Chapter 1: An Unbreakable Bond

I'm Falling Down Into My Shadow

iki wo hisomete matte iru Deadly Night

Ruby choked out a breath, feeling a weight pressing firmly into her tiny five-year-old stomach. Opening her eyes, she saw a white haired girl, who appeared to be inspecting Ruby's small bat wings, petting them.

"Umm, hi there..." Ruby squeaked out trying to breathe.

"Oh, you're awake! I was worried you would stay like that forever! What are you? You are soo cute!" The girl was vibrating with excitement and joy through her plain blue dress seeing Ruby move out from under her. "Let me help you up," the girl offered.

Ruby gladly held onto the extended hand to pull herself up, noticing that she could suddenly feel the other girl's thoughts as they held hands.

"Oh sorry! It's just you have soft hands, I didn't want to let go of them yet!" Ruby wondered why she could understand the girl so well as she stared into crystal blue eyes, but she can't seem to make a sound herself, so she just smiled and nuzzled the other girl's hand to her cheek letting her know it's ok and that she liked the contact. "My name is Weiss, what's your name?"

"... Ru… Ruby…"

Weiss put a finger to Ruby's lips. "Don't push yourself if it's too hard ok." With that, the two entwined their hands further together and they noticed a slight warmth grow from their interwoven fingers. "Don't worry, I don't judge others like I'm told too." Weiss winked at Ruby conspiratorially.

"I'm… not…. human…. I'm… demon." Ruby managed to croak out only to get a squeeze from their intertwined hands.

"That's so cool, it explains your wings and tail. So what are you doing here?" Ruby shakes her head and lifts her shoulders as if to say, 'not a clue.'

"Need... To… find... friend… I guess… It's you, Weiss." Ruby finishes a bit more confidently as she returns the earlier squeeze.

"I'd love to be your friend Ruby!" Weiss cheered as the burning intensifies and Ruby dissolved into a heavy crimson smoke, that oddly enough smelled of roses. "Where'd you go?" Weiss asked before she heard Ruby giggling and felt her shoulder twitch as if it were laughing like a little girl. "Are you on me?!"

With that, Ruby moved from Weiss's shoulder to the back of her hand, and sent a mental image of her view from there, to Weiss. "Is that what I look like?!" Weiss looked down seeing a crimson Rose tattoo-like picture etched into her hand but noticed it moving. "Is that you Ruby? How'd you do that?"

'I don't know, … it just felt right. Sorry, we may be stuck together now.' Weiss heard Ruby's thoughts and smiled to herself.

"Don't be. I don't have any friends, my dad won't let me." Weiss thought and said at the same time, trying to show how happy she was to not be alone anymore.

"Happy birthday, Weiss!" Ruby bounced with joy through the dining room as she attempted to fly around to Weiss's entertainment. Weiss was just happy to have one true friend in her life, especially on such an important day.

After that day three years ago, when they first met, Ruby moved in with Weiss and the two kept the young demon a secret from everybody, enjoying the fact that words were rarely needed in order to hold a conversation. Weiss began to excel at all her studies - to her parents' pleasure - and to the outside observer, she seemed happier, even though she seemed to shelter herself from any social activity, preferring isolation, but to Ruby, Weiss was just always finding time to play with her best and only friend.

After, all that time; the two decided to finally reveal the existence of Ruby to her parents. Both girls were excited, thinking that they had to approve of Ruby, she was too kind and innocent, and she always helped Weiss with anything, including her studies.

As Weiss's parents walked into the room and sat down, Ruby quickly went into her tattooed form as not to surprise Weiss's parent with her rather unexpected appearance, the servants began to serve the dinner meal. The meal was a quiet affair no one spoke, and only the sound of clinking silverware was heard. Weiss waited for a few moments, before building up the courage to speak.

"Father, mother, I have someone I would like you to meet." Weiss spoke, her voice was clear and confident only betrayed by the fear in her eyes, as she pleaded them not to overreact. Her father nodded in a silent confirmation, as his brows furrowed in slight confusion.

Taking her father's best attempt at approval with glee, she nudged Ruby with her mind for her to appear. In a cloud of smoke, Ruby took her corporeal form.

"Weiss, care to explain the meaning of this?" Allistair Schnee - Weiss's father - asked in a cold, deadly voice. Weiss's mother - Erza - nodded her head in agreement with Allistair, her horror and hatred plain on her face at the sight of the demon.

Weiss collected herself, knowing her parents' tendency towards anger and violence, "Mom, Dad, this is my friend Ruby, she has been around for awhile now, so please give her a chance." Weiss' voice got quieter and more pleading as she spoke under her father's intense glare.

Allistair slowly, and calmly rose from his seat and walked over to the girls. "I will not tolerate some non-human thing being within a hundred miles of this estate," he quickly backhands Weiss across the face sending her flying to the ground, before grabbing the steak knife by Weiss's plate and finishing his stroll to a hunched over Ruby. "Let alone mingle with my daughter." The snarl seemed even more inhuman than Ruby as he slashed the knife at her throat only to graze over her left eye, barely missing the eye itself as she jumped back in panic dissolving into smoke to avoid further harm.

'Weiss run!' Ruby's mental scream could be heard throughout the room as Weiss struggled to rise with a bruised cheek and a similarly bleeding eye. "DEMON, HOW DARE YOU MARK MY DAUGHTER AS YOURS!" Allistair roars, cursing madly, as he approaches his daughter, appalled that she would involve herself with an abomination. "Know this, Ruby, you are spared my wrath, but only because my daughter's life is at stake as well. I do not want you here but so long as Weiss is breathing and a good daughter, I will let you live." His deathly cold oath stunned everybody present.

Weiss gave up on moving and instead curled in a ball and cried as her eye continues to bleed, her parents both ignored her as the situation calmed and they started to think rationally again. "Dear, we may need a doctor for that." The calm and emotionless statement that sounded almost confused from Erza brought Allistair from his rage.

"Yes, I suppose so, come on Weiss, let's help that seal, but know I will make sure it scars, as a mark of what happens should your 'friend' do anything wrong."

"Weiss, I'm sorry." Ruby choked out. Weiss had ran back to her room after the incident with her parents, stunned at just how cold they truly were. Ruby held the crying girl in a tight, sisterly embrace, stroking her hair as she buried her face further into Ruby's shoulder.

Weiss raised her bloodshot eyes to stare down Ruby's similarly marked silver eyes. "Don't be Ruby," the steel and determination clear in her voice, "you're all that matters to me and the only one whose opinion I care about. While I assumed that beforehand, now I know for sure. Let's promise to get away from here, find a way to be free and together forever."

Ruby could feel the love Weiss felt for her, and while she was young she knew it was more than familial in nature. She could hear the world sing to her, explaining the feelings from Weiss, and all she could think to do was hug Weiss tight against her, re-burying the girl's head. "I promise to learn to love you, Weiss, as you do me. I will help you be free." Hoping that vow would be enough she let her pain and tears out too.

The rest of that night the two cried into each other, falling fast asleep in each other's' protective embrace.

Notes: New Year, new story. while reading "When this world ends" this came to me as I mentally escaped endless hours of family, I hope you all enjoyed it.

fav, follow, review do as you please it means a lot whenever I see that stuff. (Also encourages me to get stuff out sooner)

-So this is an Updated version of chapter 1 with the assistance of tigercritic, a very helpful woman who has her own stories you should go check out. I'm repaying the favor of fixing up my early chapters by helping her with her's.