Salem was furious.
Why was she furious? Cinder was still severely injured, Tyrian had yet to report results. Hazel had been told to "shove off " by Sienna Khan (She still needed to construct an appropriate response) and Ozpin might have found a way to bother her from beyond the grave. This called for extreme measures.
She strode into the room. It was empty, the countertop of black granite with marble floors. The stovetop and oven of stainless steel, the double door refrigerator sat quietly humming. This was her personal space; nobody was permitted to enter with her explicit permission. It was a space that she loved and reminded her of some of her fondest memories, many of which had absolutely nothing to do with Ozpin or Grimm.
The thought of Ozpin caused her blood to boil again as she pulled out a dusty cookbook and slapped it on the island in the center of the room. She pulled trays out of cupboards, bowls and whisks from drawers, and ingredients from the pantry and fridge.
The ding of an oven behind her soothed her mind somewhat.
"Flour, Chocolate chips, baking soda…" Salem mumbled as she turned and thumbed through the will-used cookbook's pages. It had been a gift from a friend, well, more of an arch-nemesis, but in Salem's experience, the two seldom were mutually exclusive.
She knew much of the recipe by heart; she had made it many a time. First when her former friends had decapitated Her favorite lackey, then when once again, the Fall Maiden's power slipped through her hands.
Then she did it again when her friend/ Arch-nemesis died. That had been hard to swallow, imagining the woman was actually dead.
"Ruby's favorite double chocolate chip cookies…" Salem mumbled, reading down the list of ingredients written in clean cursive. Notes scrawled in the margins as modifications were made to the recipe.
Baking was a peaceful thing, it required intense focus, and allowed Salem's mind to, for however temporarily, slip from the pressures of trying to destroy the world. She wish she had picked it up centuries ago, maybe her hair wouldn't have prematurely grayed if she had.
She measured out the butter, flour, vanilla extract and other ingredients before pulling a bowl out from under the cupboard. She added the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla into the bowl, humming as she started to mix them. She raised the bowl as she did so, finding her troubles wash away.
Next came the flour Salt and baking soda, which she added in as small measured additions. She despised the clumps of flour that arose when one simply added in all the flour at once. She set the bowl down, cursing as she realized she forgot to add the egg. She turned and opened the refrigerator door, white light illuminating the dark room as she did so. She pulled out a carton of eggs, plucked a pale brown one and placed the carton back where it came from.
The niggling that prickled the hairs on her neck immediately told her someone was watching. It did not take a genius to realize who.
"Cinder, may I ask what you are doing here?" Salem asked, placing on her queenly mask once again. She turned to look at Cinder, the once brave, ruthless woman appeared so weak, so frail, it was something of a surprise that she didn't crumble to dust under Salem's gaze.
Cinder opened her mouth to reply but no words came forth, a whimper at best.
"You'll have to speak up. I can't hear you, and I know your pets aren't here to help." Salem said as she walked back to the bowl and cracked the egg, letting the yoke and egg whites fall into the bowl before tossing away the shell.
"Can.. I… Help?" Cinder asked weakly, her voice so faint Salem thought she misheard her. Salem turned her head staring at Cinder, eyes scanning her form.
"You'll have to repeat yourself. I couldn't hear you." Salem replied, a war raging in the back of her mind. Cinder was currently frail and useless, but she was powerful, indulging her might make her more loyal in the future.
"Can… I… Help?" Cinder asked.
Salem almost smiled, it was somewhat cute to have Cinder ask for something. Salem watched her carefully, wondering precisely what she was after. This was Cinder Fall, not some idealistic Huntress-in-training, there was a motive behind this offer.
Salem shrugged, whatever Cinder was planning, it would be a fruitless effort. "Of course, would you pull out a cookie sheet and prepare it?" Salem asked gently. She was pleased by the glimmer of hope in Cinder's eyes.
Cinder pulled out a baking sheet as the duo quietly worked. Cinder finished greasing the sheet as Salem finished with the mix.
"Would you like to put the mix on the sheet?" Salem asked. Offering the mixing bowl and a spoon.
Cinder nodded, taking the mixing bowl and a spoon from a drawer.
"Remember that they expand, so keep them small." Salem said, walking behind Cinder. She echoed more advice, pointing to several additions that she traditionally added to the mix. Extra chocolate was always high on the list, and Cinder, suspiciously eager to please, added more than enough.
Salem never noticed it, but throughout the process, there was a faint smile on Cinders lips.
"And now we place them in the oven for twenty minutes." Salem said, lifting the Sheet and opening the oven door. Cinder watched as Salem placed the cookie sin the oven to cook. She closed the oven door behind her.
'Thank you for your help today." Salem said politely as she rose and placed her hands in front of her, a faint smile on her lips. Cinder nodded gently.
'Again… Sometime?" Cinder asked.
Something rose in Salem, but she couldn't identify the feeling. Was it pride, or a feeling of accomplishment? It was a positive feeling which was unusual, a tingling in her throat. She would need to to examine this feeling some more, understand exactly what it was. Even if that was only so that Cinder could not use this strange feeling against her.
"I'd like that." Salem replied, a smile placed on her face. Cinder responded with a slight smile and a nod.
Salem clapped her hands. "Now we wait. Would you like to practice speaking some more?"
A slight nod was all the urging Salem needed, as she pulled up two stools, heavy with dust, from beneath the island. She ushered Cinder into one seat as she sat in the other.
"So, why did you come today, knowing such a thing is frowned upon?" Salem asked. Waiting patiently as Cinder began her explanation.
The explanation took some time, and before Salem could ask any other questions, the scent of the cookies were coming from the oven, the beeping told Salem that the cooking was completed. But she made no movement, instead allowing Cinder to pull the cookies from the oven.
The scent was heavenly, layered chocolate, dark and milk with flecks of white. A hint of vanilla seeped through as well. The cookies looked every bit as delicious as they smelled, a deep chocolate brown color with white flecks. Salem, for some reason unknown to her, felt the urge to pour her a glass of milk. She hesitated, but for once decided to follow brash instinct over careful thinking.
She poured a glass for herself and Cinder. Placing one before each of them. Cinder looked at her with confusion, perplexed at why she was being served milk She waved to the cookies.
"Let them cool for a moment and then dip it in the milk." Salem explained, lifting cookie and showing Cinder what to do.
Salem closed her eyes, silently enjoying the taste of the cookie as she took a bite. These cookies were delicious, but always bittersweet. Salem could always sense that they were lacking something. She could never put her finger on exactly what. It was one of those peculiar things, she had long ago concluded what was lacking wasn't an ingredient as much as a feeling.
She opened her eyes watching as Cinder bit off a chunk of cookie dripping with milk and closed her remaining eye, chewing on a bite of her cookie and enjoying the flavor. Salem couldn't help but smile at the Fall Maiden. If she hadn't known better, right now Salem would imagine Cinder Fall was just a young woman enjoying a treat.
Salem pushed the thoughts of what the cookie lacked away. It was easier today than it had usually been, perhaps because she was eating with someone else. Or perhaps because, for whatever reason, the cookie didn't seem as lacking today.
My first submission at the RWBY MonCon. I'm still a newbie at FanFic so constructive criticism would be appreciated. Please tell me what you think!
P.S. double chocolate chip cookies are the best.