girl from far, far away. Could she really keep someone like Weiss' attention? The thought gnawed at her as it often did when they were out and about in public.

The barmaid soon returned, setting her mead on the table, along with Weiss' glass of wine. She then leaned over, brushing up against Weiss slightly as she spoke, her voice low. "Will there be anything else?"

Ruby tensed, biting her lip, but Weiss just shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Are you sure?"

Weiss' expression became suddenly cooler. "Very."

With a pout the barmaid left, and Ruby felt something loosen in her chest. The last of her tension faded a moment later when Weiss rested a hand on her knee. On some level the possessive gesture bothered her a little, but it wasn't untrue. She was Weiss', and she hoped the reverse stayed true as well. She smiled when Weiss didn't object to her putting an arm around her back, even leaning into her some.

"So, getting into trouble across town," Yang said, picking up the conversation. "You two get up to anything else today?"

"Not really," Weiss said casually, taking a sip from her wineglass. "We're still living high from that last job."

It had been almost a week since their last 'job', when the two had been hired by some merchant friend of Weiss's. He was a blue haired pretty boy, and he fit all the negative stereotypes her village had told her about city folk, but without the many redeeming qualities that Weiss had. He'd spent the whole time flirting with both of them, despite Weiss's obvious complete disinterest. Still, she'd had fun chasing off some thugs his rivals (or some fathers, Weiss had archly countered) had sent after him, and he'd paid them very well for it.

"What about you guys?" Ruby asked.

Yang shrugged. "Just goin' with the flow. Blake-y here's got some job she's schemin' up, but she won't even tell me if she'll need any help with it."

"I can't blame her," Weiss said. "Who'd tell you anything?"

"See this? This's why you get called ice queen."

"Hmph," Weiss grumbled, looking away.

For the next few hours they sat and bantered. It still felt strange sometimes, living this way. Before she'd run off to Vale in search of her sister she'd never imagined openly being with a woman, or even just wasting time like this. Out on the frontier every day was a battle for survival, and a day off to have fun could mean a long, hungry winter, assuming you didn't get eaten by Beowolves.

Despite all the downtime, Weiss had kept her new life from getting stale. She had an almost supernatural sense for when Ruby was getting restless, or perhaps she felt the same call for action. Over the past few months they'd visited every district of Vale, from the opulent Old City to the most squalid of the many slums, and she'd begun acquiring her own list of acquaintances, enemies and allies. It still didn't feel natural, but Ruby was starting to feel that it could someday become a real home for herself… for both of them.

Eventually Blake yawned and finished her drink, standing and stretching, her spine bending impossibly, the motion revealing her cat nature even better than the ears on top of her head. It made Ruby blush a little, while both Yang and Weiss watched the display appreciatively. "I've got to make a few rounds."

"Let me come with," Yang said, downing her ale and hopping to her feet. "See ya later, sis."

"Bye!" Ruby called, waving cheerfully.

"Ice queen," Yang said with a nod.

"Brute," Weiss huffed.

Once they were gone Weiss' hand, which had been simply resting just above her knee, began to slowly creep up her thigh, fingers disappearing under the edge of her skirt. She grinned wickedly when Ruby squeaked, leaning over and nibbling on her ear. "Ready to get out of here?"

"O-okay," Ruby stammered.

Before they could move someone sat down across from them. Weiss leaned back, looking the newcomer up and down, although she kept her fingers gently caressing Ruby's upper thigh. She wasn't quite doing anything indecent, and yet her cool, skilled fingers made Ruby want to drag them both under the table. It wasn't fair how good Weiss was with… this kind of stuff.

"Cinder," Weiss drawled. "I thought I told you I'd cut your other eye out if I ever saw you again."

Those words finally drew Ruby's attention, and with a shaking hand she pushed Weiss' down, just before it reached the point of complete public indecency. The woman across from them was beautiful, with black hair covering half her face, revealing one eerie amber eye that seemed to burn in the dim tavern light. She was wearing a red dress with golden designs stitched into it, the outfit gaudy for anywhere outside of the Old City. Despite how dangerous dressing like that would be Ruby didn't see any weapons, nor did she have anyone else with her.

"It's good to see you, too," Cinder drawled, adjusting her long, black silk gloves. "Send your toy away so we can talk, will you? I'll make it worth your while."

"No," Weiss said, narrowing her eyes angrily.

"Oh, you don't miss me?" Cinder crooned. "We used to have such fun together, you and I…"

"With an emphasis on past tense," Weiss said dismissively. "If some 'fun' is all you're looking for I recommend Junior's."

Cinder glared at her. "So it's true, then. You've gone soft, playing house with some barbarian strumpet."

"Hey!" Ruby barked, getting really annoyed at how the woman was talking about her.

"Be silent," Cinder hissed, her expression ugly.

Weiss took a sip from her drink, and then set it down carefully in front of her. The motion was smooth and controlled, but something about the simple gesture was predatory in a way that immediately drew Cinder's attention. "Cinder. If you speak that way to Ruby again, I burn your tongue out."

Something about the way she said 'burn' was heavy with extra meanings that Ruby didn't follow. Weiss was quietly furious in a way that Ruby hadn't really seen her, and she smiled a little. She could take care of herself, but she liked the thought of Weiss getting angry for the sake of her honor.

Cinder obviously took the threat seriously, leaning back in her seat but keeping both hands still on the table in front of her. "I didn't track you down just for a little bit of fun; I just threw that in for old times' sake. You used to enjoy it as much as I did."

"Yes, well, things change."

"People don't," Cinder said. "You'll always be who you are, no matter what pleasant fiction you tell your little village girl… or yourself"

"And you'll always be the snake you were," Weiss said. "So slither elsewhere."

"Funny you should speak of snakes, actually," Cinder said, a smug smirk growing on her face.

Weiss went utterly still. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Cinder said.

"What's going on?" Ruby said when neither spoke for a long minute, just staring at each other warily.

"Nothing important," Weiss said quickly.

Cinder grinned wickedly, happy to have the upper hand for the first time in the conversation as she focused on Ruby. "Back when we were… close, Weiss and I had a bit of an adventure looking for the lost lair of the Serpent King."

"The Serpent King?" Ruby asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"It's not important," Weiss tried, but Cinder spoke over her.

"He was a sorcerer of some repute, with a creepy fixation on snakes of all sorts," Cinder said. "Some say he tried to infiltrate the Tower of the Wizard once, but its Master sent him crawling back into the shadows. He got on the wrong side of one of the Grimm cults and, well… they've never been above a bit of regicide, real crown or simply inflated ego."

"It'll be a false lead like all the rest," Weiss said. "Did you forget your eye?"

Cinder glared at her. "If I had I certainly wouldn't after this many reminders from you today."

Weiss looked over at Ruby. "We thought we could find it, take whatever he'd left behind. We weren't the only interested parties, and before we gave up we had many, many enemies hunting for our heads."

"You never did tell me how you got them off our backs," Cinder said.

Weiss just glared at her, refusing to answer. After a long moment Ruby spoke. "But… if it's so hard to find, what's different this time?"

"This time I'm not simply speaking of looking for it," Cinder said. "I've found it. I just need help plundering it."

"And you're certain it's not another false lead?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Very certain," Cinder said. "Besides, unlike you I haven't let my talents stagnate."

"Talents?" Ruby asked.

Cinder smirked. "You never told her what you can do? What you are?"

"She's seen it," Weiss said stiffly.

Cinder looked genuinely surprised by that. "Oh? I had heard you didn't let anyone know what you can do. I'd've thought you'd keep it a particular secret from a barbarian."

"You mean," Ruby looked around and whispered. "Magic?"

"Yes," Cinder said, gesturing slightly, making a line of flame run up her glove to gather in her hand before winking out. "Magic."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Wait, I know you!"

"You do?" Weiss asked.

"She's from my village!" Ruby said. "You got chased off 'cause you could do that!"

Cinder's face was blank, but her eyes were angry. "You're from Patch?"

"I didn't know you were from the tribes," Weiss said, studying Cinder with new eyes.

Cinder stood. "I came because I trusted you to watch my back last time we tried. I'm going to make my move tonight. Are you in or out?"

Weiss tried to be annoyed at Ruby's excited wriggling. Unfortunately, she looked like a puppy when she did that, but somehow she still put up with it. Alright, if she was honest with herself, she liked puppies, and Ruby was completely, indescribably adorable when she was excited. She'd never admit it out loud, though.

"You seem… eager," Weiss said.

Ruby grinned brightly. "Of course! I mean, Cinder seemed kinda like a… a bad person, but an adventure is always fun. We'll get lots of- of… hey, Weiss…"

She smirked slightly. "Yes?"

"What are we gonna get?"

"Well… that's hard to say with certainty," Weiss started. "According to legend he was quite wealthy, and of course any sorcerer will have a variety of magics in their lair. In addition, the story goes that the cult he angered went after him because he stole an enormous ruby that they claimed was sacred. All of this could just be stories, however. There's no way to know until we get there… if we can get there."

"So… what's the deal with you and Cinder?" Ruby asked casually.

Too casually. "We knew each other years ago."

"Knew or knew?" Ruby asked.

Weiss side eyed her. "Are you… jealous?"

"No!" Ruby insisted quickly. "Of course not."

Weiss' lip quirked. "Don't worry about it. What Cinder and I had… it was a long time ago, and not something I would want again. Besides, I promised to be with you only, remember?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, biting her lip. "Are you… happy? With me?"

"Of course," Weiss said. "Where is this coming from?"

Ruby smiled at her, but her eyes looked a little anxious. "Nothing! I just… sometimes-"

"So you came after all," Cinder interrupted, strutting up to them.

After a quick detour they had been waiting near one of the quiet side gates to the Old City where Cinder had directed them. It wasn't a great spot for an ambush, which is why Weiss had accepted the meeting spot, but it also wasn't anywhere near the locations they'd searched in the past.

"Hey!" Ruby said, focusing on the newcomer and pretending she hadn't been about to say something serious. "So, where are we going?"

"I suppose I don't have a choice but to bring you along," Cinder said, her distaste obvious. At Weiss' flat look she sighed and continued. "I figured out why no one ever found his lair."

"Why?" Weiss asked after a long, long moment, when it was obvious she wasn't going to continue without prompting.

"He hid it in the heart of the Old City," Cinder said triumphantly. "No one would ever think to look right under the watchful eye of the palace guards and the Tower of the Wizard, but he managed to construct it there all those years ago."

"That would explain how no one found it," Weiss said reluctantly. "How did you, though?"

"I have my ways," Cinder said with a smirk. "Besides, after you left my bed and tried to make up for the lack by trying out the rest of Vale's, I kept looking."

"And you're sure this is where it is?" Weiss asked skeptically. "We aren't just going to get assassins after us again, or have to fight off the city watch for invading some nob's wine cellar?"

Cinder rolled her eye, turning quickly enough to dramatically flair the skirt of her red dress. "Are you coming or not?"

"Fine," Weiss said, adjusting her sword. She took a step forward, then looked back at her partner. "Ruby?"

"Let's do this," she said, patting her scythe and following.

Technically the gates to the Old City were supposed to remain closed at night, to prevent common folk from entering the richest part of Vale. In practice it took very few coppers to convince the guards to crack the smaller side gates open to let people through, even an armed group. Before long they were in the Old City, with Ruby looking around curiously as always. They'd only made a few brief forays into that district in their explorations of the city, it being full of many more bad memories for Weiss than good.

The Old City was called that because it was the part of Vale that was behind the original walls when it was first constructed. With time Vale grew, and with the ever present threat of Grimm more walls were built to house the expanding citizenry, until Vale grew outward in layers like some vast onion. As the Old City contained the palace and all of the important government buildings, the wealthy and the aristocrats soon displaced everyone else, until it became the exclusive province of the nobility, and those merchants rich enough to rub elbows with them.

Despite the age it was kept meticulously clean, lacking the stench of body odor, garbage, and raw sewage that the rest of the city had. It was without a doubt the most beautiful part of Vale, a treat for all the senses compared to the fetid squalor of the poorer districts they usually frequented. It was all superficial, though, as the people that inhabited it were rotten to the core under their pleasant facades.

It was also home to the Tower of the Wizard, and Weiss glanced up at the looming structure before forcing her gaze away. It was the tallest building in Vale by far, stretching nearly a hundred feet in the air. The only windows were all on the top floor, and from them eerie green light emanated on many dark nights. Legend said that the tower had had the same master for countless generations, but few had ever seen him in person.

After some more walking Cinder paused, looking in both directions, before entering a small alley. At the far end Weiss could see dark steps leading down and she paused, not walking any further. "Cinder."

"Yes?" the woman asked, turning to face them.

"That's the sewers," Weiss said flatly.

Cinder smirked slightly. "I'm aware."

Weiss' nose scrunched up in disgust. "You can't be serious."

"The sewers?" Ruby asked.

"Didn't you notice the lack of raw sewage flowing through the streets of the Old City?" Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, I noticed it smelled nicer," Ruby said, looking back at the street. "Still not as nice as a good mountainside, but…"

"The Old City was constructed with dedicated underground sewage," Weiss lectured. "Rain and wastewater, as well fouler things, flow through a series of tunnels until they reach the river."

"Wait, don't we drink out of the river?" Ruby asked, suddenly looking distinctly ill.

"That's why I never drink water," Weiss said with a delicate shudder. "Very unhealthy."

"Are you going to spend all night training your pet, or are we going to get fabulously wealthy?" Cinder asked blandly.

"Why is it in the sewer?" Weiss asked.

Cinder smirked. "He built his lair under the Old City, and that means going down. It's actually below the sewers, but we can't exactly teleport… unless you've learned some fancy new tricks."

"Fine," Weiss said. "After you."

"You're too kind," Cinder simpered, before strutting down the alley towards the stairs down.

"This is going to be disgusting," Weiss grumbled.

Weiss had, if anything, been dramatically underselling how disgusting the sewers were. It was like all the stink that filled the streets of the city had been trapped in one place, and then magnified a thousand times over until it was all Ruby could do to not vomit. Weiss, in fact, was vomiting, and Ruby held her hair while Cinder tapped one foot impatiently.

"Almost finished?" Cinder drawled. "I didn't remember you being this weak before."

"Bar your mouth," Weiss spat, wiping her lips.

"Ah, you used to love my mouth," Cinder cooed. "Actually, this does remind me of old times, but you threw up from too much wine and dancing, not sewage. Or too much wine and magic-"

"Are we raiding this lair tonight or not?" Weiss snapped, cutting her off.

Ruby still wasn't sure of the full nature of their relationship. Obviously Cinder was a former lover, although that didn't bother Ruby as much as she might've expected. Knowing Weiss had had relationships in the past didn't concern her. It was how much Weiss used to get up to that Ruby didn't feel comfortable participating in that made her worry that she would move on someday.

As they set out again Ruby looked around at the tunnel. Ignoring its contents, it was honestly one of the most impressive things she'd ever seen. The tunnel was tall and wide, with raised ledges on either side to walk on, along with the occasional bridge connected the two sides. In the middle was a deep channel, which flowed with the stinking waste of the rich part of the city.

"How big are these sewers?" Ruby asked, looking around. The brick walls were actually of finer make than most of the homes in the city above, and looked strong and sturdy despite their obvious age.

"They are under every street in the Old City," Weiss lectured. "Quite a few thieves have used them to make escapes or infiltrations over the years, so there's even a dedicated group of the city watch that patrols down here from time to time. It's large enough that we should be able to avoid them if we don't shout."

"I wish the whole city had this," Ruby said.

"It's too expensive," Weiss said. "The rich wouldn't be able to afford anther pile of useless golden baubles if they expanded the system. Instead only the most affluent effluent runs through these tunnels."

"Huh?" Ruby asked, not sure what that meant.

Cinder on the other hand chuckled, making Ruby bite her lip, and the two women shared a quick smile. Okay, she was a little jealous seeing them connecting like that. She hated the way Cinder kept insulting her and Weiss, but part of her hated them being close, too, even though she felt bad about that feeling.

Cinder was at the front of the group, a red flame in the palm of her right hand providing the only light. It was quite bright, letting her see clearly, although she hated how dependent it made them on her. Ruby had looked around for something to provide light for them, but it had been too late and she didn't think Cinder would wait for her to go craft a proper torch.

They continued for a while, until finally they reached a room where many sewer tunnels met, forming an enormous cesspool. Cinder carefully led them across a series of bridges, until she stopped in front of a blank section of brick wall, turning to face them with a smirk on her face.

"What?" Weiss asked, looking around the room.

"We're here," Cinder said.

"Wow, I see why you wanted to loot this place," Weiss drawled. "All the dead rats and night soil you can carry. Truly this was worth the years spent hunting for it."

Cinder scowled. "I'd tell you not to be a fool, but it seems to come naturally to you these days. This wall contains a secret door… I just haven't been able to open it."

"Are you sure this is it?" Ruby asked.

Cinder faced the brick wall and chanted a few words under her breath. Only once before had Ruby heard the language of magic, when Weiss had used conjured chains to drag a giant Nevermore out of the sky for her to kill. Like then the words refused to be comprehended even though she knew she was hearing them. Just listening to them was a highly unpleasant sensation, the words skipping in one ear and out the other like a potato too hot to be held in her hands.

When she finished a wave of dark crimson flame gathered in her empty hand, and she slapped the wall with it. The fire spread, seeming to consume the brick, leaving behind a series of elaborate snake carvings covering the wall. Writing in a script she'd never seen before was at the top of the carvings, and at the very center was an enormous stone snake head larger than a person pointed down at the ground.

"Any more stupid questions?" Cinder demanded triumphantly.

"So… it's a snake-y wall?" Ruby asked after a beat.

Cinder rolled her eye. "I did ask for stupid questions, didn't I?"

Weiss smirked, before looking at Ruby. "There's obviously a secret door. The magical writing is no doubt a clue of some kind, we simply have to decipher it and we can get in."

"What language is that?" Ruby asked.

"Proto-Thractian," Cinder said. "I managed to translate it, but it's just gibberish. Probably a cipher of some kind."

"Or perhaps the Serpent King just used the alphabet to transliterate from a different language," Weiss speculated.

Cinder's eye lit up as she turned and looked at the wall while pulling a scroll from down her dress. How she hadn't lost or damaged it there Ruby didn't know, but soon the two of them were standing side by side studying what she'd written down. Ruby didn't like them being so close, but she kept it to herself; she'd need to talk to Yang about her sudden jealousy sometime. She didn't want to be that kind of person.

Then Cinder leaned over, until she was brushing against Weiss. She was almost half a head taller than the petite duelist, and so when she turned her head to look back at Ruby over Weiss' head she could see the taunting smirk on her lips, making Ruby's blood boil.

Still, Ruby did nothing. What could she offer Weiss in that moment? It was the first time Ruby had seen Weiss so excited outside of bed or battle, exchanging ideas about how to unlock the wall back and forth with Cinder. She was fully into the project, her brilliant mind focused on a puzzle, and her ally in cracking it.

In the end she was a simple barbarian girl. She knew how to fight, how to hunt, how to slay Grimm, and some basic smithing and herding. Things she'd needed in her life far away from the city and its teeming multitudes. Weiss knew multiple languages, had some ability with magic, apparently liked solving arcane puzzles, was well read in philosophy and poetry, and could do many other things that Ruby had probably never heard of.

Most of their time together she was the country bumpkin being shown the wonders and terrors of the big city. She loved exploring and learning all about its virtues and vices, and Weiss obviously liked sharing them with her, but how long could that last? Even if she didn't bore Weiss by not being as open to certain experiences as she was, eventually she'd get tired of playing the teacher, or Ruby would learn enough, and then what would they have in common? How long until Weiss grew tired of her and moved on to someone who could share more of her life?

Not wanting to descend further into that depressing thought spiral Ruby turned her attention to the wall. She would never make any headway with strange languages, or the 'mystic sigils and emanations', whatever those were, that the other two women were currently debating. For her all she could see was a bunch of really detailed snake carvings, and one giant one.

Ruby actually didn't mind snakes, unlike Yang who hated them. Sure, they were dangerous, but most didn't want to cause any problems, and when she was little she loved playing with the harmless garden snakes before she was old enough to be put to work around the farm. She also liked putting them in her sister's bed to make her scream, the memories of which brought a mischievous smile to her face…

The giant snake carving was incredibly lifelike. If it wasn't large enough to swallow a human whole and made of plain gray stone she would've thought that it was alive. In fact, the way its head was angled down reminded her of when she'd pet the heads of some of the little snakes that she'd made friends with. Actually, it was at just the right angle to gently stroke the spot between its eyes.

Ruby had always been impulsive, and while she was sure that Cinder and Weiss would mock her for it, she decided that she wanted to pet the giant snake. She had nothing better to do, and maybe she could pretend to be searching for a hidden latch or something… which was a good idea, too. But if she was a snake themed sorcerer, she'd make the giant snake door open if you petted it right, so she walked over and did just that.

"What are you doing?" Cinder asked sharply.

Ruby didn't say anything as she gently stroked the stone. It was pleasantly cool to the touch, just like a real snake, and then a moment later it warmed up. She then felt it move on its own under her hand, and she jumped back in shock as the stone snake opened its jaw until it was fully dislocated, revealing a low, narrow archway leading into the darkness.

"How did you do that?" Weiss asked.

Ruby turned and looked at her, blushing slightly at the looks she was getting. Cinder looked jealous and angry, while Weiss just looked impressed. "I just thought, you know, if I had a magic snake door I'd have it open if you petted it."

Weiss walked over and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Ruby kissed back eagerly, happy for the attention, but before it could deepen Cinder huffed loudly and walked up to the door, using the fire in her palm to peer into the darkness. "Are you going to do that all night, or are we going to plunder the vault?"

Weiss pulled back, smirking. "Hmm… tough choice. Although I've always wanted to have some fun on a pile of coin, so I guess we can keep going."

Ruby blushed and smacked her arm, to which Weiss just grinned unrepentantly. Annoyed at them both Cinder stepped into the narrow snake mouth, and they hurried after, if only to avoid being left in the dark, leaving the door open behind them.

Weiss kept a hand on the wall while she walked, the small amount of light that filtered past Cinder doing little to help her see. Unfortunately the inside of the giant stone snake seemed to be as long as the real thing would be, as they'd been walking slowly but steadily for more than a minute through the endless, smooth stone tunnel.

Eventually Cinder stepped out into a chamber of some kind, and Weiss followed, pausing at the opening to take in the next area. It was large, big enough that Cinder's light was simply lost in the darkness, revealing nothing about the walls and ceiling, or if they even existed at all.

Then Ruby bumped into her and muttered an apology. Weiss stepped out into the open, her skin crawling at the thought of what could be lurking in the dark. A thousand eyes could be on them as they stood there, and they would have no way to know until whatever was in hiding made its move.

"How can this room be so big?" Weiss asked.

"That tunnel sloped down a bit the whole way," Ruby said, looking up as well. "I'm just glad it didn't end in a snake butt."

"Dolt."

"Still, that must be a really high ceiling; you'd think we could see how far it goes."

Cinder raised her hand with the light over her head, and without a word increased the flames until the burned like a bonfire. It seemed to reveal no more of the room, and looking back Weiss frowned. It wasn't that the room was so big and empty that they couldn't see more, but rather, looking at the wall behind them, which was made of the same smooth gray stone as the snake tunnel, the shadows weren't receding at all, simply letting them see the same amount of wall even with more light.

Ruby noticed the same thing, and she pulled out a small copper coin. She then tossed it straight into the air, where it entered the shadows above before quickly clinking against the ceiling and falling down again. From how long that took the ceiling was maybe twenty feet high, still notable, but not the endless void that it appeared to be.

"Uh… what?" Ruby said.

Then the darkness erupted. Shadowy tendrils bust forth, grasping and probing, grabbing each of them and starting to haul them in different directions. Before Weiss could really react she'd been dragged up off of the ground towards the ceiling, until she was fully wrapped up in the darkness, the strands of shadow keeping her from moving as well as any rope, all without feeling against her skin more substantial than a cold mist.

She heard a scream, but it sounded distant, muffled. She couldn't tell who it was, but she struggled harder, trying to free herself. She began to feel her own panic rising in her chest, and then she heard it. A hiss, followed by the dry rasp of scales scraping against each other. Somewhere in the dark was a snake, a large one, and she could neither see it, nor could she move to escape or fight it.

She was alone… all alone in the dark. For so long she had been alone, and as the shadows binding her grew ever colder it felt as though she would always be alone. She felt like she was sinking, falling into a black pit of emptiness, and she couldn't be bothered to climb out again. What was the point? She had been trapped alone in the dark for her whole life, was there any reason to even try to find the light?

As she thought that some tiny voice in the back of her head screamed at her that she wasn't alone. That someone out there did care, was there for her. How could she trust that little voice, though? She'd been alone for so long, how could she accept that there was any other truth?

She heard something over the loud slithering of a serpent, some voice calling for her. If someone was calling her name, could she possibly be alone? That didn't make any sense, did it? How could she be alone if someone cared enough to shout for her with so much worry in their voice? Not even knowing what the word meant, she managed to whisper "Ruby…"

And just like that the darkness receded. She could think again, if sluggishly, and the pall fell from her, letting her see once more. The tendrils wrapped around her were made from shadowy snakes, and a giant serpent, almost as large as the stone mouth they'd entered this chamber through, was hovering in front of her with its maw wide open, about to swallow her whole. She struggled futilely, still unable to move, but finally able to breath and shout again.

"Ruby!"

And then she was there, silver eyes furious and scythe deployed. "Weiss!" she shouted, swinging the weapon, and it easily cut the giant shadowy snake's head clean off. The entire thing faded away like a bad dream, and with it the shadows binding her lost their grip. She began falling, but before she could hit the ground Ruby dropped her scythe and caught her in her arms.

"Oof!" Ruby grunted, struggling to hold her for a moment. "For someone as skinny as you are you're pretty heavy."

Weiss huffed, but didn't say anything, simply leaning into Ruby's warm body. She started to shake, feeling cold like she'd fallen beneath a frozen lake, but slowly she began to warm again as she was cradled gently in her barbarian's arms.

"You okay?" Ruby asked softly.

"Yes," Weiss said, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, enjoying Ruby's familiar scent. "I'll be okay."

"What happened?" Ruby asked. "I got grabbed by those shadow things and dragged away, but I managed to break free, and Cinder did too. You just… I dunno. It was like you couldn't hear me when I shouted."

Weiss blushed, finally forcing herself to climb out of Ruby's arms. The reminder that Cinder was there, watching her moment of weakness giving her the push she needed to stand on her own two feet. "I couldn't. It was like… like I was all alone in the dark."

"Don't worry," Ruby said with a smile. "I promise, I'll always be there to catch you."

Weiss felt her throat close up for a moment. "You can't know that."

"I do," Ruby said, as if those words were some simple thing. Perhaps to her they were, as impossible as it seemed to Weiss, Ruby didn't plan on leaving her.

That didn't mean she wouldn't, however. "Everyone leaves."

"Not me," Ruby said, shaking her head. "I'm stuck to you like a barnacle. Except, you know, extra sticky. Wait, not sticky. That sounds gross. Uh…"

"Are you two almost finished?" Cinder demanded testily. "I'd like to loot this place sometime this year."

Ruby looked worriedly over at Weiss as they walked. The shadow room had been freaky, with a sense of terrible loneliness filling her for a moment as she was pulled into the darkness. Fortunately she had thought of her father and sister, her uncle Qrow, her friend Blake, and of course Weiss, and it had seemed like the shadows could no longer hold her and she'd quickly cut herself free, her scythe somehow working on the ephemeral darkness.

Weiss had had a very different reaction, however. Even Cinder had managed to free herself, while for a long, painful moment Weiss had been lost in the darkness. Ruby had started to get desperate, shouting for her, when finally the shadows began to dim, letting her see her lover. Weiss had been even paler than normal, and she'd been shaking, tears at the corners of her eyes. She'd never seen her like that, and she never wanted to again, but she'd somewhat come back to herself after being awakened from the snake's grip.

Still, she wasn't wholly recovered, and Ruby kept close to her, ready to provide help if she so much as thought about stumbling. She wanted to be there for Weiss, and she would do everything in her power to help her.

Then Cinder, who was leading the way, stepped on a tile that clicked strangely, and Ruby instantly looked around, taking in the area. They were walking down a wide corridor with a high, vaulted ceiling, which had stretched from the far part of the shadowy room as the only possible path forward. The floor was composed of large, gray stone tiles, and the walls were decorated with elaborate snake carvings, just as perfect as those that covered the entrance door.

With the click the snakes opened their mouths, and with a coughing bark tiny darts began to spew from them, firing in random patterns all through that section of the passage. Without a word Ruby flared out her cloak, blocking any possible darts, the tiny missiles lacking the strength to punch all the way through the heavy red material, while beside her Weiss finally came out of the stupor her recent experience had put her in, drawing her sword and knocking one of the darts out of the air with a flourish.

"Run!" Ruby shouted, and the two did, staying side by side as they rushed down the passage following after Cinder, who had surrounded herself with guttering walls of flame to burn away any darts that would've struck her. Somehow Weiss managed to parry the missiles that would've hit them from one side, and while her cloak gained a dozen tiny feathered guests, none struck them from that side.

Finally the corridor ended at a great archway carved like a snake's mouth, on the other side of which Cinder waited, looking around cautiously. They ran through it and paused, gasping for breath as they took in the new room.

It was large and round, with the snake carvings covering the walls all around them. Opposite the door was a single large snake head, just like the one on the outside wall, but it was surrounded by several smaller, different colored snake heads. They were every color she had seen stone be, and some she hadn't, being white, black, blue, green, red, and yellow. Above the giant mouth were carved words, like those outside the door, although it appeared to her untrained eye to be a different message.

"Do we just pet the snake head again?" Ruby asked.

"I doubt it," Weiss said. "Those snake heads around it are probably the key, as is the message above. We just have to figure it out."

"And any wrong answer probably results in the carvings shooting darts at us from all directions," Cinder said, eyeing the walls warily.

"Why would he give a clue about how to get in?" Ruby asked. "If I had a door I wouldn't leave a message to help out thieves."

Weiss gave her her patented 'you're such a dolt but at least you're cute' smile, one that she'd grown used to while learning about the wonders of civilization. "Sorcerers aren't like most people. They like to demonstrate their knowledge, to prove that they're clever. There's no way that he wouldn't take the time to show how superior he is by leaving behind a puzzle he's certain no one could ever solve."

"That's just stupid," Ruby muttered.

Once again the two got to work translating the message above the door, and Ruby was left sitting around bored keeping watch. She listened with half an ear to their discussion, but this time when Cinder tried to get close to Weiss it didn't bother Ruby quite as much. She was still annoyed at the woman's presumption, but after rescuing Weiss earlier, wordlessly sharing with her the defense of their lives in the trapped corridor, and of course, opening the original door, she no longer felt like a useless tagalong on their quest. Cinder had done little more than be a light source, so if anything Ruby was the one who deserved to be there with Weiss.

"I've got it!" Weiss suddenly shouted.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, walking over to look. Weiss had a sheet of parchment covered in scribbles in front of her, but she couldn't make head or tails of even the notes in the Valean tongue, much less the parts in languages she didn't speak.

"The riddle was the clue, of course," Weiss said, eager to explain. "It says… well, its poetic and not in a living tongue, so it's hard to translate, but its about snakes absorbing heat in the sun. Anyway, I simply need to rub the snakes in order of coldest to warmest."

"Coldest to warmest?" Ruby asked. "They're stone."

"But they're different colors," Weiss said. "Have you ever noticed that wearing black makes you hotter on a sunny day than wearing white?"

"Uh…" Ruby trailed off, trying to think back. She pretty much always worn her red cloak over anything else, so she hadn't ever noticed much difference from what she wore under it.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Different colors absorb more or less sunlight, and so heat up differently."

"Huh," Ruby said. She didn't doubt Weiss, but that was strange, arcane knowledge that only bored city dwellers would bother to figure out, although it did sound useful for people that actually spent a great amount of time outdoors, like her own people did.

"Anyway, that means I simply have to do this," Weiss said, reaching out and stroking the white, then the blue, the green, yellow, red, and finally the black snake heads.

There was a long pause, and then the great gray mouth opened, revealing another dark passage. Without a word Cinder walked inside, and Weiss followed, but not before giving Ruby one last triumphant smile.

On anyone else that smugness would've been annoying, but Ruby found it cute on Weiss. Besides, she was glad that her girlfriend had found her way out of the dark mood she'd fallen into after the shadow snakes. So without a word she followed behind, eager to see what was ahead.

There was another long narrow passage, and from what she could tell this one was slowly descending as well, although it might've been her imagination. She didn't know what strange sense Ruby used to discern their change in depth, but to her mind it was mostly a fumble through a narrow passage in near darkness, until finally Cinder stepped into another room.

This at last gave signs of habitation. Great wooden chairs, now rotting and nearing collapse, were placed about an equally decrepit table, upon which sat golden plates and tableware. She had seen similar in the richest of nobles' homes, those with more interest in being conspicuous with their wealth than care for good taste in décor. The walls of the circular room were as elaborately decorated as the chamber above had been, and there were four other doorways evenly spaced about it.

"We're here," Cinder said triumphantly.

Ruby wandered over to the table, picking up a plate and staring at it for a moment, before giving it a bite. When she left teeth marks she hummed happily. "Real gold. One set of plates and forks won't go far, but it's treasure all the same."

Cinder rolled her eye. "You think we'd come this far for a few scraps of thin gold? The only prize worth retrieving is the Ruby Eye."

"But I need both of mine," Ruby said, looking a little concerned.

Weiss rolled her eyes as well. "Dolt. The Ruby Eye is the name of the gem that the Serpent King stole from a cult of Grimm worshippers. It was supposed to be larger than a man's fist and perfectly cut. Some even claim that it has magical properties, but there are rumors about that sort of thing whenever a particularly impressive gemstone makes the rounds through the people's dim minds."

"That's because gems are useful for enchanting," Cinder said.

Weiss scoffed. "Silver takes magic far better. The only reason people use gemstones is they think they look pretty, and because people have used them for a long time."

Cinder was about to argue more, when they both stopped to watch Ruby open one of the doors, this one having a handle, although it was shaped like a snake rearing back to strike. She stuck her head inside and looked around, and despite the near darkness from Cinder's light being so far away she pulled back and closed the door. "Kitchen," she reported, before walking to the next door.

Cinder and Weiss exchanged a disbelieving look, but didn't say anything as Ruby checked the next room. "Bedroom."

It was when she opened the third door that she paused, staring, and at that Weiss spoke up. "What is it?"

"I- I think we found it," Ruby said shakily.

Weiss and Cinder walked over, and Ruby pushed the door wide open to reveal another huge, high ceilinged chamber, this one shaped like a long oval, with the entrance at one narrow end. The walls and ceiling were covered in snake carvings, and there was an archway to another chamber at the opposite end of the room.

Weiss didn't really absorb any of that, however. Even her jaded eyes couldn't quite accept the sheer amount of wealth laying casually about the room. There were piles of coin deep enough to swim in, golden statues of such weight that she had no hope to lift them, and everywhere a rainbow of gems that sparkled in the light like an aurora. Even the treasure vaults of the noble families in the city above were beggared by the wealth stored in that one chamber.

Ruby walked in like the mindless undead, staring at the fabulous wealth but unable to bring herself to take anything. Weiss walked up beside her, and she started to reach out for a particularly lovely star sapphire when Cinder interrupted them. "Where's the Eye?"

Weiss managed to pull her gaze away from the jewel, taking in the room at large. While there were many rubies on display, and plenty of places under piles of valuables for even a great gem to be in hiding, she didn't see anything that jumped out at her as a treasure of legend. "Maybe it's through that archway?"

"Come on," Cinder said, stalking through the treasure horde like it was worthless sand on a beach.

For the first time since seeing Cinder again Weiss hesitated. The two had always had a tumultuous relationship, but she'd thought she had a good understanding of what drove her. As much as Weiss had dreamed of learning the arcane secrets of the Serpent King, Cinder had always been fixated on his wealth. Now, standing before a fortune that even woke Weiss' latent lust for gold, her ignoring it completely rang warning bells in her mind.

Before she could formulate words to express her concerns she saw motion, and looking around she noticed the mouths of the stone serpents opening. She prepared to duck, a hand once more falling to her sword Myrtenaster, but before she could move they began to disgorge their contents. However, instead of darts, what came spilling forth were living snakes. From tiny garden snakes, to deadly vipers, to great ropes of muscle and scale longer than a ship and thicker than a human leg they poured forth into the room.

Cinder reacted first, snarling like an animal and launching a fireball at a particularly large specimen. The blast of magical flame exploded, sending a molten spray of gold in all directions, killing her target and a dozen more. "Run!" she shouted, taking off towards the far archway, throwing more fire ahead of her as she went.

Weiss ran after her, sword up, stabbing at any snake that came close. The serpents were strangely behaved, highly aggressive and seeking out the humans in their midst with a bloody single-mindedness that defied comprehension. No matter how many burned, or were slashed and stabbed with sword and scythe, still they came on, seeking to strangle and bite the three.

"Look out!" Ruby shouted, swinging her scythe up, cutting a snake in half that had almost bitten Weiss from above.

Looking up she saw that the carvings covering the ceiling had also opened their mouths and were busily disgorging snakes of their own. With enemies coming from all sides as well as above, it was all she could do to fend them off, and they had barely made it halfway through the treasure vault. Yet still the snakes came, pouring forth like an ocean spilling through a wall of pipes.

Weiss tried to think of a way out while frantically slashing and stabbing any that came too close, but it was hopeless. She was on the verge of being overwhelmed, and any ideas she did have she didn't have the time to implement. They were losing slowly, but to do literally anything else was to be instantly swarmed by the venomous reptiles.

And then there was a wave of heat and light as coils of flame whipped through the air, encircling the two of them and then expanding outward, leaving an open space filled with nothing but the ashen, charred remains of dozens of snakes. Looking up, she saw Cinder standing at the far archway, fire pouring from her hands as she gave them an opening, which they immediately took, rushing down the charred path until they reached her, and all three moved into the next chamber.

Ruby could see why someone might want the Ruby Eye. For starters, rubies were neat, and pretty, and she wasn't just thinking that because she hoped people would think the same about people named Ruby. But seeing a ruby bigger than her fist, while already being perfectly cut and shining like a beacon under Cinder's dim firelight? That was something else.

The room beyond the snake-y treasure room was equally large, and yet entirely empty, barring a giant statue of a snake at the far end of the otherwise empty chamber. The statue was stunningly realistic, with a head the same size as the entrance had been, and a body that disappeared into the stone wall behind it. One of the eyes was simple stone, while the left eye was the enormous ruby that Cinder had been hunting for.

Glancing over, she saw that both Weiss and Cinder were enraptured by the sparkling gem. Cinder was in fact so distracted by it that she'd let the flames behind her lapse, but for some reason the snakes wouldn't enter the new camber, instead forming a writhing, squirming mass just before the threshold.

"I've finally found it," Cinder whispered, slowly walking towards the statue.

"Uh… it's probably trapped," Ruby said. "Given, you know, everything else has been trapped."

Weiss nodded slowly. "She's right. We need to think this through carefully."

"Think this through?" Cinder scoffed, not stopping her blind walk towards the statue. "This is it! This is everything I've been working towards! What is there to think about?!"

"We're in the sanctum of the Serpent King," Weiss said, her voice rising. "The last room had more treasure than you could spend in a life time, and we still haven't found his library or laboratory. There's wealth, power, knowledge… everything you could want to steal from this place. That Eye is sure to be trapped, and what good is it to us if we're dead?"

"The rest is meaningless," Cinder snapped. "Treasure? You think those baubles are treasure? You think some dead sorcerer has knowledge worth stealing? Forgot all of that. This. This means something."

"It's a gem," Weiss said. "I can feel enchantments on it from here, but its still just a gem the Serpent King stole from some deluded, Grimm worshipping snake cult. It's not worth dying for."

"It's worth everything," Cinder said, stopping in front of the statue to turn and face Weiss, her eyes gleaming with a formerly hidden madness. "Come with me. You don't need your barbarian pet. It can be like old times, you and me, lovers and fighters against the world. Ready to bring down the corrupt society that chokes this city. Did you forget the things your family and all those like them have done? Vale rots at its heart, and while you've tried to forget this in carnal pleasures, I've sought out solutions. Ways to rebuild this place anew, better!"

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.

Cinder smiled. "My mistress will bring down the Wizard, and all of the corrupt aristocrats that rule under the shadow of his tower. Come with me. You can have a place there, a purpose. A life that's more than meaningless distractions. Come with me. Just help me get the Eye, and everything we ever dreamed of on those clear nights so long ago can be ours."

Weiss was silent for a long moment, and Ruby felt her heartbeat speed up. They'd been together for a while, but how much did she mean to Weiss? The only promise she'd ever made was to be faithful while they were together, and she had no reason to doubt her. But did she want to stay with her? What did she have to offer compared to whatever history she had with Cinder?

Then Weiss reached over, taking her hand gently, although she never took her eyes off of Cinder. "I have the only Ruby I need right here."

Cinder's expression twisted into one of terrible loathing, and before either of them could react she turned and grabbed the Eye, ripping it from the statue. For a moment nothing happened, and then the mouth of the statue opened, and from it issued forth a river of black slime. Cinder scurried back, and in moments it took shape, forming into an enormous snake, one so large that it defied comprehension, and could have easily swallowed two of them whole in a single bite.

The snake coiled its body, and she could see that half of it was black, with the head covered in white and red bone, while the other half was white, which ended in a second head, this one covered with a black and red crest. It was obvious just from a look that it was a Grimm, but it was bigger than any Ruby had ever seen before.

"King Taijitu," Weiss said, raising her sword, eyes wide.

The snake turned and looked at Cinder with both heads for a moment, tongues flicking out, and she glared up at it fiercely. It then turned away, the white focusing on Weiss, and the black on Ruby, both swaying very slightly back and forth as the body coiled, preparing to strike.

Cinder laughed. "You should've come with me. Now it's too late; the Eye is mine, and all you'll find is your death when my mistress makes her move!"

With that she ran along the edge of the room. Ruby started to shift over to intercept, but in her distraction the King Taijitu launched a head forward, snapping at her. Only her reflexes, honed in the wild fighting Grimm, let her to avoid instant death, although it allowed Cinder to run by. With a brief blast of flame she was through the snakes, and then running across the chamber as more poured into the gap she'd burned.

"You know, I don't like her," Ruby said.

Weiss smirked slightly. "She wasn't this crazy before."

"So she was kinda crazy?" Ruby asked.

"A little," Weiss agreed. "I thought it was interesting at the time."

Before Ruby could think of any further banter the King Taijitu attacked, both heads darting forward to bite them. Ruby ran sideways, using her foot speed to keep ahead of it as the snake Grimm snapped at her again and again. She couldn't worry about Weiss, who was busy with the other head but could take care of herself, focusing instead on juking and weaving fast enough to avoid getting swallowed whole by the monster.

Still, her running wasn't aimless. She circled around behind it, and then looped back, using her momentum to leap over the body, before turning around and rolling under the white section. The black snake head followed her blindly, flowing under and through, and then she leapt over a section of it again and ran away in a straight line. After a moment it gave a hissing shriek, and she turned around to take in her work.

The King Taijitu now had a large knot tied around the area where the two halves met. This was obviously unpleasant if the way both halves were acting was any indication. It spent a few moments trying to free itself, but failed utterly, letting Weiss withdraw to stand beside her.

"Good job," she said, obviously impressed.

"Thanks! I don't think that'll stop it for long, though."

"It doesn't need to," Weiss said, holding her sword out in front of her, running two fingers down the length of the blade even as she spoke words that refused to find any purchase on Ruby's consciousness. For the second time in her life she saw Weiss conjure up the strange, unnatural blue flames from her sword, which shed neither heat nor light as they burned nothing. She then stabbed the weapon into the ground, the flames spilling forth onto the tiled floor, where they formed a flickering snowflake pattern.

When Weiss lifted the weapon, instead of the chains that she'd conjured to bind the Nevermore so that Ruby could slay it, tendrils of misty vapor burst forth, writhing madly in the air, before with a gesture of her blade Weiss sent them corkscrewing towards the King Taijitu. It tried to avoid the attack, but it was too large, and with both ends trying to dodge in different directions, its knotted body went nowhere. The mist slowly lapped over the squamous abomination, leaving behind a thick layer of ice. As the mist continued to flow the ice thickened, until the giant Grimm was fully encased, like a great fly trapped in frozen amber.

Then with a sharp motion Weiss brought down her sword, and the ice shattered, bursting the Grimm within, releasing a spray of black, evaporating ooze alongside chunks of ice. Then the mist faded away, and with it the flaming blue circle of magic that Weiss had conjured.

"Whoa," Ruby said. "That was… whoa."

Weiss smirked, but looked tired from the magics she had just wrought. Before she could say anything, however, the room began to shake, and cracks formed on the ceiling. "We have to get out of here!"

"Can you do the magic again?" Ruby asked, looking back at the writhing mass of snakes blocking the only exit.

"I can try," Weiss said grimly.

Before she could there was a flash of fire, and a moment later there was another blast of hot flame in the snake room. For a moment Ruby thought that Cinder had come back for them, but it was the wrong color flames. Still, neither hesitated, running and leaping over the burning mass of snakes and rushing through the room, sticking close to the fire to avoid the venomous jaws of the reptiles.

Standing at the far doorway throwing flaming bottles of alcohol were Yang and Blake. Ruby sped up, jumping over a particularly angry viper, and threw herself into her Yang's arms. "Sis!"

"Ruby," she said, sighing in relief. "Oh, you made it too, Weiss."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see you're excited. But let's get out of here before the whole complex collapses."

Ruby pulled back, and without another word all four began to run. Through long snake shaped tunnels, past the shadow room, and eventually out into the sewer system. While the ceiling was falling apart all around them it wasn't a very fast collapse, and while she was sore and bruised from being pelted with rocks, and they were all coughing up dust by the time they reached the sewers, all four survived their escape.

An hour later they were sitting around their favorite table at Beacon once again. Weiss retrieved a round of drinks for them, and then collapsed into the chair beside Ruby, leaning against her a little as she drank deeply from her wine.

"Ruby," Yang said seriously after quaffing an entire tankard of ale. "Next time you ask for backup to follow you… don't lead me into a snake den."

Ruby chuckled weakly. "Sorry, sis. You really saved us, though."

"Why did you have bottles of flammable alcohol with you?" Weiss asked curiously.

Yang shrugged. "Blake picked up a bunch down at the docks for a steal-"

Weiss snorted, as that was surely literal.

"-and we were gonna try to pawn them. When you and Rubes came asking for 'discreet backup' I thought some fire might come in handy.'

"What part of 'discreet backup' made you think of incendiaries?!"

Yang shrugged. "I dunno. What does 'discreet' mean, anyway?"

"It should mean lots of fire!" Ruby said cheerfully.

Weiss slapped a hand to her face and groaned loudly. "You're all dolts."

"I knew what discreet meant," Blake said.

"Then why'd you let her bring the alcohol?" Weiss demanded.

Blake shrugged. "I assumed she was trying to have a cheap victory party after. Speaking of, we had some plans that you interrupted once already tonight. I'd like to get back to those."

Yang grinned, giving Blake a quick kiss, and then stood. "Well, I'd say it's been fun, but there were way too many snakes for that. See ya sis, ice queen."

"Good night!" Ruby called to their retreating backs.

"Don't call me that," Weiss grumbled halfheartedly.

After a few moments Ruby spoke again. "So… how did you meet Cinder, anyway?"

"Magic is… rare," Weiss said after a moment. "When I was younger I discovered I had a natural gift, and when I left my home I decided to pursue it. I put together a cabal of like minded individuals, and Cinder was among them. She was the only one with perhaps more talent that myself, being able to conjure fire without even needing words of magic."

"So you did magic stuff together?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Weiss said, staring into the distance. "There were six of us, and we thought we were better than everyone. We were young, most of us had money, and we had magic. We could do anything we wanted; nothing could hold us back."

"What happened?" Ruby asked when she became silent, reaching over and taking her hand.

Weiss shuddered, squeezing back to anchor herself from the memories. The end of their group had been a nightmare, one she never wanted to think about again. "We discovered that we weren't so untouchable. That some things had a very high price, even if we didn't know we were going to be paying it. When the dust settled Cinder continued to pursue her agenda, and I… I threw myself into every distraction I could find."

"And that's when we met," Ruby said.

"That's when we met," Weiss agreed.

"Weiss… I know we haven't been together long, but… I love you."

Weiss froze, the words sinking into her heart like freezing arrows. "What?"

Ruby smiled slightly. "I don't know how you city people do these things, but I know how I feel. I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, even if it's cut short by magic or Grimm. I want to be with you forever."

"Do you really mean that?" Weiss asked, her voice shaking. She cleared her throat, trying to gather her thoughts. "Forever is a long time."

"Not spent with you," Ruby said simply.

Weiss wanted to return the words, but for her it wasn't so simple. No one had ever said them to her, nor had she ever spoken them aloud. She loved her sister, however long it had been since she'd seen Winter, and she had once thought she'd loved Cinder. Was she even capable of feeling something so strong and pure that all the poets in the world tried and failed to fill their works with descriptions of it?

She didn't know, but she did know that Ruby stirred her heart to write her own sonnets, and perhaps that was love, and she was simply too broken to recognize it. Could she embrace this moment, accept Ruby's promise of the end of her loneliness? Did she dare risk her battered, beaten heart again?

Did she dare refuse the offer of what she truly wanted? As she'd told Cinder, she didn't need the Eye when she had the only Ruby she cared about right beside her.

With wonder in her voice she spoke. "I- I love you, too, the gods help me. I love you, too. And I promise, I will not leave you, not as long as I live."

Ruby's silver eyes lit up like the sun, which would be rising all too soon. Without a word the barbarian girl launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around Weiss and pressing a kiss so fierce that it bruised her lips and crashed their teeth painfully into each other. It was sloppy, and rough, and lacked the art of the kisses she'd paid so much money for in her quest to forget her life and past.

Despite that it was perfect, and Weiss wouldn't trade it for all the jewels in the world.

When Ruby finally pulled back, flushed and happy, Weiss dropped a few coins on the table. "Come on, let's go back to our room."

"Okay," Ruby said eagerly, quickly climbing off of her.

Hand in and they walked out and looked up at the sky, which was slowly turning gray with the false dawn. "Still, it's too bad we didn't get any treasure; we'll have to find paying work again soon."

"Oh, I forgot!" Ruby said, reaching into her clothing and pulling out handfuls of sparkling gems. "I grabbed some earlier."

"Wait," Weiss said, narrowing her eyes. "I didn't think I heard a trap go off. The snakes came out because you stole that treasure, didn't they?"

"Uh…" Ruby murmured, looking at the gems in her hands.

"Dolt," Weiss said, rolling her eyes but giving her a quick kiss. "And hide those again, otherwise we'll be fighting off thieves all night, not just the ones watching us right now."

"Sorry," Ruby said, putting away the valuables and pulling out her combat scythe while Weiss drew her sword.

"Don't be," Weiss said as she smirked at the hungry eyed thieves. "I wouldn't want you any other way."

With a cheerful war cry Ruby attacked, and Weiss followed her into fray without a second thought, just like she always would. For the first time in her life Weiss started to really believe that she wouldn't be alone again.

Ruby, for all that she was a dolt, wouldn't leave her.

Author's Note

This week is White Rose Week again, and I decided to make another completely overboard story. This is a sequel to last year's Grimm Meetings in Vale, and I hope that you've enjoyed it. If you want to read more of my White Rose Week stories, check out my AO3 and Tumblr, both of which use the same name.