Half of Ruby

Chapter 6

Ruby settled into her seat numbly, staring out at the beautiful golden dome of the courtroom, attempting to do anything to escape Queen Reinevra's unnerving, steady gaze.

Astaria's hand immediately wrapped around Ruby's. Perhaps she had meant the gesture to be comforting, but it seemed more authoritative than reassuring. Nevertheless, Ruby was thankful for the tightness around her wrist—nothing else seemed to be keeping her seated.

"Any more witnesses?" demanded the judge, curls bouncing on his head. "Any more witnesses?" he repeated. The crowd remained silent.

"Very well," said the judge gravely, scratching at the back of his wig. "The jury shall decide the fate of the prosecuted and we shall return in half an hour. All Fae and Giants of the Court are hereby dismissed."

As if it had been waiting for the judge's words, the Court exploded into conversation, Fae rambling to each other frantically. The Giants and Giantesses remained scowling in their seats. A few Fae scrambled outside to rant about the trial.

I need to go talk with Jinx.

The thought stabbed its way through Ruby's shock, and she scrambled up out of her chair, before—

"Ruby, sit down."

Astaria's grip tightened on Ruby's wrist.

Immediately, rage roared up inside Ruby's chest. "How dare you," she whispered, trying in vain to stare straight into Astaria's eyes. "How dare you hide secrets from me and—" 

A few Fae looked over, startled, but quickly averted their gazes, obviously confused at the sight of the peasant girl and her mother, wrapped in rags and filth.

"Not now, Ruby," said Astaria through gritted teeth.

"Then when?" demanded Ruby. "I—we—are nobility. The guards outside bowed to you. You've kept this hidden from me for sixteen years."

"For good reasons, too," snapped Astaria, standing up with a swirl of her rough cotton skirts. She leaned towards Ruby, sherry-colored eyes darkened. "Promise me, Ruby. Promise me you won't do anything ridiculous, and I'll give you all your answers after the trial."

Ruby gaped at her mother.

"Promise me!" insisted Astaria.

"I..." Ruby ran a hand frantically through her dark hair, her heart hammering. "I don't get it. I don't get any of it."

"Don't do anything stupid," begged Astaria. "Don't volunteer for Regeneration, don't try to defend Jinx, don't try to talk with any nobility, just—"

Ruby gritted her teeth. "Then what can I do? All my life you've told me what I can't do—I can't talk with aristocrats, I can't date Jinx, I can't sell this herb but I must sell that one—is my life just made of secrets and rules?!"

Astaria glared at Ruby. "Be quiet, Ruby. I made sure everything around you was created in such a way—all those secrets and rules—to protect you."

"From what?" demanded Ruby.

Astaria looked around, then turned back to Ruby, eyes narrowed fiercely. "From just about everything. Now excuse me."

Astaria swept off. 

"You!" spluttered Ruby, "how could you—"

But Astaria had disappeared into the crowd, somehow camouflaging amidst the nobility even in her cotton clothes and dirt-smeared skin. 

Ruby shouldn't have been surprised. Hadn't her mother camouflaged for sixteen years straight?

From just about everything....

But what was 'everything?' What could possibly endanger Ruby, a peasant girl? A trader, a girl who was rebellious and obstinate but caved in easily to the people she loved? 

No, she wasn't a peasant girl. She wasn't even Ruby. She was nobility and she had a title. A real title. 

The anesthetic of shock began to ebb away, leaving the sting of betrayal and hopelessness and fear and uncertainty. No, no, no, Ruby begged to whatever invisible force governed her emotions. Let me stay oblivious with shock. Don't wake me up yet. 

But soon desperation, anger, and hatred welled up inside Ruby. Tears began pricking her eyes, painful needles blinding her vision. 

She needed to sort out her emotions. She needed to take a deep breath and calm down. She needed to—

She needed to talk with someone. 

Astaria was gone. None of the nobility in the Court would even look at a filthy girl like her. 

The Queen. The thought raced through her head, wild and jagged, like a knife dragged down her skin and through her bones, sending ripples of elation through her. 

But, no, why would the Queen look at someone like her? Besides, Queen Reinevra was busy conversing with Queen Thyrema of the Giants, who looked as though she were a lid over a barely-contained stew of fury. 

"Ruby." 

Ruby yelped and nearly smacked Jinx across the face. 

"Jinx—" She stared at him, trying to find words to express the jumble of thoughts all competing to exit out of her mouth. "...how are you...here?" 

Jinx's cool blue eyes stared straight into hers. Disapproval. Annoyance. Anger. ...Hatred? 

"I can go wherever I want, as long as I'm handcuffed," he replied curtly, holding up his wrists. Two metal cuffs bound together his hands. 

"They contain your powers, don't they," whispered Ruby, staring down at her own hands, her dark hair thankfully cloaking her face. 

"Quite right," said Jinx coldly, punctuating each word with a knife of barely-restrained fury. "I suppose it will take more than a pair of handcuffs to contain your loyalty." 

Ruby's eyes widened as she looked up at Jinx, but she immediately quelled under his freezing glare. "What d'you mean?" she whispered. 

"You were supposed to defend me. You're supposed to love me, Ruby." 

The words stabbed into Ruby's gut like blades. Tears spurted from her eyes as she once again tried to meet his gaze but failed. "I do," she insisted pleadingly. "I do, Jinx, but I had to be honest—"

Jinx burst out laughing, a harsh, grating sound. "Honest?" he spat. "Am I honest? Did my honesty ever appeal to you? No, Ruby; I don't think so." 

Ruby opened and closed her mouth, but couldn't get any words out. Tears blinded her vision as waves of shame and guilt swept through her, furiously battering her fragile psyche the way they always did when Jinx was around. 

"What?" snarled Jinx. "Say it." 

"Do you love me?" whispered Ruby. 

The instant she said it, something snapped—something both within herself and between her and Jinx. She'd said it. She'd said the words darting cowardly around her lips for the last few months. 

Jinx's eyes widened with anger. "Do I love you, Ruby? Do I try to give you gold every single time I steal? You owe me, Ruby." 

A tear escaped Ruby's eye, curiously cold as it slid down her burning cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered. 

"Oh, Ruby," said Jinx softly, like the footsteps of a lynx before its pounce, "to me, words mean nothing."