Three months passed.
Bonnie's magic was being stubborn. Rosalind, as always, was stubborn, too.
It didn't seem like Ruby had been able to find Kai in all her little trips out of Mystic Falls. There was a whole world to explore, and Kai could be anywhere. Their only hope was a Locator Spell, which was still in the works.
Rosalind was doing her best to encourage Bonnie while they practiced together. The hybrid was learning a lot more about spells than she ever thought she would. The sucky part was that she herself couldn't practice magic.
She went on runs everyday in the forest. Swam in the falls and any swimming pool she found. She trained with punching bags, pretending Klaus and Kol were across from her, shouting out cheeky comments.
She'd lay by herself on the edge of the forest and talk aloud as if Elena was curled up beside her, gazing at her adoringly while she spoke. Most days, she talked about her plans for when she got out. Sometimes, the conversation became about Ruby, who ever so often tried to 'accidentally' bump into Rosalind whenever she returned to Mystic Falls to report that she still didn't know where Kai was.
Rosalind didn't want to know her. Didn't want to hear anything she had to say. Bonnie was trying her hardest to remain neutral, but grew frustrated with Rosalind's stubbornness as well as Ruby's insistence on catching her daughter off-guard for a conversation. The witch would have preferred for Ruby to arrange a sit-down dinner instead of bombarding Rosalind with greetings. She also wished Rosalind would try to be civil and open-minded instead of believing that Ruby had nothing to offer her.
"My mom left me, too," Bonnie told her. "Twice. And yeah, it sucked, but I am still thankful that I got that time to learn more about her. This might not go down well, but how will you know if you don't try? I don't want to play this card to hurt you, but... what would Elena say?"
The hybrid knew she was right. "Elena would probably be pushing me to talk to her. Probably would lock us in a room together so we either get it over with and kill each other or bond."
"Invite her to dinner," said Bonnie. "We've been here for three months with no way to escape because she can't find Kai. I think if you two were able to team up, you'd find him a lot easier. Your brains and powers combined would do wonders."
"What should I talk about?" asked Rosalind. "What should I cook? I don't know anything about her, or what she likes."
"Which is why this dinner would be a really good idea."
Rosalind opted to make grilled chicken carbonara with some tossed salad and garlic bread. Bonnie excused herself to go to the Bennett House, hoping that nobody would be dead when she returned.
Ruby arrived at seven-thirty, exactly the time Rosalind had stated in her invitation. She was wearing a similar outfit to the one Rosalind had found her in the day after they arrived in the prison world: a tank top with bell-bottom jeans and sneakers.
"Hey," said Ruby, offering her a small smile as she walked to the table. She held up a bottle of wine. "Got this from the store. I know I should probably not be encouraging underage drinking, but, well..."
"I've been drinking since I was six," said Rosalind. "Never became a real addict." She brought forth two wine glasses. "You?"
"No," said Ruby. "No addictions, thankfully. Tried some stuff before I got pregnant, some other stuff afterward, but never really liked anything. I don't even drink soda or tequila or anything, it's not really my thing. Wine, though... perfect."
"Hmm," said Rosalind. "Let me guess, as long as a drink is sweet, colorful, and doesn't taste like alcohol, you'll drink it. Something fruity, I imagine."
Ruby nodded. "That's usually what I'd tell bartenders. Of course, I had to compel them to not card me." She toyed with a string on her shirt once she sat across from her. "So... my guess is that Bonnie orchestrated this."
Rosalind popped off the wine cork. "It was her idea, yeah. Pulled the 'what would your girlfriend tell you' card to convince me to go through with it."
The girl smiled. "Elena is beautiful. And very sweet, from the looks of it. Just like her mother and her aunt. Miranda and Jenna were friends of mine. Mostly Miranda. I was sad to see, through your memories, what happened to her and Grayson. Though, something about Grayson always was weird. Now, I guess, it's turned out that he experimented on vampires."
"Right," said Rosalind awkwardly. "You didn't know they were dead."
"I didn't know a lot of things," said Ruby. "Through your memories, I found out about how your dad died. How Jenna died. Miranda, Grayson... Richard... I'm glad to see Carol is doing well. And, um, Liz, too. I..." she laughed lightly, "I actually recommended for Carol to name her son Tyler, if she ever had one. I never knew about his birth until you gave me those memories. I've had three months to process everything. Feels like I know everything about you."
Rosalind poured them both some wine. "Meanwhile, I know nothing about you."
"I'd give you a taste of your own medicine and shove all the memories in, but I don't think I can do it like you did and select which memories I put in. How does that work?"
Rosalind blinked. "What do you mean, you can't do that? You don't just... pick and choose? I didn't want to pass on anything inappropriate, so I just concentrated and it happened."
Ruby clicked her tongue. "Yeah, I don't either, which is why I'd rather tell you. I don't know how to do that, I wasn't really taught the way you were. I also don't spar the way you do." She rubbed the back of her head, trying to figure out where to start her story. "Well, um, let's see. My mother, Lorena, was born here in the United States, but her parents were from Mexico... I think the state was called Jalisco. My father, Xavier, was born and raised in Oregon, but moved to California for college, where he met my mother. They had me, and I grew up there until I was thirteen, when we moved to Mystic Falls because my dad's company was opening an Eastern branch.
"I grew up speaking Spanish and English. Dyed my hair often because I didn't like being a natural blonde. My mom's mom was a fucked-up woman, liked me more than her other grandkids 'cause I was born looking more white, and she thought that was better. I tried to look more like my mom... wished I didn't bear so much of a resemblance to my dad. Mason was the one who helped me start to feel more comfortable with my body even if it wasn't the way I thought I should look. I was fifteen, just learning about what love was like, and I... I fell so hard for him. I mean, I couldn't even go to sleep without dreaming about him. I was completely head over heels in love with Mason Lockwood."
"And then, I happened," said Rosalind awkwardly. "We can skip that part."
She nodded. "I think it might be better if you ask specific questions. I don't really know what to tell you, exactly. I didn't picture us having this conversation. Or any conversation, really. You got a lot of Mason in you. Relentlessly stubborn and temperamental. Still kind though, and caring. When you love, you love fiercely and wholly. At the same time, when you hate or dislike anyone, you get very passive-aggressive and just..." she sighed, "For the sake of honesty, you can be a real bitch, Rosalind. That, I imagine, is attributed to the wolf gene. In the past, I was always too scared to stand up to people. Too scared to protect myself. Richard bullied me and I just let it happen. Girls at school talked shit and I would cry in front of them. I didn't have your dad's ability to snap back and assert dominance. In certain situations, it's a good thing. In others, not so much. I can see it gets you in quite a bit of trouble, sometimes."
Rosalind got to serving herself some of the carbonara, simply nodding her head. Ruby noticed that she didn't seem to know what to say. "I don't expect you to ever love me," she noted. "Or to even want me around. I don't need your love, Rosalind. I just need your respect long enough for us all to get out of here. You can hate me all you want, you can torment me with your words if you'd like... I really don't blame you. I just hope you understand that I was a kid when it all went down. I was a kid, making those choices, not understanding what the implications were. Maybe, if I'd had a chance to grow in the real world, I would have felt comfortable enough to go back. There simply wasn't a chance. Don't think for a second that I don't feel awful for what you've been through. No one deserves that. I just knew in my heart that things would have been worse for you if I'd been there. I would have torn your throat out or been rude or... or I would have had to leave anyway once people began to realize I wasn't aging at all. Something would have gone wrong. I didn't trust myself around you, both because of my vampirism and because of how awful I felt."
Rosalind took a bite of her chicken. "Tell me more, then," she murmured. "So I can understand."
Ruby first served herself some food. "This is delicious," she noted. "Who taught you to cook?"
"Multiple people. My dad, Jules, Stevie."
"It's very good," praised Ruby. "I still can't cook. When I was with Kai, he cooked every day, I never had to learn. When I was in the real world, I had a compelled chef because I was busy with training and searching and never had time to get in the kitchen. Nowadays I eat... mac n cheese cups, mini pizzas... all sorts of things that really just get popped in the oven or microwave with minimal instructions. I want to learn, I just haven't had anyone to teach me."
"I just think of it as a lab experiment," said Rosalind with a shrug. "Super detailed procedure with some buffer room and you just repeat and repeat 'til you memorize it. I don't make my own recipes or add any twists to anything, I just copy what people teach and stick with it unless I find a recipe I like more for the same meal."
Ruby twirled her fork over the pasta. "This makes me feel so different from you. Even though we share nearly the exact same face. The only real difference is your hair and your eyes. Oh, and your height. You were so tiny as a baby, I never would have expected you to end up taller than me. Your legs, they're good for running. The most I could do was play some tennis. Sports were more of Mason's thing."
"Definitely very different," noted Rosalind quietly. "We look more like... half-sisters who were raised by our 'other' parent that we don't share."
"Hmm..." Ruby tilted her head. "Look and talent wise, yes. Interests, however? I loved comics and movies. And I know you're into all that even though Mason was never really about that. Our fashion sense isn't so different. The way we style our hair. The way we sit..."
Subconsciously, both sat up from having been slouching.
Rosalind set her fork down, downing a large sip of wine. "That seems to be it, though. Aside from blood, nothing else connects us."
Ruby tucked her hands together. "I was abandoned too. I know what it's like to not want to let people in."
She shoved her fork aggressively into the chicken. "Don't pretend you relate to me in that sense," she snapped, finally losing her temper despite trying to keep under control. "I am just starting to tolerate your presence for extended periods of time."
"Do you really think I don't understand the gravity of what I did?" said Ruby. "You think I don't understand a fraction of the pain you felt? Both of my parents shunned me, Rosalind, they shoved me out of their house without hesitation. I was a kid, and I would have had to live on the streets if Mason and Carol hadn't taken me in. I had to deal with a temperamental man who wanted to control every aspect of his brother's life, and I had to experience all sorts of cruelty from every person who laid eyes on me. Whispers followed me everywhere, mothers warning their daughters not to end up like me, girls calling me a slut, old women gossiping about how my body would look ruined after the pregnancy, men talking about how I was 'used up.' It was sickening.
"So yeah, in my sixteen-year-old newly-turned mind, the best thing to do when I realized I might hurt you was to just leave. And in my seventeen-year-old mind after that, I knew that the only way to preserve my sanity was to stay away. I know what it's like to be walked out on, to lose people you care about, to feel like you're useless if you're not actively doing something or putting yourself at risk. It's what got you here, Rosalind! Your impulse, your need to prove yourself. You get that from me. Because I always felt like I wasn't enough, even more so when you were born and I saw myself as this ugly person who wasn't fit to be a mom. I knew I wouldn't be able to give you the love you deserved so I stayed away. Tell me, Rosalind. You want to be a mother, right? Wouldn't you do whatever it takes to protect your kid, even if it meant distancing yourself because you or your surroundings or your baggage were putting them in danger?"
Rosalind stared at her plate.
"Exactly," said Ruby. "Was I selfish? Maybe. But I was thinking of you, whether you believe it or not. And I..." she started to tear up, "I was a fucking child! Look at me, I still look like a child. Sitting across from my own daughter, anyone would think it's more likely that you are the mother, not me. I am stuck like this forever, stuck with the guilt of the choice my young self made. But I stand by that choice because I firmly believe I would have been an awful mother to you."
Ruby covered her face, stifling a sob. "When you arrived, you brought with you the most awful news I have ever heard in my life. My friends and the man I love... are dead. They've been dead and I've been here. If I'd chosen differently, they might still be alive. You might not feel like you're this awful person. I hate knowing you think of yourself that way." She removed her hands, lips trembling. "I just want to get out, Rosalind, I want to be free. As I said, I don't need your love, just your respect. I will fight to get us all out of here, I will fight for you, like I should have. I just need you to tell me, wouldn't you have made the same choice if you were me? Surely you can imagine it enough, what with all your plans with Elena, with your best friend having a baby on the way the last time you spoke to him. Tell me, Rosalind, wouldn't you have done the same?"
"I guess so," she whispered, not seeing what other choice there was. Stay away for safety or go back and risk a baby's physical and emotional wellbeing on a 'maybe' when one wasn't even sure if they were mentally stable enough for motherhood. If Rosalind were Ruby, she might have at least tried to contact Mason to tell him the truth. He surely would have understood some of it. But, the reality was, Rosalind had no idea what it was like to experience such judgment and emotional turmoil at the same time. All in the mind of a sixteen-year-old girl, she knew why it became too much to handle. Why distancing oneself would seem like the logical option.
Ruby wiped her eyes with the napkin. "Thank you. This dinner was yummy, but I should get going—"
"I'll teach you," Rosalind blurted out. "To... to cook. To fight, too, if you want. It'll get me out of the house, give Bonnie more time to practice on her own without me hovering and bitching all the time. You can tell me more about you. And ask me about my stuff, anything you are still curious about."
The girl across from her smiled. "As long as you call me Ruby. 'Mom' doesn't feel... right."
"It doesn't on my end, either," admitted Rosalind. "Uh... tomorrow? Seven in the morning, at the Lockwood Mansion?"
"Sure," said Ruby. "Can I take this home in a box, or something?"
"I have some Tupperware, let me get it."
Bonnie came back an hour later.
"So, how was it?" she inquired, finding that Rosalind had downed the entire bottle of wine and was now staring at the fireplace, watching the flames flickering around.
"I tried to do what Elena probably would have counseled me to do," said Rosalind, hugging the bottle. "Heard her out. And... offered to teach her to cook and fight."
A smile grew on Bonnie's face. "That sounds wonderful, Rosalind. I guess things are going well for us." She looked at the candle on the table, and the flame ignited. "I'm getting my magic back. I still can't do Locator Spells, I don't think, but... baby steps."
Rosalind's eyes lit up. "I'm proud of you, Bonnie. We might actually get out of here before the month is over. We should tell Ruby tomorrow. I'm going to the Lockwood Mansion at seven. Want to come with? You can be in the living room while we're in the kitchen, that way if you feel a stronger tug, we can do the Locator Spell right away."
"That sounds good. Are you sure you want me there, though? I don't want to interrupt anything."
"You won't. It... probably will give me more confidence and keep me from losing my patience with her. I'm going to try to be civil. It's what my dad would want me to do. What Elena would want. What my Aunt Carol would want. Wow. She is going to be so surprised when we come back and she sees her. It'll be weird, though, because Ruby will still look sixteen, and at this point there isn't a way to..." Her jaw went slack.
Bonnie raised a brow. "Uh, a way to what?"
"To cure her," whispered Rosalind. "Bonnie, the cure. Everything that existed in the world on May 10th, 1994, exists here. Everything except people. If I go to Nova Scotia, I'll find a copy of the cure. What if... what if when we get out, I give it to Ruby, then take it from her blood? She'll age quickly without dying and then, I'll have a cure I can give to Elena. I'll... I'll be able to undo the wrong I did when I had my humanity off and I completely wasted it on Katherine. Ruby will finally be free of having the face of a sixteen-year-old girl... of being trapped in that body. And Elena and I would have a chance to be mortal again. To have kids, if we wanted. And if she doesn't want it, then I could give it to Rebekah. I know she wanted it, too."
The Bennett witch looked very surprised. "That... is a good idea. You've been there, you'll know exactly where to find it. You just need to plan a route and..."
Rosalind grinned. "And get the cure."
They told Ruby about it the next morning.
"So, you're saying, there's a way out of this for me?" said Ruby, astonished. "I could stop being a vampire? Age normally, go back to being human?"
Rosalind nodded. "You wouldn't be able to become a vampire ever again after that, and you wouldn't be able to be healed by vampire blood, either, but you would look the way you would if you'd aged normally. You'll look like a thirty-six-year-old, not a sixteen-year-old."
Ruby put her hands together as if she was praying, closing her eyes and sighing. "Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes. If there is a way to get it done... I could go with you! Or we could all go!"
"We could," said Rosalind. "We could find Silas's headstone there, it has Bennett blood and magic in it, it could give Bonnie a boost for the Locator Spell to find Kai."
"This is the best news ever," said Ruby enthusiastically. "Not only can I be free of this place, I can be free of this body. Oh, god..." she clutched her chest, "This has gone on too long. Thank fuck."
She suddenly tensed. "Did you hear that?"
Rosalind listened, and heard a car door closing outside. "Someone is here."
Ruby gestured to the parlor. "Get in there, now, and stay quiet."
They listened. Rosalind remained in a defensive position around the corner, waiting as Ruby approached the door and opened it.
"Kai," she said unpleasantly as a young man walked up.
"Ruby," he replied. "Aw, come on, are you still mad at me? It's been over a decade, get over it."
"Why are you here?" she snapped. "We divided the world, and this is not your half."
"Hmm, yeah. But I decided to pop in for a visit. It's been boring, not getting to bug you. And I had this feeling, you know. Like something was going on. Were you ever going to tell me about your special little visitors, Ru-Ru?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. And I told you a long time ago to stop calling me that."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot, that's what your baby daddy called you, huh?"
They heard a yelp, followed by a drawn-out cry of pain. "Tell me where the intruders are," sneered Kai as Ruby whimpered, "or I'm going to find them and I'm going to kill them myself."
Rosalind materialized behind him, reaching her hand in to grip his heart, which made him release Ruby's throat. The girl fell to the ground, coughing. Judging by how red her neck was, Rosalind assumed that Kai had been siphoning from her.
Kai choked, unable to look over his shoulder to see who was there. Rosalind kicked the backs of his knees, forcing him to the ground. She switched her hands so she could stand over him, looking into his eyes while he gagged, blood leaking out of his chest as she twisted his heart.
"You touch her," sneered Rosalind, "you suffer. And do keep in mind, sweetheart, I love hurting guys like you. Are you going to be a good boy, or do I need to cut off your hands?"
Kai tried to lift an arm, probably to cast a spell. Rosalind swiped her leg out, slicing off his head. Ruby shrieked and covered her face.
"Well, then," said Rosalind, bringing his heart out as she withdrew her hand. "Let's restrain him before he comes back."