Here's another one from the Cunning Challenges. The prompt was "Salem rarely travels, however, when she does so, there are some... peculiar arrangements that have to be made." submitted to me by shandromand.

Salem was sitting in her throne at the head of the table in her meeting hall when she decided that it was time once more to go out into the world. Her plans were at a stage where they would not require her attention for at least a few weeks. Her operatives had their orders, and there was no need to direct the Grimm towards any particular goal.

Of course, it would require no small amount of preparation for Salem to leave her realm. She sometimes wondered if it was worth the effort if she did not have a very important reason to go somewhere in person. Her agents were perfectly capable of acting on her behalf. On the other hand, she wouldn't have those agents if she hadn't gone out and found them.

Salem reached for the scroll that was resting on the table in front of her. It had become much easier to contact her operatives in the field lately. Not so long ago, she would have had to use her Grimm to locate them, and then move a Seer to their position. Given how slowly Seers moved, this could prove extremely time-consuming.

The CCT system allowed for much faster communication, but at first Salem had been both unable and unwilling to use it. The signals from the four towers did not reach her realm, and she did not trust that the privacy of her communications could be maintained.

That changed once Arthur was brought into the fold. He started by building a secondary CCT tower, much like the one in Menagerie, at the base of her castle. He promised that any traffic through it would appear to come from a perfectly innocuous modem in Atlas. He then provided Salem and her agents with encryption software that he assured her would take decades to crack. Arthur Watts had his flaws, but when it came to developing technology, his work had never been anything less than perfect.

It was almost a shame that the CCT system wouldn't be in operation for much longer.

Salem picked up the scroll and called Tyrian. Of her operatives, he was both the closest and the most willing to complete a task such as this.

Tyrian answered almost immediately, his maniacal grin appearing on the device's screen. He bowed his head respectfully before speaking.

"My lady, how may I be of service?"

"How goes your mission?" Salem asked.

"I've spoken with the villagers, and I'm certain of it now," the Faunus replied excitedly. "The Huntress who came through here was indeed the Fall Maiden. She told them her name was Amber. I got a description of her, but no one seems to know where she went next, even after thorough questioning."

Salem nodded, favoring Tyrian with a small smile. "Well done. This is more than I expected from such an old rumor. Send her description to the others, and then I have another task for you."

"Of course, my queen," Tyrian replied enthusiastically.

"I wish to go out into the world," Salem stated evenly.

Tyrian's smile somehow grew even wider.

"I understand."

Three days passed before Salem sensed that Tyrian had returned to her realm. She felt her Grimm become excited, like sharks catching the scent of blood.

All of Salem's agents bore her mark on their Auras. The Grimm would ignore them unless they exhibited extreme negative emotions. But as for the woman with Tyrian, her fear drew the creatures like moths to a flame.

With a minor effort of will, Salem quieted the Grimm surrounding her agent. They parted to allow Tyrian and his captive into the castle.

Salem descended from her tower to meet them in the entrance hall. She stood at the center of the circular room as the massive door at the end of one of the branching hallways creaked open. Tyrian strode confidently into the hallway, dragging a woman along with him.

She was a pretty young thing, even covered in cold sweat and dirt. She had fair skin and long yellow hair. Black and purple bruises stood out on her arms and face. She wore Tyrian's coat over simple farmer's clothing that was tattered and torn in several places. Her hands were bound behind her back. She squirmed as Tyrian gripped her by the back of the neck and pushed her forward towards the center of the room.

"Did you have to be so rough with her?" demanded Salem.

"Apologies, my lady," her agent replied. "Dear Gilda tried to escape and even fight back a few times. I must commend her bravery."

Salem glanced at Gilda. She could sense that the woman's Aura was strong, though it was still locked. In another life, she might have made for a decent Huntress.

The Faunus untied the Gilda's bindings and then pulled his coat off of her. He shoved her to her knees in front of Salem.

The woman looked up at Salem, her whole body trembling.

"A-Are you the… goddess that he talked about?" stammered Gilda, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

"Yes," answered Salem, her voice betraying no emotion.

"Are you going to kill me?" the woman asked almost silently.

"Yes," Salem answered. She then placed a hand on Gilda's cheek and pulled.

Gilda's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She tried to scream, but only succeeded in making a slight choking sound. Tears filled her eyes, and she seemed unable to blink them away. Spasms rocked her body, but her head remained perfectly in Salem's hand as if held there by a vice grip instead of a light touch.

Gilda's skin paled until it was all but transparent. It pulled tight against her bones. Her cheeks became hollow, and her eyes bulged as their lids shriveled away. She had already stopped breathing, and Salem could feel her racing heartbeat slow to a crawl.

When there was nothing left to take, Salem lifted her hand from Gilda's cheek, leaving a mummified corpse to collapse to the floor.

Salem looked down at her hands. Her skin was still fair, but far from the ivory color it normally was. She lifted a hand to touch her now raven-black hair.

She glanced over at Tyrian, who was staring at her with something close to rapture on his face. This was how Salem had looked when she first appeared to him as he was lost and alone. He had seen this transformation before, but he always reacted strongly to it.

"Leave me," commanded Salem. "Go and rest. Then continue the search for this Amber girl."

"Of course, my lady," replied Tyrian, tearing his gaze from her to bow his head. He turned and departed down the hall that would take him to his chambers in the castle.

Salem walked slowly to her own chambers, intending to change clothing before she left. It felt strange to possess Aura again. It lessened her connection to the Grimm, made them more resistant to her commands.

At the same time, her emotions seemed stronger, more real. Her appreciation for Tyrian's efforts felt more like real affection for the man. She thought of Ozpin, and hate that had grown cold over the centuries burned bright and hot again.

Yes, having an Aura did have some benefits.

After donning a navy gown that, while still formal, would not attract as much attention as her usual attire, Salem departed her castle through the front gate. The Grimm formed a loose circle around her, agitated by the apparent contradiction of sensing Aura within their mistress.

Salem focused, harder than she would normally have to, and a Griffon descended from the sky to land in front of her. She mounted the creature, and it took off back into the sky. Within minutes, they had left her castle far behind. Salem could feel Gilda's Aura steadily draining as her realm tried to pull her back. She estimated that she would need to return in ten days.

Salem smiled as she thought of walking in the human realm again. Nothing much would come of it, likely as not, but it always managed to be entertaining.