Chapter Seven – The Black Queen
Warning: This fanfic will spoil the events of RWBY up to Volume 5. The story picks up immediately after the events of Downfall
Cinder clicked furiously, broadcasting her message in Morse Code to all troopers using Neo's walkie talkie.
[All troopers are to defend the Great Hall immediately. This is not a drill.]
She then crushed Neo's walkie talkie and tossed its sizzling remains over the crenelations of the outer walls. Cinder crouched in a shadowy corner, her black stealth suit camouflaged her perfectly as waited out the unmistakable shuffling of boots - the troopers were fumbling over each other as they hurried to make their way to the Great Hall. A grin spread across her face, she had thoroughly capitalized on the troopers' fear of their lord's wrath to her advantage.
There. That should clear our way down to the Donjon.
Very clever, Scarface. Though had I not restrained you back there, you would have blown that Neo girl sky high and all this would have been for naught. Remember the objective-
Shut up. Yes I get it. Armiel how much Dust are we left with?
10%. That fight against Neo depleted-
Good. Now spend five more.
What?!
Cinder leapt from the walls, emptying the Dust in her thigh pouch, propelling her up and through the nearest window of the Donjon, she broke her fall with a roll as she landed. She looked up at the endlessly spiraling stone stairs illuminated only by the shattered moon of Remnant and she clenched her fingers into a fist. The fallen Maiden had a look of pure determination on her face as she started to sprint up the tower.
Ana, I'm almost there. I'll be with you when I'm done...
The shattered moon cast its fractured beams of light upon the balcony of the Donjon. The highest tower of the White Castle was deliberately left open-aired, it overlooked the vast expanse of Mantle-3, the marketplace, the wretched slums and alleys, but most importantly had its massive black ballista pointed strategically at the Dust mines of Mantle-3. Jansen sat himself comfortably down at a white table adorned with swirling natural motifs, to his chagrin the table's beautiful glass surface was marred by the ugly checkered chessboard that Jacques Schnee placed at its center as he sat across Jansen.
"No need to get so upset over a board game Jansen," smiled Jacques, acutely aware of Jansen's frustration with chess. "If I recall correctly, you were pretty good at the game once before- "
"Still am the youngest Grandmaster in Remnant," interrupted Jansen, adjusting his midnight blue suit as he spoke. "It's hard not to be if that's all your father made you study from day to night."
"Hope you don't mind playing a game to kill the boredom as we talk business," Jacques picked up the white king, admiring the intricate silver carving on the white marble. "With some stakes involved of course."
"You're being oddly charitable today aren't you?" Jansen picked up the equally intricate black pieces made of obsidian with gold carvings and began to set the pieces on the board. "I'll be charitable too then, you can play as White. The first move is your's old man."
Jacques moved the white pawn to D4 and Jansen responded instantly with the black knight to F6. The two players sped through the first ten moves rapidly - they had memorized the positions they wanted their pieces to open the game on.
"The Schnee Dust Company needs more Dust from Mantle-3. We'll be sending in our miners starting tomorrow." began Jacques.
"We've talked about this," snapped Jansen, not bothering to hide his vexation at Jacques' proposal. "This is the fastest we can extract Dust from those mines without waking that thing. Any more and we risk this city burning to the ground and we both get nothing. Increase the mining on Schnee Quarry instead."
"You're getting rusty at the game Jansen. Your father would be most disappointed," replied Jacques, his lips curled into a smile. "The truth is, the Schnee Quarry has been empty since three months ago. Experts predict a ten year downtime for Dust to grow again. We don't have ten years do we? Mantle-3 is the only mine left that endlessly produce Dust for Remnant thanks to all that pressure that dragon puts on the Dust mines here. This is your chance to be a hero. The fate of Remnant's energy supply is in your hands."
He waved at the twin knights Laevro and Dextro.
"What you need Jansen, is some insurance."
Together, the two knights set down a long, bulky suitcase before Jacques and Jansen. The Lord of Mantle-3 raised his eyebrow in intrigue - whatever its contents were, it was so long and heavy it required the two knights to carry. In perfect unison, they flipped the catches holding the cover in place and opened the suitcase and a burst of dazzling white light blinded Jansen momentarily. When he regained his vision, Jansen saw three iridescent white arrows, each spanning six feet in length constructed to fit perfectly into the black ballista mounted atop the Donjon. Jansen picked one up, holding it in his hands as he examined it, the weight of destiny itself seemed to emanate from the arrows themselves, its holder would shoulder the immense burden of defending Mantle-3. Its tip was sharpened to the point of molecular sharpness; the SDC's engineers had outdone themselves, this time managing to produce the most immaculate piece of weaponry known to Jansen. Launched from the ballista with the aid of Dust, Jansen knew that it would pack enough power to pierce any armor, let alone the organic black scales of the Grimm Dragon. But Jansen knew that something felt amiss.
"It was a black arrow." said Jansen simply. "A black arrow that my ancestor fired at the dragon-"
"What does the color matter? Our engineers have tested it to marvelous results on the dragon scales you sent us." said Jacques dismissively, studying the chessboard intensely.
"What are these things made of?" asked Jansen as he studied the white arrows like a child.
"Unobtainium." replied Jacques curtly without looking.
"Don't fuck with me, old man. Our lives are at stake here- " Jansen rose from his chair, glaring at the President of the SDC.
Laevro and Dextro immediately sprang to life, brandishing their weapons and placing themselves between Jacques and Jansen before his fingers could even reach the sapphire encrusted handle of Austenaster. Laevro was armed with a massive scythe and Dextro armed with a long white glaive. Both their non-corporeal blades materialized from their white Dust cores, made entirely of burning white energy that hissed and crackled wildly, but most importantly Jansen knew that blade-to-blade contact with those weapons would not allow his Aura Break to destroy their Aura, the twin knights had adapted their weaponry for the occasion.
"A rare blunder from you Jansen," smiled Jacques looking up from the chessboard, he then waved to the twin knights. "Laevro, Dextro kindly see to it that the Protector of the Realm surrenders his weapon. Clearly we won't be needing any protection here. It's your move again, Jansen. If you lose this game, I think I'll have the SDC will be bring in the Atlas Military to ensure the mining goes as planned."
Jansen cursed and handed over his sword to Laevro, who immediately tossed Austenaster over her shoulder and down the high tower. The knights promptly retracted their weapons and returned to their stoic sentry positions beside Jacques, motionless like the white chess pieces he was in control.
"Alternatively, we could call this game a dra-"
"I decline. Knight to D3," interrupted Jansen, the Grandmaster did not even look at the chessboard as he spoke. "Six hours."
"Queen to C2," replied Jacques rising from his own seat, accepting Jansen's challenge. Both players no longer looked at the board.
"Six hours," repeated Jansen. "That's how long that thing stays frozen now. We dig any further, that window will shrink even more. What then? Knight takes pawn D2."
"King takes knight D2. Are you chickening out Jansen Arc-"
"Knight to G4, check. Don't you call me by that name-"
"I call you whatever I want. Don't you forget who made you Lord of Mantle-3. I gave you lordship over these sheep, I can take it away any time I want," Jacques' face soured as his temper grew foul. "King to G1. Perhaps a military peacekeeping mission here for all the human rights violations you have trampled over? Or a Grimm rampage with that ungodly collection of Beowolves you have down that dungeon of yours? With the communication towers down, how long do you calculate it will take Haven Academy to come pick up the scraps?"
"Knight takes pawn E3. Would you like to resign, old man? It doesn't end well for you." smirked the Grandmaster.
"I decline." spat the President, but Jansen started to move his pieces for him.
"Queen to D2, knight takes G2, king takes G2, pawn to D4, knight takes D4, bishop takes D7 check, king to F1-"
"W-Wait you're moving my pieces. I'm not going to make those moves-"
"The moves are forced old man. You lose faster if you move anything else. You don't have a choice," interrupted Jansen as he continued to rapidly shift the pieces on the chessboard. "The future has been written; the ink has dried. You were destined to lose the game from the first move you played. No, from the moment you decided to challenge me."
Jacques stared at the board in horror and saw how the game would end. The marble white king cornered by the obsidian black queen in checkmate. Jansen's reputation as Grandmaster clearly preceded him.
"Well then let's discuss what you're really after," Jacques coughed to clear his throat.
"There is only one thing I want- "
"Winter Schnee." Jacques had anticipated his reply. The old man lost the game of chess, won the real game. "Marrying into the Schnee Family for political gain. The oldest trick in the book. Jansen, I expected better of you. But then again, you wouldn't be the first man to do it."
"I only learn from the best," scoffed Jansen. "I'll be taking the arrows too of course."
"Done." the President extended his hand to shake the Grandmaster's hand.
Jacques Schnee turned around and headed back down the spiral staircase of the Donjon with a wide smile on his face, his elite guards Laevro and Dextro followed him close behind. Jansen strode back to the chessboard and picked up the obsidian black queen, the piece that dealt the decisive blow to win him the game.
"You can come out now," called out Jansen holding up the black queen high in his hands. "It's just the two of us now."
A gust of wind blew his bright blond hair and Jansen felt the cold edge of metal blade pressed into the side of his neck. He wheeled around to face the girl that threatened to sever his head from his shoulders. She was dressed from head to toe in a skintight black bodysuit with a plunging neck line down her chest. Her shoulder-length ashen black hair concealed her left face, but her right was beautiful beyond compare. Her single amber eye stared deep into his silver eyes as if it were reaching into his soul itself. The amber eye that even Jansen could tell had been dulled by the departure of the Fall Maiden's power, he smiled to himself with that knowledge.
"You made it here, finally... I find myself impressed," smiled Jansen in delight. "Cinder Fall."
"Very odd choice of last words," declared Cinder. "You're shit at dying, you know that?"
"They say that a person's not dead until we see the body. You my dear, are a stellar example of that," laughed Jansen Argyros, pushing himself closer to Cinder with his neck still pressed to the edge of the blade and Cinder recoiled, losing her composure. "How many times has this happened... The third time? Guess I can't say the same for the other girl."
Cinder growled and buried Silver's Cry deeper into Jansen's neck until a thin stream of blood started to trickle. Her sword started to tremble with rage but the Silver Eyed Warrior remained unfazed by his open wound.
"Do you even remember her name?" asked Cinder, her voice full of sorrow. Her amber eye started to tear up at the thought of Ana, the image of her radiant smile was burned into her memories. A quick death by decapitation was too good for him, she was going to kill him slowly. There are worse fates than death. Cinder was going to make him the victim of his own words.
"Do you remember their names? All those girls you've murdered," countered Jansen wearing his terrible condescending smile even in the face of death. "Don't talk like you're one of them, you're not. Even if you'd like to be. You're a monster; a fiend. Just like I am."
"What the hell do you know about me?"
"Pretty much everything actually," Jansen continued to step forward as Silver's Cry begun to cut deeper into his neck but the Lord of Mantle-3's smile only grew wider. "You and I... We're not so different."
"Stay where you ar-" shouted Cinder, but her victim ignored her demand. A terrifying thought crossed her mind, was Jansen still her victim? His silver eyes glowed brighter with every step he took towards her. She had lost control of the situation.
"Destroying you right now would be easy. All too easy. That body of yours won't be able to take another Silver Flash from me. Yet if you swing that sword with your last breath, you'll remove my head and we both die. What a boring end," Jansen came to a halt an arm's length away from Cinder. "But that's what you want. This is a suicide run isn't it? You don't fear death anymore, you never did ever since the Dust mines. You've got nothing to lose. We can't have that."
Jansen broke away, heading for the chessboard and Cinder followed him, her sword kept vigilant at his neck. He picked up the obsidian black pawn and waved it in Cinder's face.
"So now I'm going to give you something to lose. A reason to fear death once again. And then I will watch as you inevitably destroy yourself in your insatiable obsession for power as you have been doing till now," Jansen placed the black pawn at the end of the chessboard. Cinder already knew what was coming before it happened; the black pawn began to vibrate vigorously, transforming into a new tall obsidian chess piece - the black queen. The queen's power in chess was unchallenged, even the kings cowered in her presence. Jansen wore his terrible smile once again. "How would you like to become a Maiden once again?"
Armiel, your thoughts?
Wow, we live another day AND get to be a Maiden again? Its simple. I say we accep-
Sigh... Why did I even consult you on this you coward.
"Specifically, become the Winter Maiden. Her fall will be your ascension, and with it your road to redemption," continued Jansen, reaching out and offering her the obsidian black queen. "It's not hard to figure what gets you ticking, Cinder Fall. You want power, you want the Relics for master Salem, and most importantly you want your revenge on those who maimed you. Does it scare you that someone else knows you better than yourself?"
Cinder lowered her sword wearily but took the chess piece from Jansen and the dazzling lights in his silver eyes faded as he started to circle Cinder slowly.
"I'll take that as a yes-"
"It's not a 'yes'. But I'm interested. Keep talking."
"Atlas Academy guards the Vault of the Winter Maiden, but James Ironwood is a shrewd man. He would never agree to defend the Relic of Creation unless he controlled both Maiden AND Vault. You're a clever girl, I'm sure you get where this is going."
"Winter... Winter Schnee is the Winter Maiden?" cried Cinder in disbelief. But in her head the pieces were starting to click, Winter's name practically screamed that she was the Winter Maiden, just like how Cinder's last name told the world that she was the Fall Maiden. It made perfect sense for someone who wielded so much power to tell the world who she was. How could she of all people have missed it?
"Tonight's ball is a rare occasion where both Vault and Maiden are separated. You won't get a better shot," Jansen stopped circling Cinder and whipped out from his midnight blue blazer a map of Mistral with detailed routes and markings highlighted. "Winter Schnee's transport detail leaves Mantle-3 for Atlas at noon tomorrow. Kill her, take her place as the Winter Maiden then proceed to Atlas Academy where you'll find not only the Relic of Creation, but a certain other Silver Eyed Warrior-"
"Ruby Rose." finished Cinder, growling in anger. Her lust for power, her fanatical thirst to kill Ruby Rose that she kept repressed for days started to surface once again.
"Exactly," smiled Jansen Argyros. "As for Raven Branwen... We know where her tribe is in Mistral. Wouldn't it be a pity if one of those arrows nuked her godforsaken bandit village off the face of Remnant? Mistral won't be weeping over a few missing bandits."
Remember why you came here, Cinder. As much as I'd like us to live to see tomorrow... You need to do what's right by you. If you accept his request-
I won't be able to avenge Ana?
Exactly. But whatever you choose, I'll stand by your decision.
Cinder removed the ruby shard from her hair, staring down at the sparkling red rose in her right hand and the obsidian chess piece in her left. And as she did so, her drive to avenge Ana started to evaporate. For the first time in days, she saw her hair ornament for what it was. A rose. A ruby rose. The furnaces of hate were lit in her heart once again. The temptation was too great for her to resist. Forgive me, Ana... She planted the ruby in her hair and grasped the obsidian tight in her Grimm hands. When Cinder looked up, she was no longer the pathetic fallen Maiden. She was Salem's black queen, the girl who wanted power, she who craved it so badly she would give anything and stop at nothing till she got it.
"Join me and I promise you all of this will come to fruition," Jansen's ominous silver eyes gleamed with satisfaction, he knew he had won once again. He extended his hand to shake Cinder's and she obliged. "Forget the girl, Cinder. You barely knew her and she barely knew you. You've made the right choice."
With a snap of her fingers, she depleted the last of her Dust reserves and Cinder knew she crossed the point of no return, she no longer even had the Dust to avenge Ana even if she wanted to. Dull flickering vermilion flames consumed her body and she was dressed in her long form-fitting black dress and glass heels, but this time she covered her left face with a black mask.
"You look stunningly beautiful." complimented Jansen with a bow.
"A sweet tongue," curtsied Cinder in response. "Lovely."
"This way then, my lady." smiled Jansen, ushering Cinder back to the Great Hall.
Author's Notes:
Yes, when I said at the end of Chapter 1 that this fanfic would take Cinder on a natural road to redemption, I didn't say what kind of redemption or from whose point of view the redemption would be.
In case you guys are curious, the chess game played between Jansen and Jacques is an actual game played between Bobby Fischer and Robert Eugene Bryne in 1963. The endgame didn't come down to forced moves like I depicted it in this story but forced endgames do happen quite often in chess. In this story it so happened to add to the tension and leads to a payoff moment in the chapters to come so the god of ink decided it be so.
And so ends the Cinderella goes to the ball arc, and also pretty much most of her parallels to Cinderella. The next few chapters will wrap up the story as we enter Act 3 and the final arc. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the story as a whole and are looking forward to the next update. Cheers!