Three months.
Cinder Fall looked around the room she was in. Not an easy feat, with only one eye to look out of.
Three months since she had lost the other one.
She took in the black decor that seemed to suck the very light from the universe.
Three months since she had come back to this place.
As she contemplated her plan, so close to realization before it was cast away from her, a fire raged within her heart.
Three months since she had collected this power.
The clock upon the wall showed 8:40.
Three months, down to the very minute.
She sighed, setting herself down on the bed. It was comfortable, for the most part. Unusual, given the nature of this fortress. Perhaps it was because she had been getting used to how it felt over all this time, or perhaps because Salem favored her.
Three months since her world began… and ended.
If she could, Cinder might have screamed anguish to the heavens. But that silver-eyed brat had not only stolen her eye, but her voice. If only she had taken Neo up on her offer of signing lessons.
…Neo Politan. Sometimes, Cinder wondered what happened to her and Torchwick. What become of them after they apparently fell out of contact aboard the airship.
But she always realized that it did not matter. Those two had served their purpose. Done what was asked of them, quite admirably. It didn't matter to her what became of them.
…But did it? As far as she could see it, there were only two subordinates of hers she really cared about. Everyone else… Torchwick, Taurus, the White Fang, all of them… disposable.
Perhaps that was why she was here. Perhaps if she gave more thought to them, perhaps if she hadn't taken on that girl alone… Her mind raced with that word, "perhaps." Perhaps if this, perhaps if that, perhaps…
Perhaps if all those years ago, a little girl's parents hadn't been taken from her by evil. Perhaps if the witch that came to finish her off hadn't somehow seen potential with the broken soul. Perhaps if she didn't have plans for her. Plans that would result in a fate so close to death that sometimes, she wondered whether she would notice a difference if…
And for the first time since she could barely remember when, Cinder Fall, feared lordess of the Vale underworld, the Fall Maiden herself… began to cry. A tear streamed out of her one good eye, down her cheek. This was not how she should be. Her lady would not want to see her like this. But it was how she was. Broken. Afraid.
For the first time, she actually needed someone.
And someone indeed arrived. Through the door constructed of something that could not be described stepped her former lackey, Mercury.
After her mission had been completed and she became the Fall Maiden, she gave him and Emerald a choice. They were no longer beholden to her, so they were free to go. But they stayed, going with her back to Salem's fortress. Their reasoning had eluded her.
"Hey, boss," Mercury said. "Emerald wanted me to… check in on you. You seemed pretty worked up during Salem's briefing. Well… more so than usual."
She motioned him to sit next to her. He obliged, knowing her voice wouldn't carry that far.
"Th… there's no need to call me 'boss…' Mercury," she dryly whispered, every syllable stinging her throat. "You don't answer to me… anymore."
"That doesn't mean I don't respect what you did back at Beacon."
"You… You shouldn't."
He looked at her with slight disbelief. "What are you talking about? You crippled the CCT, got the powers of the Fall Maiden, killed Ozpin…"
He was cut off when her nails dug into his arm, causing him to wince.
"For… what?" she choked, her eye glowing.
He looked to her with a slight fear of what her Maiden powers would do. But she let go of his arm, bringing it back to her side.
"Look at me, Mercury," she rasped. "That… girl… destroyed me. Her power… I didn't think it… possible…"
"You couldn't have known. She was…"
"Mercury… I'm beginning to think… this isn't worth it."
"What… What do you mean?"
"How can anything… make what we've… I've done worth it? How can we know she will repay us, in the end?" Her eye squeezed shut. "And you… You had no reason… to still follow me. Why did you?"
Mercury sighed, and ventured to put a hand on her shoulder, lightly pleased when she didn't brush it off. "I was suffering before you found me. Out there, in Grimm Country, with a pair of prosthetic legs that barely functioned? Another day and I probably would have starved."
She looked at him, wondering where he was going.
"And it really wasn't like I had anywhere else to go after Beacon fell. I mean, where was there for a known associate of someone wanted pretty much everywhere?" He chuckled, before his face darkened. "But the truth is… I may have just been your lackey all this time, but…" He looked her in the eye. "You do mean a lot to me, boss. I'm sure you may not see me that way, but either way, it still seemed like you needed someone arou-"
Cinder found herself doing something she never thought a woman of her nature would do. She hugged him, tightly, almost angrily. Her eye was shut tight, tears flowing from it, almost turning to steam.
Mercury never, in a million years, thought he'd be in this situation. But then, Cinder had never been quite this… down. He improvised the best he could, wrapping his arms around her back, resting his head on hers.
She wept, softly, silently, oddly soothed by the faint sound of his heartbeat. "Mercury… I don't know if I want to stay here," she whispered.
"We won't have a choice for a while, boss." he softly said, gently stroking her back. "Not until Salem thinks your training is done."
She slowly pulled back, her hand still on his shoulder. "Then… I may need you… a bit closer… than you used to be…"
His mouth curled into a smirk, as his arm went to her waist. "Are you asking me to spend the night?"
She laughed for only a moment, before her throat stopped her, and she coughed. "Perhaps." Her other hand slowly drifted to his back. "Mercury… don't think… less of me… for this."
Mercury's hand went to her cheek, as his smirk turned into the first real smile he could remember. "I never did… Cinder."
And as they drew each other closer, one thought rang clear in her mind:
Perhaps I'll be alright.