The Other Daughter

Chapter 1

The seams were frayed.

A rosy-cheeked little girl focused intently on her doll, making playful noises as she moved it across the floor of a large cabin. She paid no attention to the places where it had started to come apart, until finally, it caught on a splinter of wood. Out spewed its cotton filling, and with it, her overflow of tears.

"What is it, Ruby?" her father asked, rushing over to her from across the room, eyes wild with concern. "Don't worry, daddy's here. What happened?"

One look at the doll was more than enough explanation. Its hollowed-out exterior lay on the cabin floor, nearly unrecognizable now.

"Oh."

Taiyang Xiao Long scooped his daughter up, holding her close. "Don't worry. Mommy's not here to sew it up for you anymore. I forgot. I'm sorry." He carried her over to his desk and sat her on the floor next to him, returning to his work. There were papers to grade. Her playtime would have to wait. Immediately met with wails of protest, he stalked across the room to grab the destroyed doll, hiding it in another room out of view.

"Don't worry," he said softly, raising a hand to shush her. "I'll make it good as new for you once I'm done here. Uncle Qrow will be here soon to take you into town for a bit."

Scrutinizing him with her cherubic, yet surprisingly aware face, the girl deemed his words sufficient and quieted down. Out of view of Ruby, Taiyang rubbed his temples and sighed, his chest heaving as he attempted to expel all of his stress and painful solitude in one breath. He dared to inhale again, irritating the gradually increasing throb of pain lodged in his throat. Allowing himself one moment of weakness, he put it away, deep in the depths of his mind. Ruby could never see him cry. Her father was all she had now.

Wiping his eyes, Tai reached for the next student's test paper and snatched up his trusty pen. His eyes glazed over as he traced its fractured handle. The thing was falling apart. Still, nothing else would do. After all, it once belonged to her. He wrote on, sprinkling each page with note after note. Then came that fateful knock at the door which promised him at least half an hour of relief from duty. No matter the depths of his love, caring for Ruby alone was a struggle unrivaled by even the strongest Grimm horde.

*          *          *

"Over here!" Yang shouted through the densely packed trees, not caring if they heard her, too. They would be dust soon.

Several of her tribemates came bursting through the bushes from either side. They stood with her, facing down a large Ursa, their guns at the ready.

"Surround it," commanded her mother's voice from somewhere in the distance. A few more members of the tribe appeared, encircling the enemy.

First, there was only the sound of something moving in the branches above. Then Yang saw her. Raven sat poised on one knee, her monstrous mask donned. She was perched at the top of the tree directly behind their prey. Had she flown up there? Usually Yang didn't miss things like that. Maybe she was having an off day.

The Ursa snarled, looking from one direction to the other, debating which of its foes was the greatest threat. Amused by its ignorance, Yang chuckled while she brandished her tantō. She slid one leg backward, leaving a deep track in the dirt. The creature's oil-black skin and skeletal plating gleamed in the warm sunlight. Rearing back, it crouched. Apparently, it had finally made its choice regarding whom to sink its large, jagged teeth into.

"How many?" Raven asked.

"Two more!"

Darting forward as she fed the vital piece of tactical information to her mother, Yang dove to the side opposite the Ursa's ferocious slash, checking its blind spot with her short sword. When it followed up with a second swipe, she was already ducking to shred its nearest leg. The monster roared in a twisted mixture of fury and agony, unable to prevent a jaw-first crash landing.