RubyA couple of days pass, and soon the castle is quiet once more. The survivors of the attack have all been treated for their wounds and sent home. The damage from the attack has been repaired by the expert builders that Atwood hired, and everything feels somewhat normal again.On the third day, Alice wakes me up bright and early. She’s even grumpier than usual, but seems to be restraining herself. Perhaps Atwood had words with her about how she treats me?“Atwood has requested that you return to school today,” she says, rifling through my closet for my uniform. I’m glad that I tossed my soot-covered clothes in the fire last night, because it would be difficult to explain myself if Alice found them.She returns with my uniform with a huff and tosses it down on my bed as I get up and head to the bathroom.“You know,” she says from the other room as I brush my teeth, “you should really be grateful that the King is being so kind as to let you return to school. If it were up to me, you’
RubyI’m just waking up on Saturday morning and have just gotten out of the shower when there’s a knock at my door.“Just a minute!” I call out. I know it’s Atwood because I can smell his scent through the door, and frantically put on my robe before answering.He looks me up and down. I’m almost positive that I can see a bit of an erection form in his pants when he looks at me, but I pretend that I don’t see it.“Get dressed,” he says, holding out a box with a ribbon. “I’m taking you out.”I take the box from him and take the lid off to reveal a beautiful red dress.“Where are we going?” I ask.“Shopping,” he says. “Just you and me.”Before I can say anything else, Atwood turns on his heel and walks off -- likely to hide his erection, which makes me giggle a bit. I head back into my room and pull the dress out of the box.It’s a short dress with long sleeves and a black collar. When I put it on, the skirt swishes beautifully and it matches my hair well. I put it on with black tights a
AtwoodThe weekend passes quietly. Ruby seems to have enjoyed our outing, although it also seems that something has been on her mind since we split up in Greenwood. I won’t press for information, though; if there’s one thing I’ve learned recently, it’s to let Ruby figure certain things out on her own time.I spend most of the weekend working, although I do make an effort to spend a little bit of time with Ruby each day. I want to be near her and make her feel comfortable, so I try to dine with her at least once a day. If there wasn’t a blizzard outside, I would ask her to go on walks through the woods, perhaps even in our wolf forms; but it’s too dangerous, since the Bears are far more powerful during the harsh winter. Still, it seems that she is growing more comfortable with me, since she’s been spending more time reading by the fireplace in my study while I work.It’s Monday now, and Ruby is at school.I’m in my study, finally nearly caught up on all of the paperwork that I fell beh
Ruby“Keep your coat on, Ruby,” Atwood says as he solemnly descends the stairs. “We have to go somewhere.”The grim look on Atwood’s face makes my heart start to race. He comes down the stairs and grabs his coat off the hook.“Where are we going?” I ask as we step back out into the cold and head toward the car.Atwood simply opens the passenger side door silently, shutting it behind me once I get in. He gets in on the driver’s side and pulls out of the driveway.“Atwood?” I ask as we start to drive down the road.He grips the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white.His demeanor is frightening me at this point, but I decide not to ask any more questions and just let him drive in silence.Soon enough, as we turn down the winding roads with tall pine trees on either side, I start to realize where we’re going.We’re headed toward my village.My mind starts racing a million miles a minute. Did he find out about my plans to escape with Cayden? Is he going to confront the both
Ruby“It’s all my fault,” I whisper to myself as I slow down, panting from my sprint through the woods.I shift back into my human form and sit down on a boulder, pulling my knees up to my chest and burying my face in them.Atwood catches up to me. He shifts as well and quietly sits down next to me.For a long while, neither of us says anything. We just sit next to one another on the rock in silence, hardly moving.When I finally look up, I see that it’s begun to snow again.“They herded them all in there like cattle,” I whisper as I look up at the snowy trees.Atwood reaches out and rubs my back. I lean into him, letting him comfort me. His scent fills me with a bit of strength, but it’s not enough.“If it wasn’t for my stupid birthday party…”“No,” Atwood says firmly. “The Bears would have done this regardless of your birthday. You had nothing to do with it.”“I could have at least tried to protect them if I was here,” I say.Atwood sighs. “There’s no way you could’ve known. And you
RubyAtwood’s words stick with me for the next few days.“I’m going to marry you first,” he had said.Before, when I had first been whisked away to the castle, the thought of marrying Atwood practically made me sick. Now, it only makes me excited.I don’t see Atwood much over the week, partly because I’m too busy with my midterm exams but also partly because he’s busy working to protect the hybrid villages and preparing a memorial for my village. I appreciate that he’s communicating with me on the matter; feeling connected to his work also makes me feel connected to him.It’s Friday now, and I’ve just completed my last midterm exam. Just one more semester and I will be finished with school entirely. I wonder if Atwood plans on marrying me once I’ve graduated.Once I’ve finished my exam, I hand it to the professor and head out of the classroom to go gather my things.Nancy is waiting for me at our lockers. She’s been living at home again this week since her parents have returned, but w
RubyNancy parks the car along the side of the road and we start to make our way to the warehouse.“You okay?” she says as she walks alongside me. She’s wearing a tight, pink mini dress with a fluffy pink coat and a pair of heels. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”There’s a line of students waiting to be let in by the security guards. Nancy and I get our places in line before I turn toward her and tell her the truth about the location.“Remember the vision I told you about Beck and Earl?” I whisper so that others can’t hear. Nancy nods, concern and recognition flashing across her face as she starts to realize what I’m about to say. “This is the place.”Her eyes widen. “Are you sure?” she says. I can only nod solemnly.As much as I would like to enjoy the party, I know that I have to keep an eye on Beck and Earl. Maybe I can stop the events from happening, just like with some of my other visions. I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to do that when Beck just refuses to listen to me.
RubyThey emerge from the dancing crowd, sweat clinging to their foreheads and their faces rosy from the alcohol.Earl holds Beck’s hand as he pulls her behind him. He’s headed for the back rooms.They don’t see me as I quietly follow behind, keeping a safe distance. Beck stumbles a bit, but Earl catches her and holds her tightly around her waist as he weaves through the throng of people to take her somewhere secluded. As I watch her head loll over onto his shoulder, I know that he’s already given her the drug that he’s going to use to take advantage of her.In a way, as I follow them, I feel as though I’m following myself from that night during the student council party when Donna and Earl drugged me and took lewd photographs of me. I had nearly forgotten about it now that so much has happened since then, but now it all comes flooding back like a nightmare, and sobers me.Earl guides Beck past a group of people who are having a rowdy drinking contest, then down a narrow hallway.“Hey