Hi friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection, the heterosexual dating show with way too many lesbians (I'm sorry I had to) XD. The bees were certainly buzzing in that last date, and the roses have certainly been white, but we take a break from all of this dating and shipping and galavanting about to bring you: Salem.
Once again, please review with any thoughts/comments/questions/concerns/anything else that strikes your fancy!
Enjoy!
Chapter 40: Salem
With her daughters in class, her son on a date, her council meetings canceled, and her next speech not until tomorrow, Salem found herself with the one thing she had always despised: free time. Salem had been alive for an eternity and a half, and in that time, she had found herself with much free time. She had picked up many hobbies, experimented in many ways to pass the eternity, but nothing was enough. When her true love, Ozma, had found her after many years and they had started a kingdom and a family together, she had hoped that she had finally found something worth living for: her free time could then be spent with him, planning adventures, strengthening their relationship, and ruling the world. But even that had come to an end, and once Ozma was gone, free time became a curse once again.
With this sudden burden of free time, Salem wandered down to the vaults under Beacon Castle. No one was allowed in there except for her: not her children, not her servants, not even her select team WTCH, who knew of the Maidens and the relics and of her desire to collect all four. She turned through the twisting hallways until she reached a small, wooden door. Salem pushed it open to reveal a long, spiral staircase carving deep into the earth.
Salem descended, holding out a palm of fire to light her way as she did so. When she reached the bottom, she took a left, a right, two more lefts, and another right, before finally coming to a locked door. She plucked a strand of her hair from her head, holding it to the keyhole. It was her DNA and her DNA alone that could unlock this door, and, with an earsplitting shriek, like a kettle that had been left on the stove for too long, the door melted into the floor.
The room was bare and dark and made of stone, unlike the rest of the castle's intricate interior design. Two objects sat on a table at the center of the room. A golden crown and a bright blue lamp.
Salem approached. It was hard to believe that after so many centuries of seeking the relics, she was only halfway there, but that was the reality that lay before her.
It was hardly her fault. Ozma had spent an eternity keeping the relics secret from her, and, when she learned of their existence in his final years, he had dedicated himself to stopping her. He had lost his life in the battle for the crown of choice, and he surely would've died of shock if he had seen her send Cinder to murder the spring maiden in order to obtain the lamp of knowledge. He had failed in his past life, and, although she had yet to meet Ozma's newest reincarnation, she was certain he would fail in this new life too. She was so close… with Tyrian on the pursuit of the Winter Maiden and her plans to access Vacuo falling perfectly into place, it would only be a matter of time before she had all four relics. And when she did, she would put an end to this eternal suffering.
Her scroll buzzed, and she checked it to see a message from Arthur Watts.
Watts: We have a problem.
She read his words, and then turned off her scroll with a sigh. Watts was so overdramatic sometimes…
The door to the relics reappeared as Salem exited, and she closed the door to the stairs after ascending back into the castle. She found Watts in their council room, typing frantically on his scroll.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
He looked up. "Queen Salem, I'm afraid one of the contestants in the competition for your son's heart knows a little too much for her own good."
Salem raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate,"
"A Lady Ruby Rose was found eavesdropping on a… revealing conversation between Tyrian and myself."
Salem cocked an eyebrow. "What sort of 'revealing conversation'?"
"I— she—" Arthur sputtered. Salem smirked. "She overheard Tyrian and I discussing the plans for the Winter Maiden."
Salem's smirk faded. Just like that, the conversation had gone from humorous to deadly. "How much did she hear?"
"I can't know for sure. I don't want to arouse panic in your grace, but I wanted you to know what we're dealing with. The Capital Report is tomorrow. What if she says something to expose us?"
Salem shook her head. "This is Lady Ruby, you said?"
"Yes, your grace. Do you want her to be… eliminated?"
Salem thought for a minute. If Ruby did choose to say something stupid in the Capital Report, she could always brand the girl as crazy, an anarchist, or an usurper, and eliminate her then, but if she eliminated her now, Jaune would want to know why. He was petulant, and stubborn, just like his father, and had a tendency to stick his nose where it didn't belong. If this turned out to be a problem, she would deal with it accordingly, but if not, it made no sense arousing Jaune's suspicions for nothing.
"No, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. She's a sixteen-year-old girl from caste Five, she's hardly a threat. Let her be. Tell Emerald to keep an eye on her,"
She turned to leave, but Watts called out to stop her. "I did already. She reported back with something else you should know, your grace. Her uncle is Qrow Branwen."
Salem froze. Qrow Branwen, like Ironwood, Goodwitch, Lionheart, Theodore, had been on King Ozma's elite team dedicated to stopping her pursuit of the relics. However, Qrow Branwen, unlike Ironwood, Goodwitch, Lionheart, and Theodore, had not joined her forces after the King's untimely demise, choosing instead to do mercenary Huntsmen work around the kingdom. Even if a sixteen-year-old girl named Ruby Rose was not a threat, her uncle, a Huntsman, certainly was. If he found out Tyrian's strategy… If he found out her plan for Vacuo, for the relics, or for the world…
"I'll talk to Jaune," she muttered, "in the meantime, disable the dusty old crow's scroll."
"He's on a mission," replied Watts. Having a disabled scroll while on a mission could be a death sentence. With a disabled scroll, Qrow couldn't call for backup, or for help, or for medical assistance. With a disabled scroll, if Qrow ran into trouble, he was on his own.
"Even better," Salem said softly. "By disabling Qrow's scroll, we cut the possibility of Lady Ruby spilling him information, and we indirectly endanger his life. We can kill two birds with one stone,"
"But of course," Watts said with a smile, and he turned back to his scroll.
