𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧

TWO.

THE RED CASTLE

Ruby and Ben stood in front of the rusted gated of the run-down castle that had once been Ruby's home. The Red Castle had been beautiful once, long before the Red Queen took residence there and gave it its name. It was fitting enough, with the red bricks and it being located at the heart of the Isle. Ruby always wondered who'd lived there before them. It had surely belonged to someone before the Isle was a thing.

"You can still back down, you know?" Ruby glanced at Ben. Their hands were interlocked and Ben was looking at the castle, taking in every detail. He tore his eyes away from the building and met hers. "I know that I asked you to meet him, but you honestly don't have to. I don't want to make you uncomfortable or feel like you have to do this. We can still back out and I'll show you the rest of the Isle that you didn't get to see before."

Ben squeezed her hand and then raised it to press a kiss to the back of it. "Thank you. But I want to meet him. If you're asking me to, he must mean something to you, so I want to meet him."

"Okay." Ruby nodded and turned to the castle. "Okay," She repeated, more to herself this time.

When she didn't open the gate right away, Ben wondered, "Is your mom in there?"

"It's noon. She should be in the gardens, playing croquet. Hopefully." Ruby made a face at the thought of running into her mother. She was not prepared for that, but what were the chances of her mother changing her schedule after eighteen years? Her mother always played croquet at noon, for as long as Ruby could remember. And yet, the thought of her mother changing her schedule haunted her.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Ben asked her. Ruby let out a breath and nodded, meeting his eyes.

"As long as you're next to me."

"I wasn't planning on leaving your side."

Ruby squeezed his hand. "Good." She opened the gate, which creaked loudly under the movement. Ruby wondered how long it'd gone unused. It always creaked, but she wasn't sure if it was louder or if it was all just in her head. "My father hangs in the foyer, so we don't really have to go far into the castle." For once, she was glad that her father's death was the first thing that greeted her upon entering the castle. It meant she didn't have to relive her time there. She didn't need to see every spot her mother had nearly killed her, or the ratty mattress on the floor that had been her closest thing to a safe haven in the entire Red Castle. The whole place was depressing and she was sure that she'd have a lot of new material for Dr. Hopper when she met him for her next appointment, even if she didn't go further into the castle than the foyer. Being back here, it brought back memories.

They'd walked up the path and were standing in front of the large, wooden doors. Ruby pushed them open and was greeted with the familiar, musty smell that clung onto the very fabric of the Red Castle. No matter what, the smell was part of what made the castle.

The foyer was lit with a few spare candles, but it remained dark. There were two candelabras lit on either side of her father's head, which had startled awake from the noise the door made.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

Ruby let go of Ben's hand and stepped into the light, a soft expression on her face, though she couldn't bring herself to smile. Her father's face lit up.

"Ruby! My, look at you! It feels like I haven't seen you in ages! You look so grown up. How is my little princess?" Her father was beaming and it caused a small smile to grace her face as well.

"Hello, dad. It's been a while." She walked closer and looked at him. He never changed at all. Never aged, never grew. He was always the same, stuck in time, suspended. Still, she was looking at him as if something might've been different. But no, he still had the same dark hair and the same dark brown eyes that she'd inherited. Ruby had most of her looks from her mother, but her eyes were all her father's. "I've been in Auradon."