Yo.

I have nothing.


Chapter 53


Glynda Goodwitch felt like she was a fairly put together person.

She had evidence to back up this claim. She had been promoted to Deputy Secretary of Beacon Academy only half a decade into having her position, and had thrived in the role. She'd been selected for – though ultimately turned down – the position of Headmistress following Ozpin's death. She'd even been in a leadership position in a school for children and somehow gained no gray hairs.

She was particularly proud of that last part.

But really, even she was not perfect.

This particular scenario was a good reminder of that fact.

"So," Glynda cleared her throat. "You just… forgot?"

Mercury coughed rather dramatically. "Well, I mean… yeah?"

"…Seriously?"

"I'm sorry, okay!? Is that what you want me to say?"

"You didn't mention this when you were telling Yang or I, either." Blake crossed her arms over her breasts, groaning in exasperation. "How did this slip your mind, exactly?"

"I forgot!"

"This is kind of a big deal, Mercury. One of the four headmasters' of Remnant is working under Salem, sending Huntsman and Huntresses to their deaths in swarms!?"

"I really did just forget, Blake, I don't know what you want me to say!"

The woman just groaned, her prosthetic leg giving a small creak as her posture shifted. "I guess I don't either."

Glynda put her foot down – literally – clacking one of her boots down on the broken stone of the path out of Kuroyuri, and getting everyone out of the funk they'd caught themselves in. Even if she herself couldn't quite understand how Mercury Black had managed to forget about something so important, it wasn't as if Glynda could do anything about it, now.

Thusly, whether or not she agreed with Ms. Belladonna's thoughts, it was best they stopped poking one another, and talked about just what they were going to do now that they did have such information.

"Well then," Glynda shook her head. "We should first consider about our options, then, given that our current destination is under the control of our enemy. I doubt any of us wish to walk into the – pardon my turn of phrase – lion's den."

Mercury snorted.

"So, wait…" Jaune Arc stepped forward. "Is it just Lionheart, or is the entirety of Haven under Salem's control?"

"By my knowledge, only Lionheart." Mercury clarified, earning a few sighs of relief. "Cinder never really said anything definitive on the subject, but it sounded like no one else at the school knew a thing. It was a part of what gave Cinder so much power over him."

"The ability to oust him at any time." Blake murmured, shaking her head. "It's similar to what's used in the White Fang; albeit after I left. It used to be in my father's White Fang that if you wanted out, you could leave whenever you wanted, no strings attached. Under Sienna's rule, however, if you left the Fang, you'd be publicly outed to the entire community. At that point, you basically had no choice but to stick with them for life, or risk being labeled an outlaw. Some people would anyways; just tank the scorn, but a lot of others couldn't bear to have their pasts come out, especially those who wanted to leave Menagerie. Being White Fang there isn't normal, but it's really no different to being a member of a mercenary group. Out in the rest of the world, though… well, you're a terrorist, plain and simple."

The group shared a general murmur of assent at that. It made sense to Glynda as well; that Lionheart had made a deal with the devil, and was now paying for it. She couldn't exactly say that she felt sorry for him, if what Mercury said was true, but then, he'd been a trusted ally - arguably a friend, even - for so long. To hear that he'd betrayed them - had long since betrayed them - hurt more than she'd thought it would.

Still, for now, Glynda had little other choice than to clear her throat, and take charge.

"Our destination has not changed, even if the particulars of our journey have. I would actually advise that we meet with Leonardo under the pretense of still thinking him an ally. Mercury, you, of course, will need to abstain from any such meetings. We can't have Leonardo figuring out that we know."

"I suppose we're lucky that James was as closed off with his information as he was; that he did not make it publicly known that we had captured Mercury when we did with any of our allies. I imagine he would've gone to ground had that information been known."

"Yeah, see," Mercury smirked. "Isn't it a good thing that I forgot, then? If I'd told Ironwood, he'd have had half of Remnant hunting Lionheart, no?"

As much as she wanted to, Glynda couldn't actually contest that.

"So what, we just go waltzing into Mistral knowing full well that Lionhearts doing… all kinds of bad stuff, and we do nothing!?" Ruby Rose, ever possessed of a strong sense of justice, complained.

"We will not 'do nothing' Ms. Rose. We are going to collect as much information from Leonardo Lionheart as we are able, and then we will see him brought to justice. I promise you that."

Ruby still didn't seem entirely sure of all of this, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Hey, so… forgive me for asking about this Ms. G, but…" Yang Xiao Long stepped up towards her, frowning as she crossed her arms. "If Lionhearts connected to Salem, doesn't that me he's connected to Emerald and Cinder as well?"

Glynda's heart lurched, even as she tried to internally deny the logic that Ms. Xiao Long was presenting her with.

"That… we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

She couldn't quite bare to meet the eyes of any of her students as they all stared at her, some with pitying expressions. It made her feel weak and ineffectual, despite it all.

"You know, Ms. Goodwitch, you're allowed to… feel." Pyrrha Nikos smiled at her. "No one here will judge you for having emotions. I, too, wish to see Cinder again, and I'm sure that Penny, wherever in Atlas that she is, longs to see Emerald."

Glynda nodded her head, and tried to remind herself that emotions were human; that she was not weak for having them. She imagined such thoughts had often found their homes inside of Cinders mind, and that thought saddened her.

"I… wish to save her. No matter what."

Everyone smiled. "We know."

And so they sought off onto the road again, making their way towards Mistral.

Glynda weighed her options as she took to the head of the retinue, guiding the band east. It was not a particularly complicated route at this point, what with the city itself in view, but she felt stronger when she needed to project strength. With the children at her back, she could not afford to ere, and thus she wouldn't.

It was that simple.

She found herself pondering Leonardo as they moved, found herself thinking upon the numerous conversations she'd had with the man alongside Ozpin, how often she'd heard his voice. She thought that the longest she had truly gone without hearing from him in someway had been… what, a month? Maybe two?

It felt as if she'd known him so well, as if they'd been so close, and yet all along, he'd been in Salem's pocket, and, according to Mercury, sending his own people out to die in droves. It sickened her, to think of a leader abusing their power like that. She had almost been made the man's equal, and so she felt she had more right to judge him than most would – although she would admit that she'd have likely judged him without any of that at all.

She was becoming looser, these days, and a good deal of that was thanks to Cinder's influence. It had been nearly five years before her since Glynda had had someone to lean on, to care for, to love inexorably. It felt silly, or perhaps like hyperbole, to say such, but it was how the truth.

She had realized she had felt as she did when Cinder had left her on the top of Ozpin's tallest spire, as she'd watched that tiny flame disappear into the forests beyond Vale, and as she'd eventually lost consciousness, her body needing as much energy as it could find just to heal the numerous injuries she'd sustained trying to fight such a force of nature.

…She did her best not to think on such things. Not now. She had to focus.

So focus Glynda did. She thought of a plan for dealing with Leonardo. She thought of countermeasures to anything he might throw at them. She wondered what might happen if, the moment they arrived, he already somehow had knowledge that they knew of his involvement with Salem. It was a rather intense process, and one which took her the better part of two or three hours to really work at. By the time they were forced to stop for the night, however, a good few days away from Mistral still, she felt she had a good handle on things.

Yes… Glynda found herself thinking. I think that just might work.

She found herself smiling with some small degree of pride. It was not often she allowed her skills as a tactician to take center stage, but then, she'd once led a team of unruly teenagers through four years of Beacon Academy, and been a disciplinary force at a school for said unruly teenagers. She felt she'd almost had to become a master planner to survive in such environments.

Still, as she settled down to sleep, she found herself confident with what she'd drafted up in her head. They'd get as much as they could out of Leonardo, and then, when they had him, they'd make sure justice was served.

And as long as nothing unexpected happened…

They'd likely be fine.

…That… was odd…

Glynda couldn't help but feel a sudden, inexplicable chill.

/

Cinder spread open the doors to the dining hall of Evernight with more strength than she'd like to admit such an action required.

"Ah, Cinder," Salem held out a hand as if to direct her towards the chair on the opposite end of the table. "It is good to see you. Take a seat, child."

She did. Disagreeing with Salem was… well, not exactly a good plan if one intended to survive for long periods of time.

"Now then, Cinder, how have you been enjoying being back in Evernight?"

"It is… fine, I suppose."

Salem chuckled. "You had gotten used to the bedding at Beacon Academy, hadn't you?"

Cinder goes a touch wide-eyed, and Salem only seems more amused.

"Yes, I had thought as such. In truth, I discovered your lieutenant muttering to herself about how uncomfortable the beds were here in Evernight. I told her that gathering even our current amenities at the end of the world had been rather ferociously difficult."

Cinder nodded. She felt a bit bad for Emerald having likely been ambushed by the literal monster under the bed of humanity, but it wasn't like she could do much about that now.

"Now, to business." Salem cut off any extraneous thoughts that might still have been running throughout Cinder's head. "Cinder, do you have any idea why I've called you here today?"

She didn't. Unfortunately for her, saying such would likely earn her no points in Salem's eyes. She always preferred those she asked questions of to answer, even if said answers were entirely wrong.

So Cinder said, "Is it to apprise me of a new mission?"

"Mm. That is a part of it," Salem spoke, leaning casually on her elbow. "But before I get into that, I wanted to talk a bit about you, Cinder."

Her eyes widened minutely. "About… me?"

"Indeed, Cinder, about you." Salem spoke, frowning somewhat, and though Cinder didn't know exactly what it was that she'd done wrong, she understood that somewhere along the line she'd erred. "About the Maiden's fire that now burns within your breast."

Oh. That was… that was actually good. Watts having cornered her and revealing that he knew about Glynda had her on edge, jumping at every shadow. Unlike Watts – who was an annoyingly nosey bastard – Cinder doubted Salem had any interest in learning about Cinder' s life outside of Evernight for the few years she'd been gone.

Or, well, she assumed so, anyhow.

"What of it?" Cinder asked, and Salem stared at her a moment before answering.

"I must say, I am somewhat disappointed, Cinder." Her blood ran just a bit colder at that. "Despite my expectations, the flame that now resides within you is weak; an ember flickering madly. It is not the bonfire I'd assumed you would possess. It is a fleeting thing, that seems as if it could be blown out by the slightest gust."

Cinder was unsure as to how she was meant to respond to such an… was it an accusation? Merely a statement of fact? She could not be sure.

"Tell me, has something been on your mind, dear Cinder?" Salem asked, leaning forward somewhat in her throne. "You've been distant of late. Of course, you were never as social as someone like Tyrian, but even so, you've been quite reserved since your return."

"…I have been training."

"Mm. Yes." Salem answered in a rather bored tone. "You have been doing very little other than training at all. I worry for you, dear Cinder. You seem to be driving yourself into an early grave."

It was an odd thing to hear from Salem of all people, but when she ran the logistics in her head it made sense to Cinder. Recruiting and training another enforcer to her cause was not exactly a surefire thing. That was evident in the fact that it had been nearly a decade since Cinder herself had first been recruited by Salem, and she'd seen neither hide nor hair of another recruit since.

Losing Cinder wouldn't hurt her emotionally, but pragmatically, it would be a blow. Thusly, she preferred her alive.

"I will be more careful, mistress." Cinder bowed her head, before, with some small consternation, asking, "Was that all, or–"

"Do not be so eager to be rid of me, Cinder." Salem laughed, luckily not taking what she'd said as an insult. "I have not finished speaking to you, if you must know."

"My apologies."

Salem waved her off.

And then she simply stared at her.

It was unnerving in a sense that Cinder had no idea what it was she was going to say. She had no idea what she was looking for; if she was looking for anything at all. It was just–

"You are different."

The words came sudden and unexpected. Cinder was almost blindsided by them.

"What?"

"You are not the same as you were when you left me." Salem further expounded. "The others… they see something is wrong, something is different, but to them the two or so years of absence from this place have been more than long enough to forget your personal affects and intricacies. But a mere two years is nothing to one such as I. And I recall how you once were. Determined and headstrong; almost to a fault. Prideful, wrathful, prone to overreaction. You were not a perfect child, certainly, but you were never dull, either. And yet now I look at you and it seems as if all the color has been sapped from your soul."

Cinder swallowed on nothing. It felt too familiar, hearing those words from out of Salem's mouth, instead of from inside her own head.

Instead of our of Emerald's lips…

"Tell me, then, Cinder, what is it that happened to you?"

That… was not a question that she could answer.

Watts had gone and figured it out for himself by digging into her time at Beacon, and Emerald of course knew the truth from being there. But Salem… Salem could not know. That was the truth of the matter.

If she did… well, Cinder didn't particularly want to consider what might happen.

Glynda… she wasn't willing to find out what might happen if Salem discovered her. If she knew what it was the two of them had shared.

So she would lie–

"You fell in love, didn't you?"

It was like she'd been thrown into a vat of freezing water; suddenly and without warning. Her lungs could not take in air. Her limbs could not make any movements. She felt like she might pass out.

No. This couldn't happen. It couldn't.

"W-What are you–"

"Oh, Cinder, dear," Salem almost laughed. "Trust me, this is not the first time I have seen such things. Pray, allow me to regale you with a story, Cinder."

She didn't truly have any choice in the matter.

"There was, once, a little lordling in a small kingdom somewhere in the east of Sanus. The exact dates and times evade me at present, but this was at least a few centuries ago, if not longer."

Cinder nodded her head, dreading every word that came out of Salem's mouth.

"This 'little lordling' was third in line to the throne of his Kingdom, and in truth held no true designs upon it. He was content to allow his older siblings to take care of such affairs. And then, of course, war found his kingdom, as if often does, and instead of being third in line to a kingdom, he was the sole surviving member of his family. It was but him and him alone."

"It was, around that time, you see, that I felt a will upon the wind that called out to mine own. Much like I once felt your will somehow burning in the cold death of Mantle, the day I found you. And so it was that I stumbled upon the boy, swearing vengeance upon those who had wronged him, willing to do whatever it took to take it. I allured him to my side with the same promises I once gave you."

"He became an enforcer of mine, and in time, was eventually sent on a mission much like your own. To infiltrate a kingdom in the outer world. His mission was only to gather information, however. Simply to slip in and remain there until I summoned him back. I waited… perhaps a decade in order to do such. And when I finally did summon the boy – then a man – back to my abode, I found him changed; different. He had fallen for someone out in that world, someone who he felt was more important to him than anything here, in Evernight."

Cinder found her throat entirely barren of moisture. "I–"

"I will not begrudge you your choices, Cinder, for you have come back to me. You have made your decisions. I cannot tell your heart not to ache, or your mind not to lament. But I will leave you with a word of warning. That man, his name was Romeo. The woman he fell for was a princess by the name of Juliet. She was a descendant of my Ozma."

Cinder's eyes widened minutely.

"His granddaughter, in fact. He had been sent to spy upon, and, if the opportunity presented itself, insert himself into, Ozma's then inner circle. And yet instead he had gone and become infatuated with a member of the man's family. As you can imagine, my designs did not change due to the will of one man. I ordered my armies to march upon the Kingdom, and I expected Romeo to march with them."

"Yet, in the end, when faced with the choice of continuing to follow my orders; of betraying the woman he loved, he instead betrayed me. He chose to return to her rather than serve my aims. He seemed to think that Ozma might shield him; might protect him from any retribution I might be able to dish out. I must confess, around that time I found myself rather… slighted."

Salem looked directly into her eyes, then, and Cinder felt rooted to the spot, entirely powerless.

"Do you know what happened to Romeo, dear Cinder?"

She dared not speak a word, though she had a fairly decent guess.

"I made him watch as I burned his Kingdom to ashes. I made him watch as I slew the then incarnation of Ozma, and I had him look his Juliet in the eye as I stole the last bit of life from her form," Salem spoke, her gaze dead, filled with naught but boredom, somehow, despite her words. "And only then did I allow him to die."

Cinder was pale. Actually, that was perhaps an understatement. She felt clammy, and sweaty, and disgusting. But more than that, she felt well and truly terrified.

"…I–"

"I am not accusing you of anything, Cinder," Salem said, somehow conjuring an easy, laid-back smile on her face. It was more terrifying than anything she'd ever seen the woman wear. "Merely asking that you keep such things in mind as you go about your future endeavors in the days to come. Do you understand?"

Cinder could not quite nod fast enough.

"Excellent. Then, I believe it is time I get to the true reason I invited you here today." Salem spoke, sitting up in her seat. "We are acting on the Second Relic; The Relic of Knowledge."

Cinder's eyes widened, even if she wasn't as interested in the topic as she might once have been. "Lionheart found the Branwen's, then?"

"He believes he has found them," Salem rolled her eyes. "I swear, how hard could a bunch of bandits truly be to track. But yes, he has narrowed them down to a small area, as well as ensured us that the students and faculty of Haven itself will not be getting in the way. Thusly, it is time we move upon the Spring Maiden."

Cinder found herself nodding, then.

"I wished to make you aware of such happenings before I called a more general meeting among us all later this evening. And, of course, so that the two of us could do some catching up in private."

She smiled, then, a sick and twisted thing that seemed as if it might be able to kill a lesser being on its own.

"You are dismissed now, my Cinder. Do rest well. Soon, you will take the stage once again."

Cinder stood from her chair, and made for the door at the back of the room. She wanted to be gone and out of here before Salem might conjure up anything more to throw at her. and yet, before she could quite make it to the handles, her voice rang out.

"Oh, and Cinder dear?"

"Yes, mistress?"

Salem smiled.

"Bring your little Emerald to our meeting later, as well. I'm sure she can accompany you to Mistral."

She swallowed on nothing, even as she bade herself to nod, and exited as quickly as she could. The moment the doors were closed behind her, Cinder let loose a shaky breath; her entire body quivering.

She felt horrifyingly weak. Useless. It was an emotion that she'd once been entirely accustomed to; something she'd had to grow used to in the Madame's and Salem's services. And yet, her time in Beacon had done so much to erase such things, to fill her head with niceties and kindnesses that lied and ripped away at her now.

She barely had the strength to make it back to her room before she collapsed in the middle of it, sinking to her knees and trying her best to breathe deeply, and consistently. She refused to have another panic attack; not so soon after her last.

Panic attacks, Fall scoffed at her. How pathetic you are. How far you have fallen. That such would even be a concern only shows just how weak you have become!

Cinder had no response. Instead, it was all she could do to stare down at her hands in front of her, which were rapidly balling into fists atop her knees.

Why? She found herself asking. Why could she not have kept it? That one beautiful thing she had had in all her life. Somehow so much more radiant than the magical flame that blazed within her now.

It felt almost cold, in comparison.

And she'd hated the cold ever since the day she'd been born, in that snowfield. Since she'd risen from the carcass of that young, dead slave, and become something more.

And yet, more and more often these days, she was being reminded that that girl – the slave, the weakling, the runaway – had not died that day. She had merely hid. She had battened down the hatches, and sealed every window. She had bolted and locked every doorway into her heart, so that none might ever again harm her.

And with quiet, soothing words and a gentle, real soul, Glynda had saved her from that hell.

And now… now bereft of her, that girl was forced to contend with reality. Forced to face the heinous truths of the world. Those that she had been forced to face nearly a decade ago, for oh so long, in the grand halls of the Glass Unicorn.

Her knuckles were white with how hard she was clenching her fists. There was nothing she could do; not truly, not now, and it was that fact that drove her anger so. There were no immediate actions she could take. Nothing that would fix this in the moment. She could only stare down at her hands and marvel at their utter uselessness.

It was somehow more powerful than it had been back then, in the days she'd spent serving the Madame. But that made sense. She was older, now. Stronger now. Or at least, she was supposed to be.

It was funny, however, that she somehow felt weaker than she had, all that time ago. Perhaps it was because of said years that her helplessness now ached all the worser.

She was scared, and afraid, and alone…

And more than anything, kneeling on the bare brimstone of Evernight, she was cold.

/

All in all, their journey had gone almost entirely to plan, Penny couldn't help thinking.

Surely, they'd been harassed somewhat by flying Grimm on their way through the gravity reefs just off of Mistral's shores, and surely, it had been a bit closer than Penny's logic cores had predicted, but ultimately, they were set to arrive at their destination on time, and without anyone back in Atlas the wiser.

…Or, well, no one was the wiser that Penny would acknowledge. Technically, she had a good fifty-eight missed calls from General Ironwood, alongside one or two from her father – the lower figure being due to how she had answered his calls; letting him know that she was alright, and was simply going after Emerald as she had wanted to, regardless of his wishes - and a few high-echelon members of the Atlas military.

She had not mentioned that key detail to Weiss, who she imagined had enough things to worry about on her own.

Still, as their pilot announced that they had finally touched down upon their landing pad, and Penny heard Weiss let out a near-silent sigh of relief, she could not deny her own moment of mild catharsis, now that the journey was at its end.

Now they could get down to business.

Penny and Weiss both stepped out of the bullhead, and down onto the landing pad proper. Awaiting their arrival was a man with polite posture; bowing towards them and earning a curtsy from Weiss. The social rituals of the upper crust of civilization were still quite lost upon Penny, but she decided to mimic Weiss, seeing no real reason that she should not.

"Thank you for coming to greet us personally, Headmaster Lionheart," Weiss spoke in a honeyed tone. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Ah, please," The man said as he straightened his back out, even if having taken a more measured stance, he still seemed awfully stilted in his mannerisms. "I am but a man, like any other, no? Now, since it's quite cold out, how about we head inside, and talk as we walk?"

Neither Weiss nor Penny had any issues with that arrangement - even if the cold bothered neither of them for differing reasons - and so they walked along behind the Headmaster as he led them into Haven Academy.

For a first impression, however, Penny could not quite shake the feeling that the man before her was… off, somehow. He was perspiring more than was otherwise normal, and his eyes continuously darted from both herself and Weiss. His lips quivered. His hands were always moving. His speech was stilted.

To Penny, all of those things added up to a rather simple conclusion.

…Leonardo Lionheart was hiding something.


End Chapter 53


Nothing to say this week, other than that I think Paved is going to end up being around 61/62 chapters. I'm currently writing 59 and think I'm pretty close to the end.

For now, see you all next week!