Ruby Rose, his own little budding flower. One he has plucked from the forest to bring into his own care. It wasn't her beautiful silver eyes of moonlight that drew him to her. Nor was it the way her slender yet elegant form gazed longingly out the grand windows, just barely illuminated with the gleam of the black crystals and the red sky. What made her beautiful was she was like a grimm just emerged from the pools of tar, new to the world. New to the pain of others. But soon she would grow. She was his rose.

"Is it always so dark and gloomy here?" Her gaze never left the window.

"That depends on how you define gloomy," Oscar replied, turning the pages of his book. He had taken up residence at the table as she resided on the bed, her knees tucked close to her chest as she daydreamed.

Ruby had long given up on escaping. She claimed she was still making plans, but Oscar wondered if she was just getting comfortable here. Oscar still visited her on a near-daily basis. Ruby still avoided Cinder, but she seemed to enjoy sparring with Oscar.

"The sun never seems to properly rise and the only thing that grows here are crystals. And the grimm too," she quickly added before Oscar could correct her.

"This was once the God of Destruction's domain," Oscar explained. "Did you ever hear that story?"

"My uncle told me the story once. After… Well after Tyrian tried to kidnap me." Oscar winced a little.

"Sorry about that. In hindsight, Tyrian was not the best one to send. But we didn't have too many people to spare at the time." Ruby ignored him. She continued staring out the window, her fingers began tracing little patterns into the sheets.

"Do you… Have you ever seen the sun?" she finally asked. Oscar closed his book and set it on the table. He smiled as he leaned ever so slightly forward.

"Curious, are we?" He propped his elbow on the table, his chin resting on his clenched fist. Ruby's gaze didn't leave the window, she just merely stopped tracing patterns to tuck her hand back in its place. "Contrary to what you may think, I wasn't born here. I'm from Mistral, lived there with my aunt until a few years ago."

"Do you miss home? Your aunt?" Ruby's chin leaned down to rest against her knees. She looked down at her feet.

"No." That answer alone was enough to pull Ruby out of her little ball.

"Why?! Why come to a place like this?!" Her hands gripped at the blankets underneath her. Her body shook as her eyes filled with concern, shock, a bit of sadness.

"Why did you leave home?" Ruby reeled back. She pulled her gaze away from him, looking down at the bed. "I wanted to help people. Back in Mistral, I couldn't do anything. I was shy, weak, and too scared to even leave. But now, now that I'm here, I can help people my way. I finally have that ability."

"Your eyes light up when you say that. You… You really think you're helping people?"

"I should be saying the same to you." Ruby's grip on the sheets tightened.

"Stop trying to spin my words!" she muttered through gritted teeth.

Oscar sighed. He reached for his book but found no interest in reading. His rose had such a long way to go, yet here she was, wilting away. Oscar pulled his book into his lap, hoping that perhaps he could force himself to read. He just gazed over the cover over and over again, fingers tracing the swirling patterns etched into its surface.

"I think we could both use some fresh air," he finally announced. He stood up and walked to Ruby's bedside. He held out a hand for her. She barely looked at it.

"I know you're not letting me leave this maze so don't even bother pretending that's what you're doing."

"My lady, I'm not. I'm bringing you to a place much… better." Ruby looked at him a moment, the usual distrust and anger lacing her silver eyes.

"Doubtful," she spat, yet took his hand anyway.

Oscar waited for her to stand up. He held tightly onto her hand as they walked the castle. By now, Ruby could easily keep up with him. She barely glanced at the architecture as they entered a new part of the castle. Oscar didn't blame her. Even he had to admit that once you see one part of the castle, it doesn't change much.

He lead her to a pair of doors identical to the ones to the ones by the entrance. Black crystals stood guard on both sides of the door as red etchings slithered its way across the wood. Oscar let go of her hand, half expecting her to run away. Ruby stood still, her now free hand coming to rest on her other arm. With a single, mighty push, he opened the doors.

Ruby's entire demeanor changed. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the courtyard's garden. Columns sat on the outskirts, overgrown ivy growing up its stone. Rows upon rows of different flowers, on the brink of being overgrown yet able to keep their elegance.

A stone fountain sat as the centerpiece, it spouted overgrown thorns in place of water. Four pathways branched outwards, one leading to the door, the other three leading to parts of a stone castle that no longer existed. Yet its ruins remained, falling apart and grown over with different kinds of vines.

"What is this place?" Ruby whispered. She took some steps into the courtyard. Oscar waited a little bit to follow her, his own gaze traveling to the crystals above that protect it from any grimm that happen to be too curious.

"It's sort of like my own personal garden," Oscar shrugged with a chuckle before following her in. "At least I call it that. Nobody really comes here anymore. When I first came here, I visited this place pretty often to, well… sort some things out and just relax."

"It's… It's amazing!" she gaped. Ruby bent to one of the bushes by the path. Her fingers lightly brushing the darkened roses. Their petals red at the base became almost black as it bloomed to the world. "I didn't know roses could become this color."

"It's actually very rare," Oscar came to a crouch next to her. "Normally, the only way you'd get a rose like this is if it was a hybrid. I don't know if someone before me made it or if it's because of how unique the Land of Darkness is. But either way, I think it's beautiful."

"I guess it's pretty cool. But I think this garden could use some color. There are so many reds and blacks and purples and it's sort of… depressing."

"It's a miracle that anything grows here, really." Oscar scooped a small handful of dirt into his hands. He wore gloves, but could still tell a lot about the soil. "I think someone before me primed the ground only in this spot. We're basically on the side of a cliff so that alone would stunt their growth. Maybe it was magic…"

Oscar cut off as he noticed Ruby was staring at him. He dumped the dirt back and unceremoniously (and out of habit) wiped his hands on the sides of his pants. Ruby didn't even flinch.

"Is there something the matter?"

"No… It's just… I didn't take you as one to know so much about plants."

"I, er, I was a farmhand back in Mistral," Oscar admitted. Suddenly the roses seemed a lot more interesting. They pulled his attention away from the conversation or at least tried to.

"Really?!" Her voice not hiding its amazement and curiosity.

"Yeah… It's, uh… well, it's, yeah, you get it." Ruby propped her cheek in her hand, clearly begging to hear more. He looked at her and rolled his eyes in amusement of her curiosity. "There's not much to tell. It was a pretty boring life."

"But I want to hear more about you." Oscar was taken aback. Ruby had completely pulled his attention from the roses in a single sentence.

"Me?" She nodded.

Oscar thought a moment before he stood up. He offered her a hand, which she took. He guided her further into the garden. He brought her to a small alcove near the edge. There was an old stone bench, covered in ivy. An old fountain invaded by plants and a decorative wall now acted as barriers against the greenery pushing to spill further into the garden. How long Oscar had spent trying to free even just the bench, yet even he had to abandon the work eventually. Now, it was easy to just pull some of the vines away to allow him and Ruby to sit.

"What do you want to know?" Oscar asked once they were settled in. Ruby thought a moment.

"Is Oscar your real name?"

"Yes."

"Do you tend to this garden?"

"I used to, not as much anymore."

"Why are you here? And I mean how did a farmhand like yourself get to a place like… well like this."

"It's a long story."

"I'm all ears."

"A very long story. One which I'll tell you on another day."

"That's no fair! You promised me you'd answer anything!"

"I didn't promise anything," he chuckled as she pouted at him. "But I'm open to answer any other questions you have."

Ruby looked down at her shoes. Her legs swinging in and out from under the bench. Her fingers tapped the stone as they thought.

"Is that all for questions?" he asked. Ruby thought a moment.

"Ozpin," he tensed as she said his predecessor's name, "he's the master of this castle, right? Why don't I see him? If I was his prisoner, he'd probably want me dead by now."

"Ozpin is… complicated to say the least," he tried explaining. "If he really wanted you dead, you would be. But I think he sees something in you and he, well… sort of has a tendency to pick up strange people with potential?"

"So like Tyrian and you?" she asked. "I mean! Not to say that you're strange! But I mean… You, uh, don't look, er…"

"Normal?" he finished.

Oscar looked at his hands. They were once tan. Now he wore gloves to cover up the black veins that cracked his white skin. The grimm pools stopped hurting long ago. A normal person would have died the second they jumped into those pools. In fact, the reincarnation that jumped in did die. Yet the darkness of the pools plagued their soul and carried onto the next soul and the next and the next until it reached Oscar. It had never left.

"I'm sorry if that was mean."

"It's alright, I'm quite used to my appearance by now," he smiled at her.

"Can I ask why you, uh… I mean I don't want to pry."

"It's complicated. Ozpin saved me. This is the mark of that and sort of a rite of passage into the group."

"Are you going to do that to me?!" A horrified look spread across her face. Oscar couldn't help but laugh.

"No. I'm just sort of a special case. Besides, you've seen the others. And do they look like this?"

"I mean, no… but Cinder has that thing on her eye? And Tyrian is kind of crazy. Hazel seems normal, for the most part?"

"Well, that's just to prevent further damage to her eye. Tyrian… has never changed. And Hazel probably is the most normal out of all of us. He's a very nice guy until you get him angry that is."

"I know. He's the one that kidnapped me at Haven, remember?"

"Oh, right. That was under Ozpin's orders though, so I'm not sure what to say."

"I mean, he kept Cinder from trying to kill me so that's good," she partially joked. "I'm guessing Ozpin's commands are pretty absolute around here?"

"For the most part. We're free to speak our minds, but if we disobey him there are, well, consequences."

"That doesn't seem very free to me…"

"I can assure you, he's not going to kill you over a cookie. Or, at least I hope not." Ruby giggled a little. It was infectious, causing Oscar to smile and join in her laughter as well.

"I'm feeling better, thank you for this," she smiled.

"Of course! And you can come to this garden any time you wish."

Ruby looked around the garden. After a moment, she pulled her feet onto the bench. She curled back into the same little ball she was in back in her bedroom.

"Why are you doing this? I mean, why do you visit me and spar with me and bring me to a nice place like this?"

"At first, I did it because I was ordered to make sure you were eating. But I found that I like you and quite enjoy our time together."

"You say that like we're friends."

"I think of you as one."

"Well, then you're delusional." Ruby stood up and stretched. "But thank you for your visits."

Oscar smiled. She smiled back for a moment before it faltered.

"Take me back to my room, please," she finally spoke. Oscar nodded and took her hand, guiding her through the garden.

Oscar walked Ruby back to her room. She wouldn't let him in, but she thanked him anyways. Oscar walked back with a good feeling in his chest. Today he had made some progress.