The mood is somber as they make their way inside the fortress. Tyrian is standing just inside, as if he's been waiting for them. He greets them with a cheerful grin, a mocking tone to his voice. Emerald does her best to ignore him. But she can't but bristle when he brings up Cinder's obvious absence.
"Speaking of which, where is our Fall Maiden?" He starts to laugh as Emerald freezes in her tracks, sensing her obvious apprehension. "Don't tell me something happened to her?" he asks mockingly, before laughing even harder.
Without a second thought, Emerald whirls around, weapons unsheathed, ready to tear the obnoxious scorpion faunus to pieces. If not for Mercury, he'd be down a lot more than just a stupid tail.
She does her best to ignore his cackling as they walk away. Cinder will be fine. She has to be. She's the only person who's ever really cared about Emerald. She can't be dead. She just can't. She'll come back for Emerald. She'll be back, stronger than ever.
Won't she?
The weight of Salem's disapproval at their failure is palpable. It feels heavier than usual, without Cinder here to look to for guidance. She finds herself wilting in the face of the Grimm queen's obvious wrath, suddenly feeling very small and alone, even with Mercury and Hazel beside her. It doesn't help that Mercury seems just as freaked out as she does.
And then Hazel, unbelievably, speaks up. He's trying to take the blame for everything. Emerald can't decide if he's incredibly brave, incredibly stupid, or just plain suicidal. Or maybe it's a mixture of all three?
Maybe being unable to feel pain dulls your ability to feel fear.
Predictably, Salem is unimpressed by Hazel's attempt. If anything, she seems even angrier. Emerald watches in horror as Hazel is yanked to the ground by inky black Grimm arms with a pained grunt.
She then turns to Emerald, inhuman eyes boring into her so deeply it feels like they're boring down into her very soul. Emerald can't repress the flinch at being examined so closely, and she resists the urge to gulp nervously.
"Emerald, I want you to tell me whose fault this was." It's not a question. Salem takes a step closer, and this time Emerald does gulp. "Now."
She'd promised she wasn't going to give up Cinder. She doesn't blame Cinder for what happened, even if it had been her last-minute changes to their plan that had resulted in their defeat. She owes Cinder everything. She's her mentor. She's the only person who's ever cared about her. Emerald can't just throw her under the bus—
But with Salem's immortal rage aimed directly at her, Emerald quickly finds her willpower crumbling. "C—Cinder!" she blurts out, with only minor hesitation. "We failed because of Cinder."
She immediately feels guilty, but Salem seems pleased by her answer, stepping past Emerald and placing a hand on her shoulder. Emerald does her best not to shudder at the touch. "That's right. I want you to understand that failure. I want you to understand why Cinder is dead now."
And Emerald's entire world comes screeching to a halt. Cinder is dead? That can't be right. She can't be dead—she just can't be. She's just injured and—and hiding out somewhere until she can find her way back to them. She'll be back soon. She's the Fall Maiden. She can't be dead.
Can't she?
Emerald doesn't hear anything that Salem and the others say after that. Between the ringing in her ears and the swirling mess of her own thoughts, nothing around her seems real anymore. She barely even feels it when Hazel guides her and Mercury around of the room. She doesn't hear Salem's screams behind her, or the shattering of glass. None of it matters anymore.
Because if Cinder is gone, what is Emerald supposed to do now?
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.
Setting this a bit earlier than canon because of reasons. I've been spending a lot of time planning out this story, and I'm super excited about what I have planned.
Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.