A Third Rose

Chapter 6

Cinder Rose

A/N: So, here are some more wholesome family moments. As well as setting the stage for the next arc. Also once again THANK you Iron117Prime for your ideas and help.

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-Patch, Rose/Xiao Long Household-

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The morning after Cinder's talk with her new mom was, eventful to say the absolute least. Taiyang had already been told that night that Cinder wanted to become a permanent part of the family and had was just as willing as his wife to have Cinder become their new daughter. Now though it was the morning after and the only man in the family had called a little family gathering in the kitchen/dining area.

Yang and Ruby were still in their PJs as they sat down at the table, wondering if this had something to do with what happened the previous day. Taiyang however gave both girls reassuring looks and assured them that everything was all right. The two girls still weren't convinced however. They hadn't seen Cinder since they had gotten back

"Is-is Cinder okay though?" Yang asked. The two had been asking about her ever since they got up in the morning after having been worried almost all night about their friend. Taiyang had noticed how Cinder had reacted when Ruby had been hurt and felt mixed feelings on the matter.

On one hand he was concerned at just how quickly Cinder had gone to violence against someone but at the same time he was amazed at just how protective the girl was towards Ruby and Yang. If Taiyang were completely honest, he would say that he was almost completely positive that Cinder would never under any circumstances hurt Yang or Ruby, nor would she allow anyone to hurt them.

Taiyang gave his daughters a warm smile "Cinder's all right, she just…well she had a rough time last night and mommy had to help her out of it. She should be all right now." The girls still seemed almost completely relieved at that, which was good.

The group then heard some footsteps coming down the stairs. 'Ah, ask and they shall appear.' He thought with a smile. Sure enough the two missing members of the family were making their way down.

The instant that Cinder showed herself Taiyang noticed that the girl still looked somewhat flushed, likely from her emotional breakdown the previous night. Other than that she now looked much better than how Summer had described. Apparently Cinder had refused to let go of her new mom for couple of hours and had even fallen asleep in the woman's arms from sheer exhaustion. Summer had to carry the poor girl into bed and tuck her in.

The instant that Yang and Ruby saw Cinder they looked like they were about to launch into a series of rapid fire questions but Summer held up a hand and had a reassuring look. "Ruby, Yang, please just hold your horses for a moment. There's some big news that we have to go over with the two of you."

The two seemed more than just a little reluctant to wait but at the very least they managed to contain themselves. Though the way they were twitching it was clear that they wouldn't be able to hold themselves back for much longer. Like with many things regarding the pair, Cinder found it very funny to watch.

Right after Cinder took her place next to Summer and Taiyang, the former began speaking "So, Cinder and I talked a bit last night." Cinder remembered there being more crying on her part than talking but, well details. "And we wanted to know how you both felt on her staying here and becoming your new big sister."

Both girls' eyes widened at that and Ruby looked directly at Cinder "You're going to be our new big sister?!" She all but squealed in utter delight.

Cinder seemed more than a little bit anxious but she gave a nod "Y-yeah," she managed to get out "I want to be your new big sister. Is that o-" Cinder wasn't even able to finish her sentence before Yang and Ruby all but lunged out of their seats and tackled Cinder to the ground in a tight embrace, "YESYESYESYES!" The two screamed at the top of their lungs.

Then then started talking about the things they wanted to do with their new big sister!

Oh gods here they went again. It was a more intense repeat of when they first met! "Ruby…Yang, please let go, I can't breathe," Cinder managed to get out but Ruby just shouted "Never!" while Yang just looked up at her new big sis and gave a big toothy smile.

Cinder looked back over at her new parents and saw that Summer was already taking pictures –Cinder was starting to notice more than just a little bit of a pattern with this- while Taiyang was just smiling indulgently but judging by how his shoulders were starting to shake it was obvious he was desperately holding back laughter.

Oh gods, this really was a repeat of what happened before.

Still though despite the difficulty breathing, the lack of assistance from the only two adults in the room, and the two younger girls that seemed to be trying their hardest to merge with her body…Cinder couldn't have been happier.

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-Atlas, Foster Care Services Facility-

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Drizella Tremaine couldn't have been any more miserable if she tried. For the past month she and her sister had been forced to sleep on what amounted to little more than cots of all things every day. The looks they received from the people there and the other kids in the facility only made things worse. They looked at her and her sister Anastasia like they were monsters.

It wasn't right, they weren't the ones at fault. It was all because of that worthless freak Cinder and that damned huntress that they were there in the first place. Their mother had dragged that ungrateful brat out of that hole in Mistral and this was how she repaid them?! The lives they had in Atlas were destroyed because of Cinder, because she couldn't accept how things worked in the world and her place in it!

The pair were currently in the one of the offices in the facility and were waiting for their caseworker to show up to speak with them. Drizella was expecting that they were to be released along with their mother, after all it wasn't like any of them had done anything truly wrong. When someone was being rowdy or disobedient you had to discipline them after all, which was all they did. Cinder brought all her pain on herself because she couldn't understand that her actions were wrong and needed to be corrected.

'WHY DOESN'T ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT?!' Drizella screamed in her head as she continued to sit, simmering in her own anger. Meanwhile Anastasia looked less angry and more anxious, possibly even terrified by what was happening now. Anastasia's once regal looking curly hair was in shambles, there were bags under her eyes from difficulty sleeping, and she kept tapping either her finger or her foot. It was a nervous tic that her sister could never quite rid herself of.

Eventually the door opened with a slight creak and both sisters turned to look at the disturbance. There was a man standing in the corridor and was wearing the uniform of the Atlesian Child Care Services organization and was carrying several files in his hands. He was a pudgy man with round glasses. If one were to envision the stereotype of a schoolteacher than this would probably be what most came up with.

"Sorry for the delay, there's been some difficulties going around lately." At least the man apologized for his tardiness and took a seat at his desk across from the two girls. He placed the files in his drawer and before facing the two girls directly. Before he could speak Anastasia blurted out: "We're going home now right?" it almost came across as begging.

While Drizella was hoping for the same thing she managed to keep herself relatively calm. The caseworker simply shook his head "I'm afraid that's not going to be happening for quite a while, if ever..." He trailed off while both Drizella and Anastasia became confused by the situation "I'm afraid that while in custody your mother suffered a heart-attack, the medical staff on site tried to save her but, there was nothing they could do. I'm sorry but your mother is dead."

At that Anastasia instantly burst into tears and grabbed hold of her sister like a lifeline all the while Drizella was dumbstruck by what she had just been told. Her mother was dead? No, no it couldn't be. Her mother didn't do anything wrong; she didn't deserve to die. Drizella felt raw fury coursing through her, a rage that she had never felt before in her life. The hatred she felt towards the one that had ruined her life grew from a bonfire into a true inferno.

She wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of the ungrateful little murderers with her bare hands!

It took a while for Anastasia and Drizella to calm down, and while the caseworker did his best to appear as though he was compassionate towards them, Drizella could tell that he was just like the other fools who had imprisoned her mother. He, like everyone else didn't realize that their mother was absolutely justified in how she treated that little traitor.

The caseworker then let out a small sigh "I was also finally able to find you a foster family. Unfortunately, the only ones that are available are outside of Atlas. Your new foster family lives in village in Mistral and you'll be heading there in a few days."

At that Drizella's heart fell into her stomach. They were to leave Atlas, the only home that they had ever known throughout their entire lives and live on a completely different continent. No! This couldn't be right, there had to have been some sort of a mistake!

"B-but why there?!" She all but shouted. "There must have been someone on Atlas that was willing to have us!" Anastasia nodded in agreement. The caseworker shook his head "Under normal circumstances that would be the case however, there are a lot of people in Atlas that now hate your mother and there is a petition mounting for your own arrest or an investigation into how much you abused your former adopted sibling, then are those that have made outright threats. It was decided that it wouldn't be safe for you to remain here or in Mantle."

For the umpteenth time, Drizella couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why did people think that they had done something wrong when anyone with half a brain could see that they hadn't?

Drizella wanted to shout, to scream at the injustice that she and her sister were now being subjected to, but she didn't, she managed to force herself into remaining calm, she didn't want to but she had to for the time being. For now, she'd wait, she'd be patient and she'd get ready for the future. Some day she would get back at Cinder, somehow, some way; even if she had to wait an eternity, she'd make that worthless little trash pay for what she did.

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- Patch, Rose/Xiao Long Household-

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It was almost midday when the sound of someone knocking on the front door occurred. Taiyang and the other members of the household hadn't entirely been expecting it. Ruby, Yang and Cinder were all in the family room playing some video games together, apparently hoping to get their skills in better shape for when Qrow showed up later for dinner. The uncle apparently was back at his own home resting, though Taiyang was wondering as to whether or not it was the result of a hangover.

The guy was probably still sleeping it off, so it was unlikely that it was him, and last he checked Summer was still out at the market getting things together for Cinder's adoption party for that night. When he opened the door however he saw Lycus who was holding some flowers that looked like they were picked from his mother's garden and a package of cookies. Behind him were his parents Krim and Lila –the latter of which was holding little Nell in her arms– who seemed to be trying to encourage the boy to say something 'Well, I wasn't expecting this.' Thought Taiyang.

Upon seeing Taiyang, Krim "Hello Tai, I hope we aren't bothering you or anything, but Lycus was very insistent on seeing you all as soon as he could since yesterday."

Lycus looked down when Taiyang looked at the young boy, having a feeling as to why that was "Are you doing okay kid?" he asked to which Lycus nodded and he seemed pretty anxious about something.

At that Lycus' mother put her hand on his back reassuringly and said, "Go on son, you can go and ask."

That seemed to do the trick as Lycus did his best to look Taiyang in the eye "Are, Ruby, Yang and Cinder here? I-I-I wanted to say 'thank-you' to them."

Instantly Taiyang knew what this was about, and a sad smile came on his face. Yesterday was probably the first time that Lycus had anyone ever stand up for him. Being the adopted human son of two faunus brought its own share of problems. During one of their talks, Lila and Krim had both thanked him and Summer profusely for letting their kids play with him because other kids both human and faunus either avoided him like the plague or they were just as cruel as Mach.

Then there had been the incident that had driven them to Patch in the first place, which was something that Taiyang wouldn't wish on anyone, let alone a family as compassionate as the Silvers.

"The girls are all here, I'll go and get them."

Lycus seemed both happy and more nervous than he was earlier as the pitter patter of three pairs of footsteps came to the door. Lycus immediately saw the girls he wanted to speak to. They all gave their own greetings, though Ruby's was perhaps the most severe. She looked like she was about to pounce on him and give him a hug but her father managed to keep her held back for a moment. The girl made an adorable looking pout up at her father who was trying not to quail underneath it. Instead he simply stated "Lycus here wants to say something to you all, you can give him a hug afterwards."

Ruby seemed reluctant but did as her father told her.

Lycus seemed to be trying to draw on some hidden font of strength and eventually spoke "I-I wanted to thank you all for yesterday…no one ever stood up for me like that, and I really want to be friends with you."

He then offered up the package of cookies and the flowers he had picked from his home, "I didn't' know what kind of flowers or cookies you'd like but I heard that you liked 'em so…" he trailed off as the three girls accepted the flowers and the cookies. Yang was the one who spoke first "Well of course you're our friend! You're already a friend."

To say that Lycus was shocked by this would be a vast understatement. In fact, he'd go so far as to say that he had never expected this. "Oh, uh…thank you, you're my friends too!"

Ruby's and Yang's reactions were predictable as they tried to see if they could get their friend to come in and play with them, while Lycus' parents didn't want to intrude on anything the family had going on. In the end both sides were placated when Taiyang said that Lycus was more than welcome to play with the kids for a while, much to the children's delight. Taiyang meanwhile spoke at length with the Silvers family, mainly about their respective families and possible ideas for future playdates between the groups.

Once Summer returned from her trip to the store, she all but jumped into the conversation herself, eager to talk with her friends again and somewhat miffed that her husband hadn't called her up and let her know that they had company.

For a good couple of hours, the kids played, and the adults talked but eventually the Silvers family had to return home and get their own dinner ready. As for the Rose/Xiao-Long household, apparently Summer wanted to make something special for her new daughter's first day as a fully-fledged member of the family.

While Cinder had been expecting something, she certainly hadn't been expecting Summer to go all out to get things to make a cake for the celebration. Cinder had never had cake before in her life, but she had heard it was delicious; at least that's what she had deduced given how some of the visiting kids at the Glass Unicorn seemed to enjoy eating it.

But before they could do that, Taiyang and Summer insisted that there was one thing that the group needed to do before they started making everything for dinner.

"Okay just get a little bit closer!" Taiyang called out, grin on his face as he aimed the camera directly at the four ladies in front of him. Cinder was in the middle and was flanked by Yang and Ruby who were holding onto the arms of their new big sister.

Summer was right behind them leaning down and smiling warmly as she always did while putting her hands on Yang and Ruby's shoulders. Ruby was giving a warm, friendly smile while Yang winked at the camera with a toothy grin on her face. Cinder meanwhile just looked directly at the camera a great big smile on her face and happy tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes.

Tai could tell that was another tremendously happy moment for his new daughter and fully intended to capture it for them all for all time. "Okay, that's perfect, now say cheese!"

The group eagerly obliged, and Tai snapped the photo.

After the little photo op was concluded the girls continued to play their video games for a while, as they wanted to see if they could get their gaming skills up to the point where they could more easily beat their uncle when he arrived for the party. While Taiyang and Summer made the food they listened in on the conversation.

"Looks like our eldest is getting along nicely with her new sisters," Taiyang stated. Summer gave a smile and said "Taiyang you know as well as I do that she's been getting along with them beautifully ever since they met. I'd almost say that it was like destiny for those three to meet and become close."

The couple carried on for a while as they continued to make dinner.

Eventually though Qrow showed up and the instant he did the two girls practically rushed the guy shouting "Drunkle Qrow!" At the top of their lungs. In response Qrow's eyebrow twitched yet again in response to the nickname, causing Cinder to start snickering at the look on the poor man's face.

Qrow was only allowed a few short minutes with Taiyang and Summer before he was quite literally dragged by all three girls to the family room where video games were located. Apparently, they wanted another match with their uncle and wouldn't be denied. Cinder followed close behind the group and found it harder and harder to laugh at the poor man, especially as they continued to call him Drunkle Qrow throughout the evening.

When they got to the game room Qrow took a seat in one of the chairs and put on the same game that they had played last time. They listened into the 8bit techno theme of the opening and once it finished, the games began. As they started to select their characters that they'd use. As they did Ruby turned to look at her uncle and seemed to be trying to make her eyes bigger as she did so "So Drunkle Qrow, will you be easy on Cinder since this is her first day as an oh-fish-al part the family?"

Once again Qrow's eyebrow twitched comically, and a part of Cinder wanted to see if she could get it to literally fly off his face. Qrow seemed to be trying to avert his gaze from the four-year-old but was failing all the while he seemed to be struggling with an answer as Ruby attempted to get her uncle to give in. Cinder watched the whole thing and wondered if Ruby was doing this without realizing it or was it something that she did on purpose?

Still though Cinder decided to save her new uncle from the guilt trip his youngest niece was putting him through "It's okay Ruby he doesn't have to go easy on me." Ruby then turned her gaze right at her new big sister and Cinder felt herself wilt underneath her gaze. "B-b-but today's special bigger sis!" she managed out. Cinder looked over at Yang for help, but she almost seemed to be enjoying this.

Eventually Cinder tried her last and only remaining card "But won't it be even better if we beat him when he's doing his best?" She asked. Ruby stopped giving her that strange look and seemed to consider it for a moment before seemingly accepted it, albeit begrudgingly. "Still should be easy on you…" she muttered.

"Nope," said Qrow popping the 'p' as he watched both of his nieces look up at him, disappointment etched onto their features "Hey, you can't improve if everyone only goes easy on you. But you can get better if you work harder at it, but that means things get more difficult."

While the girls were still unsure but then Cinder joined in "Come on, if we can beat him at his best, then that means we get to tell mom and dad all about it." That seemed to get the girls more motivated.

As they started playing Qrow made a mental note to not make it too difficult for them. Sure he was more than willing to mess with his nieces, what uncle worth their salt wouldn't but since this was his new niece's big night, he had every intention of going just a little bit easier on them than he normally would.

After playing some games with their uncle, where he was just barely beaten by them, dinner was finally ready and the family gathered around the table, still chatting with one another and having fun. All in all Cinder was becoming quickly swept up by everything and found herself overjoyed once again. This was something that she had never experienced before in her life, and she loved every second of it. She hoped that it would be something that she could experience all the time, it was a feeling that she could safely say she never wanted to end. And considering everything, it didn't look like it would could come to an end.

As Cinder sat down for dinner Ruby and Yang were already gushing about how Cinder would love desert when it came out. Once again Cinder found herself feeling a sense of déjà vu, only pleasantly so.

Eventually Qrow came up to the girl with a smile on his face. It was different than the borderline semi-obnoxious one that he had on when playing video games with the three girls. It was kinder and softer. If Cinder was honest then she would have to say that it was similar to how her new dad smiled but was looked different. Despite the differences though, Cinder noted that it had a similar effect to that of her new father's smile. She found herself happy just by receiving it.

"How are things going kiddo?" he asked nicely, Cinder let out a breath and said, "It's everything I never I knew I wanted, but now that I have it, I never want it to end." She looked up at her new uncle and asked, "Does that make any sense?"

At that the smile Qrow had on his face just grew "Yep, and I felt the same way a while back kiddo, and trust me after everything, I think you more than deserve your fair share of happiness, and I'm glad that we could give it to you."

Once again Cinder had to fight back against the tears of joy that were threatening to be let loose. Instead, she gave him another smile and said "Thanks…" her smile turned into a mischievous grin "…Drunkle Qrow."

At that Qrow gave an over-the-top sigh and said "That nickname's never going away is it?"

Cinder tilted her head to the side and put a hand on her chin before her grin grew "Hmm…nope." She firmly declared, popping the 'p' just as her uncle had done a short time earlier.

The two then broke out laughing even as the dinner continued.

All in all, Cinder would look back on this day as one of the best events in her entire life.

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-Village in Mistral, three months later-

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'I'm in hell,' thought Drizella, 'It's the only explanation.' This was her first thought as she and her sister continued to run through the streets of a small village in Mistral.

When Drizella and her sister had arrived at their destination, both had been completely unimpressed by what they had seen. It was like there were stuck in some kind of strange surreal dream and they couldn't wake up. The foster family that had been chosen for them weren't poor by any stretch but they clearly weren't nearly as wealthy or affluent as theirs had been. The house was even worse, it was barely passable as such in her eyes and while their foster parents were at the very least polite, it was clear that they held no love for them. Then there was the fact that they had to work while they were there, like commoners!

This continued for a couple of months, and while the people in the village were cordial it was clear that someone had told them about what happened at Atlas and why they were in foster care. Not only that but they clearly believed the madness that was being spread around. Like Drizella and Anastasia were the villains rather than the worthless little nothing and that damned huntress who ruined their lives and killed their mother!

Sure none of them ever confronted them over it but Drizella could see it in their eyes, they were looking down on her and Anastasia like they were the ones at fault.

Drizella was quietly enraged by this and wanted nothing more than to beat some sense into all of them but she kept her mouth shut, for the time being at least. Anastasia meanwhile was taking it even worse than she was. Every time they were alone she always seemed on the verge of tears at what had happened to them.

She did her best to console Anastasia about their situation, trying to reassure them that everything would be all right, that things would get better. Unfortunately her sister would always end up asking "When?" And Drizella simply didn't have an answer to give her.

And as though the gods themselves were continuing to mock them just two months into their stay in Mistral a large group of bandits struck at the village. It was nearly dusk when it happened. There were several loud shouts and sounds of gunfire right outside the small town. The two sisters ran out the door and in the opposite direction from whatever was going on.

The instant that they were outside though they found that there was chaos in the streets. A whole host of people were running around trying to get to safety and then there were more than a few poorly dressed, and disheveled looking people with a variety of weapons of varying quality that were killing anyone that they could find. Drizella knew who those maniacs must have been the moment she saw them 'Bandits,' she realized almost instantly, Bandits were attacking the town.

Drizella grabbed her sister and immediately started running in the opposite direction. They had to either get out of town or find someplace safe to hide.

Now they were doing nothing but running, no real thought in their minds as they continued to put one foot in front of the other as fast as they could possibly move.

More gunfire could be heard and there was an explosion near one of the walls close to the entrance of the village. Drizella and Anastasia didn't even look back, they just kept running, and running. As they did they heard the gunfire get close and closer to them. More people were screaming and trying to get away but they were being cut down more and more. As they continued to run Drizella heard the gunfire get closer and closer but even then Drizella didn't look back.

It wasn't until Anastasia jerked forwards and stopped in her tracks that Drizella turned to look back at her sister. When she did, Drizella honestly wished that she hadn't. Anastasia's hands were covered in blood and on her abdomen was a bullet wound and a large red stain was growing on her clothes. She looked up at Drizella, eyes wide in disbelief and fear. Her mouth opened to speak "D-Drizella-"

Whatever it was that her sister was going to say was cut off as another gunshot rang out behind them. Anastasia jerked forwards again but this time didn't catch herself and instead fell face first into the ground.

Drizella's eyes widened in horror and she managed to utter "A-Anastasia?" before noticing that her sister was no longer moving, but her sight didn't see that. Instead they focused almost entirely on the hole that was in the back of her head and the blood that was now starting to pour out of the fatal wound.

The second she saw that the only thought in her head was how her sister was dead. Her only remaining family was dead. Drizella The last of the Tremaine family let out a grief stricken wail as the bandits tore through the streets and everything burned around her.

The next several minutes were little more than a blur. All Drizella could remember doing was running away as fast as her legs could move. She had ran past the madness all around her, past the village walls and gates and into the forest, not knowing where she was going and she didn't care either. Eventually she found herself in the forest surrounding the village. The sun had since gone down, with only moonlight illuminating where she was going. The sounds of screams and gunfire were absent now though; meaning that she had either gotten far enough away or the bandits had already gotten what they had gone to the village to do and left.

Drizella fell to her knees as exhaustion filled her being. She began to breathe as deeply as she tried to catch her breath. She was so tired from everything she had been forced to endure, not just from that day but from everything from the past three months, ever since she and her sister had been ripped away from their mother. Angry tears threatened to pour out as she remembered her sister and she quickly ran her hand over her face wiping away the sweat and the tears.

When she did however she felt something else, something sticky came off. In the moonlight she could see it for what it was. It was her sister's blood. Anastasia's blood.

Bile forced its way up Drizella's throat, out her mouth and onto the ground before she could even try to hold it back. When she thought she was done she tried to stand up, to do something else but she saw the blood on her hand again and she felt another wave of bile rise upwards and out.

A few moments later, Drizella was just dry-heaving, as she had thrown up anything that remained in her stomach onto the forest floor. She forced herself away from the ejected stomach contents and moved towards a nearby tree, and propped herself up against it as she felt a new feeling other than disgust as she looked at her sister's blood. Instead of feeling nausea she felt anger, hate and desire for revenge on the one who had caused all of this. The one who had caused the deaths of not only her mother but now her only sister.

"Whatever it takes," she muttered to herself but her voice became louder as she spoke "I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes me or what is put in my way, I will kill you, but I won't make it quick, oh no. I'll drag it out, I'll make everyone you've ever known, everyone you have ever loved suffer right in front of you and then I'll make you watch as I kill them all one by one. And only then after destroying everyone and everything you cherish and hollowing you out into an empty shell and you are begging for death will I end your wretched existence!"

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" a soft, almost melodious voice asked from the forest "You don't exactly seem to be in a position to take your revenge at all, in fact the idea of you being able to do so at all seems quite remote."

If Drizella had been thinking rationally she would have wondered just who this woman was but in her rage she simply snapped back "I don't care! I'll figure out how to do it somehow and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way! Even if I have to spend the rest of my life hunting her down, I won't stop I. WILL. END. HER!" she screamed.

There wasn't even a pause as the voice returned, seemingly everywhere at once "Oh? And who is this who would inspire such hatred? What did she do to you?"

Drizella snarled once again in ravenous hatred "We took that brat in out of the gutter. We clothed her, fed her, gave her a roof over her head, and when all we asked her to do in return was to pull her own weight she betrayed us and destroyed everything we had. And now my entire family is dead thanks to her!"

The voce returned again, this time with a much more wistful tone "So, that's it then? She betrayed you and now you want to make her suffer as you did? Well, I too seek vengeance against the one that betrayed me, that took everything from me, I would give anything to see him suffer as well. Perhaps, I could help you on your quest."

That caused Drizella to realize something "And why would you do that? I don't even know who you are, or even if you're here or just some voice in my head!"

There was a soft bout of laughter came from all around her as the winds started to pick up "Oh, little one, I'm not in your head but perhaps I should introduce myself properly, and I suppose it was rude of me not to do so earlier."

Drizella then watched, eyes wide like saucers, as a tall, black clad woman stepped out of the shadows in front of her. Her eyes were blood red with black sclera. Her skin was as pale as the Atlesian snow and her hair exactly the same. Blood red veins were pulsing up against her face and there was a strange diadem in the middle of her forehead.

Drizella had never seen a Grimm before but if one looked like a human than the individual in front of her would be an apt description. "I have been given many titles throughout my life little one. Too many to list in conversation. So for the time being you may simply call me: Salem."

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To be continued.

A/N: Well that was a thing. Honestly I don't know if Salem recruits ALL of her minions personally but I'd be willing to bet that most of them are probably done face to face. I mean I know she probably has seers out in the wilds or Grimm that function similarly but I like to think that she recruited Cinder face-to-face it just seems like that would be how they would have met to me. Of course only this time because of the For Want of Nail situation we have going it's Cinder's step-sister instead.

And just to reassure everyone, this isn't me replacing Cinder with a cardboard cutout stand-in, Drizella is going to do things a little bit differently to that of how Cinder operated in canon. There will be some similarities granted, but there will be more than a fair few differences as well.