The One With Great Ambitions
Watts had always been too ambitious for his own good.
He couldn't count how many times he'd heard that. First from family, then from teachers, and then from superiors and coworkers when he became old enough to hear it from them.
But that was how Atlas was. Ambition was good until you had too much of it, and then you would either be cast aside or rise to greatness.
In Watts' case, he'd been cast aside in favor of a man with a heart too soft to ever truly lead.
Anger had driven him away from Atlas, but his ambition had brought Salem to him.
She made him promises and upon hearing the very first word Watts had been sure that they were promises that she intended to keep. She promised him greatness, power, wealth. She promised him that one day every household would speak his name in awe and fear alike.
Such temptations were impossible to turn down, and so Watts had given Salem his loyalty. She was going to reshape the world as she pleased, and Watts was glad to be able to aid in advising that.
But there were things about her that he hadn't counted it.
She was a woman who had only one equal, and all she had to do was wipe that equal away. As long as Watts got what he wanted at the end of the day, he was glad to aid her in her exploits. After all, to become great it was going to have to be achieved by virtue rather than fortune.
Salem had a certain kindness to her that he hadn't expected. He'd expected ruthlessness, but Salem always reached out to those who aided her with a caring hand, while also not being afraid to assert her powers.
There wasn't a dash of true softness in her, though. No true weakness that he had ever seen.
Watts had been her first follower in this generation, and he was glad for it. He served as a servant to a queen of monsters, and when they finally took everything for her, that was what was going to make everything worth it.
Ultimately, Watts supposed he may have loved her as one loved a business partner. More than that, he loved her promises.
Oh, how he loved Salem's promises.
2. The One That Worships Her
He could never forget the first time that he set eyes on the Goddess in all his days. When he drew his dying breath, he was sure she would be in his thoughts, for better or for worse.
From the day that he pulled him from the wreckage of a burning village in Vacuo, Tyrian had been loyal to her.
There were a great many things that had left him simply awestruck about the Queen. She was as powerful as she was intelligent. Men should have moved mountains just to be at her feet, oceans should have parted for her the moment she deemed to give them so much as a passing glance.
Kingdoms should have fallen with a mere wave of her hand, and yet they stood strong and tall, the great fools that they were. At least, they did before the pretender known as Cinder had stepped in and done her little assignment well.
Or rather, as well as she could have.
Nobody had predicted the girl with the silver eyes, of course.
His goddess hadn't, but she'd been glad to alter their plans accordingly out of the sheer kindness in her heart. When she had selected Tyrian for the task of collecting her, he had been elated. First she asked him to bring her a Maiden, and then a Silver Eyed Warrior. They were high prizes that only Salem's most loyal follower could bring.
Never before had she given him such strong votes of confidence, and when he'd departed her castle, Tyrian had been determined to collect Salem's prizes and return them to her in mostly pristine collection.
A missing eye was no great matter, of course.
When he would return home, she would welcome him and sing praises on him and Tyrian would have been sure to bask in every word. Every adoration, every thanking, he would cherish and relish them all.
His Goddess was truly unmatched in this world for thousands of reasons.
Mankind and faunus alike were but worms compared to her. Mere insects crawling at the Goddess' feet scrounging for sustenance in a world that she deigned to shape in her own glorious image.
Alas, he was no insect.
But for all his adoration of Salem, oh, how greatly he feared her. As he had vowed himself to her, body and soul, he feared her just as much.
He crawled home to her a broken man, uttering silent prayers for forgiveness in hopes that she wouldn't deem him an abject failure. He should have been able to retrieve the girl for her, and yet he hadn't been able to.
His dear tail had paid the price.
Would his Goddess laugh at him when he arrived? Or would she welcome him back with open arms and leave him to tend his wounds? Would she simply grace him with another task that he would be sure not to fail in?
He had never failed her before, his dear Goddess.
He loved her for a thousand reasons. Her power, her ambitions, her quiet rage that mixed with kindness.
But oh, how he feared her.
So all he could do was pray.
And if she was feeling particularly merciful, she would absolve him of the sin of his failure.
3. The One That Became A Maiden
She'd wanted to be strong.
Salem had assured her when she was young that she was. Salem had told the young Cinder Fall that she had all of the potential in the world to become something great. She had said that she could be anything, with a little bit of work and loyalty
Cinder supposed that Salem was right. Even if she had needed help to ensure that she reached her goals, Salem had been right. Cinder wasn't as old or as strong as the others. She didn't have the wits of Watts, or Tyrian's speed and unbowing loyalty, or Hazel's brute strength and utter ruthlessness.
But she had something that none of them did.
She was the only one who could have become the Fall Maiden.
And so she did.
She'd wanted to be feared.
She was feared.
Cinder supposed that she had definitely accomplished that, with Salem's help. She'd become feared the evening that Mercury, Emerald and herself had gone after the Fall Maiden- her name had been Amber, Cinder remembered. Sometimes that nagged in the back of her head, but she couldn't allow it for too long. It was best not to let the girl have too much of a voice or power over Cinder's consciousness.
For some time, Cinder had only had half the Maiden's power. She'd been left with an empty feeling which burned and left her hungering for more. More power that could be hers if she could just make things happen correctly.
And she had.
Young Cinder Fall had managed to make a kingdom crumble at her feet, and with it, she became impossibly powerful with very little in her way that could stop her.
She'd wanted to be powerful.
Cinder supposed that she was.
She'd killed three people now, all immensely powerful.
There'd been the maiden, Amber.
Pyrrha Nikos, invincible girl that Salem's opposition had selected to become the Fall Maiden.
And of course, there was 'dear' Ozpin.
For a very short time, Cinder Fall had been immensely powerful.
That was until the girl had arrived.
Cinder had known her. She'd first seen Ruby Rose in hallways at Beacon Academy. She'd been a child that was oblivious to the evils in the world. An infant looking to be the fairy tale heroes that she'd been read to about as a child. The poor thing hadn't had a clue that she'd been destined for greatness, all because of some lucky genetics that gave her special eyes.
And somehow, Ruby Rose had made it to the top of Beacon Tower that night. She'd been there, silver had arched from her eyes like the wings of an angel, and Cinder had burned while a dragon was left frozen atop Beacon Tower.
They'd gotten her back to Salem, though. Salem had been proud, Cinder had done exactly what Salem had wanted for her to do. She'd killed Ozpin, she'd made Beacon Academy fall and brought Vale with it. She possessed the full power of a Maiden, she'd even framed a kingdom and its leader for attacking Vale. In one fell swoop, Cinder Fall had disrupted the already fragile balance of the world.
And now it was falling apart.
So now while the world burned and ash fell from the sky like snow, Cinder Fall remained in captivity near Salem because that way she was safe to recover.
Cinder missed her body. She missed being able to move as she wished, she missed the beauty of her face and her now missing eye. She missed her voice and being able to use it without pain. She missed being able to do whatever she pleased because her body was able to permit it. She missed the curls of her hair.
But Salem was proud. When Watts had gotten too cruel, Salem had talked him into a corner for it. When Cinder had asked about the girl, Salem had asked the scorpion to go after Ruby Rose. When Hazel had doubted her, Salem had been quick to defend her.
Even with a crippling weakness, Salem still kept her. No doubt it was because Salem still had a use for her, but the fact that she had Salem so willing to keep her around and nurse her back to health spoke to something kind in the woman. There was something in Salem that Cinder would think was maternal, in a way.
She was glad for it. Being treated with care and praise after everything was a small comfort. There would be no panacea for her pains, no, but she could at least take comfort in the doses of love and care that Salem sent her way.
One day, she would be able to prove that she was strong, feared, and powerful again. And this time, she wouldn't be bested by a child for it.
4. The One She Came To Trust
Salem came to him when he was in a time of need. She came with an outstretched hand to a man with no options left. A man whose entire life had fallen apart at the seams and left him without words for what had happened.
At first, he felt nothing but anger towards her for it.
She didn't seem to understand what had happened to him. How he had been broken. A man whose alleged crimes had placed him outside of the influence of kingdoms. Once he'd been able to walk proudly in the sun, but now things had changed. Now he had to skulk in shadows and criminal underbellies, his freedom gone.
Hazel's anger rarely left him, but with time it had started to fade towards Salem at least. There were things that he could learn to appreciate about her. She gave him space that he rarely was able to find these days, and she let him rest when he wanted to rest.
Salem found ways to make him loyal to her. It started with a warm bed and then turned into promises of a better tomorrow for him. The things that Hazel wanted weren't typical to her other followers. He wanted land and solitude and few things more. Having a world where he would allow as much of that as he wanted was always a tempting offer.
Mostly, he just wanted to rest. He was older than the others, and he was tired.
Salem could give him freedom again.
He wouldn't have to toil in a Dust mine or kill for cash. He could do whatever he wanted for a while, whether that was to rest, or to eat, or to do whatever else his heart desired was going to be his choice.
Freedom was a rare thing these days, at least that was true for true freedom. Most men lived in something akin to it, blind to what more they could have.
It turned out that in a way Salem was a kindred spirit. When the madness of her various minions got to be too much, she would come to him and confide because there were few less likely to talk and spill secrets. Anyone that came asking too many questions would face his wrath before they ever got answers.
He began to share with her too. Worries, fears. The things that made him angry.
Always, Salem would listen, and every time, she would make another promise she intended to keep.
He'd always loved that about her. For that reason, he was glad to serve her.
At the end, he would have a kindred spirit in her.
5. The One That Is Afraid
She doesn't love her. Not really.
Emerald wasn't even sure that she even felt any sort of true loyalty towards Salem. But there are things that she couldn't deny that have given her some softness when it came to the Grimm woman. The gift of a bed, food on her plate, and the promise of safety as long as she remained complacent were all infinite in worth and meaning to Emerald.
Salem has no real use for her, Emerald is sure of it, Emerald knows that she doesn't have the things that the others do. She isn't as intelligent as Watts, or as ruthless as Hazel, or as unblinkingly loyal as Tyrian. She doesn't have the fire in her soul or a craving for power like Cinder. She couldn't kill as efficiently as Mercury.
Emerald was sure that the moment Cinder could speak properly again was going to be when her usefulness to Salem finally ran out.
And yet Salem gave her a place to live. Her and Mercury both. Salem watched out for them, gave them kindness in places where Emerald never would have experienced or expected earlier on in her life. Even now she knew better than to expect it.
Salem kept her cared for because Emerald is sure Salem will find some alternate use in her one day.
But despite everything that had happened, she found herself unwilling to leave. Salem's machinations, Cinder's anger, the grimm that roam the halls at night are all things that made her want to leave. Emerald doesn't look on the Battle of Beacon as fondly as anyone else there does. At the time even Mercury seemed to show glee. Not anymore.
Leaving would likely be a death sentence.
Emerald never wanted this. But Salem looks after her well enough.
In the end, few things said love more to her than a warm bed and a meal at the end of the night.
For that, she could love Salem.
+1. The One That's As Great and Terrible As She Is
Their first meeting had been millennia ago.
Things had been different then. Kingdoms had been yet to be born and had been yet to fall.
Back then, the gods warred more openly over the world that they had created. Light and dark in a never ending toil that still was yet to end.
They'd both been different then, Salem and Ozpin. Back then they'd been partners of a sort. Intended as progenitors of a species.
It was both a great and terrible thing when the two brothers they called their gods had decided on a better way to populate the world.
It had put them at odds.
The four relics had complicated things further.
Ozpin supposed that there were a lot of things that had driven them apart. Loyalties were a lot of it, Salem had chosen the god of darkness. Ozpin chose the god of light. They saw different things for what the world could be, and it had pulled them apart.
Sometimes, Ozpin missed her. There were a lot of little things about Salem that had been lost. Once her skin hadn't been turned the color of paper. Once she hadn't had veins of ichor that crept over her body. Once her eyes hadn't been burning rubies resting in a void of color.
Ozpin's body had been different too. Salem had found her immortality in becoming one with the creatures of Grimm- Ozpin had chosen less conventional methods to stay alive. That was more than enough to make their clashes hard to deal with. It made their contact an eternal cat and mouse game.
Who played which part changed from time to time.
But the world had changed. Ozpin had learned to adapt to it. Salem had decided that she had greater interest in destroying it. Kingdoms had risen, kingdoms had fallen. Mankind and faunuskind had learned to war on their own, and Ozpin and Salem played on eternally in a game of chess that stood in what was sure to be an eternal stalemate.
Ozpin hoped that someday they would be able to be together again as they had once. One day the fighting could stop in theory. The two warring demigods could be together again as partners. Their love could birth peace for as long as it lasted.
But things weren't the same anymore. Neither were Ozpin and Salem.
That would never change.
And so for now, they would war. Salem would lash out, and Ozpin would retaliate.
The same way that the two of them had done for centuries.
Surely, this was just another squabble in a never ending war for black and white.