"That almost felt easy," Ivy said softly. Mia and Ruby nodded in agreement. The sun was setting now. It painted the whole world a deep crimson. Everywhere Ivy looked, she saw that bright, red light. It wasn't a dark, foreboding kind of red. There was something cheerful and hopeful about it. The buildings glistened and glimmered with that same red light and Ivy found herself smiling. It was strange how the overseers ended the day as soon as the games came to an end. It was probably around one in the afternoon. But already the sun was setting.
"It's so beautiful," Ruby whispered. Yes, it was. Ivy slowed her pace and looked around carefully. They had to hurry home. Mia still needed to be tucked in and then they needed to visit the rebels. Ivy couldn't afford to waste time like this. So, why was she walking so slowly? Why was she pausing to admire each ray of fading sunlight?
Useless. This place was beautiful, but it was also dangerous. Everything here was beautiful, but the beauty had no use. Its only function was to entertain humans. The beauty couldn't help Ivy in any way. Beauty, no matter how wonderful, was useless. Ivy finally tore her gaze away from the crimson sky. It was foolish of her to waste this much time enjoying it.
"Come on, we don't have all day," she reminded the others. "You won't be coming with us, right Blossom?" asked Ivy. Blossom shook her head.
"I'd rather not. Do you remember how to get there?"
"Yes. Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow then."
"Will I have time to play hide and seek with Ruby?" Mia asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Ivy said firmly.
"Awww!" Mia moaned.
"Maybe we'll have time in the morning," Ruby said brightly, taking the child's hand.
"Fine. I'll wait," muttered Mia. Hand in hand, the two of them skipped ahead.
"It's like she's a completely different person now," Blossom whispered to Ivy. What exactly did she mean by that?
"What was she like before?"
"Scary. You won't believe how aggressive she used to be." That wasn't the answer that Ivy had been expecting.
"I thought you two were good friends, Blossom."
"It depends on what you mean by friends. We worked well together." Blossom shrugged. "It's just strange to see her like this. There are many strange things about this Ruby." What? So, had the original Ruby been a total psychopath? Was that what Blossom was saying? If so, maybe she couldn't trust Ruby to keep Mia safe.
"It sounds like you're trying to warn me.” Ivy lowered her voice. "Should I be worried about her?" Blossom just shrugged again.
"I don't know. She seems nice enough now. Again... it's just strange. This isn't the Ruby whom I'm used to." A frown was slowly spreading across Blossom's face. "I also find myself wondering about her human friend. Robert, her old caretaker. I don't know if she's told you much about him yet. He seems to have known quite a bit about our city. I thought that the overseers kept most of this information to themselves. Perhaps he discovered something that he wasn't supposed to. Or... maybe I was wrong and the overseers love sharing the city's secrets with everyone in the world. But I guess it doesn't matter. The more information she has, the better." Blossom turned away.
If Ivy had a heart, it would probably be sinking right now. She glanced over at Ruby who was still holding Mia's hand. The two of them were smiling and laughing happily. Ivy was probably overthinking things. This Ruby looked perfectly harmless. So, did you really lose yourself completely after being fixed? Had Ivy been a different person once upon a time? This wasn't something she wanted to think about. It probably wasn't something that she needed to think about either. They reached the apartment, and Ivy took Mia from Ruby.
Stolen story; please report.
"I'll be with you in a bit, Ruby. Just let me say goodnight to her first and see if the others have any questions," Ivy called. Something to focus on. That was what Ivy needed.
"Are you feeling any better, Mia?" asked Ivy.
"I'm feeling the same," Mia whispered. "But I'm really sleepy now."
"You get some rest, kiddo." Ivy led her up the stairs and into Mai's room. "We're going to get a break soon. Isn't that nice?" asked Ivy. A small hopeful smile appeared on Mia's face.
"Yeah, that is really nice. Will we get to spend more time playing?" Mia asked.
"Yes. I do have some things I need to take care of though, Mia." At that, Mia's shoulders slumped, and her face fell. "But you are one of the things I need to take care of." Ivy gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Yes, Mia was priority number one. She was always priority number one. Mia came first, no matter what. When she wasn't helping the rebels, Ivy was going to spend every second of her free time playing with Mia and spoiling her in any way that she could.
"Is Mia feeling alright?" asked Ruby, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, she's just a little tired. Are you ready to go, Ruby?" Ruby nodded and the two of them headed out. Perhaps this walk would be a good chance to learn more about Ruby and her past. The main thing that Ivy was wondering about was Robert. What kind of person had he been? How much had he really known about the glass city? How had he gained so much information about the dolls?
"How come Robert knows so much about these games?" asked Ivy. Maybe that had been too sudden. Ruby gave her a confused glance.
"What do you mean? He just thought they were interesting and spent a lot of time studying them."
"How? Did he read about it? Did he know people who worked in the city?"
"I'm not sure. I never asked him." Ruby shrugged.
"Well... you know this place has many secrets. It's just surprising that he knows so much about it. Why did he study it? Is it because he finds the magic interesting?"
"Maybe. He did love to study magic and science. He was already looking into the glass city before I met him. But I think I was able to help him learn a thing or two." A smile was slowly spreading across Ruby's face. She let out a long low sigh and slowed her pace. "I wonder what he would think of the city's appearance. He used to travel around the world when he was younger. Robert says that The City of Glass was built based on cities all over the world, not just Novle. That's why all of the houses look so unique. Even the dolls were based of traditional doll designs from distant kingdoms."
"Are you alright, Ruby?" asked Ivy. The bright smile was fading from Ruby's face. Now there was nothing left but a hollow, empty look.
"Yeah, I-I just miss him." That wasn't the answer Ivy had been expecting. She couldn't help but be a little confused by Ruby's response.
"How can you miss him when he sent you back here?" The words left Ivy's mouth before she could catch herself. Her mouth slammed shut, and regret filled her, but it was too late.
"He didn't send me back here!" Rage, pure rage was the look on Ruby's face now. It was intense, burning rage. Ivy hadn't known Ruby was capable of something so intense.
"Shhh, we need to stay quiet," Ivy hissed, desperately trying to calm Ruby down. But Ruby ignored her.
"He died! Then his friends gave me away! Robert spent every minute of his life taking care of me. He taught me everything that I know. Believe me when I say we would never do anything to hurt me, Ivy!" After that outburst, Ruby fell silent. She buried her face in her hands and took several deep breaths. What a wonderful mess Ivy had made.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Ivy was too stunned to think of something else to say. After a moment, Ruby nodded and removed her hands from her face. They were walking faster now.
"I'm sorry, too. I just hope nobody heard me yelling," she whispered. "I overreacted." Unsure of what else to do, Ivy slipped her arm around Ruby's shoulder. Ruby didn't pull back from her. The two girls walked the rest of the way in silence. There were still many things that Ivy didn't know about Ruby. She might have suffered a lot during her old life. Did Ivy really have to question her like this? It just created more fear for everyone. Ivy's job at the moment was to lead and protect the dolls around her. They were all in this together. She had to remember that.