Friday, April 30, Year 87 Age 5, 16:00
Beacon Academy
Year 2
Ding Ding-Ding Diiin
"Good Evening, Students and Staff, Friendly reminder that next week is Orphan's Week across all Pact Kingdoms and Provinces. Keep the hope alive in those that lost everything and adopt an orphan for the week, as a result; for the remainder of next week, all teams consisting of one or more orphans will not be able to participate in Hunts but don't worry, the Arena will still be open for teams to keep their skills sharp. An orphanage representative will be in the main lobby for one hour with further information about adopting an orphan for Orphan Week. In other news, this month's Arena Ranking is as follows: Senior Class First Place: BNNA, Second Place: CFVY, Third Place: PCHE. Sophom*ore Class First Place: B...BE...BERU BERA BEER? How am I supposed to pronounce this?... Berry, really...okay. Sophom*ore Class First Place: BERU, Second Place: OCNE, Third Place: JNPR. Junior Class First Place: TERN, Second Place: CHKS, and finally Third Place goes to PRSP. Final announcement to all students: please refrain from launching fellow students in the locker rockets. The most recent incident involved a locker being launched into a farmer's barn, so if you wish not to help the farmer find his animals, do not shove other students into lockers...Cardin. Thank you, and have a pleasant evening."
Cinder closed her locker and chuckled at the announcement, which was tame when compared to the other students who openly laughed at Cardin and made her way towards the main lobby to leave the campus when someone tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around to see Ruby smiling at her.
"Hey, Ruby."
"Hey, Hey, Cinder." The younger Huntress started to walk next to her.
Cinder took note of her hair. Where it usually hung down to her shoulders, it was now up in a braided bun behind her head while her bangs still hung out in front, "Your hair looks nice."
"You're just now noticing it. It's the end of the day."
"Well, your bangs are still down, so I didn't think twice about it."
"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Honestly, I thought about having it pulled back as well, but I kinda like seeing my bangs."
"Who put it up for you? I don't think Yang knows how to braid hair, to be honest."
"Oh, Weiss put it up this morning."
"Did she?"
"Yep. She was wanting to try out some new hairstyles and wanted to see how they looked on me before trying them on her."
"I take it she didn't like it since her hair is still in that ponytail?"
"Hehe, yeah, she was talking about how her older brother used to put her and Winter's hair up when she was younger. Say, are you going to participate in Orphan's Week this year?"
"I..." Cinder thought about the subject. Last year she still had nightmares about being a parent when she was younger. She still did, a part of her always telling herself that she will always be too young, but Charlie had been helping her get through it. Admittedly being here among friendly people has done some help for her instead of being at Salem's castle where she was constantly around Grimm that reminded her of that day. She felt uneasy at the idea of adopting a child. What if she wasn't good enough for them? What if they didn't want her because they want their old parents more? The idea of mothering a child still haunted her, yet she thought about the fact she wouldn't be alone next week. From the looks of it, most of her classmates were looking to adopt for the week so she would have them to help her, and since Charlie will be back next week, they'll be...like a family. She smiled at the thought. Cinder looked at her classmates, then back to Ruby, "I might. What about you?"
"I can't. I'm still underage, apparently. Only twenty and older can adopt during Orphan's Week." Ruby sighed, "The only downside to skipping high school, I guess."
"Oh, how the mighty suffer."
The two girls laughed together as they stopped some distance from the group around the Orphanage Representative, where most of Class 2-B were asking questions.
"Oh, before I forget, do you have any plans for this summer?"
"Can't say I do at the moment. What about you?"
"I'm gonna see if the girls wanna go out on Hunts since we're allowed to do that this summer. Bummer though that we have to wait until our third year to do Hunts in the north."
"Well, I'm sure the teachers do that so younger students won't go and die on them."
"I guess. I'm honestly just excited to do more Hunts next year and help more people."
"And to think, you'll be out there helping even more people once we graduate."
"Hehe, yeah. What are you going to do after we graduate?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, I don't think being the Prince's...uh...wife is a good enough job. If anything, you'll be like Weiss, more or less. That's a complicated subject."
"Well, Charlie's been saying that I should go to the Institution after graduation to...expand my magical knowledge."
"That's right. You can do magic. Can you do some right now?"
"Maybe later."
"Aw, okay. Well, I'm sure the orphan you'll get will enjoy the magic tricks. Anyway, I'm gonna see if Weiss can get an orphan for me."
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"Sit back and watch," Ruby cleared her throat several times before screaming and running up to the rest of her team, yelling at the top of her voice, "WEISSSS! GIVE ME A BABY!"
Cinder watched as Ruby jumped on Weiss' back, who stumbled forward, and began swinging her around while the rest of their class looked on with some laughing like Yang. She gave off a light chuckle watching that happen.
As she walked out through the courtyard and towards the trolley, she thought, what would Charlie's reaction be if she did the same thing to him. She could imagine his response would either be; he would give her a flirtatious smile and joke with something like, "I'm sure if I do that here, we'll get some certain looks because of it.", or if she asked more sincerely she would get him to blush and say, "If you think we're ready for that?" then he'd go on a tangent about Council approval, the fact that being a Huntress requires her to be mobile and that would contradict her training along with a million other what-if's and probabilities, then she would remind him that she was joking and watch as his thoughts get derailed only for her to tease him again.
Cinder rode the trolley down to the city and watched as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. Even as the sun set on the city, she couldn't help but admire how beautiful it looked. Compared to Salem's castle, which was dank, decrepit and filled with Grimm who tore at each other and the unfortunate Fallur who just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Vale was brighter, more lively, hospitable, friendly to a point, and enjoyable.
It was so very enjoyable.
She pulled out her SCROLL and looked at the date, and smiled to herself, "Charlie should be back soon." The feeling of happiness rising in her chest was a nice feeling to have again. Something she thought she'd never feel again since she lost her parents.
{It seems this city wasn't the only thing that smitten you}
Cinder watched as the scenery changed from being above the city to descending to the city streets, and the familiar sights of tall buildings soon greeted her as she stepped off the trolley.
She walked through the crowd at the trolley station who were waiting for relatives or friends getting done with Beacon for the day and up to the various taxi drivers where the Royal Guard assigned to her was standing with the driver, a south islander whose black skin and white dreadlocks tied up behind his head made him stand out even more with his black suit when standing next to the silver car, waiting for her. The Guard was different today as it rotated between only three of them.
This Guard was talking to a Huntress very casually as if he knew her. When he spotted Cinder, he said something to both the Huntress who walked away and the driver who got in the car and started it.
"Lady Fall." The Guard said while opening the door. Cinder paid him no mind as she got in, and when he got into the front passenger's seat, he turned around and asked, "Where to, My Lady?"
"Home'll do." She said as she rested her head on the headrest behind her and looked out the window as the car pulled away. The driver turned on the radio, and the sound of hip-hop soon filled the car. That warm feeling in her chest came back.
It felt nice to say "home" again.
'Should I wait for Charlie to come back so we can both pick an orphan?' She thought to herself as the car drove through the city, passing by people walking in and out of restaurants, smaller markets and houses. Groups of friends would walk by with some kind of ball to play sports with, a couple would walk by enjoying their date, or a family would walk together to enjoy the nice weather outside while on their way to one of the many parks in the Residential District that allowed people to get out of their homes and enjoy the outside. Cinder imagined her and Charlie walking to the park with their orphan, a...girl who would be riding on Charlie's shoulders as they would walk through the park's garden ignoring the press that would always come for Charlie whenever he wasn't at Beacon, the Keep or...at home, 'No, I'm gonna surprise him.'
It felt nice to be happy.
Sunday, May 2, Year 87 Age 5, 16:09
Southwest Residential District (The Tri-District Area)
New Heritage Orphanage
Cinder left the car and walked up to the courtyard of the orphanage, where on the pillars of the front marble archway was posters with the drawing of a woman in a very ornate, veiled, black dress holding a newborn in a swaddling cloth and holding the hand of a child while behind her more children in ragged-looking garments followed behind. Huge words on the top of the poster said, "Orphan's Week", with dates underneath that for how long it will last, while at the bottom, smaller words were saying, "Invoke the spirit of Matron Seia Fidelis by bringing hope to a child who has none. This week only. Speak to Matron Raye Durian at the New Heritage Orphanage for more information."
As she stepped through the archway and looked around the courtyard, she beheld how empty it was. There were two or four families here, but aside from that, it was entirely cleared out except for the orphanage workers and two Peacekeepers walking around. Cinder walked past a family talking to one of the orphanage Mothers and up to an empty table where a Mother sat.
"Hello." She said to the Mother.
"Hello there!" The Mother said back cheerily towards her, "Looking to adopt for the week or are you looking for a permanent adoption?"
"Just a week."
The Mother leaned over to a stack of papers and asked, "Are you a Huntress from the Academy?"
"I am."
"Okay," She pulled out a piece of paper, wrote on it and turned it over to her, "This paper is to remind you that although you have no affiliation with the Kingdoms by being a Huntsmen/Huntress of a regional academy, by participating in Orphan's Week and adopting an orphan, you are hereby temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Valian Peacekeeping Department. The orphan you take will not accompany you on Hunts against Grimm and is not allowed outside the city of Vale. By signing this document, you also agree that you can care for the orphan adequately. Failure to properly care for the orphan under your care will result in legal actions against you, ranging from imprisonment up to a year with hard labour to executions. The return date for your orphan is Friday, May Seventh of the Year Eighty Seven, of the Fifth Age at 16:30. Failure to return the orphan at that time will result in the Peacekeepers arresting you for child abduction. If you are okay with this, then sign and date at the bottom, and when we find you an orphan, the Matron will also sign under your name once you've decided on an orphan."
Cinder quickly looked over the document, and it was all exactly what the Mother said with a few words different in some places. She picked up the pen and started to sign the paper when she asked the Mother a question.
"Has there always been problems over this, or was it a recent thing?" She handed the Mother the signed paper.
"The execution policy has been in effect since the year 10,019 of the previous Age when certain people and couples would adopt a child, and after some concerned neighbour inquires about the state of the family, it was found out that these people were abusive to their orphans and so the Council had to instate some changes to how people were not only treating orphans but their own children in general." She looked it over and handed it back to her, "Go see Matron Durian for your orphan and finalisation of the document." the Mother turned around. She pointed to the main doorway of the orphanage, where an older woman was standing talking to a Churgeon.
"Thank you." Cinder said, the Mother replied as she walked away. She walked up to Matron Durian as the Churgeon walked away.
Matron Durian bowed her head towards Cinder as she approached, "Good afternoon, My Lady. Are you here to adopt for the week, or are you looking for permanent adoption, or are you here to learn about Matron Seia Fidelis?"
Cinder raised the paper she signed, "I'm here for Orphan's Week, but I'd like to know more about Matron Seia Fidelis."
Matron Durian smiled warmly, "I see. Matron Seia Fidelis was born during the First Imperium Age before the start of the First War. She was married to Lars Dossenius Herma, but he was sent overseas to fight when the First War broke out. He would pass during the final battle at Somergus Fields years later. In her grief Seia went to what we now call Lauderlane to live with her parents, but as she travelled, she noticed all the orphans living on the streets, not only in the city of Dal but also in the northern province that she went to mourn in. While she was disheartened about the loss of her husband, she decided to turn that grief into something useful for others. With the help of a dwarven mason, she had an orphanage built that lies underneath us in the Undercity. With the commission of the Imperial Senate, she had started taking in children and gave not only to them but families who couldn't bear children or those who wanted to adopt an opportunity at a better life. The orphanage would pass from Matron to Matron, each of us doing our part to ensure these children get to see a better future." She bowed her head again, "Now then, is there anything else?"
"Ah yes, my adoption papers for Orphan's Week." Cinder handed the Matron her papers.
The Matron chuckled as she grabbed the papers, "Not the official adoption papers, My Lady. It's more or less a contract for the week." She motioned to the doorway, "Shall we?"
As the Matron led her through the building, Cinder noted how the inside was mostly made of tiles that looked similar to wood and walls of white cream, giving the place a bland look. Despite the outside being very decorated marble giving it a very sophisticated look, the inside looked like something one would find in a standard house or apartment.
"Are you looking to adopt a boy or a girl for the week?"
"A girl."
"Right, this way then for the Girl's Wing." The Matron said, retaking the lead before asking, "I must say, My Lady, I was expecting His Royal Highness to be here as well since he'll be the father for the week as well."
"Well, he's still away at the moment, and I figured I'd surprise him when he returns."
The Matron chuckled, "I'm sure any man would be surprised if he leaves and returns to his fiancée with a child."
"Heh, yeah, I'm sure he would."
The two of them entered an atrium where many young girls, from what appears to be the mid-teens and younger, were either talking to each other or playing with various toys, while some of the older orphans were helping the younger ones with learning shapes and colours with their toys. There were three other Mothers throughout the room dressed in maidservant dresses, black dresses that went to their knees with sleeves that went to their elbows and a white apron over it with black hosiery and flats. The three of them would go around the main room helping a child with something if they needed it.
"Children." The Matron said in a loud yet comforting voice, and when enough, the children, mostly the older ones, looked over to her, she continued, "Settle down, children. Someone's here to adopt for the week." The three mothers and some of the older girls began to settle down the younger ones as Cinder, and the Matron, walked through the room, "Go ahead and take your time."
As she walked throughout the room, Cinder noticed how each child went about playing with their toys, with a few of them glancing towards her. Many of them bore scars on some part of their body, and now and then, she would see a Faunus missing either a part of or the whole of an ear.
{And to think you're going to be adding to them, next year}
Cinder didn't think about it too much, but she could have guessed that living in a world with monsters like the Grimm, children are bound to become orphans at a faster rate than a world without monsters. A world without monsters, now that was an interesting thought. As she looked around the room, her eye caught a child huddled by a window overlooking the courtyard where families and couples would come and go throughout the week.
"Who's that?" She asked the Matron.
"She's Calli, six years old. She's one of the orphans that Vale took in from Atlas during the war. Many of the children we have are here because of that."
"Is she?" Cinder made her way over to the orphan by the window, sat down next to her, and looked outside. Some more families showed up and talked to the Mothers in the courtyard while the Paramedics sat near a tent, and the Peacekeepers continued to walk around. She looked from the courtyard to the girl, "Hi there, my name is Cinder. What's yours?"
The little girl sat holding her legs. She raised her head from her knees and looked up at Cinder with her blue-green, eucalyptus coloured eyes peeking out through her blond hair. She buried her mouth under her arms as she spoke, "Calli." She said softly, "My name's Calli."
"Well, Calli, how do you feel about coming home with me for the week?"
Calli looked up at her. Her eyes widened for a second, then faded back to looking monotonous as she lowered her head again and spoke, "Why would I. It's just a week. You'll just leave me here like the others."
{So she was adopted for this week . How adorable. Loved and abandoned, kind of like-}
"Me," Cinder said quietly, but not quietly enough as Calli looked over to her. Her eyes asking the question she didn't say. Cinder cleared her throat, "Me and my fiancé are different. You see, he really wants a kid, but he's not here right now, so I'm going to surprise him when he comes back this week, and I think you're the right kid for him."
Calli looked back outside, "Why don't you two just make a kid. It's what everyone else does."
"Uh..." She chuckled awkwardly at Calli, "Calli, dear, how do you know about that?"
Calli turned her head slightly to her, almost embarrassed to talk, "Uh...I heard the Mothers talking about it. They make it sound like making kids is easier than...adopting one of us."
"Well, you want to be let in on a little secret, Calli?" Cinder asked, brushing her blonde bangs to the back of her head and resting her hand on the child's back.
Her eucalyptus eyes darted around the room before landing on Cinder, "S-sure."
"Making children is...not that easy."
"Really?"
"Really. What is easy, is easy is convincing my fiancé. So, what do you say?"
"Okay," Calli said dryly as she got down from the window with Cinder and walked over to Matron Durian.
"Is she the one?" The Matron asked while Cinder and Calli walked up to her.
"She is." Cinder looked down at Calli and rubbed her hands through her hair, moving it out of her face.
"Okay." She faced Calli, "Go pack your bag for the week, Calli and meet us in the lounge."
"Yes, Matron Durian." Calli nodded her head before walking off.
"We can go finish the paperwork in the other room." Matron Durian said as she led Cinder out of the room.
Ten minutes had passed, and Cinder sat in the lounge waiting for Calli when she heard footsteps descending. She looked up from her SCROLL and saw two men dressed in black shoes, black pants, a white short-sleeve shirt with a black waistcoat on, caretakers on the boys' side of the orphanage, walked across the room and headed towards the door.
One of the men groaned, "I could go for a smoke right now."
"Same."
"You think that pizza place is still open."
"Which one?" The second pulled on the undershirt he had on.
"The one in Indi. Tony's, is the name of it."
"Oh yeah, they don't close until ten. We should wait for the girls before going." The first pulled out a pack of cigarettes and stuck one in his mouth to light later.
As if on cue, a group of four women came down to the door, still in their maidservant dresses, some taking off their headbands all talking among themselves.
The first man chuckled as the group approached, "Took long enough. What were you changing outfits."
One of the women walked up to the first man and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, "You know that's bad for you."
"Unlike alcohol," He started, taking back the cigarette, "I can carry these with me."
"Hey have you guys heard of the Prince lately," Another woman asked the group as she took off her apron and put it in her bag.
"No," The second man said.
"Can't say I really follow politics nowadays." The first commented.
"Well, you should." The first woman scolded.
"Yeah, I'll start caring about politics when the police start arresting people for no reason. Until then." He shrugged his shoulders.
The first woman rolled her eyes as the second continued, "Well, my friend who works at the Keep told me that he's going to be away for longer because of the bombing."
"Really?" The second man asked, "Didn't that happen, like, two months ago."
"Exactly why I don't care for politics. We never hear about it until months after the fact."
"Well, where did they send him?"
"Overseas, the Southern Islands and Menagerie."
"Ah good," The first man took the cigarette out of his mouth and spun it between his fingers, "If there's one thing I like the royal family for, it's keeping those Islanders and Animals in their proper place."
The second man raised an eyebrow at the other man, "Don't you work with them?"
"Ugh, don't remind me."
"All in favour of having him pay for Tony's." Everyone agreed while the first man complained as the group walked out of the orphanage.
Cinder sat there. Charlie was coming back this week. Otherwise, he would have let her know. That was probably just hearsay, but it did come from someone who worked at the Keep.
{Why on Remnant would he bother not telling you anything. It's not like you do the same thing to him.}
"Shush." She said to herself quietly.
{Hey now, it's not like I'm the one that's lying here. If anything, I would have told him the truth, but from a different angle}
'As if there's another angle I can work with. "Hey Charlie, you know all those years you thought I was dead? Well, I was actually training to be a Grimm-Witch, hunting down the Autumn Maiden to Beacon, and now I'm here to turn everyone against you and leave you to die in the rubble of your own city while I claim the rest of the Maiden's powers and the Relic of War.", It's not exactly an obscured plan, to begin with.'
{...I said from a different angle}
'How exactly do you approach that from a different angle?'
{You tell me}
'You tell me! aren't you the omniscient one?'
{Who said I was omniscient}
"What?!" Cinder growled quietly.
"I said, are you ready, My Lady?"
Cinder looked up and saw Matron Durian standing across from her. She looked over and saw Calli walking with a Mother towards them.
"Are you okay, My Lady?" Matron Durian asked.
"Yes." Cinder replied sharply. Sharper than she intended, "Yes. It's just...my voice gets a little groggy when I snooze."
The Matron smiled, "Must have been a long day?"
{No}
"Yeah, it was."
"Don't forget to show your paper to your professors tomorrow."
"Of course. Thank you, Matron."
"See you this Friday." Matron Durian bowed her head and walked away.
"Here you are, My Lady." The Mother escorting Calli looked down at her, "Be safe now, Calli, and have fun."
"Yes, Mother Cassandra." Calli turned to Cinder. Her backpack didn't look like it was filled with too much stuff, "I'm ready, Ms Cinder."
Cinder looked down at the little girl. She couldn't bother telling her that Charlie wasn't going to come back this week. She would have to tell her that later after she checked with Charlie. For now, she just smiled at her and offered her her hand to hold, "Good. Let's go home now."
She didn't feel the warm feeling in her chest when she said that.
As she walked out of the orphanage, Cinder watched as the Guard threw a cigarette on the ground as they approached the car and stomped it out. The Driver walked around to get in and start the vehicle. She looked down at Calli, who watched as the Guard placed his helmet back on and opened the rear passenger doors for them. The little girl looked surprised at first and then at Cinder as if to confirm this is where they were going. Cinder nodded her head as the two of them approached the Guard, who pulled his visor down and extended a hand to Calli.
"Your bag, Young Lady."
Calli looked at the gloved hand of the Guard, then to Cinder while she squeezed her bag straps.
"It's fine, Calli. He's gonna put it in the back."
Calli looked back to the Guard, whether or not he smiled was hard to tell, but she handed him her bag and got into the car. Cinder got in after and heard the Guard close the door behind her. She saw Calli watch the Guard walk to the back of the car and taped the trunk, which signalled the driver to open it, and when it opened, he placed the bag in it and walked back to the front passenger seat.
"Calli, dear, buckle up."
Calli looked from the front of the car to Cinder, sat down on the seat, and buckled herself. Cinder smiled at her, then turned to the front of the car where she saw the Guard look from the back then to the driver and nodded. The Driver soon took off. This time the music he turned on was a bit tamer than the one he played earlier and yesterday.
"We should see about getting a booster seat for her." The Guard said to the Driver.
"Even if it's only for the week?"
"It's the law. We can't have the House be seen as above the law."
"Right. Right. I can use the old booster seat I have for her."
"Good. Once you drop us off at the apartment, go pick it up."
"And if the Lady needs to go somewhere while I'm away?"
"She won't."
Cinder watched the Driver look in his rearview mirror at her, and when he unintentionally made eye contact with her, he looked forward again.
The Guard handed Calli her bag as the car drove away. The three of them walked inside, past another Royal Guard at the front doorway, and up to her and Charlie's room where from the doorway Ardour could be seen laying on his back in the kitchen.
"Take your shoes off right here, Calli." Cinder instructed as they entered. The Guard remained on the other side of the door.
" 'kay." Calli sat down and started to take off her shoes as Cinder slid hers off.
Cinder scooted Calli's shoes next to hers. She smiled to herself as she looked down and saw the smaller pair of shoes next to hers. It was nice seeing small feet next to hers. It reminded her of...it reminded her of when she was younger within the forest. Looking down at the child she abandoned.
'I...I can't do this.' She said to herself, 'I couldn't do it alone before. I-I can't do it now.'
{You're right. You can't. You've always done menial tasks before now, and even when you were "free", you just ordered your own lackeys to do the work for you}
She looked over to Calli, who cautiously walked up to Ardor, trying not to wake him, only to be startled when the wolf opened his eyes and rolled onto his feet and started to sniff the little girl. Calli yelped at first when Ardor quickly got up, obviously surprised by how swift the wolf moved, but when he started to sniff her, she relented and allowed him to do so. Even going as far as to start petting him herself. She looked back down at the shoes when the voice continued.
{I'm sure you can go throw her on your "teammates" if you truly feel that you can't move forward. I guess your stepmother was right about you. A true Sisyphean, utterly useless}
'Useless,' CInder turned back towards Calli, who managed to get Ardor back on his back and to pet his stomach, 'I'm not useless.' She grabbed her handbag and walked towards Calli.
Calli looked up at her as Cinder knelt next to her. Her smile fading, as if she wasn't allowed to play with Ardor and Cinder was going to scold her for it, as she stood up and faced Cinder.
"I'm sorry." She said, "I should have asked permission first before playing with him."
Cinder eyed Ardor behind her, who was stretching one of his paws out to her for her to continue petting him, "It's fine, Calli. This is your home now, so you don't need to ask to play with him."
"What do I need to ask for then?"
"I can tell you about that with dinner. So what do you want?"
CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK
The amber-coloured rays of the setting sun shone through the floral chintz drapes. Her heels reverberated off the floor with each step she took, her legs moving on their own. Cinder didn't recognize this house, but the decor looked familiar to the decor she saw in the Keep when Charlie would take her through its massive halls. Vases and busts of people sat on podiums while paintings hung from the walls and glass chandeliers waved from the ceiling as the air-conditioning blew it gently. She felt something weighing on her choker, she wanted to feel what it was, but her arms didn't obey. She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a white ballgown with a blue sash draped across her shoulder that held two medals near the top and a silver badge near the bottom at her hip. Her right arm had a white, elbow-length glove on it to match the dress, while on her left arm, the glove went up to her shoulder, and scars could be seen on her shoulder. She tried to catch a glimpse of herself in a mirror, but she was walking too fast to see herself properly, and for some reason, her left eye throbbed with pain.
She turned a corner where two Royal Guards stood at attention down a long hallway in front of a large door, their bodies stiff except for the rising and falling of their chests as she approached.
"Leave!" She heard herself command the two Guards, who bowed their heads as she approached, and when she stopped in front of the door, the two Guards left.
She turned to watch them leave, and when they left the hallway, she turned back to the door and swung it open. On the other side, the room was moderately decorated. It almost reminded her of Charlie's room, except the furniture was arranged differently. A blonde teenager turned to her in front of a mirrored dresser as the door slammed shut behind Cinder. Her blue-green eyes looked at her with red, puffy, tear-stained cheeks while her sky-blue pouffe dress was stained with something she didn't know.
Is this Calli?
"Mother, I-!" The young girl stood up as she started to talk but was cut off by Cinder.
"I don't want to hear it!" She slapped the girl across her face, sending her to the ground, "Do you have any idea what you've done."
"Mother, please, I-!" The young girl had tears forming at the corners of her eyes as Cinder slapped her again, this time leaving claw marks across her face.
"You've made not only your father look like a fool but me as well!" She pointed a gloved finger at the tearful girl's face, "Had this been any other dinner, we would have let it slide, but this night you were told to stay in your room. I told you to stay in your room."
Cinder watched as the young girl held her hand out, an attempt to keep her at a distance. She didn't know what dinner she was talking about or what was really going on. All she knew was that this girl made a fool out of herself and, by extension, her father and Cinder.
"Why?" Cinder watched herself continue in a calmer tone, " Why did you hate me, so much so that you'd disobey me?"
"I-"
"Have I not been kind to you, Calli? I adopted you when so many others passed you up. I kept you off the streets, above the Undercity, did I not?"
"Y-you have." Calli sniffled, lowering her hand.
"Then why...why do you hate me?"
"I don't-!" She was interrupted by another slap. Blood flying from Cinder's hand and onto the carpet near them.
"Lies!"
"No! I-!" Calli started but cowered as Cinder raised her arm.
Cinder stopped her arm.
She stopped her arm and looked at Calli's bloodied face. Deep claw marks dragged across her face. Cinder looked over to the blood spray on the carpet and noticed white material, similar to her gloves laid nearby. She looked to her left arm where at the fingertips, instead of her normal fingers, were white, bone-like claws protruding from it. She remembered seeing burn marks on her shoulder, so she felt the marks noticing how deep some went into her and how her shoulder changed colour as she looked under the long glove. It changed from the pale pink of her normal skin colour to a colourless, void, black. She peeled back the glove and noticed how her arm looked thinner, almost skeletal. Frantically she pulled the glove off, tearing it in places over the white claws at her fingers. She exclaimed in shock as she looked at the pitch black, skeletal arm. It was inhumanly thin except for her hand, which had bone-white scales over her fingers and palm.
"What the-!" She shrieked as she looked up at the mirror.
As she looked in the mirror, she saw the inhuman arm in its entirety, but her left eye was different from the right. Not like the eyes of the baby, she dreamt about. Instead, her left eye was a red iris with a bright yellow pupil on a black sclera.
It reminded her of Salem's eyes.
Yet as she looked in the mirror, she noticed another set of eyes. Another person, standing behind her. She shuddered as she recognized the person behind her. It was her stepmother. The grey-blonde woman smiled at her as if she knew that Cinder recognized her.
"I always knew my daughter would remember what I taught her." She said, stepping up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning into her ear, "It's nice to know you will still remember me."
Cinder looked over to Calli only to see in her place a younger Cinder cowering before her dressed in a patchwork of cloth sewn together into a dress. Her shock necklace glowed behind her arm that she had raised while her exposed shoulder showed several freshly burnt black dots on her. Her amber eyes, red from crying and shaking from being scared. She would flinch when Cinder looked towards her.
"All those hours teaching you. Disciplining you. Turning you into the perfect lady." Cinder felt her hand caress her face and turn her back towards the mirror, "And now look at you—my perfect daughter." She watched as her stepmother rested her face against her and continued, "Oh, if only I were still alive. To see you marrying a prince because of my parenting. To know you'll be raising your children as I raised you."
Cinder turned back to her younger self only to see Calli there once again, shuddering with fear. She felt herself raise her arm and a feral grin stretched across her face. Calli shook her head as she began to cry.
Her stepmother's voice echoed in her head as she brought her clawed hand down.
My perfect daughter.
Cinder jolted herself awake. She sat up on the bed and looked around the darkened room frantically before quickly looking at her left arm and seeing it the normal pale pink as the rest of her. She sighed as she rested her face in her hands.
"You need to stop that." She said.
{What. I can't have fun now?}
"Not when I'm trying to sleep."
{But it's so easy with you}
"Stop."
{Tch. You're no fun}
She looked over on her bed to see Calli, the little six-year-old girl, wrapped up in the blankets next to her. She slept so peacefully that Cinder was almost jealous of how well she was sleeping. She raised a hand over the young girl's head, wanting to caress her, to remind herself that what she experienced was just a dream and not real, but she couldn't bring herself to touch her after that dream. The voice may have faked it, but it felt real. The stepmother in her dreams said things that her real stepmother could have said to her.
She moved her hand away and looked towards the television stand, where she stared at her reflection. Half expecting herself to look like she did in the dream and half expecting her stepmother to appear behind her. She closed her eyes and looked away, attempting to shut out the dream, and when she looked back up, her eyes were drawn to the pack of cigarettes lying next to the television.
How did I miss that?
{You weren't looking for it. Simple as that}
She stood up from the bed and walked over to the pack, and picked it up. It was Charlie's. He typically smoked a cigarette whenever he would come back from the Keep on weekends. She had kept herself from outright throwing them away while they were in his hands, allowing him to smoke the stress away instead of finding other outlets of relief for him. Still, after witnessing Charlie lose himself and having this dream, she didn't want him to lose control again, and he uses her as her stepmother had done. Cinder picked up the pack and walked out to the balcony where the still lit domiciles of certain complexes could be seen either with the standard light, a brighter white light or a strobing light of different colours could all be seen very clearly against the blackened, midnight-blue sky. She crushed the pack in her hand before angrily throwing it over down to the plaza below. She hated-
{-doing this. Yes, I know. You keep telling yourself this}
"Shut up."
{When are you going to do us both a favour and just commit to this plan already}
"I...I can't." She leaned on the railing, looking down into the plaza below, "I thought I could do this with him as I did before, but I can't." She clenched her fists and slammed the railing, "Damn it. They were right about me. I can't do this."
She slid down to her knees and rested her face against the railing, fitting how it looked as if she was in a cage. She was unable to do what she wanted, only able to do what her master wanted, like some circus animal. She wished that she had died that day, so she wouldn't have to do this.
{So, now you decide to grow a conscience. Not back when you hunted Amber, not when you killed Rhodes, Viri, Russ, or Rurgrim and Arsulda, or when you doomed that village to the Grimm}
"They...they were a means to find Amber and..."
{And the only difference here is that you are making yourself known and razing a bigger target. This is what you were trained for. Sowing absolute chaos}
"I...I can't." She grabbed the railing bars next to her and clenched them tightly.
{And what do you think would happen if you don't. Hmm. Salem will just kill you, discard you like a bag of refuse. And how do you think the others will take the news of what you were going to do here once they know that you are hunting down the Autumn Maiden and you were only using them. How do you think your precious little fiancé will handle it? You have no choice. It's either you play along, or you die sooner than the rest}
Cinder looked out at the nightlight of Vale and could feel her voice cracking as she started to sob, "It's not fair. I...I just wanted to be normal."
Monday, May 3, Year 87 Age 5, 0754
Beacon Academy
Year 2
Cinder yawned as she sat next to the rest of her team in 2-B's classroom. After which, she looked around the room as the stragglers continued to walk in, such as Team CRDL and, surprisingly, Team TMBR was late today.
It was nice seeing the other teams with orphans as well. It made her feel like she wasn't doing this alone. Almost all the teams had an orphan with them. Team RWBY had two, a little blonde girl that Blake and Yang were sharing and a little black-haired boy that Weiss was looking after with Ruby. Team JNPR had three twin red-heads that Jaune and Pyrrha were looking after and a brunette with Nora and Lie. Teams WOLF and JHRC, TMBR and BRNZ only had one child each, while CRDL, LVID and CHST had none.
Probably for the best that CRDL didn't have a kid with them.
"I can't believe you actually adopted a kid," Emerald said.
Cinder turned over to face her. She was sitting with her head resting in her hand that was leaning on the table.
"It can't be that hard to believe, Em." Cinder replied, reaching under her chair and pulling out her binder.
"Wouldn't the kid just...slow us down?"
"Calli won't slow us down."
"Careful, Em," Mercury interjected, looking up from his comic that he was hiding behind his textbook, "Keep poking mama bear, and she'll definitely replace you with the kid."
Neo, in her Noir disguise, chuckled while snacking on some sweets she had in her bag.
RIIIIIIIING
RIIIIIIIING-RIIIIIIIING
The final bell to get to class rang, and everyone continued to talk as the bell died out. The door swung open while a voice in the hallway called out.
"Hold the door!"
The person standing in the doorway stepped back to hold the door open while a man in a wheelchair rolled in. Kheiron, their first instructor of the day, walked in Wulfric with his academy uniform on behind him. Unlike Charlie, the Prince of Krieger wears the uniform the school gives out. Cinder got excited for a brief moment. Maybe those workers at the orphanage did hear gossip, and Charlie was coming back this week. She watched as the door closed behind Wulfric.
'Maybe tomorrow.' She told herself.
{Optimistic, aren't we?}
Cinder looked over to Calli, who could barely see over the tabletop, and ran her hand through her hair as the little girl looked down at Cinder's SCROLL, pointing at numbers that lit up. She smiled to herself. If things had been different, she would have adopted her outright.
Ding Ding-Ding Diiin
"Good Morning, Students and Staff. Today's announcements are as follows: This week is Orphan's Week; spend some time with an orphan for the week and be excluded from Hunts. For more information about adopting, speak to the Orphanage Representative in the main lobby. It's Monday, so that means steak, starch and greens for lunch while the gym will be holding an athletic tournament for the graduating class later on in the month. And speaking of tournaments, this year Vytal Tournament will be held in the Atlesian Province of Schildberg, so if you plan on going in-person to cheer our senior Huntsmen and Huntresses, be sure to pack plenty of warm clothes. If not, then be sure to check out the Merch Market in the plaza to rep Beacon and Vale from the comfort of your own home. In Grimmer news, hehe, Grimm activity in Eastmarch has reached an all-time low at 30% activity from the standard 60%. Major shoutout to this year's Second Year Huntsmen for making this possible. That will conclude the morning announcement. Enjoy the rest of your day."
Kheiron sighed as he took off his brown suit coat and threw it on the chair behind the main desk, "Let's get attendance out of the way; Anyone who wasn't here last week, speak up."
"I'm here now," Wulfric said, raising his arm.
"Yes, I gathered that. Thank you anyways for deciding to rejoin us, Prince Wulfric." He looked up from behind the computer at the teachers' desk, "I see Prince Jupiter hasn't returned." He looked back at the computer, "Did you scare him off while at Vytal?"
"Hehe, no. He should be back soon."
"I know, Your Highness, we received word from the Keep a while ago about Prince Jupiter's extended vacation." He looked up from the computer again, "Anyone else?"
No one answered.
"Good. While I'm finishing this up, everyone, please pull out your bestiaries. Today we'll start going over certain Grimm and Grimm variants you'll be facing in Lauderlane next year."
"Come on, teach, why are we still studying when it's our last month here?" Cardin asked.
Professor Kheiron stopped typing and peered out from behind the computer. Staring at Cardin.
Cardin cleared his throat, "Ahem, I mean, sir, why are we still studying when it's our last month here?"
Professor Kheiron leaned back in front of the computer, "Because, young Winchester, when you graduate, you will always be learning while on your Hunt. If you are not hunting, then you are studying how to end Grimm quicker than before, learning how to keep yourself and your team alive if you decide to stay together. Only when you find the small reprieves between fighting Grimm or wherever the Hunt takes you on, can you relax."
Cardin grumbled as he sat back down.
Professor Kheiron finished typing at the computer before he rolled out from behind the desk once more and looked out to the class.
"I see that most everyone here has a child with them. While it is...nice that you are doing your part and helping the community I must remind every one of you that while you are here you will put your studies first and should your child be rowdy please take them to the back sparring room to quiet them down." He ran a hand through his grey, tied-back, hair, "Now the discovery of Mutant Grimms from Teams RWBY, JNPR, WOLF, and JHRC earlier in the year has shown us that we should be expecting our old friend to keep us entertained until we find him. Until we do Mutant Grimms are to be treated as Alpha-Class Grimms and, luckily for all of you, you will be seniors next year so be expecting to fight them again. This time when you fight them be sure to jot down notes of these Mutants. Anything will be valuable, from height and weight to strengths and weaknesses, even behavioural patterns will help us keep these beasts in check."
"Professor," Dove raised his hand, "Would it be better to capture one and study it that way?"
"That would be a bad idea, Dove. Some of them have a tendency to explode when under stress or when they die." Hearts added.
"That and along other reasons is why we don't bring them in, Dove." Professor Kheiron continued, "Now since you'll be going to the northern highlands next year we will be going over the Grimm and Grimm variants of that region."
Cinder looked over to Calli, who was still playing on her SCROLL and smiled to herself.
1630
Cinder was walking towards the trolley with Calli on her right arm when the sound of Pyrrha's voice caught her attention and she turned around to see her walking up to Cinder with one of the twins on her arm as well.
"Heya, Pyrrha."
"Heya, Cinder."
"Something up?"
"I was seeing if you wanted to join us at the park later?"
"You and Jaune are taking your kids to the park?"
"Yeah, us, most of the class, and some other Huntsmen wanted to let our kids run around since there's no dedicated playground on campus. So what do you say, wanna join?"
Cinder leaned over to Calli, who was looking at the twin in Pyrrha's arm, "What do you say Calli? Wanna go play for a bit?"
Calli looked from the twin and then to Cinder and nodded, "Yes please."
"Well, there's your answer. Do you have a place in mind?"
"We're still deciding on that. I'm thinking somewhere on the Eastend, but Yang wants to be a little more north near Junior's place to...ya know." Pyrrha made a quick drinking motion with her free hand, "after the kids peter out."
"Heh, I don't think a dance club is an appropriate place to take a kid."
Pyrrha chuckled, "Yeah, I know. Anyway, I'll text you later when we got a place in mind."
"Okay, see ya." The two Huntresses parted ways.
As Cinder walked past the Royal Guard and into the apartment, she put Calli down and the two took off their shoes. She inhaled deeply and sighed wistfully when there was no smell of food being cooked. That was one thing she always liked about Charlie, his mediocre cooking was always a nice thing to have at the end of the day. Even when they were younger and still learning how to cook, it always felt nice not to be the one cooking for a change, even when he burned the food. Now he's got better with it that she hated the fact she agreed to split the cooking with him. It would have been nice if he was here, just waiting around a corner for her.
"Puppy?" Calli called out as she walked on ahead to the living room.
When Cinder caught up, she watched as Ardor, lying on his stomach, looked over to the little girl as she approached. Calli fell to her knees and started to pet the wold behind his ear. The wolf closed his eyes and leaned into her hand as she petted him. Cinder heated up some leftover chicken tenders and fries she made a few days ago for her and Calli to eat. While Calli was eating, Cinder went to change into her normal outfit; a knee-length black skirt, a shoulder-long red-orange fire-infused Dustweave shirt with no jewellery on except for her ring, her anklet that she wore on her left wrist and her brooch that she placed on her hip. While changing she received a text from Pyrrha telling her that they were going to Willow Plaza at the Eastend on the Residential District. A relative close distance.
After Calli ate and refreshed, the two of them left for Willow Plaza. As they pulled up to the gate, the guard opened the door to let them out and he followed a few steps behind Cinder as Calli ran ahead to play with the other kids. She sat down on a bench and watched as the children played on the playground, Jaune lightly pushed the twins in full bucket swings while Nora and Lorin ran around with the kids. Lorin stomping around, pretending to be a monster to corral the kids together while out of the corner of her eye Cinder spotted Nora kneeling down next to one of the kids and pointed at Lorin's legs. Soon after most of the kids started to cling to Lorin's legs, forcing him to waddle around the playground, most except Calli who sat at the top of the twisty slide. Elsewhere nearby Ruby was sitting next to Weiss who was going over shapes with their kid while Blake was sitting under a tree with her and Yang's kid reading a book while Yang, Lie, Byzzi and Nix were setting tables together and setting them up.
Cinder inhaled and exhaled as a breeze brushed her hair. It was nice to have days like this, where she could just enjoy the day with her friends.
'Friends.' Cinder smiled at the thought. She never had the chance to make friends before in her life. Even Emerald and Mercury she had kept at arm's length but since being here she's been letting them get close as well.
{Even when it contradicts Salem's teachings}
"Is this bench taken?"
Cinder looked up to see Pyrrha in a maroon sundress standing in front of her.
"No," She replied with a smile, "Go ahead."
The red-headed Huntress gave her thanks and sat down next to Cinder. Together the two Huntresses watched the playground as Lorin was finally taken to the ground by the kids and Jaune taking the twins out of the swings and letting them join in.
"Say Pyrrha," Cinder started, turning to the other Huntress.
"Yes."
"Have you and Jaune thought about adopting the twins?"
She gave a fake smile before answering, "We talked about it before adopting for the week and, even if we wanted to, it would still be a now."
"Why's that?"
"My father. He's still not on board with this whole idea of me being with..." Her voice trailed off as her fake smile faded.
"A nobody."
"Yeah," She shifted uneasily before looking up towards Jaune and the twins and smiling.
"I hear the same things about me whenever Charlie takes me to the Old Town. Why does your father's decision matter to you anyways, you're twenty-two, you're an adult now."
"I am, but I'm still part of the family and I don't think my father is ready to part with the "Invincible Warrior of Lauderlane" or the fame and money that comes with it just yet."
"I'm sorry. Hopefully, he doesn't stay like that forever."
"Yeah," Pyrrha sighed before turning to face Cinder, "What about you? Are you and Henri going to adopt?"
"I do," Cinder said without hesitation. She cleared her throat before continuing, "I mean, as much as I do want to adopt Calli, I can't while Charlie's not here. We're already causing enough of a stir with the Council as is, and bringing her into that wouldn't be fair for her."
"Makes sense. Wouldn't want her to go through more trauma huh."
"Yeah," Cinder looked away and inhaled again, this time catching the smell of a burning grill. She looked over her shoulder to see a large group of families some yards away with two people on the grill while some of the younger boys were playing soccer and the rest of the families sat either on the ground or in lawn chairs, some with children in their laps. She thought about Charlie again and remembered when they spent the summer at the beach last year. When he, Lie and Lorin had grilled for the class.
Why am I thinking about him so much?
{Who knows. Maybe you actually do miss him}
Why does it feel more like a withdrawal from a drug then?
{Ah you know what they say about love and drugs. Love is the only legal drug you can have...or something like that. I don't keep up with your sayings}
Cinder sighed from annoyance. Having to argue with herself got only more and more annoying over the years.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.
Cinder forgot for a moment that she was sitting next to her and looked over to her with a convincing enough smile, "Yeah I just...I'm just a little hungry. The barbeque over there smells really nice."
The two women looked over their shoulders to the other large group.
"Yeah that does smell nice, certainly blows what we have planned out of the water."
"What do "we" have planned?"
"We were just going to make some ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone."
"Yeah." Cinder looked over to Lie and back to Pyrrha, "We should do a cookout for the kids Thursday."
"We should. The kids would love that. I'll talk to Lie and Vio about it."
"Ah yes, the only good cooks in the entire class."
The two laughed together.
Later on, as the sun began to set on the horizon, the Hunters and the orphans gathered around the tables as Lie, Byzzi and Nix started to make food for everyone. While everyone talked among themselves Cinder looked over to Calli to see her staring down at her swinging feet.
"Calli, are you okay?" Cinder asked while placing a hand on her back.
Calli looked up to her then across the table to the other Hunters and orphans before looking back down, "I'm just...embarrassed."
"What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"I've never been around this many people before."
"It'll be fine, Calli." Cinder reassured her and herself. She wasn't like her stepmother; she would never harm someone as maliciously as she did.
"You're soo lucky, Calli." Zar, the 10-year-old snake faunus girl that JHRC adopted for the week, said.
"Yeah, you're lucky Calli." Ciane*, the half-dwarf girl of the same age adopted by WOLF, echoed.
Cinder looked down to Calli who shrunk down as she nibbled on her sandwich. She wrapped her arm around the little girl.
"Why is she so lucky?" Lorin asked.
" ‘Cause she gets to see the Prince," Zar stated.
Lorin chuckled, "Ya know, Wulfric is a prince himself. So you two get to see a prince already."
"That doesn't count!" Zar placed her hands in front of her with enough space to fit a large can of chips in it, "Your prince has been around for this long, but our prince," She extended her arms out as far as she could go, "goes back this many years."
Everybody at the table laughed at the young girl's boasting.
"Oh yeah," Lorin finished laughing before continuing, "and how long is that?"
"Um...more than seventy, no ninety!"
"Uh-huh," Lorin chuckled to himself again.
"She's not wrong." Hearts said, patting the girl on the head.
"Ha, funny," Lorin said blandly.
"Ms Cinder," Ciane leaned over the table to see Cinder, "since you're gonna be the Prince's mommy-"
Cinder choked on her water, causing the other Hunters to laugh leaving Ciane and the other orphans looking at them in confusion.
"Water went up my nose!" Cinder coughed as Lie handed her a napkin to wipe her face with, "Thanks."
Ciane looked up to Lorin, "What's funny?"
Lorin was too busy laughing so Pyrrha answered her, "Ciane, sweety, Cinder isn't the Prince's "mommy", she would be his wife."
"White? like the colour?"
"No dear, wife, with an "F"."
"Oh...so...she doesn't call him daddy then?"
Yang snickered as she leaned close to Hearts, "I bet she calls him that behind closed doors. Why else would the King give them their own apartment."
Hearts waved her away as Pyrrha continued, "She would call him...uh, dear."
"Dear...but you called me dear. Does that mean we're married?"
The Hunters erupted in laughter once again.
Lorin patted Ciane on her shoulder, "Oh you are a riot kid, but no you two aren't married, she has her eyes on blondie boy next to her." He pointed to Jaune who was holding one of the twins with a pacifier in her mouth, "Cinder would call him, her husband."
"Her husband," She leaned close to Lorin, "but she doesn't look Atlesiin, Atlasan, she doesn't look like an Atlas person."
"Ciane, dear," Cinder said leaning over the table, "What were you going to ask?"
"Oh right, I was gonna ask how'd you and the Prince meet?"
Zar raised her voice, "I bet it was like in that movie we watched."
Ciane's eyes widened, "Really?"
"Yep! I bet that, just like the movie, an evil wizard kept her in his evil tower to use her blood for his evil magic!"
"Oh, oh, and the Prince came in on his white horse to rescue her!" Ciane added.
"Oh and I bet he was dressed in shiny armour."
"And, and she was guardeded by the giganticist evil dragon ever!"
"You dummy."
"Hey! I'm not a dummy!"
"Yes, you are! Dragons aren't real anymore!"
"Oh...hehe."
"She was protected by an Ursa!"
Ciane gasped, her eyes widened from imagination, "An Apha Ursa!"
"Even betterer, an Omaga Ursa!"
"No, no, a pack of omelette Ursas!"
"No. a hugemungous army of Omaga Ursas!"
"And when he beated away all the omelettes, he climbed the evil tower, beated the evil wizard and saved Ms Cinder."
"And then they kissed."
The two girls squealed while the other orphans and Hunters laughed.
"Kids, right," Nora said before she drank from her bottle.
"Yeah," Cinder looked down at Calli who leaned against Cinder with her half-eaten sandwich in her hands. Cinder wrapped her arm around her as she remembered how they really met. How cold the winter was when the Ursa chased her through the snow-covered forest and when she lost the Grimm and Charlie came upon her and offered his hand out to help her up. He wasn't wearing shiny armour like what the kids wanted to believe. He wore leather over chainmail over a double-layered tunic like the one he wears for his battle garb. The only parts on him that shined, or would have shined, were his bracers and shinguards. She had hesitated to grab his hand, mostly because she didn't know if Charlie was real at the time, but when the Ursa came back and sent him flying through the air it showed her that she wasn't hallucinating.
Charlie had returned the smack in kind as he used his semblance to close the distance and ram his shoulder into the Ursa and had followed it up with a few swings of his sword. However, after his swinging his body started to spasm, Cinder now knows this is because of his semblance, which allowed the Ursa to swing his claws at Charlie who could only poorly defend himself as he staggered with each swing he blocked and with the last swing knocking both his sword away and him to the ground. Charlie got up to retrieve his sword but was brought back down to the ground when the Ursa stomped on his cloak. He rolled around the stomps only to use his hands to keep the Ursa's maw from biting down on him. He would inch closer to the sword but before he could get close to it the Ursa stomped on his stomach and attempted to bite him again. Unable to use both of his hands to hold the Grimm back, Charlie held up his arm and allowed the Ursa to bite down on his bracer. Which still didn't help him when the Ursa flung him around multiple times. Dazed, all Charlie could have done was hold back the snapping Ursa with one arm. Cinder didn't know why she didn't leave while the fight was going on, perhaps she was still surprised that she ran into another person in the forest when she wasn't expecting it. That's what she told herself at least. Just like she didn't know why she didn't choose to leave, she couldn't explain why she formed the jagged and barbed bow and arrow, the precursor to her now refined and smoother version, to shoot Grimm in the eye to help Charlie.
Cinder smiled to herself, while it was Charlie who saved her from the Ursa it was her who defeated it. There was no way Charlie could have defeated that Ursa, or its evolved forms, by himself when they first met. Now though, he could probably defeat one or two regular Ursas but not a whole army of Omega Ursas, especially by himself.
"What about us?"
Cinder looked up to see Jaune ask Zar that question.
"We fight Ursas too."
"It's not the same," Zar said standing on the seats next to the table.
"Oh," Jaune said dejectedly.
"Sit down, on the chair while you're eating Zar." Hearts told her and the young girl sat down.
"Yes, ma'am."
"How is it not the same?" Jaune asked, bouncing his twin on his knee while the other one nibbled on bread next to Pyrrha.
"Because, silly. Princes are suppose to do that stuff, like in the movies. Fight monsters, save princesses and live happily ever after."
"We hunt monsters too. It's kinda our job, ya know." Lorin said, leaning down next to Ciane.
"Well, the Prince would have done that anyways. He's suppose to be kind like that." Zar said before she and Ciane continued to talk to themselves.
Cinder looked around the table as some smiles faded and others turned fake just to keep the orphans in a happy mood. Everyone here saw how far his kindness goes and to who he allows it to in Southernland last year. The movies weren't always right.
Some time passed, the sun was almost completely gone over the horizon and the street lamps turned on illuminating the streets and sidewalks. Most of the orphans were starting to get tired so the day was called and everyone decided to leave for their dorms while Cinder and Calli were driven back to the apartment.
Cinder carried Calli into the apartment complex and up to their room when she sat her down and took her shoes off before taking her own off.
"Did you have fun today?" She asked the little girl.
Calli looked up at Cinder with tired eyes and nodded her head while she yawned, "Yea." She rubbed her eyes and looked back up at her.
"Even if you were embarrassed."
She nodded her head again, "Yea."
Cinder ran her hand through the tired girl's hair, "Go get ready for bed, okay."
"Kay," She said as she lazily turned around and drudged her way towards the bedroom.
As Calli stepped into the bedroom Cinder sighed and stood up. If she could make this week fun for Calli, it would make telling her the bad news much easier.
(Ciane* is pronounced like Cyan. Vio* is pronounced like violet)
Tuesday, May 4, Year 87 Age 5, 1005
Beacon Academy
Year 2
"Ms Cinder?"
Cinder, who was writing down notes from Professor Kheiron's class on potential weak spots on the Rowa Grimm, particularly its unarmored neck, looked down to Calli who turned the SCROLL to her so she could see it.
"Yes?"
"What's this number?" She asked, pointing to the number nineteen on the small screen.
"That's nineteen."
"Nineteen..." Calli said to herself as she turned the screen back to her, memorising the number and the word, "Why is it called that?"
"Because it's the ninth number after ten, hence the name nineteen. It combines both of those names together."
"Oooh." Calli's eyes lit up as it was explained to her.
"And how did you get nineteen?"
Calli looked up to her then back down to the SCROLL and back up to her, "I added eight and...elenen...evelen...eleven."
"Good job, Calli."
Cinder smiled at the young girl who turned back towards the screen bashfully. The sound of the door opening caught both of their attentions, Cinder looked towards the door while Calli peaked over the tabletop barely able to see who walked in. A blonde-haired woman in a purple, electric-Dustweave sheath dress trimmed with black lace. Her coquettish way of dressing was contrasted with her rounded glasses and her bovine ears and the trimmed down, capped horns on her head. This still didn't stop most of the class whistling and cat-calling to her.
The blonde woman's face turned red as she placed her bag down behind the table, "Uh, Th-Thanks students."
"Lookin' good, Professor Peach," Raye said as he bounced his orphan on his knee in the aisleway, "What's the occasion for?"
"Yeah Professor, what's got you looking nice today, " Yang commented.
"Oh, uh...well...I sorta hava...a, uh...a-a lunch date after this class today."
"Nice." Hearts said with a thumbs up.
"Good luck with that." Ice said.
"Thanks again, y'all." She raised a shaking hand to the board, "Sh-Shall we get on with today's lesson."
The sound of dejected groans filled the room with the eventual resignation and collective sound of everyone opening their notes for the class.
Professor Peach sighed before picking up the chalk and begun to draw very detailed herbs and write down on the board specific qualities each one has, "So since y'all'll be headin' up to the highlands for next year's Hunts it would benefit alls y'all to know which herbs and ingredients to use if your potions, which ones that are toxic so y'all can use them as poison against non-Grimm combatants, and which solvents to use on what Grimm masks for weapon coatin's. Now to start chippin' away at the hund'ed plus herbs y'all'll see we're gonna start with Ehoarn's Gift, this specific herb will be the foundation of your new healing potions. Due to its abundance in the highlands coming across one will be easy even for novice herbalists out there."
"Hear that Cardin," Razz called out, "Even your blind self can find it."
This got a chuckle out of the class while Cardin just waved him off as Professor Peach continued.
"Now this herb by itself is very weak when compared to the more stronger ones and because of this it is used widely to treat minor wounds. Allowing the body to repair itself at a faster rate than normal, however when used in conjunction with other herbs, like the Fuiltine herb, it will start doing more harm than good to people who don't have an Aura, but since y'all have Auras combining Ehoarn's Gift with Fuiltine will make Ehoarn's Fire which will not only heal you but also make you tire less frequently. Meanin' you'll be able to swing your weapon more, chase down your prey should they run away and be able to help with your ranged accuracy, as always these effects won't last long and this one will only last for one-hundred and twenty seconds, roughly two minutes..."
Cinder felt a tug on her coat sleeve. She looked down at Calli who was peering over the tabletop before looking at her.
"Ms Cinder, what is a salvant?"
"A solvent is something we use to...subtract with."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We take a...Beowulf mask and add solvent to it then we get a...Grimm repellant."
"Wait a minute, how does it subtract when you add it?"
"Uh, it does the subtracting for us when we add it."
Calli looked down, confused, "Subtracting when you add..."
"Don't worry about it Calli."
"Will I have to learn that?"
"Not until you're older."
She rested her head against the edge of the table, "Thank the gods."
Calli returned to playing on the SCROLL while Cinder looked back up as Professor Peach continued with her lecture.
"...and since your Aura will passively regenerate while not under any kind of external stress it will be best to not use any other potion while your Aura is down, no matter the percent it's at. If you do decide to use Ehoarn's Fire with a low Aura then you'll suffer from discombobulation, nausea and you'll find it hard to keep your own food down, so don't bother eating if you even think about drinking this potion."
1800
Willow Plaza, Residential District
THUMP
Razz kicked the soccer ball over to Zar and Ciane where Zar got to it first and kicked it over to Liam, TMBR's eleven-year-old orphan, who then kicked it over to Xan, BRNZ's eleven-year-old orphan. While the orphans kicked the ball back and forth between each other and the Hunters, Cinder sat next to Pyrrha on a blanket near Team RWBY.
"Hey Cinder."
Cinder turned around to see Ruby, dressed in her black and red skirt, knee-high boots, and a black shirt with two guns overlapped and wrapped in roses. She made a ring with her legs and the orphan she and Weiss shared, the three-year-old Ross, crawled inside it.
"What made you want to adopt Calli?"
Cinder looked over to Calli, who sat on the jungle gym hanging her feet out between the bars while the other orphans ran around her playing with the various toys built into the gym, climbed up stairs and walls, and ride the slide down. Although she had been here with them for two and a half years now she still didn't feel comfortable telling everybody about her past. Charlie was different. She was young when they first met, young and naive, and because of that, she learned to not be so open with everyone she met. One never knows who can be trusted to not stab you in the back.
"I...liked her eye colour." She answered.
"Her...eye colour?" Blake asked curiously, looking up from her book, The Rōnin.
"Well, it's certainly a more genuine reason than mine." Weiss said not looking away from her music sheet, "I simply got a baby because Dolt here will be too impressionable on an older kid."
"Hey! I thought we moved on from name-calling, Weiss."
"We did, but I find that it's still applicable for you whenever you get on my nerves."
"I'm not a Dolt." Ruby pouted.
"Yes, you are." Weiss reaffirmed.
"You still are, Ruby." Blake agreed.
"Definitely." Cinder concurred.
"Pyrrha?" Ruby looked over to the red-headed Huntress, sitting next to Cinder.
Pyrrha looked at her awkwardly before speaking, "No Ruby. You're...not a complete Dolt."
"Gee, how can you guys be so mean," She picked up Ross and held his face next to hers, "in front of this adorable face."
The girls laughed as Ross began to push himself away from Ruby's face. Ruby relented and put him back down on the blanket after which Ross crawled over to Blake and tugged on her arm. Blake, reading the baby's intention, picked up Ross and sat him on her lap as she continued to read.
"Heads up Zar, this one's coming to you!"
The girls looked up to see Taupher kick the ball to the orphan only for it to curve in the air and head for Blake and Yang's orphan, Fiye. Taupher cursed while the other Hunters and orphans started to yell at Fiye to get out of the way, but she only stood there dumbstruck with sudden shock. Cinder watched as Yang bolted from the swings to Fiye but it was Wulfric who got there first, diving to the orphan he smacked the ball out of the way.
"Taupher, what the hell man!" Razz yelled out.
"Sorry! Don't know my own strength half the time."
"Alright," Wulfric stood up, dusting himself off, "You and Razz are on jungle gym watch. Yang and I will play soccer with the kids."
"That was close." Cinder said looking back to the others.
"Yeah it was-" Weiss started but was cut off by loud, cheery music.
It didn't take long for the children to recognize the music and start running towards the van with the picture of an ice cream sandwich on the side. The other Hunters caught up to the kids and continued to the truck with them to help pick out whatever sweet they wanted. Cinder looked back to the jungle gym and saw Calli still sitting behind the bars, swinging her legs. She got up and walked over to her.
"Calli," Cinder said looking up to her, "aren't you gonna go get some ice cream as well?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"They'll be gone when I get there."
"How do you know that?"
"It always happens."
"Well, you don't know about this one, so why don't you come down and get some ice cream with me."
"With you?"
"Yeah, I'm hoping they have a double chocolate something. I like those. Which ones do you like?"
"Hmm..." Calli rested her head against the bars, "strawberry."
"Why's that?"
"I like the colour pink."
"Do you, now."
Calli nodded her head.
"How about after we're all done here I take you to the store and get you some pink clothes."
"You will?" Calli's eyes widened at the thought.
"I will. Only if you come down and get some ice cream with me."
" 'Kay."
Calli got down from the jungle gym and walked with Cinder to the ice cream truck where they waited in line until the other kids, Hunters and other families got their sweets. When it was time for them to step up Cinder held Calli in her arms as the spider Faunus, who was working his eight arms around the inside of the truck, looked with his eight eyes to the two girls.
"Tch tch tch tch tch, What can I get for you two today."
Calli squeezed Cinder's shirt and buried her face in her shirt.
Cinder smiled embarrassingly, "Can I get a strawberry ice cream sandwich and...," she looked on the menu plastered to the side of the truck, "Ooo, and one triple chocolate cookie sandwich."
"Got it, two sandywiches coming up." He turned around and worked the register while his multiple arms reached around the truck and into freezers to pull out the sandwiches. He turned around to her, "That'll be fifteen Lien."
Cinder put down Calli, who hid behind her, and pulled out the card she stole from Arthur when they first met and handed it to the Faunus. After he swiped it, he returned the card and gave the two sandwiches to her.
"Enjoy. Tch tch tch tch tch."
Cinder and Calli walked to a bench near the jungle gym where they started to eat.
"Be careful not to get a brain freeze, okay."
" 'Kay."
Calli leaned forward and looked towards the ice cream truck.
"He's scary lookin'." She said as she bit into her sandwich.
"Well he is a Faunus, so their normal is our strange or scary."
Calli whined as she leaned back, putting Cinder between herself and the Faunus.
"Do you wanna know something, Calli?"
Calli looked up to her with her ice cream in her mouth, "Hm?"
"I've seen a lot of different Faunus like him."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and another thing; I also think spiders are scary."
"Really. Then he was scary, too?"
"Not really. I've gotten used to seeing all different kinds of Faunus, so seeing someone like him is a little less scary now." The two of them looked over to the Faunus to see him handing out ice cream to another family, "Well maybe not."
"How do you make them less scary then?"
"You judge them as a person and not on their looks."
" "judge them as a person" what do you mean by that?"
Cinder smiled at the girl and ran her hand through her hair, "You'll understand when you're older. Now finish eating and we can go to the store."
" 'Kay."
{Cute how you tell her that, but there are people like you who hide themselves from everyone}
Cinder went for another bite but stopped. She wasn't hiding herself, she was just showing people what they wanted to see.
{Heh, keep telling yourself that-}
"Ms Cinder?"
Cinder looked over to Calli, who held her ice cream in both of her hands.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Cinder nodded her head, "Yeah, I am. It's just...I gave myself a brain freeze."
Calli swung her feet in front of the bench, "You should be careful not to get a brain freeze." She repeated back to her with a smile.
Wednesday, May 5, Year 87 Age 5, 1330
Beacon Academy
Year 2
"...an' so, if ye use silver-inlaid steel, along with any o' the seven Dust Families, ye'd be able tae make a makeshift dagger AND be able tae use Dust from it should ye find yer main weapon malfunctionin' or broken."
'Thirty minutes. He's been talking about how to make a makeshift dagger for thirty minutes. I wish I could scream right now.'
Cinder sat there, her face resting in her hand, as she watched Professor Mulberry strut back and forth in front of the boards. The way the Dvergur walked made it look like he was stomping but his footfalls were as normal as anyone else. His grey coat hung on the back of the chair, while his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off runes and other tattoos on his muscular arm. His rust-coloured bangs were tied behind his head while the rest of his hair hung loose. His facial hair was very atypical of a Dvergur, sporting only bushy sideburns with no beard or moustache.
{Well it could be worse. You could be sitting through one of Port's long-winded stories of when he was younger and his youth and vigour were at its peak}
'Ugh, you're right. Hearing him go on about himself when he was in his "prime" is much worse.'
Cinder looked over to Calli, who wore a pink floral dress that they got yesterday, as she worked on math problems on Cinder's SCROLL. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Calli in the dress, it made her feel euphoric, reminding her of when her own mother would dress her up when she was younger. She often thought to herself how different her life would have been if she had decided not to leave her child in the forest years ago. Would they have been with her when she was taken by Salem, would they have even lived long in her realm, or would Charlie have taken them with him after they were separated. She didn't know what would have happened but she still hated herself now that she looked back on it. If she wasn't scared then she wouldn't feel alone.
"Ms Cinder."
Calli tugged on Cinder's sleeve, pulling her out of her thoughts and towards the young girl who sat next to her.
"You have a letter."
"A letter?"
Calli nodded her head and handed Cinder back her SCROLL, "From "candle"."
"Candle, huh?" Cinder said to herself out loud as she held the SCROLL and looked at the message.
JJ found someone to help us with our...rat problem
Ok
I'll come by later tonight
Sounds good
JJ will need some more time to...work out the small details
Cinder closed out of the messages and handed the SCROLL back to Calli so she could continue with her studying while Professor Mulberry continued with his lecture.
"Now, since ye'll be heading north this autumn yer gonna be around me kin an' because of tha' yer gonna be around the best armoursmiths on Sanus, but dunnae let tha'get tae ye head and make ye think that ye cannae make yer own stuff. While the Dvergs up north will be able tae make fantastic armour those of ye who wish tae make yer own things will find tha' yer greatest achievements come from failures."
"Professor Mulberry, sir." Ruby raised her hand and continued when Professor Mulberry allowed her, "What happens when we'll have to fix our own Hybrid Weapons while we're out on the Hunt?"
"Well Miss Rose, hopefully, ye'll ha'e either a good dagger or Secondary Weapon on ye, or ye better have fists o' steel. Because due tae the complex an' mechanicalness o' Hybrid Weapons making one from scratch will take too long by hand, which is why Weapon Foundries deal wit their makin's." The Dvergur turned his attention to the rest of the class, "Howe'er since ye'll be heading tae the highlands ye'll also come across some Mithril ores. If ye can get yer hands on a full set of Mithril armour then ye'd be pretty much set yer entire Hunter career, but keep in mind that ye'd also be competin' against other Hunters for the ore as well as Dvergs an' they're not as kind in sharin' the ore if ye ask."
"Professor," Ice raised his hand, "wouldn't it just be better to buy Mithril armour from smiths while we're at Hæðir?"
"One would think tha', but since the Dvergs rely on Mithril for their Legions any and all Mithril found on the surface is sought after vehemently. After which the smithies smelt the ore and send it back to Hár Toppur for the Legion's use, so it's exceedingly rare for a non-Dverg smith to make a full Mithril armour and weapon set."
'Hm, later tonight,' Cinder thought to herself, completely ignoring Professor Mulberry, 'I guess I can go to the club after we take the kids to the Forest.'
1930
Forever Fall Forest
A dark red leaf fell into Cinder's hand, she thumbed at it before handing it to Calli, who sat on her shoulders. Seeing the red leaves reminded her of when her parents would take her to see the Forever Fall tree that was in Lauderlane's city square. She remembered how her face would light up with enjoyment from seeing the tree seemingly lose leaves while at the same time not losing them, similar to Calli's face earlier when they first arrived. Due to the Park being located on the same shelf as Beacon and close to the ocean the group wore jackets along with their normal outfits to try and keep themselves warm, and since night had already fallen on Vale the group decided to start heading back along the lit path they were walking on.
Cinder was carrying Calli on her side, resting her face against her chest, as the group left the park two Peacekeepers walked by them and into the forest, turning on their helmet flashlights as they went.
As the others said their goodbye's and headed into the subway tunnel to head for the Beacon trolley, Cinder took Calli to the car where the Royal Guard who was first assigned to watch her opened the door and allowed her to climb in. As she climbed in she carefully moved Calli around her and into the booster seat.
Calli opened her eyes and inhaled deeply as she looked at Cinder.
"Hey there Calli," Cinder said soothingly to the child, "go back to sleep. We'll be home shortly."
Calli nodded her head, her eyes already closing again as she leaned against the booster seat, "Kay...m..."
Cinder felt her heart quiver, 'She was about Ms Cinder like she normally does.'
{Indeed. Best not to get your hopes up over someone like her}
"Where to, My Lady? Back to the apartment?" The driver asked.
Cinder looked back to the front and began to buckle herself in as the Royal Guard did so as well, "No, I need to go to the Eastern Dragon and speak to the manager."
"What about?" The Royal Guard asked.
Cinder could see him looking in the mirror on the door towards her. The black empty eyes of his faceplate looking at hers served their intimidation factor well. No doubt anyone under their interrogation would find it hard to not be unsettled by it, however, for Cinder, once you live with grotesque creatures like the Fallur and the Grimm, along with more unsettling creatures like the Horsem*n, their faceplate becomes slightly more mundane.
"I need to talk to the manager about some upcoming birthdays I'd like to throw there."
"Birthdays for who exactly?"
"For two people, if you must know."
"I do."
Cinder had to hand it to this Royal Guard, unlike the others he is more persistent, forcing her to actually come up with reasons for what she was doing. Whereas the others, and Charlie, she could be as vague as she wanted and they would look the other way.
{Convenient for you isn't it}
Cinder looked to the Royal Guard, "Weiss, whose birthday is next Saturday, and Olive whose is next month's."
"Very well then." The guard nodded to the driver who took off, playing some relaxing music quietly on the radio.
"I thought it was your place to obey, guardsman, not to think?"
"Royal Guard, My Lady. I am not some provincial guardian." The guard corrected rather sharply before continuing, "The Royal Guards are handpicked because we are the best soldiers Vale has to offer, which includes thinking unconventionally."
"I doubt you're better than a Huntsman."
"You're right, My Lady, but it is easy to trick a Huntsman and get them to lower their guard." He looked back to her through the mirror, "As for who I obey; I obey the Royal House, of which you are not a part of yet. Until you are, you will be scrutinised for every action you do since you are not only acting for yourself but also as the potential wife of the future King, and you must be of a certain...quality for them."
She forgot how annoying this guard can be. Cinder sighed and watched out the window as the scenery changed, though not that much, as she travelled from the west side of the Commercial District to the southeast side.
2000
The Eastern Dragon
As the car pulled up to the club's entrance the guard stepped out, as he would always do, and opened the door for her. Cinder looked over to Calli who was asleep in her seat, her head resting against the side of the booster seat. Cinder took off her jacket and placed it over the orphan like a blanket.
"Can you keep the car warm for her?" She asked the driver.
The driver looked in the rearview mirror towards her, "Yes, My Lady."
Cinder stepped out and the guard closed the door behind her, as the two of them stepped onto the sidewalk the car drove around to an open parking spot close to the doorway. The sidewalk was surprisingly empty given how packed the place usually is. The line of people waiting to get in would stretch out for a couple of blocks, but thankfully whenever she would come here with her classmates. Interestingly enough, they would be able to skip the line due to Yang's special connection with the owner and not because of the fact Charlie was the Prince, like most places within the city and its provinces.
The two of them walked up to the two bouncers at the doorway, the same two as last time she came here two months ago. One of the bouncers looked up at them and stood up from his chair.
"Uh, hey, lady-" The bald man's face looked ghastly as he looked between her and the Royal Guard.
"Relax, he's not gonna bite this time."
The bald bouncer looked at the guard who said, "You can always punch my face again if it'll help you feel better."
"Uh, Th-that was him, who punched you." The bouncer pointed over to the windswept bouncer who held his hand.
"I'm not gonna punch him again."
"Anyways," Cinder said, grabbing their attention, "what were you gonna say?"
"Ah, right. The boss is expecting you so just go on ahead in. Just be careful the floor is wet, they're doing some cleaning inside."
"Thank you." Cinder and the guard walked past the two bouncers and into the club where quiet country music was playing as opposed to the loud, speaker-breaking hip-hop or rap they would normally play. Cinder turned to the guard, "Don't wait for me."
"Just remember, My Lady." The guard started, forcing Cinder to look back at him, "Anything you say to them away from me, I will require you to repeat it once we get to the apartment."
"Right." Cinder said, half-assedly, as she walked down the steps and towards the bar where Junior was ordering around his employees at the far end.
"Hey Kobi, after you're done there, head up to the second floor and help Carr with the bar setup."
"You got it, boss."
"Hey Junior." Cinder called out as she walked up to him.
Junior turned around, "Nice of you to show up." He eyed her up and down, "What no dress tonight."
"Well, I would have worn a dress if there was a party tonight." The two of them looked around the club at the employees cleaning floors, tables, dance podiums and everything that was on the empty floor, "I can see that there's not one tonight."
"Heh, no. Doing a little bit of spring cleaning in here."
"After spring?"
"Better late than never. It's never healthy to leave a place dirty. So is that guard gonna be a problem."
"No, he's gonna stay out here."
"Alright." He turned around to the Malachite twins, "Miltia, entertain our guest."
"Our guest?" The red-dressed twin asked, then she looked up to see the royal guard and her eyes widened, "Is that the same man as before?"
"It is." Cinder confirmed.
"Okay then." She reached behind the bar, pulled out a bottle and two glasses, and hummed as she walked over to the guard.
"This way then." Junior pointed towards the kitchen.
Junior led Cinder through the solid and bland hallways of the backrooms where Junior's real business takes place. As she was led through the maze of concrete walls and heavy wooden doors they came upon a door with Rhys standing outside it.
"Nice to see you again, miss." Rhys nodded his head to the two as they approached, "Roman is already inside."
Rhys opened the door and allowed them to walk through, descending the stairs as the door slammed shut behind them. The two entered another maze of hallways but with Junior leading the way they came up to a door where muffled yelling could be heard on the other side.
"You ready?" Junior asked as they stood in front of the door.
"Don't forget who you're talking to. I stole the Autumn Maiden's powers. A little bit of torture isn't going to scare me."
"Right, if you already have her powers then why continue to chase her around?"
"I figured someone like you would know the value of not leaving a job unfinished."
"You're right, but I also know when to quit when I'm in over my head."
"And you think I'm in over my head."
"From the outside looking in; yes I do."
{If only it was that simple for you}
"I'm not in over my head." Cinder affirmed Junior as he stood there crossing his arms on his chest.
"Right," He scoffed, "Anyways if we're done arguing business models, shall we."
Junior opened the door and the two stepped down the four steps into the room where two men were holding another man's head in a barrel of water while Roman sat in a corner watching them. Roman turned to Junior and Cinder as they stepped into the room.
Roman stood up and offered his chair to Cinder, "Nice of you to show up."
"Why do people keep saying that?"
"You're a woman. You're supposed to make everything nice wherever you go. I figured being the prince clueless's fiancée would have clued you in on that."
Cinder shot him a deathly glare, the same glare she developed under Salem's tutelage and one she would use on people who annoyed her.
"Well then, this is our little present from Yin. He wanted us to squeeze what information we can out of him before he gets brought before Yan for punishment."
The two goons pulled the man out of the bucket, his face drenched and the upper part of his shirt was soaked.
"You can make this easier on yourself, friend, if you just tell us what we want to know." One of the goons said.
"Qù tiǎn èyú de yīnhù." The man said, spitting water out of his mouth.
"Did you understand him?" The first goon asked the second.
"I dunno about you but I speak Common, not this ting-tang nonsense."
"Oh well back in he goes."
The two goons forced the man's head back into the barrel, his knees banged against the barrel trying to come up for air but unable to do so because of the goons.
Cinder looked over to Junior, "Do you have any raw Dust crystals?"
"I do, they're in the crate in the back. There should be a few of them in a briefcase near it."
"Why do you have raw Dust crystals, Hei?" Roman asked, leaning against the wall.
"We have some Dust junkies who come here to get high off of Dust powder. We keep them down here until we grind them up."
Roman scoffed, "Pathetic. That hurts my nose just thinking about it."
Cinder walked towards the crate, noting the pair of cuffs hanging from the ceiling, she ran her hand on the back of one of the goons who looked back to her.
"Hang him up and take off his shirt." She ordered.
The two goons pulled the man out of the barrel and dragged him across the cement floor towards the cuffs where they hung him and started to take off his shirt.
Meanwhile, Cinder walked to the back of the room where several crates marked with various Dust company logos from the Schnee Dust Company, the Imperial West Dust Company, and even the Zufulong Dust Corporation. While on a rolling medical tray near the crates an open briefcase with various Dust crystals sat in neat order.
She grabbed a crystal from the briefcase and looked it over. It was light-blue, almost white, an Ice Dust crystal. It gave off a white mist around it and had frost covering it, yet it wasn't cold to touch.
{You plan on infusing him}
I do.
{Just like Rhodes}
...He was to prove a point, send a message. This is just for information.
{If that helps you sleep better at night}
"Oi! No wonder it took us forever to start drowning this guy." The first goon said.
Cinder looked back to the two goons and the man, who now hung from the ceiling. His shirt in shambles on the floor revealing his scaled torso and his tattoo on his right arm.
"This bastard's a bloody freak!" The second commented, spitting on the man's face.
Cinder walked back to Junior and Roman, stopping in front of the hanging man. His face was dripping water and swollen from beatings before she had shown up. She walked up to him and ran a finger across his midsection stopping on his right side. Raising a hand she materialised a dagger and slid it under his scales, changing the thickness of the blade until it fitted effortlessly under them. She then handed the dagger to the closest goon and pointed at his midsection.
"You, start taking the scales off right here." She looked to the other goon, "You, roll that tray of Dust over here."
The second goon, who was handed the knife, flipped it and smiled sad*stically while the first goon went to grab the tray. Cinder walked back to Junior and Roman as the goons did what she told them to do.
"What do you plan on doing?" Roman asked as Cinder sat down in the chair.
"Something I learned a while ago."
"Which is?"
"Dust infusion." She said, while holding the Ice Dust crystal in one hand she materialised another dagger in the other and started to sharpen one end of the crystal, the dagger had frost cover its blade but never fully freezing it over, "The person who I learned it from uses his semblance to dull the pain he feels so he can infuse Dust crystals in him. While he's able to use it to his advantage, someone like the man," she pointed to the hanging man who was screaming as his scales were being torn off with no regard, "doesn't have the luxury of blocking out the pain that comes with Dust infusion."
"And how do you know it's painful?" Junior asked.
"I tried it on someone already." She dragged the knife across the crystal, sending shavings onto the floor.
The two men shifted away from her.
"What," She said looking over to them with a smile, "Am I not making this place feel nicer?"
The two men looked at each other.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to work with her," Junior commented.
"Oi," The second goon called out, "Is this good enough?"
He stepped to the side to show off a decent sized area of pink flesh for her to work with.
"It is." Cinder got up, dematerialised the two daggers and pulled the chair closer to the hanging man. She handed the ice crystal to the goon, "Shove this in him." She said as she sat back down, pulling the tray closer to her.
The goon walked up to the hanging man, who started to squirm and shout in Mistrali as he approached, the other goon held the man as still as he could as the second goon stabbed the dust crystal into him. The man screamed in pain as the goons stepped back, watching with the others the man's squirming started to slow down, his veins around his stomach started to glow a light blue as his breath became visible to all in the room.
"Nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎoshuōhuàle ma?" She asked the man.
The man, shivering, slowly raised his head to look at her, almost surprised that she spoke Mistrali, "Shēngqì!"
"Zhǐshì ràng nǐ zhīdào, wǒ kěyǐ ràng nǐ gèng róngyì. Rúguǒ hézuò."
"Tāmen shuō tóngyàng dehuà, dàn nǐ yǒngyuǎn bù huì ràng wǒ shuōhuà."
"Nǐ zài wèi shéi gōngzuò?"
"Xióng shì jiāzú."
"Tch, that's a pile of bull," Junior said behind her.
"You understand Mistrali?" Roman asked.
"Yes."
"How come you never told me?"
"You never asked."
"Zhè shìgè huǎngyán. Xióng jiā bù huì hōngzhà jiàrì dǎo."
"Shì duì de ma?"
"Tch," Cinder rolled her eyes, "He's playing. Do we have an Electric crystal in there?"
The first goon pulled out a yellow crystal, "We got like six of each in here."
"Good, shove that one in him."
The first goon walked up to the man and shoved the Electric crystal in him. The man started to convulse violently as the veins around his stomach glowed a pale yellow as the man stuttered.
"Take it out."
The goon removed the crystal, returning his veins' pale yellow colour back to a light blue and slowing down his convulsions.
"Wǒ huì zài wèn yīcì. Nǐ wèi shéi gōngzuò?"
"Wǒ...zàishuō...yībiàn. Shēngqì."
She sighed impatiently, "Ugh, this is ridiculous. I've got classes in the morning. Shove it in him again."
The goon compiled all too easily and shoved the yellow crystal in him again. He convulsed until Cinder had him remove it so she could question him. He wouldn't tell her what she wanted so she would have it shoved in him again, increasing the time it would be in him whenever he didn't tell her what she wanted. Until after the fifth time, the man hung there after the crystal was removed, his body spasming, his mouth ajar with drool dripping out.
"Tch, you killed him," Roman said disappointedly.
"No, I didn't. It wasn't in him long enough to kill him. He's just out of-"
"M..." The man muttered, "Mǎtóu..."
Cinder looked back to the man, "Mǎtóu shàng yǒu shé me?"
"...Ta...Taneti..."
"Taneti. That doesn't sound Mistrali?" Roman said, stepping up next to Cinder.
"It's not." Junior stepped up next to him, "That's Tarus' lieutenant."
"Wait, so you're telling me that guy has a name?" He looked to Cinder, "What did he say about him?"
"He was saying that Taneti is at the docks."
"Well, that bloody narrows it down." One of the goons said.
"Well actually it does," Junior looked to Roman, "If Taneti helped bomb Vale then it narrows our search to the docks under the influence of the Rata Family and any other primarily Faunus manned docks."
"Alright I'll talk with Yin and my father about this, hopefully, we can keep the Peacekeepers away from the docks while we do a little bit of...aggressive reconnaissance."
"Alright then." Cinder stood up and pushed the chair away with her leg, "Are we done here, it's getting late."
"Yeah, we're done here." Junior looked to the two goons, "Pull that crystal from him and tie him back up in the chair and get out."
The two goons nodded and did what Junior told them to do as the three of them walked out of the room.
"Ah, right," Cinder looked to Junior as they walked, "In case they decide to question you again, we're having some birthdays thrown here next week and next month on the fifteenth."
"Appreciate you telling me this, this time," Junior said as they walked on.
The guard opened the door for Cinder outside the club as she climbed in and buckled herself in. The guard got in and told the driver to take them back to the apartments, as he slammed the door shut Cinder looked over to Calli who woke up and looked around her, eventually looking at Cinder with tired eyes.
"Wha..." She said wearily.
"It's fine Calli. Mama was just dealing with something." She stifled a groan of embarrassment.
{HA!}
Shut up!
{You're so tired, your tongue slipped first. Hahahaha}
I said shut up!
"...m'kay..." Calli said as she rested her head against the booster seat once more as the car drove away from the club.
Cinder sat back and leaned against the window. She silently cursed at herself for becoming so attached to everyone here.
Thursday, May 6, Year 87 Age 5, 1000
Beacon Academy
Year 2
As the bell finished ringing the door to the classroom opened and Doctor Oobleck walked in, hunched over and his head hanging, a stark contrast to his normal self. Half his shirt was tucked in, his yellow tie still loose around his neck, his black pants had food stains on them and his shoes were still mismatched, but his demeanour was completely different. Instead of his normal energetic self, he seemed slower and more sluggish in his movements.
He sighed as he placed his bag next to the teacher's desk. He dragged a hand down his face while he pulled out the history book he always uses.
"Good morning students." He said at a surprisingly normal pace. His green bangs hanging near his face and generally down more so than usual.
"Good morning Doctor." The students replied.
"You look like crap, Doctor," Grull said bluntly.
"Thank you, Grull. The brewing machine broke in the lounge, so I have no way of making my coffee or my tea." Oobleck dropped his head on the desk.
"Have you tried soda, Doctor?" Emie asked, brushing her black bangs to the side.
"I would love to," Oobleck said into the desk, "but I still haven't found the right brand that gives me the kick that my precious coffee does..." He raised his head and sighed, "Anyways. If you pull out your history books, students, and turn to...uh...chapter..." He looked in his own book before speaking again, "...chapter forty-six. We'll start from there." After the students went to the appropriate chapter Oobleck continued, "So, today we'll be learning about the Adventurers Guild circa second Imperium Age. The most notable Guildmaster of that time was Maester Caesetia Sudrena. She was able to consolidate the multiple Halls across Remnant back under Hall Praetorium located within the Imperial City as well as submitting the Guild to Imperator Decimus Vibius Lucretius' rule, which would go on to limit the Guild's ability to operate as it used to. With limitations on how they operate and more and more of their contracts being given out to the Imperial Legions, the guild started to fade away and it wasn't until the end of the Faunus Rebellions that the Guild was officially disbanded in order to start having the Legions take over with Grimm extermination in order to justify Imperator Decimus' military spending."
"Doctor, how was she able to consolidate all that power? I thought the sector Masters all had to agree on something that drastic." Jaune asked.
"That's where Maester Sundrena's masterful politics play came into, uh, play. After Maester Sundrena's passing, it was discovered that she was a close confidant of Imperator Decimus when they were younger and she too shared in his ideas of a grander empire. So before Decimus was able to disband the Imperial Senatus, he and Sundrena tested out their plan with the Adventurers Guild. Sundrena was able to have members loyal to her become Sector Guilds Consentis, use them to win influence in each sectors Consilia and once she had considerable influence with each sector or enough to win over a majority rule she consolidated the Guild's power to her station. Now Imperator Decimus' ability to dissolve the Senatus would take much longer since he was operating on a far greater scale. But that's a story meant for Aquila University not here."
Cinder remembered hearing about Imperator Decimus back in Salem's Realm from her teacher, Thaenvy a Fallur mage. She recalled him saying that had Salem started the first phase of her plan when he was still in power it wouldn't have gone far. She had to wait until he passed before breaking the Imperium, and even then she still wasn't able to do so completely.
She looked down to Calli, who wanted to wear the same pink dress today, as she was playing a game on her phone. Something with fishes and numbers, so she was still learning as she played. Cinder watched as Calli looked at the problem on the screen, eleven plus six, and looked down to her fingers and started to count until the countdown on the game reached zero. Calli pouted, but still counted her fingers. Cinder placed a comforting hand on the young girls back.
Thankfully Calli didn't remember much of last night after they left the Forest Reserve, which was good. She didn't need to hurt her even more than what was going to happen.
{Are you referring to tomorrow or next year?}
Cinder looked back to the front where Doctor Oobleck continued on with his class going on about the politics of the Adventurers Guild. She zoned out, honestly, that was the one thing she detested about this whole plan; learning things that were completely useless to her. When she first arrived she tricked Charlie into thinking that she couldn't pay attention to the professors as they taught and that she needed someone to reexplain lessons to her, it was another tactic she used to get close to him, but now that they're going on their third year she found that she was right about not being able to pay attention in class. From distractions from other classmates, to her focusing on the bigger plan, and even the arguments she would have with herself and the voice in her head. She smiled to herself, what started as an excuse to be with him turned into an actual hindrance.
{Isn't that ironic}
Her smile faded whenever the voice spoke to her. What once sounded like her own voice with an echo had changed, once to include a male voice among hers which, along with the echo, made it difficult to understand it and now it was only male with the echo. Cinder never brought it up with Salem, always thinking that it was part of her spell that she placed on her so she always paid it little to no mind. When she could. She looked at the clock and sighed to herself. The day only started and she wished it was over.
1818
Willow Plaza, Residential District
Cinder watched as Calli attempted to play with the other orphans but would always wander away, back to playing alone on the jungle gym. She sighed as she laid her end of the table out with plates and napkins, thankfully there was little wind today so there was virtually no risk of it being blown away. Lie and Vio were grilling nearby while those who weren't helping set up the combined table watched the orphans on the playground.
"Hey, Weiss," Cinder looked over to see Pyrrha talking to the Atlesian Dust company heiress as they set up their section of the table, "How did you and Henri meet? I've been intending to ask you that for a while now but it's always escaped me whenever we're together."
"How did you remember it this time?" Weiss asked as she placed a plate down.
"I just remembered it was his birthday today."
"Why did you suddenly remember that?"
"Well, It was kind of hard not to see all the happy birthday wishes everywhere."
"That's true. People of Vale and Mistral certainly show their love for their Houses very publicly. I don't remember Atlas ever showing the same enthusiasm for House Ísbrjótur, then again I mostly grew up here during the War." She placed down another plate before continuing, "Let's see...we met during the height of the War when he came back from his Trials. I was part of a... "welcome home" ball. I'm surprised I didn't see you there?"
"Well, my father tried that whole...courting between us before he left. Father didn't see it worthwhile to waste my time dating again when I could be training."
"Oh yeah, I remember that ball," Phusia, who was behind them placing down napkins, spoke up, "Well I wouldn't really call it a ball, you know, it felt more like a meet and greet with the Prince."
"You were there, Phusia?" Weiss asked as she placed down another plate.
"Yes, I was. That was back when my hair was longer. I also had that pink streak in my hair."
Weiss' eyes widened, "So that was you?"
"Yeah."
"The one who spilled their drink on the Prince."
Phusia looked away sheepishly, "Yeah..."
"You spilt a drink on him?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah, it was my first time wearing stilettos, so I wasn't exactly...well balanced for it."
"Why do you guys put yourselves through that b.s.?"
The girls looked over to see Lapis sitting at the table, swiping through her SCROLL. Her blonde hair was tied into a high tail behind her head while her bangs hung down over her face.
Phusia spoke first, "Because it's fun."
Lapis scoffed, "Doesn't sound like it, and from where I sit it sounds like it was an over-glorified matchmaking party. Just an opportunity for the Prince to go around, sniffing at girls without anyone slapping him away."
"Well, you're not wrong."
"That's stupid. Why put yourselves through that? I understand pink streak here going through that for family clout within the city," Lapis turned to Weiss, "but why do you do it. You aren't even from this kingdom?"
"I was raised here because of the wars going on in Solitas, and my family wanted a sense of normality to come back. We didn't know if we were going to go back home to Mantle or not."
"So you just continue being a thing for others. That's sad." Lapis turned to Vio who was grilling hotdogs, "Do we have anything to drink around here."
Vio looked over from the grill and pointed with the tongs, "There's a water pack right there."
"Anything stronger?"
"Not while there's kids out, stultus."
Vio groaned while the other girls continued to set the table. Cinder continued as well before Yang started speaking to her.
"Say, Cin, since they're talking about it, how did you and prince wears-a-skirt meet?"
"Uh...I..."
"Didn't she already tell us this?" Weiss asked her teammate.
"Well, if she did she made the mistake of telling me it while we were at a party. Hehe."
"You party way too hard, Yang."
"Hey, you've seen my grandpa. If there's one thing we Xiao Longs are good at, it's hitting hard and partying harder." She turned to Cinder, "It's obvious you two have some history before you came to Beacon, so how did you two meet?"
"Uh...well..." Cinder couldn't tell them that the two of them met during his Trial. They would ask the inevitable questions of what happened afterwards and where she went. Too many questions that would reveal much about her.
"Come on Yang," Weiss said as she finished placing down her plates and sitting down at the table, "aren't you being a bit too intrusive?"
"Well now, that just makes it all the better." Yang looked from Weiss back to Cinder, "The Prince's secret rendezvous girl that just so happens to come to Beacon when he does, and he conveniently chooses you at his own ball. It looks like you two have been planning this for a while now, haven't you?"
"Yang," Weiss said in a stern voice but Cinder waved her off.
"It's fine," Cinder placed down the last of her plates and sat down near the other two girls, "We met while the Prince was on his little "victory tour" after his Trials. We met in the Moonlight Gardens in Lauderlane. He was avoiding fans and I was avoiding my, uh...godmother."
"Your godmother?" Yang asked.
"What, I was about to say grandmother instead but that didn't feel right you know."
"Uh-huh, right, and you two have been meeting in secret ever since until you came to Beacon."
"Something like that."
"What made you want to be with someone like him?" Lapis asked as she opened a water bottle.
"I...liked how nervous he'd get over the littlest of things."
"That's a stupid reason."
"Yeah, that's easy for him." Weiss interjected as she grabbed a bottle from Yang who passed one to her and Cinder, "I remember being at the after-party for the ceremony of his investiture of Prince of Tract. It was after we won the Battle of Krieger, he was so nervous talking to the girls who'd come up to him."
Lie walked over with a platter of hamburgers and placed them on the table next to their buns, "You ever think that maybe he was nervous because he was isolated from civilization for three years, and he probably forgot how to properly interact with others." Since Lie was wearing a short-sleeved shirt his eastern dragon tattoo was showing on his right bicep that spiralled up his arm.
The girls sat silent as Lie placed down the condiments and the box full of bagged chips. Cinder recalled Charlie telling her that he did contemplate suicide after Salem took her. She didn't think it would affect him for so long afterwards, but then it would make no sense for him to still feel that way even now. It had to be something else.
"Hey Lie," Yang said, grabbing Cinder's attention, "I take it that since you're setting the food up that means it's ready?"
"Yes, it is."
"Alright, I'll get the others." Yang got up from the table and started to round up the others for dinner.
Cinder sat there and thought about the scenario she lied to the others about. It wouldn't have been bad if they actually met like that, then she wouldn't be in this situation. She could have actually enjoyed her time here fully.
Vale, Residential (Civis) District,
Alta Insula Plaza
2015
"Did you have fun today, Calli?" Cinder asked, kneeling in front of Calli and helped the tired child take off her shoes.
Calli nodded her head, "Mr Ren makes good food."
Cinder smiled at her, "Yes, he does," she patted the young girl's head, "Now go get ready for bed."
"Ms Cinder, when's the Prince coming?" Calli looked up to her with half-closed eyes, trying to keep herself awake for this.
"He's...he'll be here soon, he's just busy okay, but when he does come back I'll talk to him about adopting you. Okay."
Calli nodded her head again, "Okay," she stood up and shuffled her way to the room.
Cinder leaned against the cupboard as she took her shoes off.
{You still haven't told her}
No. How can I, it'll ruin her mood.
{And tell her tomorrow when you leave her at the orphanage won't}
She sighed as she moved her shoes against the wall.
Why did Charlie have to go and...
{Galavant with other women}
He's not doing that!
{How do you know? He is the prince and he's been away from you for so long what's one...secret rendezvous to you anyway, you're just going to burn this city in the end}
The voice was right, it shouldn't matter what he does behind her back when she's already planning worse things for him behind his. Still, it felt wrong to just allow it even if she would be considered a hypocrite should anyone outside her team find out. It's too late to wish that things didn't end up like this, now she just wished for it to hurry up and pass so she could get over it and move on.
Friday, May 7, Year 87 Age 5, 1515
Beacon Academy
Year 2
The Beacon Arena definitely was large, even with the three hundred and eighty-four students of Year B in the stands it left much of the arena empty. Not even the full student body of one thousand one hundred and fifty-two filled it up, they had to have space for non-hunters to come and watch their favourite teams compete in the Arena Games finals. The Academy Arena Games are one of the more popular sports in Vale right above soccer but below rugby.
Cinder sat with the rest of her class as other students talked among themselves, the occasional crying from an orphan child would sound through the air while the teachers sat on the arena floor in folding chairs. In her lap, Calli sat dressed in a purple short-sleeve shirt and jean overalls. She watched as a man stood in the centre of the arena pacing slowly back and forth with his hands behind his back. Clad in smooth, curved armour from head to toe, the thick burgundy red cloth could be seen on the arms under the armour and the legs where instead of armour the man had decorative pieces of scalemail fashioned into standards around his waist and painted with a phoenix emerging from ashes. Although designed to leave the face open to allow for easier breathing, the helmet had the Vytal Pact standard black-polarised glass faceplate which completely obscured the wearer's face while still offering protection from most attacks.
This man was the Arena Master, Conner Messor while the man who walked up to him dressed in black slacks and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled was Thomas Tatian, the Hunts Master, holding a piece of paper in his hand. The two talked before Thomas turned towards the students, his back-length ghastly blonde hair hanging freely like it always did.
"Students," He said, his voice grabbing all of their attention, "Now, under normal circ*mstances, the Headmaster would be the one giving you this spiel but since he is busy with other, more serious matters it falls to me to give you this speech since you're going to be the senior class for next year." He pulled out small, circular glasses and looked over the paper before continuing, "So basically what this paper goes over is this; since you're all are going to be the next graduating class come next year, you will be pushed to your limits and are expected to break those limits. No, we don't mean for you to Limit Break your Semblance. What we mean is that we are expecting you to go above and beyond the normal next year since you are going to be the next generation of Hunters out there and people are expecting Beacon Hunters to be the best out of the other schools, even the Rangers from Krieger. So far this Year B has had no fatalities in any of their classes as opposed to Year C who only suffered a five percent fatality rate before graduating later this month and Year A who, sadly, already suffered a twenty percent fatality rate, but we're chalking that increase up to the lack of information we have on Mutant Grimms. There's a reason we split up the years to different provinces and the only reason you all are now able to go to Lauderlane this year is that the Grimm up north are far more resilient than the ones further south. Next year will not be easy for anyone. We are not expecting many of you to survive, but hopefully, you will take what you have learned over the past two years and what you will finish learning in the first term of the next semester to heart and apply them up north and after you graduate. Which I hope to see you all at." Thomas turned to Conner, "They're yours." he said as he turned back around and walked to the other teachers who sat underneath the students.
The nine-foot-tall, armoured man stepped forward from his pacing and rested his gauntleted hands on his hips, his deep voice reverberated throughout the arena, one of the reasons he was appointed as Arena Master, "Hunters, you have all come a long way, from many different backgrounds, be you from any of the districts in Vale, the Upper or Undercity, or from any of the provinces be they on Sanus or overseas you have all chosen to come here because you wished to better yourself. Whether or not if it's for selfish or selfless reasons, or if you choose to stay a Hunter after graduation or go back to a normal life with the knowledge of how to better defend yourself from the Grimm we will not pry. All that I will say is this," His helmeted face looked from one end of the student mass to the other, "You cannot save yourself. Out there, in this world, if you are alone you will die and you will not be able to save yourself. Only when you rely on others can you overcome misfortune and challenge the impossible. Even if you feel alone you are not, you have your fellow Hunters, Rangers, and even the common people you protect to rely on. You are not better than anyone just because you can use a Semblance, wield magic, kill a monster. You are but a small part of the bigger picture. Never forget that and if you do..." He lowered his head and shook it, just as a disappointed father would, "Then we failed you." He looked back up to the students, "Should you end up successful in your Hunts for your senior year then you'll have the opportunity to participate in the Vytal Tournament that will be hosted in Vale for your graduation. So stay on your toes out there and be sure to come back alive. Now then for those of you who have orphans for this week, you are dismissed for the rest of the day to drop off your kid and spend the rest of the day studying. The rest of you may leave to study or if you want to run through some Arena fights just let me know. That is all."
The tall armoured man walked away as the students all got up and either left to go study back in their rooms, head down to the Arena for some combat practice or left to go return their orphans to the orphanage, like Cinder.
After riding the trolley down to the city Cinder and Calli got into the car where the driver took them to the orphanage. When they arrived a decent crowd had formed to return the orphans for the week, and no doubt reporters hid in the crowd to see her and how she treated Calli. The guard handed Calli her bag, the little girl hesitated, looking from the bag then to Cinder.
"Why are we here?" She asked.
Cinder knelt in front of the girl, "We're here because I need to give you back to the orphanage."
"But you said I could stay with you?"
"I know but that's not just my decision to make-"
"You lied." Calli whimpered, tears started to form at the corners of her eyes.
Cinder placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, "No, Calli, listen I'll talk with-"
Calli shouldered her way out of Cinder's grasp and ran towards the orphanage crying, through the crowd and past the Matron and into one of the Father's arms. The Matron and the others in the crowd looked towards her.
"That'll cause some unwanted questions." The guard said and immediately, like vultures to a carcass, reporters began making their way towards her snapping pictures and asking questions, "You should make this quick."
The guard stood between her and the reporters as she walked towards the Matron, as she made it past the archway the guard made sure to keep the reporters back as Cinder and other participants of Orphan's Week went about their work with the Mothers of the orphanage.
"Sorry about the scene." Cinder apologised to the Matron as she walked up to her.
"Don't worry about it, My Lady." The older woman replied as she dropped a curtsey, "Calli has always had a...attachment issue. It was my fault entirely, I should have warned you beforehand. I figured that she would have grown out of it by now, but she's still pretty young and like any child, she wants a stable home."
"I understand that feeling," Cinder watched as Calli was taken from the rest of the group over to a tent, "What's in that tent?" She asked.
"That's where the paramedics and Peacekeepers look over the children for any signs of abuse."
Cinder looked back to the archway where the guard and two other Peacekeepers stood as reporters snapped photos over their armored bodies while the three of them allowed people with orphans to come in.
Of course, they'd have an increased presence here.
{Of course, did you really think they would allow people to get away with abuse. Vale has an image they need to uphold. Vale, The City of Freedom, just as long as it's within their laws]
"Shall we finish up the return paperwork while we're waiting for her examination to get done?" The Matron asked, grabbing Cinder's attention.
She looked back to the Matron, "Of course."
"I'll be the one to go over the papers with you." The Matron and Cinder walked towards a table.
Vale, Residential (Civis) District,
Alta Insula Plaza
1759
Cinder walked into the apartment, turned on the doorway light and took off her shoes before walking down the hallway. Stopping at the doorway that led to the laundry room where the dryer's door was ajar and a small pink sleeve hung out. She walked up to it and pulled out the small dress she got for Calli earlier this week and held it, the small pink dress and the flower designs that covered the lower half of it did look cute on the young girl. Cinder remembered the dream she had the first night she had brought Calli back home, seeing the little girl grown up was nice but seeing how monstrous she looked, how she acted so much like her step-mother sent chills down her spine whenever she thought about it.
"Heh, I should have figured that was just a dream," She sat with her back against the wall and held the dress close to her chest, "I...I'll never make it that far," She laid down on the floor, refusing to bite back tears now that she's alone, "I can't even keep a child."
Mistral, Lónggōng (Palace of the Dragon)
1159
Henri closed the door to the bedchambers he was staying in, walked to the coffee table and sat in one of the chairs. He unbuttoned the collar to his suit that he wore to the dinner he had with Empress Kagani and Kitsune, and sighed to himself.
"I'll be heading home later today...finally." He groaned, allowing his body to go limp in the chair slumping down into the chair, "That'll be nice."
He stood back up and took off his coat as his thoughts drifted towards Kitsune and not Cinder oddly enough.
{Come on. Go see her. It's only for one night.}
Henri shook his head, "No, stop that."
{Come on. It's only one night. No one would be the wiser. Just another concubine sleeping with the princess.}
"I'm not a concubine." He growled to the voice in his head.
{You're right. You're a prince who can trace his bloodline to well before kings walked this world, rulers before kingdoms formed. You are my chosen on top of that. Who has the right to deny a god.}
"N...no one."
{Precisely.}
His eyes drifted towards the door.
{So, what's one night to anyone.}
"None of their business."
{Yes.}
He felt his legs move on their own towards the door, watched as his hand reached for the door handle and grasped it. His gaze moved towards the table that was placed next to the door, the light was particularly bright for some reason. He looked down on the table and saw his sketchbook laid open.
"My...book..."
He looked at the pages on it, locket designs he had been drawing for Cinder's choker.
"What's my book doing out?" He asked himself.
{Who cares. Go see the Faunus.}
He looked at the locket designs in the book and smiled at himself. He drew up the cliche heart locket but remembered that design would have been a very obvious choice so he crossed it out. Next to it, he drew up a more standard circular one, hints of a square design behind it could be seen but was erased for the circular one. He sat down and thought for a few minutes about other designs before writing down 'clavicle shape?' in the book and closed it.
"I need to sleep."
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