Yo!
I've actually got something to ask everyone in the afterword if you're a regular reader of this story, so stay tuned for that!
Chapter 54
"Weiss Schnee is here!"
Emerald couldn't quite help the way that a knot formed in her throat almost immediately. She felt a sort of sickness in her stomach as Salem's expression shifted from entirely bored to mildly intrigued, a clear sign that she recognized the importance of what had just been said.
"I see. How interesting. I assume you're playing the gracious host?"
"Of course, mistress, of course!" Leonardo Lionheart rushed to reassure Salem, seemingly worried about what might happen were she to doubt him. "I have given the two of them a room, and made sure that it is being monitored with cameras and listening devices."
"The two of them?" Cinder spoke up, leaning forward somewhat. "Who else is there?"
"Ah… a young girl by the name of Penny Polendina."
Emerald's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment she wondered if she had ever felt so terrified in her entire life.
"I do not know this name." Salem spoke, sounding disinterested.
"I did not either, thusly why I did not mention her."
"Actually," Arthur Watts' raised a hand, standing from his seat and adjusting his tie absently. "I do. Pietro Polendina is a well-renowned scientist of Atlas, perhaps the second most brilliant to ever grace that miserable floating garbage bin. I had obtained information through digging around in Atlas' systems that he had been working on something simply titled the P.E.N.N.Y project, and that it was to be one of the foremost applications of aura the world had ever seen. I believe I now know exactly what that means."
"So I see." Salem acknowledged Watts' exposition. "And what makes this girl significant?"
"I believe her to be artificial. An android given a soul, so to speak."
Salem was the only one to react to such information, and it was only with a minute raising of an eyebrow. "How impressive. I admit that it has been an awfully long time since humanity has experimented with aura in such a way. There were once golems that roamed the deserts of Vacuo under the thrall of wandering magicians, but I assumed such techniques to be entirely purged from the world with the magic that fueled them."
Every once in a while, Salem would say something to that effect. She would casually mention something that had happened ages and ages ago, in a time so distant that Emerald could not even fathom it. She spoke of a different world, one filled with abundant magic instead of merely a semblance of it.
"If I might make a humble request, my lady," Watts bowed towards Salem. "I wish to acquire that android."
Emerald's hands balled into fists at her sides, her knuckles going white. She could tell that Cinder was watching her out of the corner of her eye, not quite missing her building emotion.
"I believe that studying it could bring my own skills ever closer to those of a true savant. If you do not have any other designs upon such…"
Salem hummed a moment, seemingly considering such, and though she knew it was a terrible idea to interject into such a conversation – or hell, that it was a terrible idea to speak up at all when she was trapped in this hellish place – Emerald couldn't bear to remain silent.
"W-Wait!"
Every head in the room turned to her. This was unnerving in a way that Emerald had difficulty truly describing. It was one thing to have a psychopath, a narcissist, and Cinder all looking at her like that…
It was another for Salem herself to raise an eyebrow at her, seeming amused at her interjection.
"Oh? What is it, young Emerald?"
"I…" Now that she was here, she actually wasn't terribly certain how it was she should go about speaking her mind. To actually come out and say that she cared for Penny was perhaps not the wisest move, and yet… "Penny Polendina is an ally of mine. She assisted me in certain matters while in Beacon Academy."
Emerald watched as Watts' expression dulled somewhat, the glint of excitement within his eyes disappearing, instead replaced by a more inquisitive look.
Emerald was not a fan, given she was nearly certain it was aimed directly at her.
"An ally, you say?" Watts turned to her. "And am I safe in assuming that she did not know of your true nature when she was an ally of yours?"
"That… no, she didn't."
"Then is she truly an ally?" Watts almost sneered. "She is no more than a puppet whose strings you pulled along. One should not grow attached to their toys, girl."
Emerald found a rage inside her heart hearing the man refer to Penny as a toy, and she took a slightly more aggressive stance without really meaning to. "She was not a toy. She was… she was a confidant. I relied upon her, whether or not I was true with her or not."
Watts seemed to see something in Emerald's words that she had not intended for him to, as in the next moment a small, almost impish smile formed upon his face, and he shook his head.
"I see." He rolled his eyes, turning back towards Salem. "My lady, if you would allow me to continue on with my plans, regardless of this girl being… friends with the target?"
Emerald was close to pounding her fist down on the table in front of her as she leaned forward, "Hey, don't–"
"Enough, you two."
Salem's voice cut through the dialogue like a knife, and silence reigned in the space for a good three or four seconds as Salem sat entirely still, likely pondering what exactly she would and wouldn't be allowing.
"…Watts, you will stand down for now in this matter." Salem said, and Emerald damn near collapsed in relief. "This Penny girl is rather clearly important to our dear Emerald. It would not do to go and upset her for little cause."
"Little c– my lady, I simply must–"
"That will be all, Arthur." Salem turned to the man, and Watts rather wisely ceased speaking, nodding his head, and, even if he grumbled beneath his breath, slumping down into his chair.
"As for you, Emerald, I would advise that you either make an effort to bring your… 'friend'," The smile she gave Emerald then told her she knew far more than she was letting on, "into the fold with us, or make your peace with not seeing her again."
Emerald felt a chill run down her spine, even as she nodded her head and sat back down in her chair, trying not to pay too much attention to the way that Cinder's eyes bored holes into the side of her head.
"Well then, seeing as how we have finished that topic of conversation, I do believe I have everything I require from you, Leonardo," Salem looked up at the Seer, which floated above the center of the table. "Do entertain our guests well, will you?"
"O-Of course, mistress!"
Lionheart disappeared from the feed a moment later, and Salem actually chuckled as the seer lowered itself to the ground, and exited out of the room, seeing its purpose fulfilled. "What an interesting man. Or, perhaps I should liken him to some form of rat? Then again, at least a cornered rat won't hesitate to fight back. Well, enough of metaphor for the moment, I do believe we have all that we need to move ahead with our plan."
Salem clapped her hands together, forming a sound that Emerald couldn't help thinking was just the slightest bit too loud for how softly she'd done so.
"Now then, I shall dole out your missions."
Emerald waited with bated breath.
"Cinder, Watts, and Emerald, you three will be going to the Branwen's camp, and acquiring the aid of the Spring Maiden. I would prefer if you acquire said aid peacefully through bribing them, or otherwise convincing them, but if needs must, you may seek to simply take the power for yourselves. I will leave such under your discretion, Cinder."
Watts' entire expression morphed, as if every muscle in his face had contorted with envy all at once.
"Under Cinder!?" Watts looked to Salem. "Surely you cannot be serious, my lady. I am far more–"
"Arthur?"
Emerald couldn't quite help the way that she let out a sort of involuntary gasp in that moment. It sounded odd, that the simple uttering of a name could have such an effect on her, but genuinely, in that moment, it was as if she felt a primal, unknowable fear within her gut.
It was somehow similar to putting her hand on a hot surface without thinking, and her instincts, not her mind, pulling it away from her without her having to consider such. A trained response, bred into humanity for hundreds of thousands of years, one that existed for the sake of keeping her alive.
And right now, every instinct within her was telling her to run.
Such was the effect of Salem, queen of the Grimm, looking towards Arthur Watts with an even expression. She was not even angry, she was simply… mildly perturbed. Watts had only annoyed her, and she had this much of an effect.
"Did I ask you to comment on my decisions?"
Arthur Watts, in perhaps the wisest move he'd made that day, simply sat up straight in his seat, and said, "No, my lady. You did not."
"I had thought so. Do remember that next time."
"I will, my lady."
Salem nodded boredly, and the oppressive atmosphere hanging about the place dissipated. "Now then, as for the rest of our little coven; Hazel is still out in the wilds of Mistral searching for the blip of Ozma's magic that I detected there. I imagine he will come away from the search empty-handed, but if he somehow manages to capture Ozma before he can intertwine himself with his host, we could manage to trap him within the castle for a while before he can again interact with humanity. I have missed having a guest in my chambers. As for you, Tyrian, I have given you your mission already. Continue on such until I tell you otherwise."
"Of course, my goddess." Tyrian bowed.
Salem hummed. "You each have your headings. You are dismissed."
And nothing more needed to be said.
/
It took them a few days upon landing in the wilds of Mistral to actually locate the Branwen camp. Such was made far easier by Watts' machinery, a flying drone that hovered a few hundred meters in the air, and scouted around for their position. He spotted a fire some ten or so kilometers to the west, and so they made their way towards it.
The guards at the gate actually tried to stop them from entering, and Emerald preemptively winced, thinking that Cinder might eliminate the both of them. Instead, however, she calmly walked up to them, stared them in the eyes, and stated, "We've come to speak with your boss. Retrieve her or stand aside."
One of the men had an odd look on his face, like he knew something about this scenario was wrong, or odd, but just couldn't quite place it. The other, however, sneered, and shook his head as he stepped up into Cinder's face, leaning down so that they were at eye level with one another.
"Hey, lady… do you have any idea who it is you're talking to right now?"
Emerald almost wanted to laugh, hearing such words from a man who'd have been far better off having had them said to him instead.
Cinder seemed reluctant to outright eliminate the man, despite the way that Watts groaned and, with a shake of his hand, said, "Oh, just kill the fool and let's get on with it."
"Oh? Kill me?" The bandit in question guffawed, looking to his buddy for someone to laugh with, but finding his comrade having taken a few steps back. "Huh? Yo, what's wrong?"
"That woman… she's…"
Cinder moved in the brief moment that the first bandits head was turned away. She ducked into the man's guard, drew her elbow towards his chest, and then moved it forward into his sternum with blinding speed.
The man doubled over gasping, having the air taken entirely out of him, and before he could recover, Cinder chopped the back of his neck with the side of her hand, knocking him out cold.
The other didn't put up any resistance. He simply raised his hands in the air and said, "G-Go on in! I won't stop you!"
Cinder just rolled her eyes, even as she stepped up towards the wooden gate and pushed it open.
Emerald took in the camp before them with some small trepidation; that feeling largely coming from the fact that she knew this to be a bandit camp. It might have seemed hypocritical for her of all people to say this, but she didn't think much of such people.
Emerald had always done what she'd done purely for the sake of survival. She didn't steal when she didn't need to – although, in all fairness, there had been very few points of her life when she hadn't needed to – and she didn't take more than was necessary. She'd… she'd made mistakes on both fronts before, when she'd been younger, more desperate, but she regretted such things, thought on them with sorrow and mournfulness.
These people stole, and took, and pillaged and destroyed, and they felt nothing. They yammered on about this and that beside a roaring fire in the center of the camp, roasting what looked to be the remnants of a boar carcass over the flames. They were a boisterous, perhaps obnoxious group, and Emerald immediately found herself disgusted with them all.
Cinder, it seemed, felt little different, if the way that she regarded that same group as they passed them was anything to go by. Emerald felt that if Cinder hadn't been here on an official mission from Salem, she might've spat at the bastards outright.
As things were, they passed them instead, headed towards the central tent near the back of the encampment. It was the largest, with a wooden plinth out front that seemed as if it might serve as a pedestal to make announcements atop.
It was rather obviously the leader's tent. Which meant that Raven Branwen resided within it.
As they got closer and closer to that central area, more and more eyes around the camp began to notice their presence. It was a quiet thing at first, one guy scowling at them and whispering something to a buddy of his. Then a whole group standing up from their seats at what Emerald guessed might have been a bar, following along behind them at a fair distance, crude weaponry drawn into their hands.
The entire camp seemed to be poised to strike at them by the time that Cinder stepped forward towards the tent of Raven Branwen, and, without any warning, she called out to the woman.
"Raven Branwen!" Cinder shouted, her arms hanging loosely at her sides, entirely calm despite the entire encampment of bandits surrounding them. "Show yourself!"
It was not an immediate thing, but after four or five seconds, a younger girl – perhaps Emerald's age, give or take a year or so in either direction – with a nearly shaved head and a few tattoos – stepped out of the tent. She eyed the three of them warily, seemingly scanning each of them and getting as good of an idea as to their intentions as she could, before she stepped back into the tent.
Emerald could just barely hear the whispered lilt of conversation coming from within the tent, and then, nary a second later, out stepped a far more intimidating figure.
A stark black outfit with red accents, with a chambered weapon at her side that seemed to be some form of Mistralian blade. The most prominent feature, and the thing that immediately stood out to Emerald, however, was the woman's mask. Bone white and deliberately carved to look like that of a Grimm, it sent a small shiver of fear down her spine.
This was her, then.
"And who are you to make demands of me, exactly?" Raven asked them, tilting her head minutely to one side, as if bored already. "I don't believe I should have to tell you that doing such in the middle of a camp of bandits; my camp of bandits, is perhaps not the most intelligent maneuver."
Cinder did not react to the threat at all. No, she was the very picture of calm, as if the braying, angry mob hovering around them was barely worth noting at all. In her defense, it was very likely that, if one separated Raven from the fray, Cinder could take the entire camp on her own without breaking a sweat.
"My name is Cinder Fall." She spoke, and Emerald catalogued the smallest of movements that traveled along Raven's frame. She'd recognized the name. "And I don't believe I should have to tell you just who it is I've come representing, now do I?"
By the way Raven's posture shifted, Emerald gathered that no, Cinder would not need to explain herself any further.
"And what is it you and your mistress want?"
"Access to the Spring Maiden."
Again, that same chill seemed to course throughout the woman before them, and Emerald made a mental note to tell Cinder of her observations later, even if she was fairly certain Cinder would've caught them as well.
"And what would you give us in return?"
"That is what we are here to discuss."
Raven seemed to contemplate that a moment. the various bandits around the camp seemed oddly bothered by the way that a group of, seemingly, nobodies had barged into their camp and begun ordering their leader around, and if Emerald was right…
"Fine then. You, Cinder Fall, will negotiate terms with me. The rest of you can mingle amongst my camp until said negotiations are finished."
Cinder nodded, and Emerald took a step back, looking off towards the crowds of bandits all around them, who seemed to be sizing both she and Watts up, measuring if it was worth trying to mug them, perhaps. Emerald would know, she'd once looked at people in rather similar ways when trying to distinguish someone intelligent and attentive from an easy mark.
She made sure to project strength into her posture. She looked each individual eyeing her in the eye and met their gazes until they turned away. It wouldn't have seemed like much to an outside observer, but to someone who knew the laws of the street, then it was as much as a tacit surrender. Emerald nodded as she walked towards the crowd she'd cowed, and then, without an ounce of fear, stepped right through them.
They parted before her like the sea.
And yet, before she could get too far, a voice called out to her.
"Yo, greenie!"
Emerald turned with a small scowl to see the same girl who'd poked her head out of Raven's tent before striding cockily towards her. She had her hands on her hips and an easy, almost lackadaisical smile on her face.
"Emerald." She said, and the other girl just rolled her eyes. "And you are?"
"Does it matter?"
Emerald cocked an eyebrow.
"Pft. Fine. Vernal. What's it to you?"
"You approached me." Emerald said, crossing her arms over her breasts and glaring. "And you're asking me that?"
Vernal gave a breath of laughter. "Touché. You've got aura, right? A semblance? Training?"
"Yes. Why?"
Vernal's grin suddenly took on an almost feral edge.
"It's so rare that I ever get a chance to stretch my muscles out these days, and sparring against Raven is an exercise in futility for the both of us. She never has to try, and I never learn anything. But you, on the other hand…"
"You want me to spar with you?"
"Yep." Vernal popped the 'p'. "What do you say, greenie?"
Emerald shook her head with a sigh. "Fine. I've nothing else to be doing."
She didn't mention that the only reason she'd agreed was the fact that it would keep her mind off of the situation with Cinder, and the fact that neither one of them seemed willing to exchange words with the other since Cinder had struck her. She didn't mention that it would distract her from her continual thoughts regarding Penny, and the fact that, due to her being in Haven, they were now almost certainly set on a collision course.
One that could only end poorly, with the company Emerald now kept.
So as Vernal led her to a large patch of dirt that apparently constituted a sparring arena, and drew her weapons, Emerald allowed the lull of adrenaline to cloud her senses, to spur her thoughts away from idle fantasies and towards tactile judgements.
And when the first sounds of combat rang out through the enclosure, Emerald was barely even there.
/
"We made it."
Glynda Goodwitch let out a murmur of assent as she and the rest of her entourage stared up at the looming edifices of Mistral, towering above them in the sky. The city was, in a word, massive. It had begun construction in a bygone era, during a period of warring states that had led to its natural advantages becoming key to the survival of a Kingdom.
Whomever had decided to build Mistral had done so atop one of the great mountains, and though it had likely taken them thrice the time it would've to build such a structure on the ground, the fact that Mistral city alone was the sole surviving Kingdom from that age said everything one needed to know about its defensive capabilities. Over time, the Kingdom had expanded, and the city itself had grown downwards like a system of roots, gradually descending the mountain until the surrounding hills were covered in homes and buildings as well.
Looking at it now made it seem almost randomly built, as if it had been designed by a thousand different people over ten thousand years, and that was… actually fairly accurate. Still, it had a certain charm and splendor to it that no other location on Remnant could match, and for that alone, Glynda liked Mistral quite a bit.
Of course, coming here now, with what they now knew, left the city feeling… off. The streets felt quieter, more solemn. The lower levels, rife with poverty and crime, felt only more so. It felt like every alleyway held a secret, every rough-looking character might draw a weapon. Glynda was aware that she was perhaps not handling the news of Leonardo's betrayal all that well, but even still, for her, this felt ridiculous.
She forced herself to calm down at they began their trek towards the upper levels of Mistral. She reached upwards and smacked her hands into both cheeks, drawing a confused expression from Ruby Rose, who was directly beside her.
"Uhm… are you okay, Ms. Goodwitch?"
"I am, thank you, Ms. Rose." Glynda said, smiling over at her. "I simply need to get my act together."
Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Uhm… well, okay, but I think all of us would agree that you seem pretty good already."
Glynda laughed. "I'm glad I appear that way on the outside, at least. Rest assured that I am a wreck of indecision inside, and that I needed to make myself snap out of such if we're ever going to solve this predicament we've found ourselves in."
Ruby just nodded, albeit quite slowly. "Uh… right. I'll take your word for it, Ms. Goodwitch."
They did not head to Haven straight away, and would not be journeying there themselves for quite some time if Glynda had anything to say about it. As things were, she intended for them to wait a few days, and spend that time scouting out the location. She wanted to know and measure certain factors before she made any attempts to get information out of Lionheart.
Were there any students present at Haven? Were the staff there, and if so, could Glynda show them the truth and sway them to her side? What about the huntsman of Mistral; surely, they would be available for call if she needed them? She'd heard rumors about the population of Mistral's huntsman and huntresses declining in recent times. Was such a rumor true? And if so, did it have anything to do with Leonardo's betrayal?
There was so very much to do, and so little time – or perhaps energy – to do it. She needed to be in five places at once, and she was only one woman.
"Hey, Ms. Goodwitch?"
Glynda turned to look up at Ruby once more, who was stood in front of her with a sort of awkward smile on her face.
"What is it, Ms. Rose?"
"You just seem very stressed; would you mind if I asked you why?"
Glynda sighed, even as she recounted her recent thoughts to Ruby, and bemoaned her lack of ability to do all of those things at once. However, where she'd expected Ruby to agree with her, she instead received a giggle.
"Ms. Goodwitch, it's funny that even you can be a little silly sometimes."
Glynda's expression briefly morphed into one of confusion. "What do you…"
"You can't be in five places at once, surely," Ruby said, before placing her hands on her hips and giving a wide smile.
"But all of us can."
/
The talks with Branwen had been going rather well before, all of a sudden, Raven had said, "Y'know, there were some rumors about you."
It must've said something about how Cinder was handling things these days that those words alone were enough to put her on edge, to have her wanting to jump at the other woman with her blades drawn.
"What would those be?" Cinder asked, despite fearing she already knew.
"I heard them from my brother, actually. He dropped by uninvited a month back or so. I think he'd come to check on the Spring Maiden, and to try and get me back into the fold again on Ozpin's side; I told him to fuck off. But before he left, he said the damndest thing; that you'd been involved with Glynda Goodwitch of all people."
Cinder did her best to restrain her emotions, lest she reveal far more than she desired to, and yet, from the pitiful laugh that Raven loosed, Cinder gathered that she'd already failed on that account.
"I see. So, he wasn't fucking with me. I'm honestly shocked."
"So what?"
Raven shrugged. "So, nothing, I suppose. I don't entirely have much to say, or to add."
"Then why bring it up!?" Cinder said with far more aggression than she meant to.
"Oh? You seem upset."
"Do I now?" Cinder spat, her muscles tightening, coiling; practically begging her to fling herself forward and straight at Raven Branwen. "You're rather observant."
Raven snickered. "You left her, yeah?"
It was a blow that Cinder hadn't expected; the worst kind of blow. It was the truth. The truth fed to her without any dulling or dampening. Fed to her raw and molten, like acid down her throat. It burned the whole way down, and if she didn't know that Salem would be quite cross with her for starting a fight here, she would've already drawn Midnight.
"What," She snarled, "Do you want!?"
And yet, despite it all, despite the way that Raven had been staring at her before, with a smile and a cocky little lilt in her voice, now there was a certain temperament to her eyes that seemed almost sad to Cinder, as if she was regarding her with pity, or perhaps familiarity.
"You really cared about her, didn't you?"
Cinder couldn't stop herself that time. She drew Midnight from the ether and stabbed it down into the table before them. It sunk down to the hilt, such was the strength of the blow, and the Fall Maiden's fire blazed around her eyes, coloring everything in her vision in a sunset orange.
Raven didn't so much as flinch. Somehow, she stayed entirely composed, her posture not shifting. She just looked at Cinder with that same horrible expression that she'd always hated; the same pitying look she'd been regarded with for so much of her life.
"What thefuck do you want from me!?" She seethed out, feeling her will on its very last legs, knowing that if the woman kept egging her on, she'd be on her in but a moment.
And then Raven said something entirely unexpected.
"I'd like to give you some advice, if you'd take it?"
Something about those words; the way that sorrow laced every syllable, every dip and inflection in her voice, had the Maiden's fire retreating, until she could see normally once more. And now she was able to catch the way that Raven's eyes looked so tired and dead, the way she seemed almost absent, off in her own little world.
Cinder couldn't bring herself to say anything, and so she simply nodded her head ever so slightly, barely budging, but giving enough indication for the other woman to continue.
"Once, in my life, I made a decision to leave someone I loved behind. I did so out of fear; to escape from my own doubts. And even after I realized that it had been a mistake, even after I realized that I didn't want what happened to have happened, I stuck on my current path. I don't entirely know why, even now. Perhaps I'm simply that stubborn a person, or perhaps that fear that guided me then was stronger than I knew. Stronger than me. Hah… though it's not as if that's terribly difficult."
This seemed so terribly unlike the Raven Branwen that Salem had briefed her on; a cold, callous, almost ruthless woman. Someone who had played a part in cutting down eight of Salem's best, someone who had abandoned Ozpin to run a bandit tribe, someone who stole from the weak and the innocent.
When she looked at the woman in front of her, she could only see someone going through the motions.
"And yet, somehow, in the end, someone offered me a chance regardless. A… a friend of mine. She extended her hand to me, and though I denied it at first, gradually, over the course of months and months, I began to desire more and more to take that outstretched hand. To take it, and allow myself to overcome my fear. And yet, I was too late. By the time I finally did extend my own hand… hers had been ripped away. And I was left with nothing at all. No pride, no stubbornness, and no one whom I loved anymore."
The woman gave a huff then, which seemed almost a mockery of a laugh.
"So, take it from someone who acted far too late to change the path she found herself on," Raven said, even as she met Cinder's eyes. "If you truly love her, and regret the path you're on? Don't let fear stop you from making the right decision. Or you'll end up just like me," Raven said, holding her hands out to her sides, as if gesturing to the dark, lonely tent in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the silent, dead backwoods of Mistral.
"Without a single thing at all."
End Chapter 54
Alright, so, question time!
I am currently writing what I believe to be the final chapter of Paved with Bad Intentions. I believe that I've covered just about every interaction that I felt was directly relevant to our characters. But I'd like to pose this question to you all as well.
What interactions (dialogue between more two or more characters) do you feel the story needs to have before it ends? As an example, if you felt like Mercury and Emerald needed to speak to one another one-on-one, that would be an interaction. I think I have everything that's actually related to the story, but just in case I've missed something, I thought I'd offload the work of searching my story for loose plotthreads to you guys!
How nice of me!
Anyways, all that being said, see you all next week!
