Late For Dinner (Patreon)

“Cinder! Where in the hell is your daughter, Ruby?! You said she’d be here for dinner!” Salem’s voice broke the silence of the dining room her and her adopted daughter were in, which was once her throne room. “You can’t keep raising her to allow something like this to be okay. You know that, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do, mother. She’s only seven, though. You treated me the same way I treat her and you treat her the same as you did me.” Cinder giggled to herself as she watched her little daughter run into the throne room, a piece of paper in hand as her long black hair with red tips swayed behind her with each step. “Oh? Looks like my sweetheart has something for me.~” She cooed, reaching her arms out and picking her daughter off the floor. A quick glance at Salem and she noticed the gray goddess’s expression soften at the sight of the young child.

“Mhm! I drew you and Grandma a picture!” Ruby smiled a warm, bright smile as she held the drawing of her loving mother and grandmother in front of the two. It was an amazing piece of art for a seven year old, showing the two reading to Ruby as the child slept in her mother’s lap. “You two read to me so often, that I wanted to do something special!” The girl sounded to happy to see her mother and grandmother smile and both ‘awe’ at the picture.

“Well, Mom. What do you think of Ruby’s drawing?~” Cinder asked coyly, sliding the picture over to Salem would get a better look at the artwork done by her seven year old. “Isn’t it amazing?”

Salem looked to the art that looked like it was painted by someone with years and years of experience. “Ruby, is this art why you were late to dinner? Today is a special day and I didn’t want you late. So, be honest with me.”

The young girl tried to hide behind her mother’s hair, whimpering lightly and nodded. “Yes, Grandma… I wanted to make you a gift for your birthday…”

A soft gasp left the older woman’s lips as the younger girl’ confession. “So, this is for me, young lady?”

“Mhm… Do you not like it…?” The young girl started to get scared that her grandmother didn’t enjoy the present. “I’m sorry, Grandma!” Tears started to form in her eyes as she started getting ahead of herself.

“Shh shh.” The younger maiden smiled, wiping the tears from her daughter’s eyes. “I’m sure Grandma loves the art, Rubes!”

The older woman nodded, throwing her hands up with a smile. “She’s right, Ruby! I just… You remind me so much of your mother that I was caught off guard. She used to do the same thing every year when she was your age. She’d always be late for dinner with some handmade gift that she had been working on for about a week or two.” She listened to the soft gasp leave the child’s lips. “Now, sit at your seat and let’s get started on dinner. Since Cinder has to go out on missions, it’s not every day we get to all eat together.~”

The young girl hummed a yes and made her way to her seat, just across from her mother and beside her grandma. Before either adult could say anything to her, she was already chowing down on her food. “This is so good!~” She cheered with her mouth full of her meal, forgetting her manners. “Happy Birthday Grand-”

“Ruby, swallow your food before you talk at the table. Don’t be rude.” Both Salem and Cinder commanded the young girl with a strict tone in their voices. They both looked at each other with a bit of surprise in their eyes.

“Like mother like daughter, huh?” The partial maiden asked with a light smile on her face. “What do you say we take dinner into the living room and we read Ruby a story? Afterwards, I’ll give you your gift, Mom.” She tried to hide the light blush that came to her cheeks as she spoke the idea.

“I’m fine with that.~” With a seductive tone in her voice, Salem smirked and eyed her granddaughter. “It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been able to read to young Ruby.” Giving her grandaughter a loving smile, she quickly lifted the girl from her chair and planted at least a dozen kisses on each of her cheeks. “You’re just a little adventurer, wandering around my castle every day and playing hide and seek with your mother.~ By the time I get to see you, you’re too tuckered out to stay awake!” Her seductive tone turning into a baby voice for talking with a toddler. “Will you give grandma a second gift and let her read to you?”

The young girl couldn’t help but giggle as her cheeks were assaulted with constant kisses, trying to push the woman away while keeping a smile on her face. “Just nothing boring!” She forced out while giggling and accidentally cupping the gray woman’s cheeks. “Tell me a story about Momma!~” The joy in her voice echoed through the room as Cinder looked at her surprised.

“A story about me? But why?” The auburn-eyed woman asked, getting all of their food on to-go plates. “Every time you want me to tell you a story, I always tell you one about when I was your age.”

“Now now, dear. If my Black Rose wants to hear a story about her mother, she’ll get to hear a story about her mother.” Salem said, running her hand through Ruby’s hair before detecting curious eyes on her. “I don’t get to say it too often, but she’s a Rose from our family. So, Black Rose. Just my little nickname for her.” She paused for a moment before trading looks between the two. “What? Don’t like it?”

“I wanna be Gray Rose! Because you make gray look awesome, Grandma!” Ruby cheered out, throwing her hands in the air as she praised the woman.

“Alright! Gray Rose it is.~” Salem cheered, heading into the other room. “Okay, so this one time when your mother was a little over twice your age, she had snuck out of the house…”

Before the younger maiden could even argue about which story to tell, the two were out of the room and her mother was talking with such a passion that she feared everyone in the castle would hear. “You could at least wait for me to suggest a story to tell. It is about me after all….”