Qrow.

Chapter 32 | Clearing Up the Past

The manor was so big, each day Ryan felt like he was finding new areas. Behind every door there was a surprise. Some were so hidden, he didn't even get to realize they were there until someone told him. One of those unseen gems happened to be the entrance to the mansion's library. Knox showed him the door that was easy to miss.

"They don't like when I come here because they can't find me." He muttered as they walked in, "But I really don't care." 

"What'd they do to you when you get in trouble around here?" Ryan asked, taking a good look around.

Knox shrugged, "Depends on what you did and who caught you. Colton and Shae are hard asses, Finch and Micah are pushovers, and Beau's right between." There was a table sat in the middle of the room. He pulled back one of the chairs, continuing as he sat down, "Jasper is just... Crude. Usually when I disappear or mouth off I just get a slap on the wrists. Something like when Kettil throws his fits, he'll get whipped a few times and they'll take away his dinner for the night."

He looked out the big picture window, seeing the crops outside. "And when Ripper attacked me? When he tried to kill me, they dragged him off to be punished."

His fists tightened, thinking of all the times he heard screams from beyond that iron gate. "I don't know. The only people that go that far usually are the ones in Rest Point, and we have no clue what happens to them." He replied.

"Usually?" Ryan questioned.

Knox glanced up at him, "Huh?"

"You said usually it's only the ones in Rest Point. That means someone else has." He sauntered over to the table, taking a seat across from his nephew. "Someone else did?"

"Yeah, two. Before Tokyo came here, London was a mess. He was constantly angry and he nearly killed Shae multiple times. Once the twins were reunited, it was like he was another person." He explained.

"Funny, Tokyo was the exact opposite. Instead of being angry, he was always depressed and scared. Those two are like the sun and the moon, but they need each other. Maybe it was that equilibrium that kept them from going off the rails like the rest of you. The second London was killed, though, Tokyo ran just like you."

"I know why Ripper and I ran, but why did Felix and Cecil?" 

"The reasons have changed over the years. Later on, when Cecil ran, it was for a girl. The first time, though, I think it's because they were sick of playing a role. Your parents really enjoyed being in the public eye and being socialites, but they hated it. They hated pretending to be someone they weren't. That's what made Ghost become so overprotective of you two. He figured if he kept you a secret, no one could influence your decisions. It only made you feel like prisoners. 

He tried to find some middle ground with Eva and Thana. That probably would've worked too, if they hadn't been killed. Then the twins came along and you know how that ended up. What was the last thing you remember, before you... you know-" 

"Died?" He sharply asked, to which Ryan nodded. "I... I was living in Shrines. Ripper and I had gone our separate ways for awhile. I still knew where he was, and we saw each other everyone once and awhile, but we were focusing on ourselves. I was working at a nice little gift shop on main street, I had a decent apartment and someone I was seeing.

In the middle of the night one night, two of Carmella's men broken into my apartment and took me. For a few months she used me as a slave and something to show off to people. It was a big bragging point to her to be able to say she captured one of us. She would tell me constantly how she killed Ripper. I didn't want to believe it. She had a bad habit of torturing me, so when it happened one day, I didn't think much of it. She kept going though, more than she ever had before. The last thing I remember was her pointing a gun at me, then it all went black."