Truth, Regret, and Other Midnight Revelations

"Come on Cinder…. We gotta keep going you're going to be okay." A shaky voice whispered trying to sound more reassuring than it actually was.

A tired ragged breath was the only response as the dark haired woman looked in the other girl's terrified red eyes. Her eyes focused and she tilted her head down slightly.

"No… please."

However in spite of the younger girl's terrified plea, a small weak voice croaked a response:

"Emerald, it's time to rest…"

It is often said that the truth always come out sooner or later and when it does there will be hell to pay. That is one lesson the false Fall Maiden, Cinder Fall, would learn that hard way.

Failure is something that all people experience, however not everyone deals with it the same way. Some people accept their failures and learn from them; always moving forward and evolving. Some know they failed and wallow in it, inflicting atrocities upon themselves as punishment. Others however simply cover up their failures especially when there is no one else who could prove them wrong. Instead of owning their short comings they bury them in hopes that it will not matter in the end.

Cinder just so happened to be the last of these. While the attack on Beacon was certainly a success and she had received the Fall Maiden's powers in their entirety there was one thing that was not completely dealt with: Ozpin. Oh yes they certainly did fight and even in spite of his skill she was able to defeat Beacon's secretive headmaster. Those facts are undeniable however there was one thing she failed to do and that was finish the job. After seemingly getting the upper hand and Ozpin disappearing in a cloud of fiery dust, she had a choice; check and make sure she had done the job or continue onto the tower.

There was no way he could've survived, she was sure of it.

Unfortunately for young Cinder, the things we often assure ourselves of are little more than sweet nothings we whisper within the confines of our own mind.

It would come to light that not only was Ozpin not dead, but he was coming to collect the debt of destruction they had borrowed on his tab. While Salem and her lieutenants were certainly now more dogged than ever on destroying the world as it was, they had a problem to deal with in the form of one Cinder Fall. A lie is lie even if it was by assumption. Failure upon this level deserved a punishment its own but to hide the truth, well that was something else entirely.

So it was decided for Cinder to be eliminated, the Maiden's powers could be replaced, the question was now who should be the one to deal with her.

The answer was found in one Mercury Black.

Now while Mercury had served Cinder faithfully for a time, he wanted more power, more control. He was too strong to be Cinder's underling he deserved a seat at the table.

Salem of course saw this inside of him and tasked him with dealing with the False Maiden. She would not know what hit her.

"Here…" Cinder whispered in a rasp.

She was unsure entirely of where they were, it was a forest obviously however she was unaware of how far they were away from where they had been attacked, she had been fading in and out the entire time Emerald had been carrying her.

Emerald had gently taken Cinder's arm from over her shoulder to lowering her down against an older tree. The Maiden gritted her teeth as pain shot through her body as she contoured into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry" Emerald whispered her voice wavering. Cinder slowly prepared to respond before her original recruit spoke again.

"I'm so sorry… I-I'm sorry I couldn't have done more to protect you…. Dammit I'm sorry I failed you again.." She was crying. Cinder could easily recognize the sound of her tears hitting the hard dirt beneath them. As she watched the younger girl look down and away in shame Cinder felt something she hadn't felt since she began this journey: guilt.

Watching the young girl in front of her, who had spent the last few years of her life doing anything to make her happy, crying because of her physical state caused by the people she had put all of her faith in made her realize all the mistakes she had made.

She had been a poor girl in Mystral, her family was nonexistent she was small and frail. She was the target of beatings and robberies, simply because she was alone and couldn't defend herself. All she wanted was to be powerful, to be feared, to never have to be abused again. She just wanted to stop being treated like a poor weak girl who had never know what it meant to be loved or have hope. She wanted what everyone else had; she wanted a home, she wanted a family, she wanted a life. Salem had offered her all of that and more. Maybe she should have said no, but only once you have experienced the pit of human depravity and apathy can you understand what it means to be desperate. Desperation of course is a blurry path one that can end in a thousand different ways, most of them on a road that takes more than it gives.

The attack was quick and unexpected; she was supposed to visit a troublesome White Fang camp that was nearby, one that Hazel could not deal with at the moment. Mercury was to go with her as muscle, Emerald would stay behind. This of course was nothing more than a ploy to eliminate two rats with ease. However the plan didn't go exactly as planned.

As Salem's council determined their plan a certain green haired thief happened to overhear it.

She owed her life to Cinder more than that, she owed everything to her. She was not going to let them take Cinder away from her so she orchestrated a plan: Using her Illusions she would trick her assailant into believing she had killed herself, even going so far as to write a note for proof. Using that small window of time she would escape and catch up to Cinder and Mercury. Unfortunately it would be too late.

Mercury's attack was unexpected as a result Cinder couldn't put up much of a fight. Even with her powers Mercury had done too much damage too soon. It was only by a small miracle Emerald had arrived just in time to save her life, at least what was left of it.

Managing to fight the assassin's son off they escaped into a forest aiming to go anywhere but where they were. However destiny seemed to have different plans for the two of them.

"I should be the one apologizing to you." Cinder whispered as she gently lifted the younger girl's face using her thumb to wipe away a stray tear.

"What are you-" Emerald began to sniffle before Cinder cut her off.

"Quiet" she spoke gently, her words were much softer than usual.

"There is no one to blame here but me. I chose this life, this power, this curse. I chose to help destroy a world that had only ever hurt me than try and make it better. I chose to take the lives of people who deserved much better. I chose to follow the orders of someone who would so easily throw me away. I chose to bring you into this."

She took another drawn out breath before speaking again, Emerald's red eyes focused deeply on Cinder as she tightly held the woman's hand to her cheek.

"I offered you a way out of poverty the same way She had offered me. I destroyed any chance you had at living a real life, a happy one. The only thing I've ever brought to you is pain even when all you gave me was your admiration. This is but the penance I have cultivated for myself. This is nothing more than the destiny I created for myself." She spoke as she looked at her other hand stained with her own crimson red blood.

"So I am sorry, for everything Emerald. Your life could have been so much more without me…"

There was a silence between the two as the green haired girl once again looked down in shame.

"I-I don't regret it."

Cinder's eyes, which had recently begun to wander to the sky, jolted in response to her words.

" I don't regret a single thing, From joining you to now, there is nothing in the world that could make me regret the time you've given me. You gave me a purpose, you gave me a life, you made me more than I ever could have been, you made sure I never went hungry again. You made life worth living for me… So don't apologize I would have done it all again for you in a heartbeat!"

Cinder was shocked by the young woman's declaration; Emerald had every reason to hate her and abandon her after the damage she had caused, but instead the young girl sat there proudly with her as she died.

Cinder looked up to the sky for a second as she felt her destiny coming closer. Using what little strength she had left she once again took Emerald's face in her hand gently caressing her cheek.

As Emerald still couldn't bring her eyes to Cinder as tears continued to escape from them.

"Hey…"

Emerald finally managed to bring herself to look at Cinder where she was stunned by the sight of something she had never seen before: a truly genuine smile. For the first time in her life Cinder looked happy and at peace. She had never seen anything more beautiful.

"I'm going to miss you, you know? You were the only one, the only one who ever truly cared. You were my only friend thank you…"

Slowly Cinder's hand fell away as she leaned her head back and looked toward the sky, a small smile on her lips. For the first time in her life she felt like she had what she needed. While her clock may have been striking midnight she was happy to have had her last dance.