Another week, another chapter!

So, some of you may've seen it, some of you may not have, but I posted the first chapter of 'After Happily Ever After' earlier today. it's a Post-Salem fic about Jaune's life struggles post... salem. Other characters also show up. The first chapter is Jaune, Ren and Nora.

Also, sometime within the coming weeks, Cinderella will be returning from break, so look forward to that as well if you're an avid reader of that fic!

Anyways, without further ado!


Chapter 21


"Sisters, friends… Weiss."

"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream!"

Mercury really wondered how it was he'd ended up here, sat alongside what he was fairly certain had to be the single most air-headed group of teenaged girls to ever exist, and wanting to die.

Evidently, this was not at all a secret, for Blake Belladonna snorted at his pain from off to his side.

The redhead kept going in her little speech. Mercury didn't even bother pretending to listen. It was something about trying to have the best day ever before school started back up, which admittedly, he kind of understood. As much as being in Beacon itself was becoming… not so annoying, the classes… yeah, those could suck it.

"So," Blondie – Yang he was pretty sure her name was – drawled out as she leaned forward – giving Mercury a rather ample view of her breasts which was totally cool with him. "Is this here your booooyfriend, Blakey?"

Blake and Mercury both looked at each other, exchanging glances, before Blake snorted below her breath.

Mercury glared back. "Y'know, you could at least act like it's not an insult every time you get asked that."

"And let that go to your ego? No thanks."

"Bitch."

Blake just smirked.

"Huh, so… you're on a team with Cinder and Emerald, then, right?" Yang asked again, leaning back.

"Yeah. Cinder's my bo– my team leader."

"Ooooh," Yang cooed out, definitely not missing his slip-up, though apparently misreading its meaning. "She's your boss, hm? Tell me, is it a sado-thing, or a mommy-thi–"

There was a horrendously loud noise from underneath the table, which Mercury chose to understand was Weiss Schnee very harshly stomping down on Xiao-Long's foot.

"Behave yourself!"

Yang did not look pleased if the way her eyes were watering – and crimson – was anything to go by.

"Weiss… you wear heels."

"So?"

"So, if I have to get this foot amputated, I am killing you."

"Oh relax, it didn't even break the skin."

"It broke my aura!"

"You're barely down ten percent!"

"The fact that I'm down any percent is the problem, Weiss!"

Around this point, Mercury turned towards Blake, who was chuckling quietly at her teammate's antics, and seemingly entirely used to odd showings like this. At the very least, this did confirm one thing for Mercury.

Apparently, everyone's teams were weird. Not just his.

"You get used to it." Blake said with an amused grin.

"Right…" Mercury said slowly.

"Oh, oh!" Suddenly red had zipped across the table, holding her hand out across it. "I don't think we've spoken yet! I'm Ruby, leader of Team RWBY!"

Mercury did a double-take. "What? You're…"

"Ruby. Of uh… of Team RWBY."

"The team's named after you?"

"No, it just sort of… uh… worked out that way?"

Blake snorted at the skeptical look on Mercury's face.

"Yes, Weiss wasn't entirely pleased with the name either for quite some time." Blake said, closing her eyes as if in reminiscence. "She continued to pose alternative team names that we could take to Ozpin for… how long was it, Ruby?"

"Six weeks, give or take." The girl said with a small, awkward laugh. "She, uh… got over it?"

"I think she came to terms with the fact that Ozpin wasn't changing the name. Frankly, I'd be surprised if she was over it."

"Well that's tru– Gah! Off topic!" Ruby shook her head. "What I was trying to say was that it's nice to meet you, Mercury! Thanks for being a good friend to Blake!"

Mercury found his insides shifting ever so slightly at the girl's words, even as the girl beside him stiffened somewhat, studying Mercury's expression rather intently.

"…No problem, I guess." He spoke. "Honestly, she annoys me half to death sometimes, but eh, it's clear she needs me, so I put up with it."

"Oh, I need you, do I?" Blake cocked an eyebrow. "Not the other way around?"

"You're right," Mercury held his hands up. "Needs me is wrong. She wants me, though I unfortunately do not reciprocate her feelings."

"Yeah, okay." Blake laughed, entirely nonplussed.

"Ouch. You could at least pretend to get offended."

"Once again, not giving your ego any–"

And then a pie hit Weiss Schnee in the face.

It seemed like the entire cafeteria went silent, then. No one said a word as the girl with cream all over her face – Mercury felt like he should rephrase that, but decided there really was no better way to put it – looked towards the offending party – rather unsurprisingly, it was Nora Valkyrie – with hatred burning in her eyes.

And then, without any real fanfare, Weiss Schnee reached down, took up her tray upon which a decent helping of mashed potatoes sat, and flung it towards Team JNPR.

It, of course, struck Jaune Arc in the back.

If asked about what occurred shortly after this at a later point in time, Mercury wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to tell anyone why he'd done what he did. Why, when food had begun flying like bullets, when swordfish had been taken up like blades, when turkeys had been… just utterly violated and used as gauntlets, he'd somehow found himself in the thick of things, smacking Jaune Arc in the face with a single very hefty piece of ham and cackling like one of the villain characters from Supreme Smash Sisters.

But… in the end, he was fairly certain he knew why. The moment itself that had gotten to him. The way the others had squealed and screeched and laughed up a storm. The way that they'd smiled all the while absolutely annihilating each other. The way that even though Yang Xiao-Long was launched through the ceiling at what had to be at least Mach 1, the way that Ruby Rose had sent JNPR hurtling into the back wall, breaking the entire thing into little chunks, and splattering them in condiments of all kinds, everyone involved was cackling as they sat themselves down on the floor, too tired to stand any longer.

Honestly, it had all seemed so very… light. Lighter than anything that Mercury had experienced before.

And not for the first time that week, Mercury's chest ached with something he'd never once known.

Something he knew he couldn't have.

Well, up until Glynda Goodwitch stepped into the room with a look in her eyes like she had never been quite so livid in all her life.

At that point, Mercury had other things to be thinking about. Like trying not to be drawn and quartered.

/

Emerald moved down the streets of Vale at roughly 6 o'clock with a bit of a nervous canter. Not for the first time that day, her brain did almost anything it could to try and steer herself away from this. To try and do quite literally anything else.

She would not allow it, however. She'd been given advice. And whether or not her entire world had crumpled some three or so minutes after that advice had been given – and whether or not her mind was abuzz with thoughts of the previous night –or not didn't really matter at the current moment.

She reiterated that fact over and over again in her head as she placed her hand on the doorway into 'Valean Boutique', a clothing store in the middle of Vale's shopping district, and pushed her way into the shop.

Almost immediately, the reason she'd come here made itself known.

"Oh, Emerald!"

Emerald turned, mentally wincing as she saw her… would target be the wrong word to use? No, it made some sense. Emerald would use target.

Emerald mentally winced as she saw her target walking towards her, a cocky grin on her face, a swagger in her hips that drew Emerald's eyes briefly before she forced herself to look elsewhere, and a pair of shades along her face that seemed a bit unnecessary, given that it was currently cloudy and gray, a bit of an overcast day, and the shop itself had rather dim, warm lighting.

"Hello." She said as evenly as she could manage, doing her best to seem neutral.

"What are you doing here?" Coco shook her head. "No, wait, hold on, I work in a clothing shop, so I think I have a guess."

Emerald laughed at the girl's joke, even as she nodded her head.

"Would you mind helping me pick out something for myself?"

"Sure, sure!" Coco opened, before she led her further into the store, near the back, where the women's section was. "What are you looking for in particular?"

"I suppose I want something that looks nice. Something that makes me look… more mature, perhaps?" Emerald hadn't entirely been sure herself, and so, in a bid to keep Coco talking, she decided on something rather rash. "What do you think I would look best in?"

Coco turned on a dime then, taking quite the look at Emerald as she drank in her appearance. Emerald did her best to remain unaffected by the girls prying eye, especially when, as an assistant in a clothing store, this was quite literally her job.

"Honestly, hon, you could rock just about anything you wanted."

Emerald blushed.

"Judging by what you normally wear as huntsman attire," Coco began rattling things off as she turned around, and began rifling through one of those circular hangar-thingy's that held like a million different outfits. "I'm guessing slightly skimpy isn't an issue for you, so that opens up some options. What's your opinion on colors?"

Emerald knew very little about colors in terms of what to wear. She stuck to green, usually, because that was pretty much her thing, and because she knew without really knowing that certain combinations of colors looked dumb, and others didn't.

And apparently beige went with everything.

She'd never really been that clothing savvy, and she felt like having grown up on the streets and having to wear the same ratty rags every day was a fairly good excuse in that regard.

"What do you think?"

"Well, you seem to have the green niche filled already," Coco said, which drew a tiny breath of laughter from Emerald. "So, normally, I'd say we go for browns and blacks, because really, you can't mess up with either, but with your skin tone, and your eyes, I think we could try getting a bit more creative, if you wanted to?"

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Alright, then."

Coco spent the next ten-ish minutes picking out a few different outfits, and Emerald wasn't quite sure what 'creative' was going to mean when the girl had said it, but apparently 'creative' meant 'creative.'

"Uhm…"

"Ah, not a fan of that one?"

"…The neckline is kind of…"

Coco held up the rather… risqué article of clothing, which had a V so deep it might as well have been a set of parallel lines.

"Hey, you've got the abs for it." Coco winked at her, and again, Emerald hid her red face. "Okay, maaaybe I was kidding with that one. From the others, though, what are you thinking?"

Emerald took a few seconds – perhaps fifteen or so – to examine each article, and at the end, she placed her hand atop a rather peculiar article.

Emerald didn't think she'd have ever considered the piece if she had simply been glancing around, but when it had been placed down in front of her, presented so plainly, Emerald found herself almost drawn to it.

It was a rather stylish looking blue-black jacket – apparently called an Atlesian military coat? – one that went down to Emerald's knees. It had a rather sharp collar that Emerald found herself appreciating, along with a thick material that would keep her warm in the current climate – which was to say cold for the near future.

All in all, Emerald found herself happy with it as she tried in on in a nearby changing room, and she soon found herself walking up to the front, and paying for the item. Now, outfitted with a bag she'd have to bring back to her dorm, she sought out Coco once more.

"Hey, uhm, Coco…"

Before she could get another word in edgewise, however, the girl before her had stepped forward and placed a solitary finger over Emerald's lips, effectively shushing her. Emerald really wasn't sure where the girl found the confidence to execute such a maneuver, but she found herself almost impressed by the audacity.

"I'm off work in fifteen." The girl said as she lowered her glasses with one hand. "Mind waiting up for me?"

"Oh. Uhm…" She nodded. "Sure."

A pleased smile split Coco's face in the next moment, and the girl patted Emerald on the shoulder as she pulled away.

"Thanks, Em. You're a doll."

Coco winked her way as she made her way back into the boutique itself, immediately chatting up a pair of guys who'd seemed rather lost, apparently looking for a gift for one of their girlfriend's.

Though Emerald sort of tuned them out, on account of her own blazing cheeks.

A doll!?

What the hell was that supposed to mean!?

Was it flirting? Emerald felt like it was flirting!

It was as she was floundering about outside the shop, waiting underneath the awning that rested just underneath the big sign for the 'Valean Boutique', that the chime on the door sounded off to her left, and she turned to see a now-out-of-uniform Coco waving to her.

"Sorry to make you wait. Wanna' chat while we walk?"

Emerald wasn't entirely sure where it was that they would walk, and she brought up as such, earning a tiny laugh from her compatriot.

"We're not really going anywhere. Just walking. I for one quite like it."

Emerald couldn't find much fault in that, and so she acquiesced.

They moved throughout the Valean shopping district in no real hurry, simply drinking in the ambience of Vale in the late evening. Street lights were beginning to come on, and the chill of winter still bit at them. Emerald found herself bundling up a bit, drawing the singular scarf she'd brought with her around her neck, and flooding aura to her extremities to keep her body as warm as she could.

Emerald had always hated winter, and not at all for the reasons that most people did. No, her concern was not in cleaning snow off of a driveway, or slipping on ice. Her concern had always been freezing to death, or getting enough food to survive, or having to move the scant shelter she'd managed to set up for the rest of the year that had suddenly broken down in the cold.

Emerald hated winter. She truly did.

And yet, before she could think on that fact any longer, Coco stripped off the coat she'd been wearing and, without uttering a word, wrapped it around Emerald, smiling her way all the while.

"Oh, uhm… thanks." Emerald said, her awkward admission leaving a trail of steam that slowly drifted upwards, before being lost in the air as the two of them traveled further.

"No problem." Coco cleared her throat. "So, honest question, feel free to totally not answer, but… did you really come to my work just to get a dress?"

Emerald found her face heating up almost instantly, and she followed in her companion's wake, clearing her own throat as she slowed somewhat. Coco slowed with her, well, up until someone behind them swore quietly from nearly being knocked over, and then stepped around the two of them in an angry huff.

Emerald swallowed on some spittle in her mouth, which was rapidly drying up on account of the weather, and spoke.

"Well… no. I came because I wanted to have something to feel confident in before I…" She mentally prepared herself. "Before I asked someone a question."

"Oh?" Coco shot her a wry smile. "And who would that someone be?"

"…You, actually."

Coco's mischievous expression told Emerald that the girl had already figured that out.

"I… I wanted to ask you if you were interested in me."

"Hah. Rather blunt. But okay, I'll play." Coco stepped along beside her, purposefully making her footfalls just a tad bit louder. "I am indeed."

"I…" Emerald had prepared for this. No, more than that, she'd expected this. This was completely within the realm of possible outcomes she'd considered. She was totally cool. "Okay."

Emerald was not at all cool.

Even still, she'd also learned that staying quiet and letting someone assume things was not a particularly valid tactic, and so Emerald decided she might as well simply barrel on. There was no turning back now, anyhow.

"Then… if you don't mind me asking… uhm… what does that mean?"

Coco seemed confuzzled.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Okay, that was fair, Emerald would admit that she'd been a little unclear.

"I mean… what do you mean by interest? What exactly made you want to… I don't know…"

"Ask you out?"

"Yeah. That."

"Hm…" Coco ran a hand down her chin, seemingly deep in thought about something or another. For a moment, Emerald assumed she was simply taking some time to answer her question, but then, after fifteen or so seconds, Coco spoke again. "Well… do you mind if I ask you a question first?"

"Sure, I suppose."

"Would this be your first date?"

The question caught Emerald off guard, and she nearly tripped as she sputtered to a stop. Coco stopped with her, and suddenly the two of them were standing in a quiet residential area, almost entirely alone aside from a few people likely coming home from work.

"…It would." She finally managed to say.

"Hah. Thought so. Yeah, I guess it makes sense to have questions, huh?"

"Sorry." Emerald muttered. "That's probably weird…"

"Nah, it's not weird." Coco said with a little smile. "Trust me, us sapphics have to stick together."

Emerald found herself laughing once again, and the victorious grin on the woman opposite hers face told her that that had been the intent.

"So, in regards to your question," Coco began again. "I guess I just found you attractive. You drew my eye, and so I shot my shot. It's really just that simple."

"Oh. That's…"

"Disappointing?"

Emerald looked away. "N-no…"

"It's fine. You don't have to pretend." Coco laughed. "It sounds shallow when you put it like I did, but the truth of the matter is, that's how almost all relationships start out."

That had Emerald's eyebrows arching up.

"Huh?"

"I mean… haven't you ever had someone you'd fallen for, even if you didn't go out with them?"

Cinder

"Yes."

Coco placed her hands on her hips, shooting her a knowing look.

"Why was that?"

"They, uhm… they offered me a place to belong."

The knowing look faded.

"Huh. Okay, admittedly that kind of defeats my point, but–"

"She was also stunningly gorgeous."

"Ah, there, see!" Coco fought valiantly to recover. "It's like… for a great tree of love to blossom, there has to be like… a seed of… thinking someone's kind of hot."

Neither of them spoke for several seconds after that.

"…Sorry, I'm not great at metaphors."

And Emerald was just laughing. This tiny little thing that seemed so unlike herself. Or… no. that wasn't right.

It was unlike the self she presented to the world. Unlike the self she claimed to be, was around most people. The hardened young woman who'd made her way on the streets. Who'd survived when many hadn't. Who'd lived through something few could ever hope to understand.

But… beneath that, she…

"Uhm…" She rubbed the back of her neck. "If you don't mind my inexperience, then…"

"Not at all." Coco said, and the smile on her face looked quite thrilled, which sent a little shiver down Emerald's spine. "I'll set it all up, okay? Can I get your contact info?"

Emerald gave her scroll number, and the two traded quick messages just to make sure everything was set.

"Awesome. Anything you want to try in particular? Maybe a movie date, or an aquarium or something?"

Emerald thought on that for a moment, before a thought filtered into her mind. Something she'd not thought about in… how long had it been since then? A decade at least?

"How about a café?"

"Oh? Coffee and confections?"

Emerald nodded a bit awkwardly.

"Hah, you have quite the taste on you. Alright, I'll take you to my regular place, and then we can set some other stuff up for after."

And as the two of them began walking again, this time, they curved towards the airbuses, which would be taking students of Beacon back to the academy itself. The both of them boarded, still lightly chatting between the two of them about this and that, mostly aimless things.

"Okay, so, like, correct me if I'm wrong," Coco seemed quite amused about something. "But your team leader is like… suuuuper crushing on Goodwitch, yeah?"

Emerald went a bit red as she looked away, and Coco took that as answer enough, cackling as she bent over somewhat.

"Oh, man. Hey, power to her. I can't say I'd have the guts to hit on her."

The usual icky feeling in Emerald's gut when she thought about Cinder and Ms. Goodwitch together surfaced, but recently, it had been muted, less intense. She'd been able to almost ignore, it, almost…

"…The same to you. If you ever need someone to talk to… I…"

Emerald's lips drew together tightly.

Emerald wasn't entirely sure why, but she found herself looking beside her, seeing Coco resting her head against the metal wall behind her, and letting out a quiet yawn as she covered her mouth with one hand. A moment later, she turned towards her, and shot her a curious look.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Emerald shook her head, even as a tiny frown came to her own face, and she sat back against the seat behind her.

"No…"

"It's nothing."

/

The scroll Cinder was calling rang only twice before the person on the other line picked up.

"Well, well, been a while you since you called," The far-too-cheery voice on the opposite end called out, laughing rather falsely. "How's my favorite megalomaniac?"

Her brow drew down. "You've grown awfully brave in my absence, haven't you Roman?"

The man chuckled on the other end of the line, but otherwise said nothing else as she sighed out, and got to the reason she'd called in the first place.

"I'm calling for an update. How are things in Vale?"

"Oh, y'know, the usual. White Fang fuckin' shit up, bein' useless, the works. We've got a recruitment drive set up for a few weeks from now using that uh… Paladin thing that you wanted me to show off?"

"Mm. Good. Make sure that goes smoothly."

"Yeah, sure. Will do. Anything else, boss?"

"That eager to be rid of me, Roman?"

"No, no, certainly not, just y'know, busy."

"Yes. I'm sure you are." She rolled her eyes, wondering if the man thought her some child he could convince with prattling lies. Busy? Really? "More importantly, how go things at Mt. Glenn?"

That drew a sigh from the man on the other end, and she could almost picture Roman running a hand through his hair, or perhaps bringing out a cigar and puffing out some smoke.

"Poorly. From what a few of my men are telling me, quite literally no one wants to be there, and the Grimm are a constant threat. No fewer than fifty White Fang have been killed since we arrived, and for a variety of reasons. Cave-ins, Toxic fumes, supplies running low… gods, you'd think the place was haunted or some shit."

When Cinder thought on just what the place was, that was as good of an excuse as any. Nearly ten thousand people had lost their lives at Mt. Glenn. The tunnels that would've taken some of them to safety sealed behind them as they clawed helplessly at the rock. Clearing that rock, and perhaps more importantly, the Grimm that had been waiting on the other side of it, had been taking them months.

…And they were so close now. So very close to the operations completion. Perhaps another two or so months, and the Breach could happen. The train, loaded with bombs and carrying enough White Fang to bring the Grimm behind them, would break out into the middle of the city itself.

…It would be the most devastating terrorist attack in Vale's history.

And it would stay that way for only another two or so months after.

Even still, Cinder found herself biting down on her lower lip, her hands shaking not with fear, but with disbelief.

Was she really doing this? Truly?

"I'm… sorry. About your teammates."

"Thank you, but don't be. It was eight years ago. I've… I've gone through several years of professional therapy and faced my issues. I'd like to think I'm doing better."

"At that time, I remember thinking that I… that the next generation of Huntsman… All I knew was… if they were taught better than we'd been, taught to be more disciplined, more cautious, then maybe they wouldn't…"

"Well then," She spoke into the scroll. "I'm sure you'll be pleased to learn that we're cancelling our efforts at Mt. Glenn, and moving our forces back into Vale itself."

Torchwick didn't respond for a few moments, and Cinder wouldn't lie, that drew some small doubt into her chest. Finally, he spoke, though it was not a set of words she'd been anticipating or hoping to hear. "…Are you kidding?"

She steeled her nerve.

"I am not."

A muffled cheer rang out from the other end of the line. Cinder found that her body deflated almost instantly, letting out a silent sigh as Roman came back onto the scroll.

"Oh, you've no idea how happy I am to hear that." Roman let out, laughing under his breath. "Ah, man, I was not looking forward to having to do that shit. Not at all my style. And hey, maybe the animals will actually be in a good enough mood to not be nipping at my fuckin' heels every twenty seconds."

"Yes." Cinder sighed out, rolling her eyes. "You attend to matters and move out. I'll forward details on our next objectives soon."

Roman sounded out in agreement, before he eventually came back in. "Hey, not to be that guy, but eh… didn't that whole plan also result in me getting captured? Y'know, to be aboard the capital ship?"

"Don't worry your little heart out, Roman." She spoke, finding some of the energy to manipulate, to deceive, to control that she'd once held swelling back into her. When did I lose it in the first place? "That can be arranged some other way. You just attend to the task you've been given."

"A'ight, hey, you're the boss. Who am I to argue with staving off the clink."

And then, without any further fanfare, Cinder hung up.

She let out a rather deep sigh as she leant back against the brick wall behind her, looking around the back alley of Vale's harbor district to ensure she had not been listened in on. If anyone had heard a word of her conversation, they'd need to be… dealt with.

But no. No one had.

Cinder did not know what to make of the tiny relief that flowed through her then.

She pushed herself off of the wall, content to make her way back towards Beacon and turn in for the evening, deciding to do so rather early to make up for the admittedly quite poor sleep she'd gotten the night before.

And yet, before she could even exit the alleyway…

Her scroll rang.

Cinder huffed, answering the thing without even checking to see who it was.

"Roman," She huffed annoyedly. "I believe I made it clear what was expected of you."

"I do believe you have me mistaken for someone else, dear Cinder."

Her veins froze over.

"Mistress." She corrected herself, nearly bowing in the middle of the alleyway despite Salem not being able to see her through the purely audio call. "I… my apologies, what can I do for you."

"Oh, Nothing at the moment, Cinder." Salem sounded rather amused at the desperation in Cinder's voice. "I wasn't able to reach you on your… special scroll, so I felt I'd contact you here."

That… added up. Said scroll had been stashed in a rather hidden place underneath her bed. She was supposed to check it every once in a while, to make sure no updates from her mistress went unseen or unheard, but…

When had she last checked it?

…Cinder could not entirely remember.

"I'm actually calling to inform you of something peculiar. Our intelligence suggests that Ozpin's eye is on the move, and headed towards Beacon."

Cinder's eyes widened. "Branwen?"

"The very same."

That… she'd not heard anything of Qrow Branwen arriving to Beacon this soon. He was expected by the time the Vytal Festival would be kicking off, but…

"Thank you, mistress."

"Mm." Salem hummed, clearly pleased. "Whatever is the matter, Cinder. You sound so much more reserved than normal. None of your usual fire. And to call me mistress not once, but twice, why, I'm touched."

Cinder found herself biting down on her lower lip for the second time, trying to ignore the way that the Maiden's fire in her chest sputtered angrily. A memory played in her head unprompted, and Cinder did her best to tune it out, albeit to little success.

"You'll call me Madam, Mistress, or Ma'am." The woman says as she wraps a collar around her neck, and locks it tightly, only letting her breath by a hair. "Refer to me as any other title at any other time, and I will not hesitate to discipline you. Am I understood, girl?"

"Y-Yes."

A shock filters through her, sharp and coarse and more than enough to knock her off her feet.

"Yes, what?"

She hears the laughter of the siblings some ways away, but Cinder doesn't have the energy to do anything at all. Barely enough to raise her head. Barely enough to utter the words…

"Yes, madam."

The woman smiles.

"There. Now was that so hard?"

"And not to mention, you have not sent me a report in quite some time," Salem's voice brought her mind back to the present. "Much longer than you usually take to do so. Has something come up?"

"I… forgive me, mada– Mistress." She corrected herself mid-word, though it was sloppy, clearly caught if the amused hum that Salem gave off was anything to go by. "I… I have been busy."

"I'm sure." Salem cooed. "Well, I trust in your ability, Cinder. Do us both a favor and live up to my expectations."

The line went dead a moment later.

Cinder was left standing there in the cold depths of winter, alone in an alleyway, surrounded by cigarette butts and discarded papers and beer bottles and soda cans. Refuse.

She found herself again questioning just what she was doing here.

Just how she'd ended up here, in this alleyway, in this city, on this continent, with this power writhing inside of her.

Seemingly stuck, trapped on all sides.

And not for the first time that day, that infernal question ran through her mind.

What do you want?

Cinder shook her head as she pushed herself off of the wall, and stepped out of the alleyway.

And she couldn't resist an angry sneer.

Because no matter what she did, what she tried…

It seemed like such a thing never mattered.


End Chapter 21


Being Cinder is suffering? Huh. Yeah, actually. That adds up.

Getting into the meat of the plot for the Volume 2 section, now that the Vol 1 section has officially concluded. Vol 2 will be much shorter than one, probably by about six or so chapters.

Not much else to say.

Anyways, more next week!