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Amber and Layla kept their attention to Blake. Hearing the name Weiss Winterprison made them think of something similar to royalty, but Blake looked as though she found someone who was supposed to be dead. And sure enough, judging by Melody's smug expression, that seemed to be the case.
"Ah yes, I know. She sacrificed herself for you when the two of you were escaping that one night," Melody sing-songed, clasping her hands together. Blake immediately clenched her fists in anger, something that made Amber extremely nervous. The few and rare times that Blake was genuinely mad would only show two signs - a sudden blood lust in the air and Blake's tightened fists. Both symptoms were active at this very moment, and from what Amber remembered, they were the same as just before Blake went berserk at the meadow. She took Layla by the hand and guided her a few steps backwards from Blake, earning questioning looks from her best friend.
"Trust me, this gives me bad vibes, hun," Amber muttered lowly for Layla to hear. Layla tensed at Amber's warning. Ever since she had become a Guardian with Blake as her Knight, she found Amber's newfound serious side to be charming yet dangerous. Usually, Amber would remain cheerful and goofy in school and kept a happy mood even when dealing with Ires. But it was during these serious times that Layla found herself feeling much more anxious and alert. She had come to realize that when Amber was serious, it meant something bad was about to happen.
"Well, as you have clearly seen, she still lives. Well, most of her memories have disappeared at this point apparently," Melody continued, eyes focused on Blake's subtle reactions of anger as it slowly faded ever so slightly, "When I approached her, she didn't flinch, not even when I went to approach her. Her beauty has remained despite the years, I must say; I might just take her back." The air became extremely thick at this point. Blake was doing everything she could not to lose her senses at that very moment. Amber had half a mind to activate her aura in case Blake were to snap. However, she could tell that Blake was trying to remain within reason. Poor Blake, this is just horrible, Amber thought to herself, noting Blake's trembling fists. Blake took a deep breath and focused her attention on Melody.
"Then why are you here? To do just as you said? Or to come and claim my life one more time?" she seethed through her teeth. Melody chuckled lightly, taking a few steps back from the ferocity overflowing from Blake.
"I was just here to see where that girl had run off to. I can't do anything rash unless I want to end up back in jail," Melody sadly sighed, "However, I am still keen on having you be with me, Blakey. That I will assure you. But perhaps at a later time. It would appear my visiting time is up." As she finished her sentence, sirens blared from just outside the hospital. Melody strode past Blake, Amber and Layla but stopped just short of turning the hallway.
"Oh, I haven't really mentioned you for her, so I am a bit unsure just how much she remembers you," she paused momentarily, gathering a few thoughts, "I doubt it, though, since she's forgotten all about me. Pity, I recall that the two of you shared many loving moments together within the cells of my abode." She left the three of them standing still as her laugh echoed through the hall and resounded mockingly in their ears. Amber and Layla sat back down on the seats in front of Weiss' room after feeling a wave of relief washed over the two. Blake, however, remained frozen there, trying to process everything that had happened. Weiss is alive, Blake repeated in her mind. Memories of her time with Weiss resurfaced all at once, and she could feel her heart swell. Never in her life had words held such an impact on her than at that moment. Weiss was alive. That thought rang through Blake's mind, causing the girl to inadvertently smile.

"I think you have a bit of explaining to do," Layla told Blake after the three were allowed into Weiss' room for visiting hours. Blake had remained silent for the hour that they had waited for the doctor's to examine Weiss' body for any injuries. Thankfully, she was mostly unharmed save for a few scratches and burns, and the doctors passed it off as exhaustion from an adrenaline rush through the disaster she had been apart of. That was what brought Blake to sit in a chair at Weiss' bedside, watching the sleeping girl with a shrouded look in her eyes, while Layla and Amber stood on the other side of the bed observing the two.
"I do, don't I?" Blake sighed reluctantly. Amber opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when Layla placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew what Amber was going to say. Knowing Amber, the girl would most likely try to lighten the situation with a bit of humor and allow Blake to steer them off-topic to avoid the conversation altogether. Layla always knew that Amber was very uncomfortable with these kinds of morbid and depressing conversations and would do anything to get out of them. However, Amber was also very understanding of Layla's intentions, so she smiled and remained silent. Blake took a few moments to calm her thoughts before explaining.
"As Melody had said, I met Weiss during the time I was thrown into her jail cell along with the others that she had 'collected'," Blake began, "Weiss was someone who had been stuck there for a few months longer than I have. She was told that she was captured due to her beauty and grace and was forced to watch her family surrender her under the threat of dying themselves. What was worse was that after she was given up, Melody had the audacity to kill her entire family and burn her home right in front of her eyes, giving her no chance to return to the life she once had." Blake paused here, allowing her friends some time to process everything so far. Amber looked over to Weiss with a sorrowful look. To think that Weiss had already suffered so much and could not remember anything of it at that very moment. It was excruciating to think about. Layla felt warm streaks of tears falling from her eyes as she tried hard not to cry in pain for what Weiss had already gone through before meeting Blake.
"That's... just wrong. Seriously, that's messed up on way too many levels," Amber commented softly. She understood Blake's wish to avoid the topic now. Just trying to understand Weiss seemed to be a very dark task to begin with. Blake sighed.
"I know. That's why when she opened up to me about it I felt the same way you guys do now," Blake sympathized, placing a hand on Weiss' own, "It was hard for her to open up to people because of that. It took me five weeks to earn her trust. No one else had ever spoken to her, yet she was the one who helped to care for everyone's injuries before I became Melody's target. When I was captured, Melody had tortured me for about an hour or so, and I wasn't used to it so I became rather faint. Had it not been for Weiss I'd probably..." Blake trailed off as tiny whimpers caught her attention. She turned to look at Weiss and watched as the girl opened her eyes. Layla and Amber were surprised to see that Weiss had hazel eyes, almost golden, looking up towards Blake. The bedridden girl took a moment to take in her surroundings before returning her gaze to Blake's own. She seemed content with everything, and shocked the three other girls by adjusting herself to be closer to Blake, raising her hand to stroke Blake's cheek.
"I found you," her voice was soft, yet the meaning behind those words kept Blake at a standstill. Blake couldn't help but to remember those days in the past, memories of pain and suffering laced with love and adoration for the girl she had come to know affectionately. Layla and Amber both watched in confused silence as Blake grasped Weiss' hand in her own, bringing it back down to the bed while maintaining her hold.
"Time let you forget the pain but not me, I suppose," Blake said with a slight huff, "Please rest for now. I'll explain everything when you wake again." Layla and Amber found themselves shocked at Blake's reaction. Sure, they were aware of Blake's caring side whenever someone she cared for was hurt in someway shape or form, but they never heard the hint of affection from it like they were now. Whoever Weiss was to Blake must have been something much deeper than what met the eye. Weiss smiled back at Blake with the same affection before closing her eyes to rest once more. Blake smiled and squeezed Weiss' hand and focused her attention back to Layla and Amber.

"Long story short, she and I became really close, focusing solely on making sure we had as many people alive as we could," Blake continued, "Melody was extremely harsh, so there were more deaths than survivors by the end of the third month of my captivity. In the end, I was chosen to take on the brutal torture since I was the only one that would never break. That was where I built my endurance and pain tolerance." Blake continued on to explain the details of the horrifying eight months she and Weiss were confined. It amazed Layla to how much one person could stand, and bewildered Amber that Weiss was forced to suffer mentally to watch Blake go through so much physical pain.
"By the end of the seventh month, Weiss and I were the only ones remaining that were still alive," Blake went on, "Weiss was extremely upset that she lost so many people during that time. On top of that, I remember returning to her with so many gashes and bruises. Whenever she looked at me with such saddened eyes, I always felt my heart and spirit break from seeing that." Blake placed a hand over her chest and gripped her shirt, recounting the heartbreaking scene vividly in her mind. The pain that she felt was projected to Amber and Layla, finding themselves feeling sorry for both Blake and Weiss all over again. It looked and felt similar to the pain of two star-crossed lovers whose fates only continued to torment them to this very day. Layla felt a lump stuck in her throat as the thought came to her. With Melody at large, and those two rekindling their emotions of a time in the past, would Melody wish to make them suffer again? Layla clasped her hands at her chest, the pain of something like that too great for her to think of now.
"I remember the day I had her escape with me. I finally found an opening to escape from after days of planning," Blake's story continued, "However, thanks to how much she began to mean to me, I asked her to join me. It was dangerous for two to escape at once. Yet, at the same time, I couldn't find myself wanting to abandon her to to at Melody's mercy. She agreed to leave with me, and somehow we managed to escape. We stayed in hiding for the next two weeks to have Melody forget about us."
"Then after all of that, we were together for a short while. I thought everything was over and that we could finally move on. I was wrong. Dead wrong," Blake said, releasing her hold on Weiss. Amber looked to Blake's expression, sensing a bit of anguish in the Knight's eyes. Something told her that their separation was something that Blake was still bleeding from to this day.
"I didn't think Melody would stoop so low as to burn our home," Blake said, anger rising in her voice. The anger was quickly quelled at her next words, replaced with a pained sadness that clouded Blake's eyes. "Weiss was bedridden from sickness and couldn't move, and she forced me to run out and get help. When I came back, everything was already..." Amber shut her eyes, trying hard not to cry. Layla, on the other hand, allowed her tears to flow freely, covering her gaping mouth as she quietly sobbed. Blake gave a sad smile. Her friends were probably too kind to her, really.

Amber was the first to reconcile her thoughts, glancing over at the sleeping Weiss. After hearing Blake's recollection of their history, Amber felt sorry for both Weiss and Blake. Both had suffered a lot in the hands of Melody, and with her wandering out and about in the world instead of behind bars was something that left a very bitter taste in her mouth. She suddenly felt the need to chase after Melody and go for another round if it meant it would get the twisted girl back behind bars. She stood up, feeling set on going out to find Melody, only to be stopped by Layla tugging onto her school blazer. Layla kept her head down, but Amber could tell that Layla was crying. Droplets hit her skirt over and over, yet Layla refused to let out a sound. Amber exhaled in frustration but remained in place. If anything, she hated seeing her friends in pain. While Blake and Weiss being reunited was a wonderful thing, the story of how they met far outweighed the happiness the two should be feeling with one another. Amber looked over to her Knight once more, shocked to kind that she had been silently shedding tears as she stared at Weiss' sleeping form. Amber clenched her fists tightly. She never liked to see her friends suffer any sort of pain. She especially despised to see them cry. Layla, the most mentally sound person she ever knew, and Blake, the toughest individual she had ever had the pleasure of knowing, were both crying now.

If she had not been held back by Layla tugging at her blazer, she would have long been sent to jail on the account of murder.