This time on Paved with Bad Intentions: Emerald goes through some shit, as is customary.
Without further ado…
Chapter 4
Rather shockingly, Emerald was still alive.
She'd been brought aside by Ms. Goodwitch into an empty classroom. It wasn't too far off of the corridor she'd been walking through in an effort to take the edge off the hurt that swirled through her stomach, and up into her heart.
And it was equally not as far from the location where she'd practically signed her own death sentence, by calling Glynda Goodwitch a big-titted, blonde haired, bimbo.
Emerald was almost shocked that it somehow sounded worse now that she thought about it, but yeah, no, it really did.
The professor sat them at one of the many long benches that faced the chalkboard in the center of the room. She slid into the booth as she gestured for Emerald to do the same, and idly, she realized Goodwitch had left her the seat closest to the aisle, silently offering her an escape route if she wanted to take it. At any other time, she may've appreciated the gesture.
Not so much now.
"So," Goodwitch began, clearing her throat in what she was clearly hoping was an icebreaker. "Who is this person you were talking about? Someone who's fallen for someone else?"
Emerald's face went beat red, even as she looked away from the woman, trying to hide some of her shame.
"I…"
"You don't have to tell me." Glynda Goodwitch spoke softly, smiling over at her in a disarmingly gentle way. "I know that to you students, I must seem like some terrible disciplinarian, out to strip you of your secrets, but I am human too. I'm not going to force you to talk if you don't want to."
Emerald was rather confident there were quite literally zero things she wanted to talk about less, but…
Well, given she'd called the woman that, she probably deserved some sort of explanation.
…and for once, it wasn't like there was any reason to hide the truth.
"I… there's this person I've liked for a while…" Emerald opened, trying to not feel mortified as she hugged her arms close to her chest. "And… well, I kind of thought that maybe they… that they might like me too…"
Honestly, that had been hopelessly naïve of her. Cinder had only ever fulfilled the smallest of her desires. A glancing touch here, a little encouragement there, only ever enough to keep her wanting more, keep her following…
…keep her loyal.
But it never went further, and deep down, past the hero worship, past the other things worship, she'd known that…
But now, to have it thrust into her face so uncaringly, so mercilessly?
Yeah, Emerald was pretty tough, one didn't get by on the streets like she had without some grit, but it hurt.
"But they don't…"
"Ah. Your feelings were rejected, then? I take it this person fell for someone… er… blonde?"
Emerald's face went red again as she was forced to once more remember saying that right in front of the woman herself.
In her defense – and she was fairly certain it wouldn't amount to much chiseled onto a tombstone, but it couldn't hurt either – she hadn't known the woman was there. Too distracted, too into her own head. Her instincts had been the last thing she was focusing on.
A mistake. There was nothing else she could call it.
Admitting that now didn't much fix the problem, though.
"Y-Yeah." She said instead.
"Mm. I see." Glynda Goodwitch, against Emerald's expectation, gave an almost indignant huff. "I can remember what that was like, having the person I wanted to look at me instead fix their gaze upon someone else.
She rounded on the woman in surprise. "You!?"
"Is that so surprising?" Goodwitch smirked, clearly amused. "I know I must seem some old crone to you, but I was young once, Ms. Sustrai."
The woman might as well have punched her in the face with how much that shocked her.
"No, no, no, that's not… I meant, like… look at you!" She felt the way she held both her hands forward, like showing off some piece of artwork, was fairly self-explanatory. "Ms. Goodwitch, you're, like, the hottest–"
Emerald managed to cut herself off before she could somehow embarrass herself any further, red-faced, and sputtering as she looked away from the woman. Unfortunately, given that Glynda Goodwitch wasn't an idiot like she was, she could likely interpret the rest of what she'd been about to say pretty easily.
"Well thank you, Ms. Sustrai." The woman laughed honestly, and Emerald had half a mind to commit seppuku right then and there with one of her sickles, which would hopefully restore some small bit of her dignity; but would at the very least end her miserable existence. "It is not often I get such… sincere praise?"
"Kill me." She whimpered.
"I will do no such thing. But yes, even I, as hot as I apparently am," It seemed the woman was not above teasing her, chuckling lightly as Emerald let out another low groan. "Was turned down more than once. People will always have their own viewpoints. Their own likes and dislikes. Their own opinions. Just as, I'm sure, this person you're longing for does."
She knew that. She wasn't some… some puberty-laden teenager!
…Ok, maybe she was, but that was only by technicality!
She was a hardened killer! An agent to Cinder Fall, soon-to-be the worlds most wanted criminal! She was not some… not some…
"I'm not some love-struck buffoon!" She complained, eyeing the woman beside her with an annoyed huff.
The professor held her hands up in mock surrender. "I didn't say that."
"Well… it felt like you did." Emerald grumbled a bit pettily.
"I'm sorry, then, Ms. Sustrai. I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's fine." She spoke. "I just… I'm not used to hurting like this. I didn't think I would hurt like this… Not just for being… what, turned down? I wasn't even turned down, I just… I just never asked, and then it was too late."
Silence reigned for a moment, and emerald honestly thought that was it.
But no, that would've been too easy.
"This person you like… may I ask who it is?"
It was almost on instinct that a question about Cinder had her walls snapping back into place. Glynda Goodwitch clearly noticed if the way her eyes narrowed slightly was any indication. Emerald probably should've said something there to try and assuage the woman's doubts, instead of clamming up further.
"That's personal." She said curtly.
"Ah, right." Glynda Goodwitch looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sustrai. I didn't mean to intrude so heavily."
"No, you… you're fine." She tried, the woman's honest concern almost disarming her entirely. "Honestly, I appreciate you talking to me like this. No one's really ever cared to–"
It was at that moment that her voice trailed off, but she'd already said too much, and she watched as the woman beside her looked just the smallest bit sad.
She knew what the look there was. She'd seen it before, had it directed at her before.
It was pity.
She didn't want to see it. Didn't want it, never had. People had always looked at her, a lone girl sitting on the side of the street, with pity, with sorrow, and indignance at the very world…
But none of them had every done a damned thing regardless.
"You're not alone, Emerald."
She felt something in her crack just the tiniest bit at that, and she turned just in time to catch the woman beside her scooting a bit closer, placing a comforting hand along her back as she smiled woefully down at her.
"It seems you haven't had it easy, have you?"
Emerald couldn't bear to meet the woman's gaze. She knew, above all else, that she couldn't say anything about herself here. To do so, to give the faculty anything more than what was on their transcripts was, at best, foolish.
And at worst, potentially incriminating.
…She said that, but…
Emerald hadn't been lying when she said Glynda Goodwitch was one of the only people to ever ask about her. Cinder… as much as Emerald had wanted to know every little thing about her mistress, that inclination certainly hadn't been shared. When she'd tried to tell Cinder of her life…
The woman had turned her away without much thought at all, stating such things were unimportant to the mission.
She knew that. She hadn't been worrying about the mission. And, of course, that was the problem. Emerald didn't want to stick with Cinder until the mission was over, she wanted…
Emerald, she…
"I… no." Emerald said after what couldn't have been any longer than a few seconds but had felt like forever. "I… I grew up on the streets. I didn't get off of them until… well, until Cinder saved me."
"Cinder?" Glynda seemed genuinely interested. "Your team leader?"
"Yeah. She… took me in when I had nothing. The two of us –" She was lucky she remembered the cover story she had to stick to in that very moment, because for just a second she'd been about to tell the honest truth of what they'd gone through together. "We traveled for a bit, and then we found Mercury, too. Eventually, the three of us went to Haven. There… there wasn't much else for three kids with nothing to their names but skill with a weapon to do."
Glynda Goodwitch nodded her head sympathetically, seemingly having had a few similar cases in the past. That would make sense, Emerald supposed. It wasn't like she was unique in suffering. Hell, the professor across from her probably pulled all of her students aside like this, offering them a shoulder to lean on.
It wasn't like she was doing this for her. No one did.
"It's Cinder, isn't it? The person you have feelings for."
Almost instantly, Emerald's guard flew back up. It was obvious, once again, that she'd made a mistake. She'd let her guard down because Goodwitch had seemed like such an honest woman, but not taking her seriously was idiotic. She wasn't at all a rank amateur. This was a huntress, with a deadly intellect.
Suddenly, a part of Emerald understood why Cinder would take an interest in her.
That only made the ache in her heart worse.
"…Yeah." Emerald admitted after what felt like too long.
Ms. Goodwitch didn't seem surprised at all, merely nodding her head before continuing. "And from your earlier description, I'm taking it the person Ms. Fall is interested in isn't a young man, like one might assume, but…"
Emerald was glad that the professor didn't expect her to add anything there, because she wasn't sure she'd have been able to at all.
She let out a laugh, a sad, self-pitying thing – and wasn't that ironic, her getting on people for pitying her so much and then throwing a pity party for herself – that had Ms. Goodwitch sliding her hand further up Emerald's back, coming to wrap around her right shoulder.
Perhaps it should've made her feel trapped, like she no longer had the escape route of the aisle beside her, but… no. Emerald was honestly glad for the contact. It kept her grounded, kept her present, and let her part her lips.
"I think… I think I thought 'well, at least if it's a guy, then I can be content', y'know? I just never had a chance." To her horror, Ms. Goodwitch nodded sympathetically. "But seeing her… seeing her have feelings for a woman is just…" She placed both hands over her left breast, trying to bite down on the emotion threatening to spill out of her. "It hurts. It hurts so fucking bad." She realized she'd sworn in front of a faculty member, but she didn't much care. "It hurts more than the starving, clawing days on the street ever did."
Emerald sort of expected Ms. Goodwitch to not have a response to that, but no, of course she did.
"Pain you become accustomed to is easy. When we experience new emotions, when we fall in love or put ourselves out there… we open ourselves up to incredible feelings… but those can be both good and bad."
She nodded, having sort of already understood that, even as she clenched her teeth, and leant forward slightly.
"It's just… I've always been with her." She tried to explain, before realizing she'd done a pretty shit job. "Or… I haven't but… the best parts of my life were with her… the only bright spots among a series of black moments."
Ms. Goodwitch kept up. "And you feel like, if she finds someone to care about, she'll leave you behind? Like she'll forget you?"
She nodded glumly.
"Cinder is a kind woman; I've experienced that myself." The woman beside her tried to reassure her. "She wouldn't abandon you. I'm sure it's hard to reconcile the way she feels for you with how you feel for her, but I would place your trust in her."
Of course, you'd think that. Some part of her groused. You're the one that has her eye.
But… it was muted. Largely because she could tell Glynda Goodwitch, for all her intellect, hadn't yet figured out Cinder's interest in her.
And she hadn't figured out who Cinder really was either. Emerald may've adored her, but even she knew that Cinder was far from kind.
…Mercury might've mocked her with it, but Emerald had figured out she was just another piece on the board to Cinder a long time ago.
The bitterness within her only continued to grow, and Emerald growled under her breath as she stood from the bench, shaking off the professor's arm from her shoulders. She knew that if she stayed any longer, those feelings were only going to intensify, until she snapped and said something stupid. She took a single step into the aisle, not once looking back.
It would hurt if she looked back. So, Emerald wouldn't.
"Thank you for your advice, Ms. Goodwitch. I'm sorry I've held you so long." She closed her eyes when she turned to smile at the woman, finding it didn't take too much effort to conjure up. "But I should be going. I don't want to worry my teammates."
She made to leave, but for a hand reaching out and coming to rest along her arm.
"Ms. Sustrai, if I may?"
Emerald allowed herself to stop, even if she was still unable to meet the woman's gaze.
"I… am not so inexperienced in the problem you may be facing. Though perhaps it's not quite the same situation, I often found my eye drawn by both the male and female forms."
Huh. So, Ms. Goodwitch was bi. Cool. Great. She would return Cinder's feelings.
That she might not didn't even factor into the equation. What Cinder wanted; Cinder got. And whether or not Cinder even realized it…
She wanted Glynda Goodwitch.
Bury the knife a little deeper, why don't you.
"But…" A hand touched Emerald's wrist, and she had to clamp down on nearly a decade of instinct that told her to rear back and snap it. Instead, she allowed the woman to gently run her hand down Emerald's arm, to take her hand, and squeeze it lightly. "I just want you to know that you have someone to talk to if that's okay. Let me know if I'm pushing too far, of course."
Now… now the emotions within her were simply swimming. Swimming and writhing in the deep pit of her soul. What was she supposed to make of this woman? One moment, she made her feel wanted, then made her truly despair. She couldn't keep doing this.
"I… I don't…"
"It's fine if you're unsure, or don't want to." Ms. Goodwitch said in a voice that communicated her sincerity, even if Emerald didn't want to acknowledge it. "Just let it be known that if you'd like to talk with me, I'm always available in my office. Well, school hours will still apply, but I could extend them if you made an appointment–"
"…You actually care, don't you?"
"Hm?" The words, so filled with meaning from Emerald, seemed not to really register with the woman she'd delivered them to. "Well, of course I do."
She said it like it was a given. Like it was obvious.
Of course, she cared. Didn't everyone? Wouldn't everyone have seen someone in trouble, and spent thirty minutes on a weeknight counseling them through said troubles? Wouldn't everyone have tried to reassure them through what even Emerald could admit was some stupid teenage nonsense?
Wouldn't everyone have stopped her running away, trying to fix things they had no reason to give a shit about?
She wasn't… she didn't care. Emerald had to tell herself that. she didn't care that the woman would offer her something like that.
Or she wanted to tell herself that.
But Emerald was not blind to some of her own weaknesses. And one particularly relevant one was rearing its ugly head yet again.
"Thanks…"
It was such a tiny, pathetic thing. She'd mumbled it out past the red of her cheeks, past the sheer embarrassment threatening to cause her to simply keel over on the spot.
She couldn't miss the way the woman behind her gave a sharp intake of breath, before, with a small squeeze, she pulled her hand away.
Emerald was just too easy. Too willing to curl into another at the slightest offered warmth. It was almost effortless to entice her with just a few caring words, or the smallest kindness, or a little touch, or…
"Any time, Ms. Sustrai."
Damn her… Emerald's fists tightened at her sides. Damn them all…
"Oh, and one last thing…"
She had half a mind to simply leave, but Emerald relented, turning back to see just what this was about.
And she would admit to being quite surprised to see what was abjectly embarrassment on Glynda Goodwitch's face.
"It is just… well…" She leaned in, and for some reason, Emerald responded not with a punch to the throat, as was customary, but by leaning in, too. "I would not call Ms. Xiao-Long a… er…" Her face went scarlet. "That… in front of her face."
Wait… She thought…
Oh.
You know what, as far as excuses go…?
"I uh…" Emerald stuttered out, before shaking her head and standing up straight. "I won't, ma'am. Definitely won't."
I'll take it.
It was late by the time Mercury arrived back in beacon, still silently fuming as he cradled his newly obtained console under his left arm, and the bag carrying the game that he'd been royally trounced in slung along in his right hand.
Despite what Mercury had thought, no one at the department store he'd visited had seen anything odd with a teenager going in with a few thousand lien and asking what console would play the game he'd been after, nor had they hesitated at all to sell it to him. By far, the harder thing for him to do was actually find a department store in the first place.
Mercury hadn't ever really visited Vale with the expectation of going shopping before that day. Actually, he'd never gone shopping a day in his life. That was one of very few things his father had done for him.
And… Eh, he'd managed it. It'd taken him a few hours of roaming around, asking random people questions, getting annoyed when they were generally unhelpful, and entering every store and asking if they sold video games.
Finally, around hour two, inside a place that apparently only sold furniture – what a useless location – someone had pointed him the right way.
Mercury hadn't even had the strength to be all that angry about that, to be honest. No, his anger had largely come from what had happened earlier in the day, that accursed time spent with JN(P)R in the team's dorm room.
How dare they!? Mercury wasn't even sort of over his defeat, and it wasn't hard to see why, really. Losing had always come at a cost to Mercury. If he lost against his father, he got beat. If he screwed up in training, he got beat. If his father thought he was slacking, he got beat.
But the laughter… that was new.
His father had never mocked him. He'd not seen the point in it, not when he'd spent so much of Mercury's life hammering away at his emotion's with a chisel until there wasn't anything left. In his eyes, if Mercury had even the capacity to be spurred on by mockery, then he was a failure.
Mercury decided that even though the laughter, the teasing and banter was new, he hated it. He hated the way they mocked him.
He practically slammed the door to Team CMME's dorm room shut behind him, and he was silently delighted to not see anyone else but Neopolitan inside of it. It seemed Cinder must've been up to something, then, which was good, given that he was pretty sure he'd ignored something she'd said earlier.
He'd probably get punished for that later, but at the moment, he didn't care.
He spared the briefest of glances towards the she-demon, who raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing – which made sense, really – as he reached behind the T.V. they had in their room and began to look for the inputs the man at the store had told him to find.
It took him a while, nearly twenty minutes of swearing quietly to himself as he unwrapped his newly begotten gaming machine and set it up so that it played the game. The case of 'Supreme Smash Sisters' seemed to taunt Mercury as he opened it, and then slid the disc inside of the slot on the console.
Five or so minutes later, he was staring at a screen that loudly proclaimed the game's title, holding his controller in both hands…
And with no real idea of where to go from there.
How did one go about getting good at a game meant for multiple people when they had none of that… 'multiple people' nonsense?
To Mercury's surprise, it was Neo of all people that assisted him, sidling up beside him and pointing lazily at the screen to a spot that was labeled 'Online Play'.
"The hell's that?"
Neo glared at him, before practically stabbing her finger forward at the same section once more.
Mercury didn't really get it, but he rolled his eyes and pressed the 'A' button on his controller.
He was brought to that character select screen again, and he decided to just go with the same hot chick he'd picked earlier in the day. He didn't particularly care, but he supposed he liked her style. She fought with what seemed like rocket boots, and in a way, Mercury liked that that mirrored his own affliction.
He pressed the start button and waited for a bit as the game loaded something or another. Finally, after thirty or so seconds, he was thrust into an arena. It was different than the one he'd fought upon earlier, but from what Arc had said, he'd mostly chosen the same map to let them learn the game.
Psh, not like that matters now. Mercury thought with a smug grin. Now, I can destroy some idiot without having to worry about keeping those dumbasses happy!
Mercury lost all five of his lives in roughly twenty-eight seconds.
He stared, slack-jawed, at the screen, as his character stood in the background and clapped for another, a large ape wearing a bowtie, as it flailed around excitedly.
The screen helpfully proclaimed that he'd come in second place.
Mercury's right eye twitched.
'Lol, noob.' The tiny chat box at the bottom of the screen displayed.
Mercury had no idea what the hell a 'Noob' was, but he had the sinking suspicion it wasn't a compliment.
Especially given the way Neo snorted beside him.
Mercury growled, typing in a string of obscenities into the chat box himself that would've made a sailor blush. Instead of being cowed into submission, like his foolish opponent should've been, the bastard simply replied '1v1 me Last Destination, bro'.
Once more, the machinations of this idiot's mind were lost on Mercury.
Instead of doing whatever the hell a '1v1' was, Mercury backed out of the online lobby. He sent a glare Neo's way, and watched as the girl just snickered silently, clearly enjoying herself.
"Yeah, very funny." He spat.
Neo seemed to find his situation rather humorous, and once more, Mercury was left with that unfamiliar feeling of being laughed at. Of failing, and not being beaten, but mocked.
It was worse. He'd have rather been beaten. He'd long since gotten used to that.
Mercury seethed in silence. It was the same as earlier, when those blasted kids thought that beating him in some shitty game was worth something. Oh, he'd show them.
He'd become so good at the damned game that they'd never have a shot at him again.
…First, though, was actually understanding it.
He got the basic gist of it. It was the same as real combat. Cause as much pain to your opponent as quickly as possible, and then kill them brutally and efficiently. That, Mercury could understand.
He understood the long, drawn-out combos that the last asshole had used on him a little less.
He wasn't quite sure how he was meant to do that, nor if the character he'd picked could even do that.
How would he figure it out?
…Well, he had a scroll, didn't he?
He pulled up the scroll's search engine and plugged in the words 'supreme smash sisters how to play' into the bar. A good few thousand results came up at that, and Mercury decided to go ahead and click on the first thing, a video, since he didn't feel like sifting through any of the few thousand articles.
"Hey, what's up Remnant!" A tinny, far too high-pitched voice came through his scroll's speaker. "It's ya boi, MistralMeistro, and I'm back at it again, here with a beginner's guide to Supreme Smash Sisters! Now, before we begin, my analytics say that only 43% of my viewers are subscribed–"
Mercury closed the video, scowling.
Ok, so that was a bust.
He sighed as he closed his scroll and slipped the thing into his pocket. This was dumb. This was more than dumb, it was asinine, and clearly not worth his time.
He had homework to do, anyways. Cinder hadn't told them to do all of it, but to do enough that their grades wouldn't slump, or make them worthy of investigation by the teachers. After all, if they didn't do any work, well…
That'd probably get them kicked out.
Which kind of flew against the whole 'pretending to be students' thing.
So, for now, Mercury placed down the controller, and turned off the console, sighing out as he prepared to bring himself to spend the rest of his evening working on stupid assignments for that buffoon Port, or the equally idiotic Oobleck.
In regard to the game, he knew that there was no other option. He'd have to do things the old-fashioned way.
He knew from training with his father – if one could call it training – that improvement was a steady thing. It did not come quickly, nor easily, and it certainly didn't come without pain. No, Mercury should expect to struggle, and bleed, and crawl along the ground like an animal if he wished to succeed here.
Yes. He'd simply need to practice. He'd need to play, and play, and play. And eventually, learn to destroy that which stood before him.
…Which was certainly the only reason that he turned the console back on, pressed 'Start' again, and queued himself up for another match.
He had homework to do, but it wasn't like that couldn't wait until later. After all, he only had to play one more match.
Just…
Just the one.
…
Well, he probably had time for two, right?
Cinder was vaguely aware that Mercury was probably back in their room by now, and that she should probably go back in there and discipline the boy for what he'd pulled earlier, but honestly, she had more important things to worry about.
Namely, dealing with that infernal feeling inside of her, which had, after her talk with Emerald, seemed to be struggling inside of her more vigorously, almost like it intended to make itself as obvious as possible until she finally addressed it.
She supposed it was getting its wish.
Despite the fact that she'd allowed her minion to walk away earlier, Cinder wasn't an idiot. Emerald had clearly known more than she was letting on. Even so, she also knew that if it were a major issue, her most loyal follower wouldn't have hesitated to inform her.
Emerald could be relied upon for such things, at least, which led her to believe that whatever it was that hovered over Cinder, whatever this odd feeling inside her was, it was… tame, or at the very least manageable.
Still, Cinder didn't like not knowing information, especially information that others had managed to figure out before she had.
Cinder brought out her scroll and pulled up the usual search engine. She decided to type in a few of the 'symptoms' that Emerald had brought to her attention. 'Increased heartrate', she added, followed by 'Heightened emotions', and then 'Wanting close proximity'. She decided that would likely be good enough for a tertiary search.
The results were quite plentiful, which, at the very least, made Cinder let out a quiet breath of relief. It seemed, at the very least, that was she was experiencing may've been a common malady after all. If all things worked out, she may have an answer for the feeling in her chest before the night was out, and maybe even a list of remedies she could partake of to rid herself of it.
As the first few results loaded, however, all had Cinder's brow drawing down as her eyes widened.
'5 signs you're crushing on someone, and how to act on it!'
'So, you've got a crush; here's what to do.'
'What to do when you like someone; 10 easy steps that the Love Guru of Vacuo recommends you follow!'
Cinder just sort of stared at the scroll for quite a while, not saying a thing. A few seconds ticked by, then a few more, before, finally, Cinder let her head fall back and laughed, a loud, guffawing thing that would've drawn every eye in the corridor were in not late enough at night that no one was walking them.
Because such a conclusion was preposterous. Simply absurd.
She, Cinder Fall, crushing on some woman she'd just met?
No. Such was simply not the case.
She'd be having words with Emerald, it seemed, to curtail this silly little idea before she could get it any more wrong.
Because it was just so foolish.
Just because when she thought of Glynda Goodwitch, her heart beat a little faster, didn't mean that she had a crush on the woman. How idiotic. Just because when she pictured the woman in her mind's eye, her lower stomach did a happy little dance, didn't mean she was attracted. Just because whenever the woman was in the room Cinder's eyes were drawn to her, didn't mean she liked her. Just because she was able to smile more easily in her presence, when such expressions were like pulling teeth at any other time, didn't have to mean anything.
Just because Cinder was grateful to the woman for keeping her harrowed past a secret, just because when she thought of that moment, the woman's hand coming to rest upon her own, and calming her frayed nerves, her cheeks grew warm, and she blushed like an honest to goodness schoolgirl, and she found herself wanting to visit the woman's office again another time so that she could experience such things again…
Just because…
…
Wait…
…
Cinder's face paled.
Oh dear.
"I spoke with another of Ms. Fall's teammates. Emerald Sustrai."
"And?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip out of his mug.
"And she confided in me some private things I won't be sharing." Glynda Goodwitch said, and she was glad that Ozpin simply nodded, baring a tiny, knowing smile. "Other than that, she corroborated the story written on her transcripts, just like Ms. Fall did."
"That's good. Another piece of evidence in their favor."
Glynda sighed, shaking her head minutely.
"This is pointless, Ozpin. They're kids, and what's more, they're kind, compassionate ones." She argued for what felt like the umpteenth time. "The only thing they might need more of is counseling, and some tender care. They're no harm, I assure you."
"…Appearances have deceived me more than once, Glynda." He eyed her with a tired look in his eye, and she sighed as she understood, without asking, that he wouldn't be giving up on interrogating them just yet. "Hopefully, Qrow will return within a month or so, and I can leave investigating them to him. Until then, please continue your sessions with them. They didn't suspect you at all, did they?"
"Ozpin, they're just children."
"They didn't, did they?"
"No, sir, they did not." She huffed annoyedly, even as Ms. Sustrai's words "You actually care, don't you", and the way she'd looked at her in so stunned a manner, momentarily haunted her. "…May I be excused, headmaster?
"I'm sorry I've upset you." Ozpin said, knowing that the only times she ever addressed him as headmaster was when she was well and truly upset. "But you know I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice."
She growled under her breath, even as Ozpin raised his hands up in the air, as if admitting he was sorry for some of what he had to do, but that it wouldn't stop him.
"I understand. I do." She let out a pained breath. "It's just hard."
"I know. Not much longer now. I'm sure that in a month or two, we will look back upon our suspicions and laugh, but until then, please, I ask you do not drop your guard."
She bowed her head once and took to the elevator at the back of the room.
As it shut behind her, Glynda allowed herself to think on her meeting with Emerald Sustrai a little more thoroughly.
It seemed, much like Cinder Fall, her team's leader, that Emerald had some demons she was working through. Living on the street as a child couldn't have been easy. It wouldn't have been the first time Glynda had taught someone like that, but most had been picked up when they were younger, having a few years to adjust to normal life, and to put aside some of their trauma.
It seemed, from Ms. Sustrai's words, that the girl had been taken off the street by Cinder within the last few years.
Glynda exhaled, adjusting her glasses as she tried not to let the sorrow overwhelm her.
Surely, Emerald Sustrai had grown up on the streets, had been failed by the entire world, but she had not, at least, been betrayed by her leader. Cinder had come and saved her, rescued her from that life. It was no wonder the girl had developed feelings for her.
It had been difficult to council the girl through those same feelings not being returned, and it was part of the reason Glynda had offered to talk with Ms. Sustrai in her office if she wished to speak more. Sometimes just having someone to talk to was what mattered. Especially when it came to people who'd been living in less-than-ideal circumstances. They often had far less experience in simple, every-day matters like a crush, or unrequited feelings, than they did in a life-or-death scenario.
Still, that brought up something else about that meeting, one which had Glynda chuckling quietly, even if she knew such perhaps wasn't appropriate.
"How could she fall for that big-titted, blonde-haired, bimbo!"
It seemed that poor Ms. Sustrai hadn't taken her leader's newest affection well, and really, Glynda couldn't particularly blame her. She hadn't been lying when she'd told the girl that she'd been turned down many a time before. She was an adult woman; she'd been through several relationships in her time.
Hell, James still messaged her every once in a while, checking in on her and trying to rekindle what they once had.
Such thoughts were for later, however.
If Ms. Fall was crushing upon Ms. Xiao-Long, then that, at least, was a normal, teenaged thing to do. It was almost comforting knowing that the woman, whose eyes had seemed so broken, could have those feelings. Many who'd possessed them… well, they didn't ever really recover enough to want for such simple things.
…Perhaps…
Perhaps Glynda could encourage said development?
It didn't have to be anything major, but if she could draw Ms. Fall and Ms. Xiao-Long to sit by one another? …No, the two students didn't share any classes, not until later in the year, when second and first years would be paired up in sparring to fill classrooms while a good majority went on missions.
For now, what could Glynda do?
She had already introduced Ms. Fall and her team to Team JNPR, and that seemed to be going swimmingly so far. Team's RWBY and JNPR were rather close friends, and they seemed like they might even become sister teams in time. Was it possible these things would simply sort themselves out?
Well, it was possible, perhaps probable, even.
But then, there was nothing saying Glynda couldn't offer some assistance in the matter, was there?
After all, there was a field trip on the horizon.
Emerald lied in her bed, facing the wall beside her, pointedly avoiding the gazes of any of her teammates.
When she'd come back to the room, she'd found Mercury, bleary-eyed, playing that same video game he'd been losing at earlier in the day. She had no real idea how long he'd been doing that for, but then again, she also wasn't especially concerned.
She'd expected Mercury to get a major telling off when Cinder herself had entered back into the room, but no. Her mistresses' eyes had been staring straight ahead, her mind clearly elsewhere, and she'd gone to bed immediately, laying down and not speaking to any of them.
Only Neo seemed to be acting normal, shrugging as she turned on the little bedside lamp beside her and read from 'Ninjas of Love – Volume 2'. Part of Emerald wanted to question where she'd gotten such a thing, given that Emerald hadn't seen Neo bring it with her, or leave to go out into Vale to buy anything, but… no, she simply couldn't be bothered to worry about that.
The quiet noises of Mercury's game, which, even at nearly one in the morning, he was still playing, didn't exactly lull Emerald to sleep – and neither did his occasional whispered complaint about how something clearly hadn't hit him – but then again, with how much her mind was racing, he perhaps wasn't at fault for once.
No, Emerald was far too focused on the talk she'd had with Glynda Goodwitch a few hours back to seek slumber.
"You're not alone, Emerald."
"It seems you haven't had it easy, have you?"
"I just want you to know that you have someone to talk to if that's okay. Let me know if I'm pushing too far, of course."
Emerald's jaw set tightly, her blankets rustling as she curled into herself, trying to ignore the tiny warmth that had settled into her.
Because it didn't mean anything. It couldn't.
She… Ms. Goodwitch was just…
"…You actually care, don't you?"
"Hm? Well, of course I do."
No! Emerald's knuckles were white as she balled her hands into fists, pressing her arms against her chest how she used to have to do to conserve warmth on winter nights. It's not… she doesn't care. Just like Cinder… just like everyone else…
"It's fine if you're unsure, or don't want to. Just let it be known that if you'd like to talk with me, I'm always available in my office."
I'm not falling for it again. I won't. I'm stronger now. I'm not… I'm not…
…Maybe… maybe she could take the woman up on her offer?
Emerald bit down on her bottom lip, even as aggravated tears threatened to spill down her face.
Damnit… Godsdammit…
Sometimes Emerald really hated herself.
She was just too easy.
End Chapter 4
Aight. Another week (ish, I'm uploading this a day early cause I'm bored), another chapter. Getting deeper into the overall plot for our characters here. Poor Emerald. Being her really is suffering.
I was happy to see the response my other story, 'Cinderella and Prince Charming (Well, Kind of, Jaune's Doing his Best)' got. I'm hoping that this story will pick up as well, since I honestly enjoy writing it just as much as that one.
Anyways, I suppose I'll see you all next week!