RWBYond Destiny

AN: Welcome to the first of many in the. RWBYond Anthology. This story centers around Cinder and will update every day this week. If you haven't, read RWBYond Vale. It's my main story and just finished. But it's not necessarily required for the Anthology Stories. As always please review with any thoughts, criticisms, or questions.

Chapter 1: A Day of Destiny

"Get back here you little brat!" her father yelled. And she had been having such a good night. Any night where she didn't have to cry herself to sleep was good. It hadn't been great; she went to bed hungry...again. But she wasn't starving. She had eaten, another plus, it just hadn't been thoroughly satisfying.

Screw you! She screamed in her head but her breathing was too heavy, too occupied with keeping her in a full sprint to say anything. Her father hadn't shown up that night. Her stepmother had told her to go to bed early. When he did come back it had been 4 a.m. And he was drunk, angry, and loud. The parents got into an argument over how late he was.

Yeah, her mother didn't care that he was drunk. Or that he spent all his money on booze instead of...you know...food to keep the pantry stocked. How could she be mad? She did it too. She was mad that he hadn't even called. And there was something about another woman.

Cinder made the mistake of being woken up. The seven-year-old had had enough. It had been such a good night so she came into the room to, nicely, tell them to shut up because she was trying to sleep. Father punched her, which happened from time to time. And they both started yelling at her to mind her business. So she did...and ran away.

She was already in the town of Bogden, a few miles north of Haven, when she couldn't run anymore. Her house was on some farmland little ways out of town. Her breathing was heavy and her legs felt like lead. In hindsight it was stupid of her to run out like that. She could have easily been eaten by a Grimm between her home and the town. But at this point she didn't care. Either of her parents could have actually stopped her but they didn't. They didn't care about anyone but themselves.

She found herself an alley that didn't smell like shit. She gathered up whatever trash she could to make a cushion. She leaned against the brick wall, curled herself into a ball and cried herself to sleep.

She woke to the sounds of people's day-to-day lives, the light of the early morning sun, and the sensation of tiny whiskers on her bare feet. That's right…she was still in her nightgown and panties and nothing else.

She looked to see a rat sniffing at her toes. Most girls would have screamed. But Cinder wasn't most girls. She stroked the rodent's nose with her big toe. She puckered her lips and cooed at the vermin. It made cute little squeaking noises back at her. She wondered if it could sense what she felt. She wondered if the rat was somehow heaven sent to cheer her up. Then she must have said something offensive in "rat-speak" because it bit her toe.

"Fuck!" She cursed as she kicked to little cretin. She checked her foot. The bite hadn't even broke flesh. The unsightly blisters and callouses had hardened her foot.

She thought to the rodent. See, rats get it. They know it's useless to fight something so much bigger than you. If someone hits you and you have no means to fight Aback, you run. She pondered if that made rats smarter than most humans. Or if it made her as dumb as a rat. For the sake of her simmering pride, she picked the former.

"Excuse me Ms." A voice said. She was beautiful. She had blonde hair and stunning green eyes. There was something dignified about the way she looked and stood. She was probably rich, or a huntress, or a rich huntress. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Just got a wakeup call from a rat." Cinder started playing it up. She made sure the bruise on her arm was barely visible, like she was trying to hide it and failing.

"Glynda let's get a move on." A second voice said. He had a large sword strapped to his back. So they were huntsmen.

"Hold on Qrow!" She hollered. Qrow began muttering something to himself. Glynda gave her a significant amount of money. "Get yourself a nice hot meal." She then left with her companion.

This wasn't Cinder's first rodeo. Far from it. She had gotten quite good at this the last two years. After her mom died she was forced to move in with her alcoholic father. Soon afterwards he got married. He went on a honeymoon that was supposed to last a week. That left Cinder alone in the house. She did alright that week. She had enough food. Cooking and cleaning were the only two skills she had acquired by that age. And she passed the time by exploring her still unfamiliar house.

But they were gone longer than a week. After she ran out of food she scavenged the house for money and went shopping. She lasted a few more days after that. And then towards the end of week two, starvation set in. She didn't know anyone. She had no one she could call. Her parents were still out there, the answering machine confirmed that much. She had no idea what to do.

Then, inspired by a story of an orphan, she begged. She didn't have to try hard. Her golden eyes and nappy hair were plenty enough to earn people's sympathy when they saw how desperate she was. She usually avoided police, she could take care of herself. She didn't need them putting her into a crummy foster home. And in the last two years, she had her system down to a science.

Her first stop was to get something to eat. She went to A Simple Wok, far and away her favorite restaurant and probably favorite place period. The old man who ran it would give her free soup if he saw she was desperate. Which wasn't often, again, she was really good at the beg for money bit. Even when she had money, like today, he gave her a discount.

With her tummy thoroughly satisfied, she went for a walk. She went to the park and played on the swings for a while. Then she visited the street performers and gave one street magician some change. She met up with her friend Coal. He was a badger Faunas who was also a veteran of the Faunas Revolution. He always told her stories. And seeing her current state, gave her some torn up shorts he found in a dumpster. They fit her just fine. So in return, she bought them lunch from a sandwich shop.

After parting with Coal, she went to the library. She couldn't read really good because no one really taught her. But she enjoyed the picture books and comics that were in the children's section. She had a library card, albeit not with her. So she lounged in a beanbag chair until it was time for dinner. She used her money to buy a pizza. If she was smart, and stealthy, she could. make this pizza last the whole day tomorrow. Given her parents didn't find it and steal slices...after accusing her of stealing.

It was already nightfall when she got back. The whole walk home was filled with a creeping dread. It took restraint not to run home in panic as the shrieks and howls of Grimm permeated the forest. She knew from Coal that they were attracted to fear. She had to be brave.

She heard them screaming at each other from little ways away. She froze in her tracks, contemplating her next move. If she goes in there now she'd be beaten for sure.

"Why even have a daughter?" Her step mom yelled. Cinder's heart skipped a beat. Were they arguing about her? "I will never understand why you don't just get rid of her." Cinder smiled. She wanted them to get rid of her. Anything was better than them.

"Who else is going to clean up after you?" Her father yelled.

Cinder dropped to her knees. They didn't care about her. Cinder already knew that. But they didn't even keep her out of some semblance of responsibility. She wasn't his daughter. She was his slave. She curled up in a ball and squeezed her eyes shut.

I want them to go away! She mentally screamed. Grimm started becoming restless around her and sounded off.

I want to be strong!

She heard her stepmom scream as her father beat her.

I want to be feared!

There was a call for help. Grimm howled and Cinder heard their feet.

I want to matter!

She felt the hard ground harden beneath her. the grass around her started to burn.

I want to die, and for it to mean something!

Glass broke. Grimm snarled and howled.

"I WANT THEM TO DIE!" She screamed.

There was a blood curdling shriek. And then silence.

She opened her eyes. Large ratattas surrounded her in absolute silence, watching her. On her porch she saw a pair of them gnawing on what was left of her legal guardians. A figure appeared in front of her. She looked otherworldly. Her hair and skin Snow White. Her eyes were red and she had an elaborate red marking on her forehead and black streaks on her cheeks.

"Why hello there." The woman said.

"Did...did I do that." She pointed to her wish come true.

"Your emotions lured my pets but they did the deed themselves." So she was a Grimm tamer. Coal had told her about them.

"I see." Cinder said.

"You did burn the grass and turn the sandy road into glass." Salem pointed at the scorched earth.

"I did?"

"Who are you, child?"

"C... Cinder." Her mind was racing at the events.

"Cinder...?" She was fishing for a last name.

"I don't know my last name." It had been so long that she'd forgotten.

"How interesting. It is the same as I. My name is Salem."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Do you know what day it is today?"

"Tuesday?" Cinder said.

"You're not wrong." Salem said with a chuckle.

"What is it then?"

"Today is a day on destiny. It's the first day of fall."

An: So it begins. I went to a dark place to write this. And had some technical troubles to do it. Something along the lines of a glitch wiping out 90% of what I wrote making me re-write it. There's a lot in here from symbolism to foreshadowing. Especially if you've read RWBYond Vale. Leave a review, follow, favorite and stay classy.