Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

twenty-nine

'Oh, not too long,' said the nurse with a reassuring smile. 'Only a day or so. Don't worry, you didn't miss out on anything important.'

Ruby was relieved. 'Alright. Thanks for letting me know.'

'No problem.'

Though, honestly, she wasn't that relieved. Who knew what could've been done to Dyrroth when she was out cold. 'Um, Rafaela, I know this isn't any of my business, but has anything happened to the Prince of the Abyss- uh, I mean, Prince Aurelius? Has he reverted back to a human, or...?'

Rafaela smiled gently at her again, as if reading her thoughts, but didn't remark on Ruby's worry for Dyrroth's wellbeing. 'Indeed, the prince has reverted back to a human. He's currently unconscious, if I'm not wrong, but I'll allow you to see him once you're fully healed.'

Ruby paused, then glanced down at her wound certainly. '...Isn't it going to take a really long time to recover from a wound like this?'

'Depends on who your nurse is.' Rafaela grinned and winked. 

Ruby laughed, already liking her. Then, suddenly, her smile faded when more memories of the war came back to her. 

She'd taken such a ginormous risk because she'd thought she would die in the war. But now, here she was, alive and having to bear the consequences of everything she'd done. If she remembered correctly, she hadn't given Alucard an explanation about her fight with Selena, either.  Ruby randomly let out an incoherent groan, startling Rafaela a little. 

'What's wrong?' the nurse asked.

'Nothing. It's just that life sucks' was all Ruby replied with, as she laid back onto her pillows and shut her eyes again. 

---

Later in the day, Ruby could walk fine again. Thanks to Rafaela, she'd recovered ten times faster than she'd initially thought she would, which was great. Even the wounds she'd gotten during the war were all gone, leaving nothing but the faintest scars. Rafaela's abilities were truly stunning. Before Ruby was even out of the door, however, it swung open, nearly knocking right into her, and several familiar people walked in. Startled, she leaped backwards. 

Ruby swallowed hard when their eyes all swiveled towards her, taking in her surprised state. 

'I see you've fully recovered,' said a cold voice, and Ruby warily laid her eyes on Silvanna, the Imperial Knightess, who looked fully recovered as well and had her spear in hand. 'Well, prepare yourself, Ruby. You've got lots of questions to answer.'

'...Yeah, I probably do,' said Ruby slowly, steeling herself both on the inside and outside. Her heart was beating rapidly. Gods, she hadn't experienced this kind of thing before. Having the people you had always relied on turn against you. 'Um...actually, can I ask a question?'

'What?'

'Am I...going to die?' Because if she was, that would suck. That would absolutely, absolutely suck. It meant she'd lived through a war just to die at the hands of her own allies. 

'We'll see about that,' answered Silvanna matter-of-factly. 'If it's decided that you can be forgiven, and trusted once more, then you won't. But if it's the other way round...'

She didn't finish her sentence. 'Enough talking,' she said loudly, and her voice had the strength and authority of a true knightess. She jerked her head towards Granger, several guards and, much to Ruby's embarrassment, Alucard. 'Bring her to the hall. We'll interrogate her there.'

Ruby stiffened, and all she could do was stand completely still as she felt Granger carefully hold up a gun to the side of her head. 'Put a toe out of line and I'll shoot,' he said softly. His voice was almost gentle, but Ruby could sense the steel hidden underneath it. And, just from that, she knew he meant it. If she did anything that couldn't be done, at all...