Yo!

Back with another chapter. If you follow Cinderella and didn't see, I posted a new chapter of that this week! And the next chapter of After Happily Ever After is complete, though I'll be waiting to post that until I've got chapter 3 done as well. Probably not too terribly long, though. Maybe another week or two.

Anyways, let's get into it!

Chapter 23

If Cinder was being honest with herself, the turn of events that had led her to somehow running into Glynda Goodwitch in the middle of an abandoned hallway late in the evening was almost expected at this point.

She wasn't even surprised. She was mortified, to be fair, but she was not surprised.

"…Cinder." Glynda spoke after what felt like too long for either of them to remain silent.

"Gl- Ms. Goodwitch." She corrected, remembering that she was not at dinner with the woman, at a private table near the back, nor in her office where the two of them could speak freely. No, they were in the middle of a school hallway, and whether or not that hallway normally received visitors this late or not…

Well, Cinder didn't want to make things any worse for herself than her life already had.

Again, silence reigned. Cinder was honestly starting to get used to the little bout of shame that bubbled up within her whenever this happened, and it allowed her to shake off some of her normal apprehension, and simply come out and say something.

"How have you been?"

It was not, perhaps, the greatest thing she could've uttered, but… Cinder felt like something was nipping at her heels, something was hounding her every step. There was an almost invisible, intangible pressure pushing against her now, especially given that she was talking to the woman in front of her.

Something about this was…

"I am… well, I suppose."

"Good, good."

It had been… what, two or so weeks since their date? Not terribly long, really, but long enough that the two of them, both, had likely solved their feelings. Cinder, at the very least, had.

Well… that had been up until last night. Up until she'd received that call from Salem. Up until, once more, she was reminded of one crucial fact.

What she wanted didn't matter.

And the woman in front of her…

She wanted her.

Perhaps in the carnal manner that would normally be suggested by such a statement, but also…

"Cinder."

She snapped out of her thoughts to look up at the woman stood before her, who was, even now, looking away from her, seemingly still unable to meet her eyes. Cinder tried not to take that personally. She knew the situation the woman was under. Knew what hung about her mind, what prevented her from ever looking at Cinder like she did at her.

But…

It still did hurt, just a bit.

"Yes?"

"I am…" Glynda Goodwitch swallowed, her throat briefly undulating, and drawing Cinder's eye. "I have been thinking these past weeks. About what… what you spoke to me while we were–"

And then a student stepped into the hallway, his head in a book.

The both of them froze up, even as the man himself seemed to pay them no mind, simply slipping into a nearby classroom and letting the door close behind him.

"…Perhaps we should have this conversation some other time?" Cinder offered.

She expected Glynda Goodwitch to agree. To postpone the inevitable. To push back the date of Cinder's emotional execution.

She did not.

"No. I… have kept you waiting long enough."

Cinder's heart skipped a beat, and she hated herself for it.

"I…" It was her turn to swallow. "Alright."

It wasn't a terribly long walk back to Ms. Goodwitch's office, and though it'd been only three or so weeks since she'd last been in it, she found herself noting the way that the place had subtly changed.

For one, there was a single string of Winter Festival lights hung on the edge of the countertop, which caused Cinder to smile almost subconsciously, thinking of the ones that hung in her own room, due to Mercury's efforts.

She was not entirely sure why she liked them. Perhaps it was that winter was such a known commodity for her. She'd grown up in Atlas, after all.

But she'd never seen lights like these. The Madame hadn't ever been the festive type.

"…Would you like something to drink?"

Cinder felt like she should decline, not drag this out, but…

Her mouth was incredibly dry. Likely from the nervousness that clung to her, threatened her, and it was all she could do to flagellate herself inside her head.

This has us nervous!? Some part of her seemed to scream. This!? We faced a Maiden in combat without letting loose a drop of sweat, and this has us panicking!?

It had been a while since that voice surfaced. Since she'd had to war against herself. She did her best to ignore that voice as she turned back, and nodded towards the woman. "Just a water, please."

Glynda hummed in answer a tad robotically, before turning to her shelf and grabbing two glasses.

Cinder sat herself down in her usual spot on the couch – when had it become such a thing? When had she gone an – d tried to calm her frantically beating heart, her quivering lips. She felt pathetic, perhaps only slightly less so than she'd felt some nights ago, when she'd suffered through that idiotic panic attack.

She honestly thought she'd have longer to calm herself, and yet, what felt like five or so seconds later, there Glynda was, setting down the two glasses on the coffee table in front of the couch before walking over to her desk, grabbing her chair, and pulling it over as she normally did to sit in front of Cinder, facing one another.

And once more, silence reigned.

Cinder took the time to reach down and take the glass that Glynda had set down in front of her, and…

And she noticed something entirely odd.

The glass she had in her hand was normal. The usual cylindric shape. But the one that Glynda had picked out…

It was melted, and warped, and had what seemed to be repaired cracks all along it. It had clearly been painstakingly restored, using heat. Cinder would know. Glass work was one of her specialties.

And then her eyes widened when she remembered that yes, it really was, because the glass in front of her had been her work.

The vessel she'd cracked, and then repaired on a whim.

Glynda had kept it.

Why would–

"I promised you an answer."

Cinder swallowed subconsciously, her throat dry, before remembering that she had a water, and taking a few more greedy sips.

"Yes."

"I am… I have been… contemplating for a while on this."

That… was more than Cinder had expected. She was actually considering… anything? What was there to consider if she didn't share Cinder's feelings, if she wasn't willing to consider them.

The words alone brought some hope into her breast, which Cinder forced herself to crush into a pulp.

Hope was the enemy.

Always assume something will go wrong. Always assume the worst.

"I want to say first and foremost that I appreciate you taking me out to dinner like you did. I really did have a wonderful evening. The food was delicious, and the location itself was wondrous."

Cinder nodded her head, though she got the feeling this was mostly filler, a distraction, an attempt to buy as much time before the woman came out and said what she really felt.

"And I… have been having discussions with some of my colleagues."

That… okay? What was Cinder supposed to make of that?

She highly doubted that Ozma had told Glynda to 'go for it' in regards to Cinder's interest.

"I… I want to make my position clear, if you do not mind me talking for a while?"

Cinder simply nodded her head, completely fine with that.

Or, well, she at least presented like she was completely fine with that. Inside her heart was beating, beating, beating against her ribcage, and she forced herself to remain still.

"I am… not entirely unfamiliar with what I thought it was you were proposing. As you may've been able to guess, you are not the first student to proposition me. You are not the first student to say that you are serious about what you say."

Cinder bit down on her bottom lip, even as she nodded.

"And at first… I think I simply assumed that was it. You found me attractive. It wouldn't have been the first time. I… I believe that is not the case, now. I believe what you told me while we were at dinner the other night was the truth."

Cinder felt her head move up and down almost automatically, nodding to the woman across from her blankly.

"I… have never once been told something so meaningful in all my life. Not by any of my colleagues, not by my parents, or any of my former friends and family. Not even by my lovers, however briefly I have had them. You… your words were…"

Cinder said nothing. She just waited for Glynda to continue speaking.

"I do not want to be some kind of groomer." Glynda said with a sad little laugh. "I refuse to be another horror story. A teacher abusing their position. Especially when it comes to someone like you, who has already had so many people take advantage of you before. I refuse to become like them."

Cinder's lips parted, and she had to look away.

"…And yet… I am weak. I am so terribly, terribly weak. Because even having said all of that, there is still a part of me that desires to accept what you've said."

Her eyes widened considerably, and she looked back to see it was not Glynda averting her eyes.

"I understand that you are not some young girl; that you are not someone who I have known for your entire tenure. Not a fourth year that I have seen grow. I have had no real chance to build up any authority over you, no real ability to give you any advantage of any kind, and yet…" The woman shook her head. "And yet still, I…"

Glynda Goodwitch paused, seemed to recenter herself, before she took up the glass that she'd acquired for herself and pulled it to her lips. It… it was the shattered glass. It was the thing that Cinder had put back together, that she'd melded back into shape, and…

"I have a… a proposition."

Cinder's insides felt like they were being pulled apart from seventy different angles, but somehow, she found the strength to say. "Alright."

"…A few weeks from now, the Beacon dance will be held. I'm not sure if you know of it, but it is a yearly event. Students are of course allowed to attend alone, but they can, if they want, bring a partner."

Cinder pretended with all that she was that her stomach wasn't doing loop-di-loops inside her chest.

"If you would not be opposed, I was pondering that the two of us might attend together."

Cinder's heart skipped a beat. She let out a shaky breath, and then, before the woman in front of her could somehow constitute any of that as a declining motion, she forced out, "That sounds grand."

Glynda Goodwitch seemed to have expected that, for she nodded her head, as if having to convince herself of something.

"Right. Well… I'm afraid neither of us will be able to… openly advertise any of this. It must be kept rather professional."

Cinder had expected far less out of this meeting than being told to keep her hands to herself – mostly being turned down entirely – so this news did almost nothing to dampen her spirits. "Of course."

"I…" Glynda took a breath. "I suppose that's all, then. If you have anything to say, then… go on ahead."

Nothing immediately came to Cinder's mind, but then again, she had the odd feeling that she should say something in this scenario. She couldn't just… stay silent when the woman across from her had poured out her heart.

So, she parted her lips, ready to speak, and–

And she remembered what she was supposed to be doing on the night of the dance.

She remembered her mission. She remembered Salem's call. She remembered her saying 'Madame' on accident. And it all flowed back.

She felt herself breathe heavier for but a moment, felt herself almost, almost lose it, before–

"Cinder!?"

She looked back up, her breaths coming out panting – when had she started panting!? – as she looked up to see Glynda Goodwitch meeting her eyes with worry evident within.

"Are you alright!?"

She tried to nod. Really, she did. But…

"Hold on,"

Glynda Goodwitch made to move away, perhaps to call someone here, perhaps to do any manner of thing, but…

Cinder's hand shot out, and grabbed the woman by the wrist. Immediately, she winced as she saw Glynda's face scrunch in pain for just a moment, before she turned back, looking at her.

"Don't… please just… stay here for a moment. I'll… be fine."

Glynda didn't seem to entirely believe her, but she did stay rooted on the spot. Her face was creased with concern, and it only became more intense as she bent her knees, and knelt at eye level with Cinder.

"Have you had an episode like this recently?"

Cinder hissed. "I'd rather not discuss this."

"I understand that, but Cinder, you cannot simply ignore things like this."

She looked away.

"Is there anything stressing you that could be causing this? If not, it could be a health condition that–"

"There is." She interrupted the woman, even as she internally cursed herself for revealing even that much to the woman.

She was weak to her, she realized. Weak to this woman who seemed only to radiate kindness and compassion, who drew out only the good of anyone she interacted with.

Even…

"That's… well, it's not good," Glynda sighed, shaking her head. "But at least it has explanation unrelated to a serious health issue. I'm taking it from your expression that whatever's stressing you isn't something you're comfortable discussing?"

Cinder gave a small incline of her head.

"Okay. I won't inquire any further than that. Just…" Glynda paused for a moment, before Cinder felt a warm feeling suffuse her hand.

It was… just the same as that day. A hand atop her own, a warmth being added to her blazing, furious heart that seemed to eclipse even the Maiden's fire.

It was so–

"If you need anything, anything at all, know that you can come to me, alright?"

Cinder finally looked back up, seeing the sheer determination in her teacher's eyes.

How could she face that face and lie to her? Why did she have to… why did she…

"Okay." She said instead, using every ounce of her training as a spy, as an infiltrator, to keep her face level, to let a smile slip onto her face. "I will. Thank you."

Glynda didn't buy it. She never did. And yet… she was too kind. She wouldn't push.

And Cinder wouldn't move to meet her, either. She wouldn't say a thing, wouldn't come to her –Couldn't.

"I'm afraid I'm rather tired, however," Cinder found herself saying as she stood from the couch, and pulled her hand away from the other woman's.

She felt cold almost instantly, despite the flame that roared within her breast.

"I think I'm to retire for the evening." She spoke.

"Ah. Understandable." Glynda Goodwitch nodded, apparently not entirely sure what to say either. "Promise me that you'll go to the infirmary if you feel another episode coming on, okay? This is not something to make light of."

"I will." She lied easily, smiling back at the woman as she stepped towards the door, and placed her hand on the doorknob.

…

A question came to her that she wanted to ask.

Why did you keep it? She wanted to say. That glass that I ruined, that I crushed and reforged, melted and warped and broke in every way that mattered.

Why did you still hold onto it, and cherish it, and keep it with all the others, and choose to drink from it when you could've chosen some perfect, pristine thing. When you could've simply thrown it away, like anyone else would've, and gotten another.

Why did she… how did she…

But she said none of that. Because Cinder couldn't find the strength within her not to pull open the door, and make for her dorm room.

/

Emerald just sort of… stared at the girl standing opposite her., who'd just introduced herself as Penny, with a confused sort of caution.

"…Okay?"

"I am combat ready!"

"I fail to see how that's relevant, but okay." Emerald said, sighing as she stretched out her neck, rotating her right arm at the shoulder as she tried to make sure nothing had been pulled. "So, uh… Penny… Sorry about bumping into you and everything, but I'm kind of–"

"Your emotional levels are unbalanced." Penny said, smiling her way, as if that was a completely normal thing to say. "You seem rather mentally taxed. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Emerald really wanted to know what had happened in the last thirty seconds since she'd stepped out of that coffee shop, because it seemed like she'd been knocked out, and awoken in an entirely different world all of a sudden.

Well, it was clear what she needed to do.

Get this girl to leave her alone, go back to Beacon, and promptly sulk for the next few days.

Honestly, it'd been a while since Emerald had a good sulk, perhaps she needed it.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it, but I've gotta–"

And then Emerald tripped.

She, an honest to gods master of deception, slipped on a goddamned ice patch on the sidewalk.

She felt like a fool as she braced her arms to have to catch herself. Perhaps she could still save this somehow, not end up with a face aching like no tomorrow. Her aura would save her from hurting herself severely, of course, but even still, it would sting.

Boy would it sting.

And yet, before she could think too hard about that, an iron-like grip had wrapped itself around her wrist, and held her in place, preventing her from falling.

This probably should've been a good thing. It meant that she was not going to be eating shit in the middle of a public shopping district, and could, likely, recover some of her dignity.

The problem with that, really, was the way that her body was falling, how all of that momentum suddenly stopped, and was put on her shoulder.

That same shoulder Penny had just pulled too hard on.

So, when Emerald heard a dull 'pop' come from around her right shoulder, she honestly wasn't even surprised.

She was far too busy seething in pain.

"My apologies!" Penny said as she helped her to sit down, immediately seeming to try and assess the damage she'd done. "My father says I'm not cautious of my own strength, and that I need to monitor myself more carefully, and I know that but I just wanted to help you, and when I saw you falling, I quickly ran through calculations of potential–"

"Yeah, yeah," Emerald hissed out between her teeth. "Do me a favor Penny and be quiet for a second?"

The girl visibly deflated at that, and Emerald hated the way that her heart scrunched in response.

Frankly, her mind commented. This feels like not my fault!

And yet, even so, Emerald sighed as she reached out, and placed her left hand on Penny's shoulder.

"Look, it's fine, I get it, you tried to help."

Penny looked up at her, nodding her head. "I was."

"I just…" She struggled for something to say. "Don't really…" Nope. Still nothing. "Want to…" Emerald could not conjure a single word from within herself. "…I'm–"

"Before that," Penny cut in, shaking her head in an oddly robotic fashion. "You need medical attention! Please, allow me to escort you to the nearest orthopedic surgeon!"

If Emerald was going to be honest, she had no clue what an orthopedic surgeon even was, but it all felt unnecessary anyways.

This wasn't the first time that Emerald's arm had been dislocated. Hell, it probably wouldn't be the last. She was about half a second away from simply popping the thing back in herself before Penny's hand shot across, and, with far more grace than she had last time, caught Emerald's left wrist before she could make any rash moves.

"Please! I promise that I will pay for any damages that I caused you! I do not want you to further injure yourself performing field surgery, as it carries an 8% risk, even if performed by an experienced field medic, of worsening the damage!"

Emerald just stared at the girl across from her. And then, with a horrid, aggrieved sigh, she pushed herself to her feet.

"Fine. Sure." Emerald shook her head. "Do whatever. Not like I had any plans for the evening to begin with."

Penny looked like she'd been stabbed right in the heart, such was the obvious guilt on her face. "I really am terribly sorry, please, allow me to make it up to you after the fact!"

"You really don't have to." Emerald said, already feeling her sanity – or what remained of it after her disastrous date that had ended not even ten minutes ago – fading into the ether. "Like you reaaaallly don't."

"I wish to!"

…

Emerald hated how easy she was sometimes.

"Sure, fine, you can make it up to me."

"Sensational!" Penny said, before seemingly remembering the reason she was going to have to make anything up to her in the first place, and becoming awkward once more. "We should make haste towards…" The girl paused for a moment, her head drooping somewhat, and Emerald was about to call the girl's name, ask her if something had happened, before she snapped back to life, and pointed off to Emerald's left. "Second street! That is where the nearest Orthopedic Practice resides!"

"…Is it open this late at night?"

Penny's eyes briefly widened – or, well, her irises did, which was a little weird to watch happen – as she seemingly checked something.

"…It appears out best option is the general hospital! They are open twenty-four hours."

"Whoop-di-doo." Emerald groaned.

/

Despite her complaints, Emerald wasn't entirely mad about the fact that she was getting her arm professionally set back into place. Doing it herself was both painful and difficult, and if she failed to lodge the bone back into place on the first go, then…

Well, it was not a terribly fun experience to try a second time.

But having pain relieving medication flowing through her arm while the doctor, who'd evidently done this about a thousand times, slotted her bone precisely back into place was actually pretty nice.

"That should do it. With a civilian I'd say to rest that for four to six weeks," The doctor said, scribbling something down on her clipboard. "But given your aura, you should be ready for combat in a week or two. Try to move your aura into the spot and keep it there during idle time, that'll help it to recover faster. Obviously, don't throw that arm into harm's way anytime soon, but–"

Emerald nodded, getting the picture.

"Right, well, you're free to go, Ms. Sustrai. Have a pleasant evening."

She nodded again, even as she made her way back out of the little room she'd been holed up in for the last thirty – she actually hadn't counted, but it felt like about thirty – minutes, and came out to see…

Penny, who was sitting in the exact same position she'd been in when Emerald had seen her last.

Like… down to finger placement.

She really tried to pretend like she hadn't noticed that as the girl spotted her, stood up, and practically zipped across the room.

"Are you well? Did everything go okay?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. The doctor said to have it in a cast for a week or two, though."

Penny looked positively mortified.

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry!" The girl actually bowed her head, and once more, Emerald felt guilty for having caused that, despite the fact that it was evidently not her fault. "I really must make it up to you!"

Emerald's eye twitched. "Wasn't paying for my treatment making it up to me?"

"Well, yes, but you're going to be out of commission for many days now."

"It's fine." Emerald said, and truthfully, it really was. "I don't have anything to be doing that requires strenuous activity. Just homework that–"

"Then allow me to do your homework for you!"

Emerald just stared at the girl.

"Penny, listen… I'm a huntress in training, and I'm not entirely sure who you are, but I doubt you can do the coursework of a Beacon student–"

And all of a sudden, Penny was leaning into her with great big eyes.

"You attend Beacon Academy?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Do you know a Ruby Rose?"

"…She's a teammate of one of my teammates' friends, yeah."

Penny stepped back, before her face morphed into one of absolute pleasure. "Sensational! Absolutely sensational. You know my friend Ruby!"

"Like I said, I don't really know her–"

"Do not worry," Penny said, placing both hands on her hips and taking a stance. "I am also training to be a huntress!"

Emerald's eyes widened. "Wait, you?"

"Yes!" Penny said. "I declared upon meeting you that I was combat ready, did I not? And besides, I do not understand why that would come as a surprise. I am a completely normal girl – or at least, a completely normal huntress trainee – who is in no way different to any other aspiring huntsman!"

Penny then hiccupped.

Emerald was really starting to doubt that was the case. At the same time, however, it wasn't like Penny could be hiding anything too crazy.

Like, what, was she secretly a robot or something?

Yeah, Emerald didn't think so.

"So… you go to Beacon?"

"I have just transferred in along with the rest of the Vytal fighters of Atlas!" Penny said, smiling widely. "Like this, I will be able to assist you!"

Emerald still didn't particularly want that, and yet, at the same time, if there was anything she'd picked up upon in the very short time she'd been talking to Penny – and it really was a short period of time, perhaps ten or so minutes across the last hour she'd actually talked to her – it was that Penny did not entirely pick up on social cues.

Perhaps she had some form of autism, which would at least explain why it seemed she was expecting Emerald to think her 'not a completely normal huntress trainee', and Emerald could see why she might want to hide her condition from someone, as well.

Emerald herself didn't exactly go around advertising that she'd been a street orphan, nor that she only took to the fairer sex. So, she supposed she couldn't come down upon Penny much.

Still, she knew that she needed to be direct about what she wanted if she was going to get Penny off her back.

…Emerald also knew that she didn't have the heart to tell Penny that she wanted her to leave her alone, and so, instead, she simply sighed out, and nodded her head.

"Sure, Penny." She said, doing her best to smile for the girl's sake. "You can help me with my homework I guess."

"Sensational!"

Emerald hoped Penny learned a few more adjectives before she saw her again.

"Right, well, I'm going to take an airbus back to Beacon now," Emerald said, as she let out a quiet sigh. "I've kinda gotta' hurry, since the last one leaves at eleven, and it's already–"

Emerald stared down at her scroll with a look of weariness, entirely unwilling to even acknowledge the number glaring back at her.

'11:13'.

She had, apparently, been in the doctor's office for a tad bit longer than thirty minutes.

Penny, seemingly not noticing her emotional state, stared down at Emerald's phone for a moment, before humming.

"It seems that we have missed the last airbus."

"Yes, Penny." Emerald hissed out between her teeth. "It does."

Once more, Emerald watched out of the corner of her eye as Penny froze – quite literally stopped all movement – before, with a nod, the girl turned back towards her, and smiled her way.

"I have a proposition."

"I'm sure you do." Emerald said with a sigh. "What is it?"

"Since I have also missed the airbus," Penny said, bouncing from one foot to the other with a nervous-sort of excited energy. "And since I already owe you a favor regardless, perhaps the two of us could get a hotel room together, and have a sleepover!"

Emerald really wondered, like seriously, actually tried to process, how it was that she'd ended up where she was right now. She'd come out for a date – apparently three hours ago now – and failed it rather miserably, then had her arm pulled out of its socket, gotten that fixed, missed the airbus back to Beacon, and now…

Now she was apparently about to share a hotel room with the girl who'd caused almost all of it – not the date part, that she'd done herself.

Because as much as Emerald really didn't want to share a room with this girl, it was better than having to hike into the seedier parts of Vale to find a room for herself, which would be the only ones she could actually afford.

And hell, at least this way she could fleece Penny out of some more of her funds, which, apparently, were rather vast, if she was going around paying out of pocket for medical procedures.

She'd have felt guilty for that if her arm hadn't been pulled out its socket apparently two hours ago now.

Emerald just sighed, even as she walked alongside the very clearly beaming Penny, who seemed to think of missing the airbus back to Beacon as a boon.

Emerald herself had already fished out her phone, and sent a quick message to Cinder letting her know that she wouldn't be back until morning. She got a curt reply back before she put her phone back in her pocket.

It was a while later, perhaps ten or so minutes, roughly halfway into their trip, before Emerald voiced a question.

"So, aren't you going to contact your team?"

Penny turned towards her, looking oddly unconcerned. "Hm?"

"I just mean… Won't your team be worried when they don't hear from you? Shouldn't you let them know where you are, why you're not going to be back until later?"

A flash of something came over the girl's face then. It was hard for Emerald to truly describe, for it had appeared so briefly. An oddly determined thing, but also like…

The kind of guilt one would attain when they did something they knew they shouldn't, even when they wanted to do it. The look of someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar, sorry to have been caught…

But not at all sorry to have eaten said cookies.

"…No." Penny said, smiling over at Emerald.

"They won't be worried!"

Emerald's eyes narrowed in doubt.

The girl across from her hiccupped.

/

Inside of the head battleship of the Atlesian Air fleet, General James Ironwood's scroll buzzed.

He reached towards it, immediately feeling a small kernel of concern growing in the back of his mind as he saw just who it was that was calling.

"Ms. Soleil," He spoke into the scroll. "Is there a problem?"

"Perhaps, sir." Ciel Soleil's voice came through the device in his hand. "I felt you should be aware before it becomes a problem."

"And what is the potential problem?"

"Penny has not returned back to the dorm room. It is an hour and a half past her curfew. I was content to wait until the last airbuses returned, thinking she had perhaps simply missed the one she was supposed to arrive on, but…"

Ironwood nodded his head, before he let out a beleaguered groan, already feeling the relaxing evening he'd been planning for himself – which to be fair would've consisted of going over expenditure reports and making sure his students' grades weren't slipping, but when you were a general, those kinds of things were relaxing – slipping away.

"Right. Well then, I suppose for now we wait and see if she contacts us."

"…And if she does not?"

"Then we'll go and find h–"

"Ah!" Ciel cut him off, sounding rather relieved. "I'm picking up Penny's scroll on my locator. It seems she's moving out in Vale."

Ironwood breathed a small sigh of relief. "And where is she right now? I'll send a team to pick her up."

"Well sir, she's… uhm…"

Ironwood wasn't entirely sure why it was that Ciel Soleil went quiet all of a sudden, nor why she seemed almost bashful as she continued speaking.

"It seems she's gone to a… hotel?"

"Well, I don't see why that would be a–"

"It's a rather… uhm… high-end establishment? And she's… she's checked into a room for two. With another person."

Ironwood's metal arm nearly crushed the scroll he was holding in his hand.

"…Did she now?"

Several armed officers surrounding him, men who'd faced the Grimm more times than they could count, had fought off White Fang and bandits, shuddered slightly as Ironwood took to his feet, and cracked his neck with his non-robotic arm.

"Don't worry, Ms. Soleil." He seethed out.

"I'll go and handle the matter personally."

End Chapter 23

What's the 'being Emerald is suffering' count at now? Like seven?

It's gotta be pretty high.

Anyways, see you all next time!