Chapter 4

Ruby POV

"Hi…"

The woman grinned at the girls' fright.

"Do you know why you are here little one?" Salem crooned, the look on her face making Ruby avert her eyes.

"No," she whimpered.

"I am going to make you into my little fury. You are going to be my little toy soldier."

Ruby shuddered at the pure animosity in the woman's voice. Everything about her told Ruby there was nothing good for her near the woman.

Ruby allowed her curiosity to get the best of her "Who ar-"

SMACK

Cinder flinched at the sound of the blow, almost out of recognition to the noise. Ruby looked into her eyes and saw… Pity? A resounding ringing noise reverberated through her ears as she recovered from the blow. Tyrian had struck her right on the temple.

Tyrian looked at her like she was dirt on the ground. "Speak only when spoken to girl."

"That's enough Tyrian. Go find somewhere else to be." Ruby couldn't help but notice the way that Salem ordered him around like a dog on a leash. Tyrian sulked and proceeded to leave the room, not without shooting Ruby a fowl look.

Salem turned her attention back to ruby "As I was saying before my servant so rudely interrupted, you are here to be broken. Just know that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to resist, you will be mine in the end," Ruby was genuinely scared by the sincerity of the woman's voice. "I am Salem. Your new master."

"But why are you doin-"

Ruby was once again cut off when a strange eye shaped object floated near her and wrapped one of its many tentacles around her neck and lifting her several feet into the air. She heard Salem's voice in her head.

"Though I protected you from Tyrian before, the same rule applies. Speak only when spoken to. And don't even try to escape me, there are thousands of Grimm surrounding the area ready to kill you if I so wish, so resistance is futile. If you attempt to escape, or break any of the rules in my court, you will find yourself very accustomed to the feeling of my Eye strangling the life out of you." Salem's voice resounded through Ruby's skull, sending chills down her spine.

Ruby couldn't help but notice again out of the corner of her eye, the way that Cinder averted her gaze while she was being strangled.

The Eye finally let go of her neck, dropping her to the ground, leaving her to cough and heave air into her lungs like she would never breathe again.

"Take her back to her room to rest Cinder. I want to see you after."

Cinder bowed her head and proceeded to pick Ruby up off the ground and guide her stumbling form out of the throne room.

Cinder POV

"Why do you follow her?"

No response.

The girl had been asking Cinder the same question the entire walk back to her room, not wanting to waste her time conversing with the idiotic girl.

Her face scrunched up in a defiant way and she stopped in the hall dead in her tracks.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

No response.

The pathetic wimp began to break down in the middle of the hall, Cinder still with her back to the sobbing girl.

Cinder had enough of the girls childish like antics. "Because if I speak to you, I create a connection, if I create a connection, I'll start feeling bad for you, if I start feeling bad for you, I won't be able to serve my master willingly."

She looked directly into Cinder's eyes as she spoke, filled with fear and sadness. Cinder could remember a girl just like the one standing in front of her, in the exact hall they were, bawling her eyes out. Pity rose in her chest as she took in the form of the weeping girl.

Maybe the girl just needs to be comforted then she'll leave me alone.

Cinder sighd, and proceeded to walk back to the girl and cupped her cheek, bringing the girls' eyes to meet her own. She brushed a tear away from the girls face and began to speak.

"There is no escape from this nightmare girl. Unless you want to be half-asleep next time Master calls for you -and she will be angered if you are- I recommend you follow me."

She slowly stood up on shaking legs and reached for Cinders hand. Reflexes made her start to pull her hand away but she stopped. Allowing the girl to catch her hand, she took in the feel of her rough calluses running along her skin. Feeling something she had forced out of her body long ago, Cinder yanked her hand away from the younger girls' and proceeded to walk towards her room.

If she had turned she would have seen a smile on Ruby's face, as well as hope-filled eyes.

Qrow POV

Qrow listened to the voice coming out of his scroll intently, listening for any key details that may help him. "I haven't seen her since yesterday morning when she left with Yang to help her settle in."

Qrow swore under his breath. No leads, no witnes-

RING RING RING

Qrow looked at the name on his scroll before picking up.

"Glynda, for the last time, I am not going to sto-"

"I was there when your niece was taken so I recommend you shut your trap and listen."

Qrow could practically feel her glare through his scroll so he decided to play nice.

"Alright. What can you tell me?"

"There was a dust robbery last night at about 10. She stopped the actual robbery and went after the leader of the thugs."

"And…?"

"And what? Your niece decided to distract me from the fight, leaving me incapacitated."

Qrow scowled at his scroll ", Did she use her… abilities"

"Yes."

The scroll was shattered on the ground in a million pieces before Qrow even knew what he did. He needed a drink. His niece was kidnapped and Goodwitch had to be the only witness. Scratch one drink, he needed at least 5.

Cinder POV

Ruby didn't stop crying until well into the night. Her whimpers could be heard from dusk till dawn through the walls. Cinder tried to shut out the sound but it was useless. She tried to forget her own past experiences with her "Master", but the memories were seeded into her mind.

"Do you want power little one"

A crumpled girl kneeled in front of the Grimm Queen. "Yes"

"It comes at a cost"

"I'll do anything to get back at Ozpin for what he did to them"

A 13-year-old Cinder stood in front of Salem in the throne room. With her family gone, she had nothing to live for. The only thing she could possibly do with her life would be to avenge her parents for what Ozpin did to them. He used them. Manipulated them. If they hadn't left her on that stupid escapade of his, they would still be with her. But no.

"Please, I just want to get ba-"

Before she knew what was happening she was lifted into the air by her neck, held up by the tendrils of some sort of eye shaped object.

"Just know, that if I find a way to get you this power, give you the opportunity, you will be mine. I own you now. Oh, and don't try to escape. Resistance is futile".

Cinder shot up out of her bed, sweat dripping down her back through her nightgown. She knew she shouldn't have been having those thoughts.

Pity.

Feeling.

They would only drag her farther and farther from meeting her eventual goal. Why should she feel anything for the girl anyways? The girls' existence in a whole was pitiful. Perhaps she felt that they had some sort of relation. They both had an untamed power, that they both only understood to a certain point.

Maybe they could help each other understand themselves. She had never had a single friend her entire life, unless you could consider Tyrian-the scum of Remnant-a friend. Pulling her knees to her chest, Cinder hugged herself in her bed, pondering the thoughts of attempting to befriend the young Rose, but winced in pain as her hand brushed over a still tender scar on her wrist.

Salem had asked her to explain the perfectly separated incisions throughout the landscape of Cinder's arm.

Depression.

When all she thought about was death and destruction, depression wasn't a surprise to Cinder when she ceased to have a reason to live.

Her only drive was to kill the man who had caused her all the pain she felt now.

Ruby Rose. What a sweet name. She could tell the girl enjoyed helping people, but would she want to take all of Cinders' broken pieces and put them back together?

Ruby POV

The days' events ran through her mind as she sobbed into her pillow. Nothing fruitful came from her first day spent in the Grimmlands.

The only thing that could possibly be considered good that happened was Cinder not yelling at her. Ruby could feel the ghost of her fingertips wiping away her tears in the hallway. The way she spoke of her current situation as a "nightmare", almost out of recognition.

The woman was sad. Ruby could tell just by the way she held herself. Her posture spelled out confidence and power, but her eyes said otherwise. They were dull and lifeless. Sure they glowed, but the way she looked at everything showed that she couldn't see the light in the small things in life.

Did she truly have a heart? Salem surely was evil, no heart at all, but Cinder seemed pained to complete the tasks Salem set for her.

Ruby sat and watched as Cinder threw herself around as Salem's servant, doing petty things like dusting vases, and working in the kitchen of the palace. How was such a dominant woman reduced to a housekeeper with a few words?

Ruby came back to her senses, once again thinking back to her nearly friendly moment with Cinder. When she grasped her hand, she could see the longing in her eyes before she pulled away. Did she simply want to be loved?

Cinder was broken.

She just needed to find the right person to put her back together.

Reviews are appreciated. Will make chapters longer as the story progresses!