stirlinghaven | jensoo

IV: family secret

the wind was howling outside ruby's window, and a sound could be heard. she cursed herself, her hands trembling on the casing as she struggled to climb the second story to her room. the frame was slick from the recent rain, making it difficult for her to pull her weight.

it was two a.m., and the house was completely silent. the only sounds in the area were birds chirping, rats snickering in dark corners, and the rushing wind. the smallest noise that wasn't made by nature could rouse the entire household, and she'd earn a profound punishment from her father if she gets caught sneaking around the house like a burglar.

ruby let out a long breath as she slid through the window and climbed down the platform seat. the darkness and coldness of her room engulfed her. she paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust before reaching for the lantern by the drawer and flicking it on, lighting the room in soft shades of amber.

she stripped off her clothes one by one, throwing the last bit on the floor as she slumped to her bed, an empty look on her face.

everything felt like a dream to her, and she wished it was. she wished it wasn't all real so she wouldn't have to look for what is.

"how dare you accuse my family of something evil?" ruby whispers harshly, a pair of judging eyes riveted on the woman before her. "this is nonsense. you're lying."

"i wish i was, ruby. but i have evidences." jisoo reaches into her pocket and pulls out several photographs, carefully placing them on the table. "here, look."

and there it was.. the truth jisoo so keenly wanted to show her. the truth she didn't want to find and regretted looking for-photos of people being dragged kicking and screaming.

she swallowed hard and tried to compose herself but the moment she looked up to meet jisoo's eyes, her emotions betrayed her and she sobbed.

mon dieu, jisoo wasn't lying.
she knew because the place where those people were being dragged was through the backdoor of her own home.

she grew up in it, memorized every nook and cranny. one glance and she had instantly recognized it.

ruby lay in bed, sobbing and writhing in agony. her trust had been shattered. she was disgusted of her own family.

the food on their tables, the roof over their heads, her father's fortune, which seemed to grow by the second even though the war should have taken it away.

it was all due to... she couldn't even say the words without feeling like she was going to puke.

ruby was jolted out of her misery when she had an epiphany. it's all just rumors and talks on paper. there were no actual reports of murder or the discovery of a dead body.

that can only mean one thing: they're still alive. she still has the power to save them all. then she might be able to show jisoo that her family isn't the monster she thought they were.

she scrambled to her feet, quickly gathering her clothes and slipping them on as she rushed out the door and through the mansion's empty corridors. the missing people are being held within the same walls she slept in, and she hasn't heard anything. where else could they possibly be?

ruby paced back and forth, holding the blueprint for the mansion she had obtained from her father's bureau à domicile, where he kept everything, from the most valuable to the least important asset. that's why no one, not even she, was ever allowed to go inside.

she comes to a halt in front of the towering grandfather clock and inspects the floor for scratches or other signs that it has been moved several times, but the hardwood remains as flawless as ever.