Salem was awed by what she was currently riding toward and what she was riding in.
The two women sat aboard a flying vehicle that seemed to defy all logic as it cut through the air. Salem had to do a double take when she saw the strange items at the tip of the wings rotating into position, both when it landed to retrieve them and when it took off toward what miss Goodwitch had referred to as Beacon Academy. And Beacon itself? Salem could hardly refrain from staring at the beautiful architecture that made up the Academy's campus. Although there was a sense of familiarity, the school itself was fairly different from anything the young Sorceress had had the pleasures of seeing in her first year of freedom.
Her smile was bright as she felt the wind rushing by her, her hair waving in the breeze. Glynda shifted in her seat, uneasily staring at the woman and Salem could feel the stare. She, however, chose to ignore it for the time being, rather trying to keep her mind off of her own situation by enjoying the many views of this different world. She had plenty of time to think of her situation, so why not take in her new surroundings and acclimatize herself to them? Gods only knew how long she was gonna be here.
She staggered, feeling the aircraft shift its direction toward a large circular shape hanging off of the edge of the cliff on which the school was situated. And indeed, the architecture only grew more detailed as they approached it, with large arches, a beautiful central garden and meeting spots, as well as a central roundabout with a massive statue in its confines, showing two cloaked warriors above the Dark God's creations, the Grimm. Above it, she could see what she assumed was the centerpiece of the place:A Clock Tower.
That was a telling sign of what Beacon must've taught. Miss Goodwitch did mention she was a combat teacher here, so it seemed very likely that the monsters were a problem to mankind and their demi-human friends. Having a school dedicated to teaching youngsters to fight them was probably a telltale sign of how big the problem was, too. Ozma and the headmaster of Beacon would probably be best of friends, considering the former's views on heroism and protecting those who couldn't protect themselves from similar monstrosities.
She frowned, biting her lower lip, then sighed deeply just as the vehicle's engines changed vector, bringing them in near that strange structure. Glynda stood to her feet, then showed Salem to follow her as she stepped off the aircraft. Salem soon joined her on the concrete, only to hear the aircraft dusting off, probably heading to wherever they were kept.
Looking at the young woman that walked with her now, down the path to Beacon Tower, Glynda felt a sense of unease, both thanks to her name and thanks to her demeanor. 'Salem', if that was truly her name, was unbelievably child-like, looking upon much of the technology that the Kingdoms had cohesively built over the past 100 years alone as if it was magical. Ozpin did pin Salem's-their enemy's-age at a few millennia, so the Combat Teacher couldn't really pin why the one standing before her wouldn't know about all of it, being... Well, being who she said she was.
"Pardon me..." Glynda started, looking to her fellow blonde "You said your name was Salem, did you not?"
"I did." The Sorceress answered joyfully, her eyes still scanning the skyline of Beacon with the curiosity of a child.
Glynda's expression softened for a moment, watching her take it all in. Salem was quick to ask "Tell me, miss Goodwitch? What was that metal bird we rode upon to get to Beacon? It was amazing, it almost looked like a dragon."
With a raised brow, Glynda hummed, then responded "A Bullhead, Salem, a small variation of Remnant Airships... Where have you been for the past 100 years, that technology like this seems so strange to you?"
Rubbing the back of her neck, Salem admitted "I hadn't been born a hundred years ago, miss Goodwitch. I'm barely 23, after all. What kind of silly question is that?" with a dry chuckle. Glynda blinked, confusion deepening as they walked on, past the statue. The teacher shook her head, murmuring something as they took the turn toward the Beacon Tower itself.
The young maiden beside her couldn't possibly be the wicked witch that threatened mankind daily, could she? And yet, the name matched. Perhaps Glynda shouldn't have been as shallow as to consider the unlikelyhood of matching names. It was possible somebody had just found the name in some old fairytale and thought it'd fit their daughter better than a color-based name. There was the eccentric family around.
Yet the magic? The powers she showed while defending herself, resembling those of the Maidens? Glynda had yet to understand what this Salem was. Perhaps she was a ploy by the real one to trick them?
"However, technology clearly was not as advanced near my home kingdom as it is in your country, miss Goodwitch. Flying vehicles such as your Bullhead and those horseless carriages I saw down in the city itself are the stuff of legends and the kind of things that only powerful Sorcerers, such as my father, could conjure with enough training." Salem was quick to add onto the pile of questions. "Are you and the Headmaster, perhaps, the ones who offered them to your people?"
The Teacher, mouth partly open, blinked away the confusion again, stopping just short of the tower's entrance. Confused as can be, Glynda answered "You mean the cars? And... No, these technological advancements took thousands of years to come to and the cars themselves, with the Dust-based internal combustion engines, came first. The Beacon Library here on campus has plenty of reading materiel regarding our technology."
"I see. I would love to pay a visit after I meet the Headmaster, to learn about these amazing technologies." The one before Glynda remained just as enthusiastic as ever and the Teacher herself only gained more questions. As the two entered Beacon tower, they walked past the empty reception desk and toward an elevator. Salem stopped right at the sliding door as it moved aside, then said "Where is the stairwell?"
"Uhm... We don't need one, Salem." Glynda offered, then motioned toward the elevator and said "This is an elevator. It allows us to travel quickly between floors without need of stairs."
"Oh, my." Salem smiled "Your technology continues to amaze me, miss Goodwitch. Please, lead the way."
Entering the enclosed piece of technological marvel, the Sorceress watched Glynda only press a button, for the door to close. She staggered, grabbing onto one of the rails beside her to regain her balance as the strange thing started moving up. She shifted to the right, only to catch miss Goodwitch's gaze. She beamed at the woman, like a child would at her mother, only for the woman to turn back to the door.
She seemed disheveled. Salem could not tell what was going through miss Goodwitch's mind as they spoke, but her mannerisms, her way of acting, even her surprise upon hearing the Sorceress's name was proof enough that her name meant something. She prayed it meant a good omen for the teachers of the next generation of warriors, but she couldn't be sure.
The halt of the ascent came as suddenly as the start to Salem, to where she had nearly fallen over just before the doors slid open, though thankfully Glynda had caught her and held her up. The door of the elevator opened up to a bright, sunlit room. Glass floors showed the inner workings of the massive clocktower and light protruded through the dome above and the clock face.
Turned away from the pair of women, a man with ashen gray hair stared out the window. In his right hand was a beautifully-decorated and eerily familiar cane, while he held a large mug with the Coat of Arms of their kingdom presumably drawn onto it. Clad in a dark-green suit with a scarf around his neck, the ominous man gazed out over Beacon, watching over it and the Kingdom below like a protector.
"Headmaster. It seems your gut feeling was right. I brought our new arrival over. She proved quite elusive, though" Glynda noted, stepping aside.
"Thank you, Glynda. As usual, you've performed admirably." He spoke, his voice oh so familiar, yet so distant to Salem. He chuckled, then, as he slowly turned to Salem, he spoke "I hope miss Goodwitch wasn't too cold to y-" and, as two tired brown eyes met Salem's blue ones, only a gasp escaped the man's lips as the mug he drank from slipped from between his fingers, falling to the glass floor and shattering into a thousand pieces. Glynda turned to him, surprised, while Salem paused, raising a brow. The man, his mouth agape, tried to form a coherent sentence as a thousand emotions seemed to all flare up at once.
The young Sorceress, none the wiser to the goings-on of the Headmaster's mind, simply bowed and said "Forgive the intrusion, sir, but miss Goodwitch said you'd wish to see me as soon as we arrived on Beacon's grounds. I... Hope I am not a bother." and she stared at him, hopeful to hear any sort of welcoming sentence, or perhaps the continuation of the prior one. She swallowed empty, narrowing her lips and staring at the man. He was a handsome one, she had to admit.
"Uh... Ozpin, are you well?" Glynda asked, looking at the man with worry in her emerald eyes.
"O-Oh, your name is Ozpin, sir! It is a pleasure to meet you." She beamed, bright as a sunray, as she spoke "It is funny, you have a name similar to that of someone I am very close to... I have yet to introduce myself. Forgive my impoliteness... My name is Sa-"
"Salem..." He interrupted. That one word sent a shiver down the Sorceress's spine and made Glynda double over, eyes wide as saucers. He sidestepped the desk that was between them, moving a few feet closer to her and staring on. She let out an awkward chuckle, unsure how to respond to what amounted to someone that was by all means a stranger to her. Then he continued "Salem. Is that truly you?" unsure of himself.
Both Salem's heart and mind started to race.
"Ozpin?" Glynda sat to his side, looking between the two of them as she, too, struggled to piece the clues of the situation together.
"Oz..." Salem bit her lower lip, then took a few steps forward, staring right into the man's eyes. She blinked a few times as she slowly understood. She looked over him once more. The overwhelming choice of green as his base color, those deep, caring, warm brown eyes, that ramrod straight posture... That cane. She looked at the cane's intricate floral designs, at its rounded top and at the cogs that ran it. She looked back to him, then to the cane's hilt and back to him. And finally, her mind combined the clues into one image. Her voice cracked and tears of joy streamed down her cheeks when she barely let it out as a whisper. That one word. That one name dearest to her.
"Ozma...?"
From a look of uncertainty, a joyous smile formed, with a single tear streaking down his pale cheek. Taking off the spectacles that he wore and putting them on the desk, the old man stared at the woman that had been the love of his life so long ago, standing before him, untainted, untouched by evil and as pure as they day they first met. Softly and with true happiness in his voice, Ozpin spoke "Yes, Salem... It's me. And you... You are just as beautiful as I remember you."
Incapable of holding back, Salem pounced, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she cried joyfully. His hands rested around her waist, pulling the young woman into a tight embrace. He ran his hand through her soft hair, leaning into her shoulder as he, too, finally let that millennia-old dam that held back his emotions break. He tightened his hug, hanging on as his lover continued crying.
Glynda stared on, unsure what to say. Pressing her lips together, she took a step back, leaving the two long-lost lovers space to reunite. Her questions could wait until after. And she would most definitely ask them while Salem was not in the room. For now, though? She was content with watching the events unfold. She had yet to see the Headmaster break into tears, as he was always that stoic, vigilant man. He was indeed a protector of mankind, so she figured he deserved a moment of peace... Especially with someone whom he seemed to love.
After a few more seconds, the two pulled away, but Ozpin held the young maiden's hands in his own and asked "You cannot believe how happy I am to see you, Salem. How did you get here?" with a smile on his face.
"I was attempting to revive you, Ozma. My spell, the one I used, I... I thought it had backfired!" She beamed brightly "I'm so happy to see I was wrong. But..." And she once again noticed his tired eyes. Within a moment of that, she put her forehead against his, holding a palm pressed against his cheek. She murmured a spell, their souls intertwining for but a moment. That had been all she needed to realize... "Oh... Gods..." And she frowned, running a hand down his cheek "Ozma... My Ozma... Your soul is so old, so scarred. What happened to you?"
Taking his hand into hers, he answered "It's such a long story, my dear. I'll be happy to explain everything to you in time, but..."
Salem's smile returned. "I understand... I am so happy to see you here. The Gods didn't leave me alone..."
A flash of remorse appeared in Ozpin's gaze at the mention of the Gods, but it soon faded. He only brought Salem back into another embrace, turning his head only slightly to see Glynda in the corner, suppressing a smile, from the looks of things. He gave a light nod to his adjutant, then simply returned to his old lover's warmth. A few more minutes of silence passed, before the two finally fell back.
With smiles still on their faces, Ozpin had found it prudent to start "We have much to talk about still, but I think it would be best to have you settled in on Beacon grounds for now, Salem. I will have Glynda lead you to the faculty dormitories, to my room. I mostly spend my time in my office, however, since the students do require guidance every so often."
"An open doors policy for your warrior students." Salem noted "I would expect nothing less from you, dear. If I can help with your school in any way, perhaps by teaching your students how to wield magic best, I would be glad to."
Ozpin nodded "I will find you any position to be of help to them as well."
Nodding back, Salem offered "I will do my best, no matter what you have me be."
"It's good to see your enthusiasm hasn't faded at all." The Headmaster offered another smile to her. "Miss Goodwitch, if you don't mind?" and, after bidding farewell to Salem for the day, he sat himself down at his desk, only to gaze down at the shattered mug below him as its contents slowly dried out on the glass floor. He leaned himself back into his chair, then let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.
Today had been long. And definitely strange.
And what the Brother Gods had probably just done complicated things. He would answer any of Salem's questions, but he had so many of his own now, that he had no idea how to safely process the situation. Following that, Glynda herself probably had about a thousand more questions to add. Indeed, he had his work cut out for him... But his love, the true Salem, the one he had known so long ago, was back among them. Ozpin felt, finally, like he had a boon in this world outside of his little circle of close allies.