CW: Fire, manipulation

Glynda dreamed of popcorn. She dreamed of the crackles and pops, the smell of burning kernels, and the warm fuzzy feeling of hot food in her belly. She dreamed of a safe haven.

When she woke, she found herself in just the opposite situation.

The smell of smoke made her gag and choke; she dropped out of her tree and to the ground. She couldn't tell what time it was, because the entire world was flooded with light.

You did this, sang the power in her veins. You did this. Isn't it wonderful?

"Oh, be quiet," Glynda snapped aloud as she flattened herself and looked for the best way out. Still, the accusation sat in her heart. It was her fault. Did she deserve to die for it?

No, never.

On her hands and knees she began to crawl in the direction she believed the village to be. Her sense of direction was fairly decent, so hopefully it wouldn't steer her wrong. After a few minutes, she found that she was, in fact correct, but it didn't matter. Flames lapped the village just as greedily as they devoured the trees.

How does one outrun a forest fire?

You know what to do, Maiden.

Glynda stood, trying not to mind the smoke that gathered in her eyes and throat. With all her strength and every ounce of desperation, she gathered her Aura and threw every ounce of magic she had towards the flames.

"There." Mercury pointed. "The flames are moving against the wind. Is that our Maiden?"

Cinder peered down from the window. "Yes, I believe it is. Should we help her out?"

"Do we have to?" asked Emerald, one hand on one hip. "The flames are going to kill her. Even you couldn't control a fire that big; half the power won't cut it and you know that. So why don't you show up, make a brief appearance and watch as she suffocates?"

"Now, now," Cinder chided. "That wouldn't be especially kind of us, would it? Why don't we lend our friend a helping hand? A prisoner who is in your debt is a lot more amiable than one who isn't, after all."

"We don't need her as a prisoner at all, Cinder!"

Cinder's brow twitched, and she let the Maiden's power gather in her right eye. "What have I told you about obedience, Emerald? What have I told you about following me?"

"I…"

"I would have thought that if any of you understood my hunger, it'd be you."

Emerald took a step back, warily, but her voice didn't falter any more. "Cinder, this isn't hunger. Hunger is about getting what you need as quickly as possible. This is… this is… I don't know, but it isn't the same."

Tilting her head slightly, Cinder took a deep breath. Her power still burned, but it was a controlled fire. She wouldn't unleash it. Not yet. "Maybe you're correct. However, I still need to know something. Will you listen to me?"

"I… yes."

"Will you follow me?"

"Yes."

"Will you stop thinking and just obey?"

"Yes."

The light in Cinder's eye died down. "Good. Now, let's start our little 'rescue mission.' I want to be on the ground in five minutes."

It was too much for Glynda to handle.

Normal telekinesis didn't work on fire. Her Maiden powers did, but also required more stamina to keep up; they didn't come to her naturally at all. As soon as she pushed back the flames on one side, she'd find them licking her on the other. Were the houses in Lexus not all made of wood, she would use them to shield herself, but it was proving more and more helpless, more and more impossible.

This was how she would die, in a sort of ironic manner. This was how she would die, as a fugitive, a victim of the very thing she stole. And when she was dead, her power would… no, better not think of that. Every girl she might focus on was in the clutches of Ironwood. She couldn't give him that power back. Best think of something else. Herself, perhaps. Her inevitable demise.

Her gaze flickered up as she silently prayed to whatever was out there for safe and peaceful passing.

Only instead, she saw a luxury skyliner floating a few hundred feet above her head.

Glynda's eyes narrowed. Someone hadn't gotten the forest fire memo, it seemed. It didn't cross her mind that whoever was in the ship would be able to see the entire Forever Fall up in flames. Instead, she followed her instinct. At least she could protect people to her very end, she thought as she abandoned her Maiden abilities and used her own semblance to push on the ship, attempting to nudge it out of the way.

It didn't budge. If anything, it got lower to her.

She frowned and pushed more for a second, then her hand began to grow uncomfortably warm. Less by choice than by instinct, she pushed back on the flames. I might be dying soon, but I'm not ready to die just yet, I guess.

The airship began to land next to her. The fire promptly tried to devour it, but seemed to be having no luck. Fireproof? A ship that expensive could have a feature like that easily, Glynda supposed. She watched it warily as she pushed the flames back, and the doors began to open.

Standing in it was the very team who her pursuit of had caused this whole mess.

"Get in!" yelled Emerald Sustrai, beckoning with a hand. "Come on! We can't stay here all day."

Glynda nodded and began to race for the ship. As she did, the flames seemed to block her, cutting the group from view. She pushed them, but they barely faltered. Was the fire too strong? Or was she too weak?

She collapsed. Too weak, definitely. She let up a sad, sorry laugh. How could she have ever thought she'd survive the wild? What was the saying? Those who can, do… those who can't, teach. She had been a teacher for a reason. A teacher of huntress prowess, a teacher of Maiden powers. Both were things she had no business actively using.

The flames rushed towards her and she looked into them submissively. "You win," she whispered.

Then, they retreated.

Glynda blinked as she watched Cinder Fall emerge from the flames, head tilted, and a soft smile playing on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"How did…"

"I'll explain when we're back at the ship. There's a lot to tell you, Glynda."

"Miss Goodwitch to students," snapped Glynda automatically. She was more than used to defending her adulthood; with her youth so apparent, she was often mistaken as a student herself.

Cinder snorted. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

"Walk?"

"Maybe if I can preserve strength by not answering your silly questions, I'll have enough to make it."

"Then on my count, we walk for it. No running, I can't have you falling or tripping. I'll cover you. Three… two… one… now."

With her shirt over her mouth to filter out the smoke, she stumbled towards the ship. Behind her, Cinder manipulated smoke and flames like a master, keeping them far away from the pair. Within a couple of minutes, the new Maiden found herself being helped onto the skyliner by Emerald and Mercury.

As soon as Glynda was sitting comfortably in an armchair, Cinder bounded onto the ship. "Neo," she commanded. "Liftoff as soon as possible. Don't worry about giving a countdown, just get us out of here. Emerald, Mercury. Get one of the guest rooms set up for Glynda."

"Miss Goodwi…" Glynda started, then stopped as she began to grow dizzy.

After a second, the world went black.

"If she's fainted, do we still have to set up a guest room?" asked Mercury, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes," said Cinder. "She could be with us for quite a while. I'd prefer for her to be comfortable." She glanced at Emerald. The teen looked upset once again. "Remember, friends. Glynda is not just the source of the second half of the Maiden power. She also has valuable information, probably more so than even I could guess. If you recall, she was one of the Maiden Guards, and a friend of Ironwood and Ozpin. Why, then, did she take that power and flee from them? Learning why could be a distinct advantage."

Emerald's frown persisted. "She's an enemy, and she's seen us. If we give her half a chance, she could run straight back to the other side's Maiden Guards."

"But would they guard her? Or would they kill her?" When the group failed to respond, Cinder crooked one finger towards them. "Come. Let's call Salem."

"All together?" asked Mercury.

"I want you to hear what she has to say."

They walked from the main body of the ship into a small cabin room. On a table, a hologram was set up for long-range calls. "A direct line to the CCT," Mercury observed. "Whoever bought this ship probably bathed in money."

"Without a doubt," Cinder said as she started up the connection.

It took mere seconds to connect to Salem. The woman's red eyes lit up as soon as she saw who was on the other end. "Cinder. Emerald, Mercury, and Neo as well. What's the occasion?"

"A success, Aunt Salem," Cinder said. Her eyes automatically flicked to the door to the main ship. "The other half of the Maiden powers has been apprehended."

"Did she fight?"

"Fight us? Not hardly. I'll admit we were likely a welcome sight considering we found her half burned to death."

Salem laughed, her voice low and pleased. "A blessing. Your plan is to milk her for information before her execution, correct?"

"Yes, of course. Why would a Maiden Guard defect? It's odd." Cinder's gaze now dropped to the floor. "I don't like what it could mean," she murmured.

"Reluctance to do what's needed for Holle's good?"

The room was silent for a moment. Emerald, of all people, was the one to break it. "Salem, I don't see why we have to make her comfortable. Why can't we just get rid of her now? We'll have what we need, and it'll be one less thing to worry about. This is getting too out of hand."

Cinder's heart twinged at the thought.

"Patience, Emerald. This woman could crack open the entire kingdom, if only you're nice to her. Obey me. Obey Cinder." Salem was patient, but firm. "And one more thing. She is a Maiden just as much as Cinder is. That means that she needs a Guard."

"Hang on! We don't need anyone else on this ship!" Mercury interjected. "It's cramped enough with all the girls."

"I'm not suggesting anyone else." Salem's voice was still calm.

"Then what?"

"As you know, a Maiden typically has three companions, though rarely a couple more may be added as trainees or backup. The rule, however, is three for one Maiden. Even before Cinder gained her abilities, you all had jumped at the chance to be her Maiden Guard," Salem said as her mouth quirked upwards into a smirk. "Mathematically speaking, that's twice as many as she needs. No, you may have two different women, but only one full Maiden."

Emerald's eyes narrowed. "You're suggesting we become her Maiden Guards. How will we allow her to be killed, then?"

"Modify the pledge. Protect her against all outside threats. Say nothing about the inside ones. She doesn't have to hear you pledge it, after all, what will she know?"

"What outside threats? She's going to be on this ship until we get this information. Then, she's going to be dead."

Salem didn't falter. She didn't seem worried, or annoyed. She simply seemed to be telling the truth. "We don't know how long it will take for the information she has to be extracted. And more than that… we simply don't know what or who could come after her."

When Glynda woke up, she was in the softest bed she'd ever slept in.

Nevermore feathers, carefully preserved, stuffed the dark comforter that was draped over her and mounds of blankets that took inspiration… or perhaps were made from… the hides of Beowolves. She couldn't place if her pillows continued the Grimm theme or not, but they were definitely soft and the thick, dark pillowcases worked with the colors of the rest of the bedding.

As soon as she could think of something besides comfort, glorious comfort, she filed the extravagance away as a clue. How could this team afford such luxury? Was it even legal for teenagers to drive such a thing?

She slipped out of bed. She was still in her modified outfit, though it was ruined beyond repair. Glynda was glad for it. That likely meant there had been nothing done to her besides placing her in a bed. It was still annoying, though. Fire had burned holes through her vest and both shirt and shorts were fraying at their roughly cut edges. She'd need new clothes, even faster than she'd originally planned for.

Glynda couldn't help but smile. If they're so rich and helpful, maybe they can help me out.

Another observation… one that she should have done first, and the fact that she hadn't only proved that she was unfit to be a Huntress. She was fully healed, likely due to her Aura. Apart from her outfit, she would have considered herself to be in fighting condition.

As she took an experimental few steps, her ruined shoes sinking into a fluffy, luxurious carpet, there came a knock on the door.

Glynda frowned. "Yes?" she called back, tentative.

It opened, and there stood Cinder Fall, leader of her team. "You're up, that's good. Do you feel any better, Gl… Miss Goodwitch?"

Glynda nodded. "By far. Thank you, Cinder."

"You'll be needing new clothes. I took the liberty of finding some in your colors. Purple as your primary, and you favor greens, whites, and blacks with it, right?"

Another nod, mute this time. That was considerate, especially considering that no member of their team is named for purple. I imagine the rest wasn't as difficult to find, though."

Cinder pointed her to the closet. "It's stocked. Take what you need. There's a bathroom connected to it as well. Take an hour or so to clean yourself up, and then meet me and the others on the bridge. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. So do we." She smiled, then turned and closed the door, leaving Glynda alone once again.

Glynda really did have a lot of questions, and more and more were focused on this odd team. She pushed them out of her mind for the time being, which was easy. The appeal of a hot bath and new clothes would have been appealing even on a normal day at Beacon. After what she'd been through, it sounded like her personal heaven.

Half an hour later, she stood in the closet, hair still dripping from the water. Her old clothes were stuffed into a trash can with no regrets, and green eyes scanned over the many, many choices Cinder had for her. Most were business-like, the kind of thing she wore when she was working. Her outfits had been selected deliberately for over four years with only one purpose; to set her apart from the students, to make her seem like staff. Cinder seemed to believe that was her genuine style. It wasn't.

Out of habit, she almost did slip on a crisp white shirt and purple suit set, but then a small section by the door caught her eye. Young adult clothes. The kind she only wished she could pull off and still be seen as respectable.

What the hell. She could at least wear a combination.

A pair of durable black leggings went under a simple violet combat skirt and a pair of knee-length black boots. She did end up keeping the white Oxford shirt, accenting it with green jade cuff links found in a small jewelry drawer. There were no hair ribbons or anything, but that was okay. Her hair wasn't long enough to hold them anymore.

Before she left the closet, her eyes slid towards brown utility belts made with pocket after pocket. Then, they slid past those, to the purses. Purses did the same thing, right? They looked better, too.

She grabbed a messenger bag that closely matched her skirt, shoved her glasses, riding crop, and another outfit into it (just in case she had to make a quick escape and clothes were again hard to come by) and walked out of the room to face her fate.

Cinder took the time before meeting Glynda to review the other Maiden's hacked Atlesian file. Perhaps that was why when Glynda walked onto the bridge looking like a recent Beacon graduate, Cinder knew that was because she was.

"You look young," she said, meaning it as a compliment. Youth meant having hunting techniques fresh in your mind. It meant having a newer, sprightlier body. Youth was good in her line of work.

Glynda only scowled, however. "I'm twenty-five," she admitted, not knowing Cinder already knew it. "I am still a staff member, however, and I deserve respect."

"Are you still a staff member?" Cinder asked, only slightly deviously. Glynda blinked, her expression unreadable, and Cinder set down her scroll, picking up a warm cup of tea instead. With her free hand, she gestured to one of the cushy armchairs nearby her. "Please, sit. We have a lot to discuss."

Glynda sat awkwardly.

"May I get you something to drink? Hot chocolate? Tea? Coffee?"

"Coff… no. Tea, please."

Cinder rose and walked to a nearby table. She'd anticipated hot drink needs; they were all already prepared. "Sugar or milk?"

"No thank you."

Cinder handed Glynda her tea and sat down. "So, would you like to ask your questions first? Or should I tell you what I already know?"

Not a beat of hesitation. "Please tell me what you know first. I'll go from there."

"Very well. You are Glynda Goodwitch, age twenty five." Cinder smiled, and her smile too had a hint of deviousness that even she could feel. "Up until recently, you were an average professor of tactics, strategy, and hunter law at Beacon Academy. Those not in the know think you're especially close to Headmaster Veiviser Ozpin after spending your four years in school as his mentee. In truth, you had been selected from a young age… eighteen, I believe… to be a Maiden Guard for the then-current, now-previous Fall Maiden."

Glynda froze. "How did you know about…"

"You were a backup Guard, so your schooling was mainly uninterrupted by Maiden Guard duties. Ozpin, James Ironwood, and Qrow Branwen kept up the active Maiden Guard. After Amber was attacked, however, you were called in to a more important role, supplementing Ozpin's defense of the vault where Amber was imprisoned and helping in selection of a new Maiden. You did well when you picked. Everyone thought so. Ozpin took credit for it among most of the files, but you didn't seem to mind. Your name stuck on a couple of them, however. Pyrrha Nikos was ultimately your suggestion."

Glynda's face was white as her shirt.

"You have been officially terminated from Beacon Academy staff as of three days ago. You were asleep for about one of those days. There is a warrant out for your arrest on charges of the murder of Yang Xiao Long. You're considered missing… and dangerous. You see, both the rest of Amber's Maiden Guard and me myself suspect that before fleeing the scene, you stole the powers of the Maiden. Clever, clever," Cinder mused. "There are rules against Maiden Guards killing their Maiden except to ease her pain in passing, and the laws especially forbid killing her for her power. But there are none against simply stealing it."

"Where are you taking me." The question was flat, almost like a statement.

"Nowhere, nowhere at all," Cinder assured. "I have no intention of turning you in, if that's what you're concerned with. I will take it, however, that this is the start of your own questions? I didn't miss anything, did I?"

"How do you know all this?"

"We hacked the CCT last semester. It was easy. I trained at top of my class at Haven years ago in Hunter Dispatch and Technoweaponry." Cinder made it a point to be honest. Some Huntresses seemed to be able to sniff out lies; Cinder wasn't sure if Glynda was one such Huntress.

Glynda blinked. "Years ago?"

"I look young for my age, I know. Sorry for fooling you."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm twenty-nine. I graduated almost a decade ago."

"Then why were you… who are you?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Of course," said the former professor, her eyes narrowed. "I'd rather know what I've gotten myself into."

"Fine." Cinder smiled. "You are Glynda Goodwitch, age twenty five, one of two Fall Maidens. I'm Cinder Fall, age twenty-nine. I'm the other one."

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The room grew cold, as though all the warmth had been sucked out of it. Perhaps Glynda, inhaling sharply, had somehow done just that… with fire powers running through her, it wouldn't be unheard of.

Then, with one fluid motion, Cinder found herself face to face with a riding crop, one that had a very, very focused Huntress on the other end.

Flames burst from the crop, angry and untamed, and as she threw herself backwards into a dodging flip, Cinder laughed.

Summary: Glynda awakens to find herself in a raging forest fire. After being rescued by Cinder Fall and her team, she is given the opportunity to rest up and get some answers. During this time, she finds out that Cinder knows much more than any normal student should, and exactly why: Cinder is no student, but rather the possessor of the other half of the Maiden's powers.

AN: I hope you are enjoying this! Not much to say except yay time for some explanations. And apparently, some action! See you all next chapter!