A/N: This is my second fanfiction story with Cinder Fall and Salem from RWBY. Honestly, the Witchfire pairing has really been growing on me lately. :) While I still view Cinder and Salem's relationship on the actual show as platonic (more of a mother/daughter or mentor/protege dynamic), it's still interesting to explore other possibilities. This story is set right after the finale episode of RWBY Vol. 8, so for those of you who haven't seen it yet, there may be small spoilers.
Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters belong solely to Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum. I also take no credit for the cover art, which was drawn by Piper R. on Pinterest. (Yes, I realise that Cinder's clothing in the image doesn't match the story timeline, heh.)
Warning: This story contains sexual content, with vague themes of manipulation and unhealthy relationships. There are also some brief references to (consensual) underage sexual encounters from the past.
Evernight Castle. How long had it been since Cinder had seen it last? Her mind told her that it had been only six months, but the aches in her bones and the throbbing pain in her head insisted that it had been years.
She walked slowly through the familiar halls, following Salem, who was several feet ahead of her. The dark queen's black velvet skirts trailed the marble floor and the small jewels that were laced into her white hair made tiny clinking sounds as she walked. Not once had she spoken or even looked over her shoulder at Cinder since they'd entered the castle.
Cinder swallowed as she glanced to her left, only to catch a brief reflection of herself in the reddish-tinted glass of the long window. She hesitated and walked over, resting one hand on the glass and looking down into the endless wasteland that was the Land of Darkness. Hundreds of feet below her, pools of inky black liquid were constantly birthing new ghastly creatures of Grimm beneath the light of the shattered moon.
"What are you looking at, Cinder?" The young Maiden jumped slightly at the sound of Salem's voice. She looked over and saw that her mistress had stopped and was staring at her, head tilted in slight curiosity, but her expression was unreadable.
"It's nothing," Cinder answered, walking slowly away from the window and falling back into step behind Salem. Her adrenaline from the battle with the new Winter Maiden, the eldest Schnee, was still throbbing through her veins as she wandered through the familiar halls of the castle that had been her only home since she was thirteen. Her ears strained to catch any sounds, but everything was silent, save for their own footsteps and Cinder's heartbeat.
A Seer floated past them, clicking softly. Salem paid no attention to the jellyfish-like creature, but Cinder hesitated, suddenly wondering if anyone else was even inside Evernight Castle besides herself and her mistress. Hazel had died in the destruction of Monstra, Cinder had personally arranged Watts' death, she had no idea where Mercury was, and Emerald had.. Emerald had defected.
Cinder's stomach clenched at the memory of seeing the mint-haired thief sitting at the table in the Schnee Manor alongside Ruby Rose and the others. Emerald had looked small, and lost, as if her new environment was completely alien to her. She'd been sitting a few chairs away from the others, her arms folded around herself almost as if she'd been cold, while she listened to Ruby and Oscar discuss their recent long-winded plans.
At first, Cinder had been so stricken by the sight of Emerald there that she'd been unable to think at all. Out of everyone in Cinder's faction, Emerald had been the most loyal— no, devoted. That was a better term. Cinder's anger had settled in, hot and brash and violent. She betrayed me. But now, that burning rage in her chest was starting to give way to a hollow ache. It almost frightened her to feel so numb.
"Is.. is anyone else here?" she finally asked, as she followed Salem slowly down the long hallway that had held most of the living quarters for her inner circle. The rooms behind the tall wooden doors were eerily silent.
"The Seers are still here. As are other Grimm, should I have need for them," Salem responded nonchalantly.
Cinder's throat ached slightly as she swallowed hard. Something in her mistress' tone unnerved her somewhat, but the throbbing pain in her body was starting to make it difficult to concentrate on anything else. She gritted her teeth to avoid showing her weakness.
Salem hummed softly under her breath as she came to the last door at the very end of the hallway. Cinder let out a small breath when she saw it, her body instinctively relaxing somewhat. My old bedroom..
"You'll find everything as it was before we left," Salem said softly, "but if you need anything, I'll be in my own chambers. Goodnight, Cinder." She nodded once, a cold, formal gesture that seemed incongruent with the gentle tone she'd used. She turned and began walking away, her velvet skirts still trailing the floor and her hands securely holding both the Relic of Knowledge and the Staff of Creation.
Cinder looked away after Salem's form had vanished around the corner of the hallway. A sudden exhaustion had washed over her when she'd laid eyes on her old bedchamber, and it now took some effort to push open the wooden door with her right hand. She stood in the doorway for a long while, taking in the surroundings.
It had been no exaggeration when Salem had said that the room had been exactly as it was before they'd taken to living on Monstra. Cinder's bed was in the far corner, the thin scarlet blanket drawn back, likely, by one of the Seers; the small wardrobe and desk were encased in a thin layer of dust. The tall white candles in the wall sconces had been freshly lit, though, casting flickering shadows over the walls.
Cinder slowly walked into the room and shut the door behind her, standing in the center as she drew deep breaths. The air had a familiar scent to it, a faint and almost soothing aroma of smoke and aged flowers, with the tiniest hint of red wine.
I haven't been in this room for so long, Cinder realized, pausing beside her bed and resting her human hand on the mattress. Her fingers traced the familiar stitching around the edge of the red coverlet, as she'd sewn it herself all those years ago. The faded scarlet draperies hanging from the lone window had also been made by her, as well as the soft black cloak that was currently draped over her left shoulder to conceal her Shadow Hand. In fact, the majority of the clothes that were still hanging in the small wardrobe in her bedroom had also been handmade by her. Cinder had always been partial to sewing, discovering her gift for it at an early age— and it was one of her few skills she'd managed to keep secret from the Madame in her childhood, so that it couldn't be exploited.
Cinder slowly sat down on the mattress, feeling how soft and welcome it was beneath her weary body. She leaned down stiffly and began unlacing her high-heeled boots, setting them aside. She reluctantly removed the black cloak and the small feather pin that held it in place.
She paused for a few seconds and held the pin in the palm of her Shadow Hand, gently stroking the cyan and purple feathers and the tiny black jewel with the fingertips of her human hand. She stopped and her fingers traveled slowly, unconsciously to the tight black collar that she almost always wore around her throat. There were tiny holes in it where the feather pin had once clipped into it.
Weariness washed over her body again. Cinder set the pin down on the bedside table and cupped her hand around the candle burning there, blowing out the flame with a soft breath. She climbed beneath the covers and drew them around herself. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, but for all her exhaustion, the silence yawned so loudly around her that sleep evaded her.