Author's Note: This was the second entry for the contest, with the prompt of "Choice."


It took Salem nearly an hour to get over the massive revelation that had been dropped on her by her captors. She was supposed to be the Headmistress of Beacon Academy… she could almost picture the look on Ozma's face at the sheer absurdity of it. Admittedly, her own expression wasn't much more dignified and, by the time that she had finally calmed down, she was apparently already running late.

"I mean, won't they just kill me on the spot?" Salem asked the obvious question as she rummaged around her dresser for what would at least be a presentable look.

"They won't." Jinn answered simply.

"To them, this is how it has always been," Ambrosis explained. "You're Salem, Headmistress of Beacon Academy. Defender of Vale and de facto leader of Huntsmen."

"Ha!" Salem let out a single bark of laughter, smirking at the mere thought of Ozma's grimace. "And I once doubted divine irony."

"There is a certain humor to it." Ambrosis replied, rubbing his chin.

Salem slammed the drawer closed, moving to a lower one where she saw what she was looking for. Formal wear, although not exactly what she was used to. She hadn't ever been one for suits, being far more partial towards dresses, but shrugging, she pulled the clothes from the dresser, ignoring the strip of cloth that was neatly folded next to it. Seriously, who wore a scarf with a suit?

Knowing that the humans of the school wouldn't kill her on sight did wonders to calm her nerves, but that still left her with a host of unanswered questions. First and foremost in her mind being the exact identity of the two blue naked people that currently floated around her room.

"I am the spirit of the Relic of Knowledge, bestowed with all that has ever come to pass," Jinn explained. "It is my duty to guide and assist humanity on its quest towards enlightenment-"

"I'm creation," Ambrosis said simply. "I make stuff."

Blinking slowly, Salem turned to Ambrosis. "Like, anything?"

Ambrosis shrugged softly. "If you can design it, sure."

Salem hummed softly. "That sounds useful."

"But only one thing at a time." Ambrosis added with an awkward smile, laughing awkwardly at Salem's flat look.

"That's a moronic limitation… It's got the God of Light written all over it." Salem sighed at the simple stupidity of such a powerful being.

"Hey!" Jinn huffed. "I was monologuing!"

"Seriously, why just one thing?" Salem said as she slipped the suit on. While she hadn't ever worn something like it before, it was fairly straight forward. "The Relics have been around nearly as long as Ozma and myself, did he just expect humanity to build one thing in that entire time?"

Ambrosis shrugged softly. "Beats me. Weird design choice, I'll admit."

"Forget it." Salem shook her head. She had long since given up on trying to figure out the machinations of the divine. It rarely made any sort of sense in her experience. Still, that answered her question about who these two were, although not exactly why they specifically had been chosen to watch over her. Surely the all-powerful God of Light could have wiped up some new creations to serve as her handlers, perhaps making things a bit more threatening, and even presenting a lesser vulnerability by depriving those new beings of important information. By using these two, Salem had learned more about the Relics in a short conversation than she had in millenia of her dispute with Ozma.

When asked about it, their reasons made even less sense.

"We volunteered," Jinn said with a proud smile. "They asked us, and we agreed."

"Definitely wasn't because no one else has a name yet." Ambrosis added with a whisper.

Salem turned towards the man. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Jinn covered his mouth with her hand. "The point is, we chose this. We want to help. Ozma, humanity… even you. If this does that… how could we say no?"

"But aren't you made to serve?" Salem couldn't help but ask. The idea was strange to her, something she had never encountered. She made the Grimm, and while some did in fact possess intelligence and the ability for thought, none of them had ever even considered not doing what she said. It was simply a given. If the God of Light had made the Relics to serve humanity, how could these beings be any different? Did they have the ability to say no? If not, that wasn't any kind of choice at all.

They didn't seem offended when she asked directly.

"That was why we were made, yes, but we do have free will, at least to a degree," Jinn explained. "And with it, we chose to be the angel on your shoulder."

"... isn't there usually a devil on the other shoulder?" Salem could have sworn that was the idea, although she would admit to being somewhat out of touch.

"They thought you could use two angels instead," Ambrosis replied simply. "They said you are more than capable of choosing the bad option all by yourself."

Grumbling, Salem tried to suppress her anger. Who were they to judge her? Fickle gods that dared to say she had made some kind of mistake. She had never done so once in her life… okay, maybe once. Or twice… shaking her head, she stared down at the two items in her hand, debating the importance of the choice. She continued to do so for several long minutes, pretending to examine each article of clothing while she fought off a panic attack.

"Just… pick one." Ambrosis said tiredly.

"I am trying!" Salem snapped at the blue man. "This is harder than it looks, how do I know which one pairs with my suit?"

"It's a tie!" Jinn sounded exasperated. "You're already late."

"Fine!" shoving the purple tie back into the dresser, Salem pulled the yellow polka dot tie over her shoulders before pausing with a sudden realization. "These aren't… automatic?"

Jinn and Ambrosis sighed loudly.


"Ok, so far so good." Salem kept her head high, walking with dignity befitting someone of her station. That was good, teachers were arrogant, right?

"You've literally gone five steps out the door." Ambrosis offered annoyingly. He was back in his miniature form, standing atop Salem's shoulder while Jinn sat on the other side.

"That is five steps worth of progress!" Jinn offered, clearly understanding the significance of it. "The school hasn't been burned down yet!"

"I'm not about to blow it up while I'm inside." Salem grumbled.

"For now, just stick to the task at hand." Jinn said. "Operation School Queen is a go!"

"And what exactly is this task?" Salem asked. Despite ostentatiously being there to help her, the two otherworldly beings hadn't yet told her the specifics about what it was she was supposed to be doing.

"Just play the part of Headmistress." Jinn said.

"But what's the goal here?" Salem pressed on. "I don't get what the point of this is."

"The point is to give you perspective." Jinn replied.

"Walk a mile in someone else's shoes," Ambrosis added. "When everything is said and done… you'll face a choice."

"And what choice would that be, exactly?"

"Salem?" A woman's voice interrupted them before they could explain further, drawing Salem's attention to a blonde woman that had been walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Likely one of Ozma's colleagues, if she had to guess. Though she certainly should have noticed, she didn't comment on the two tiny, naked blue people on her shoulder, and Salem could only hope that the woman couldn't see them. She didn't know how she would explain something like that.

"Ah… you…"

"Glynda." Ambrosis whispered quietly.

"Glynda!" Salem said with a snap of her finger. "It was right on the tip of my tongue." She could vaguely recall having heard the name before, but nothing specific beyond that she was one of Ozma's allies. "How are you doing on this fin-" The woman's ice cold glare froze the friendly greeting on Salem's tongue. Was that not how it was done? Salem gasped, had she been too nice?

"You're late," The woman said sternly, causing a shiver to run up Salem's spine. Who was she exactly? She spoke with such authority, but wasn't Salem supposed to be the one in charge? If she was replacing Ozma, that should have been the case, and yet this Glynda seemed almost… demanding. Was she Ozma's right hand, or his handler perhaps? "I was just coming to fetch you."

"I apologize," Salem decided to be diplomatic until she could learn more. "I had some… trouble with my alarm."

The woman held out her hand, the broken remains of the beast that Salem had tossed out of the hole in her wall. "The custodians found this on the sidewalk outside."

"Ah, that would be the trouble, I was looking for that," Taking it from her, Salem tucked it under her arm. "Now then!" Salem said with as bright a smile as she could manage, planting her free hand on her hip in as confident a 'good guy' pose as she could manage. "We should be going, time is short after all."

The attempt at deflection didn't seem to work, but while the woman turned with a huff, she did not continue yelling at her, and Salem counted that as a victory. She followed after Glynda, trusting that she was going in the correct direction. As they walked, Salem did her best to memorize the layout of the school. Despite it being the home of her mortal enemies, she had never actually spent much time studying its layout or appearance. Truth be told, she had expected better. It needed less buttresses and more purple, a six out of ten at best.

"The students have already arrived and the initial speech given," The woman said with a sigh as she rubbed at the side of her forehead, sending a short glare Salem's way. "Port gave a rousing hour-long lecture that I'm sure motivated the students. I've given him the day off as… thanks."

Strangely, Salem got the oddest tinge of fear for a moment, before the woman looked away. She got the sense that the speech was supposed to be the responsibility of the Headmaster or Mistress, though the fact that this 'Port' had stepped up on such short notice was admirable. She made a mental note to thank him later, since apparently he'd saved her a bit of grief already. Plus, she was sure the students preferred him to whatever she would have had to say.

"The students have also already been moved into their temporary lodging, although the rooms will of course be assigned tomorrow," The woman continued to report as they approached a door, which was labeled as being for staff only. "The last of the paperwork was sent to your office, and will need to be completed before tomorrow morning."

Salem made a mental note of that, she had to play the part after all. One of the perks of being Queen of the Grimm had been the delegation, whatever she didn't want to do, she could make one of her minions do, or even design a Grimm specifically for the task! And people said that toast making Grimm was a bad idea. Sadly, she no longer had such resources and so that would not be the case here, she already felt a bit of resentment for that.

The staff door opened, revealing a fairly simple staff room with a kitchenette. There was a couch along one wall, a short table in front of it with, of all things, some board games on it. The kitchen portion of the room seemed to be well stocked, with a functional, if somewhat dated refrigerator, along with a few other appliances that Salem could recognize mostly due to Watts' insistence that the tower be modernized. While she had been reluctant at first, in retrospect, it had been needed. How she had survived before the introduction of their espresso machine, she would never know. While this lounge room was certainly not as luxurious as her own, it would suffice.

Sitting at a table in the middle was a green haired man wearing glasses, chugging from a thermos. He paused long enough to offer them a polite greeting.

"Ah, Headmistress-Salem. I-was-beginning-to-wonder-when-you-would-make-your-appearance. Glynda-was-quite-cross-when-you-failed-to-show, even-more-so-when-Peter began his-tale." The man spoke in a rushed tone that reminded her worryingly of Watts whenever she made the mistake of asking him to explain how something actually worked. She had decided long ago to just accept Magic as the answer and move along. Salem simply nodded and returned her attention to someone else.

Glynda, for her part, ignored the man and moved over towards a small machine on the counter that Salem didn't recognize. Bending down, she grabbed a cup from a cupboard before standing up and regarding the machine. Her shoulders stiffened and she slowly turned towards the man sitting at the table.

"Bartholomew, is that coffee you're drinking?"

Setting his thermos down, the man wiped his mouth with a satisfied sigh. "It is, yes, quite refreshing if I say so myself. You see, the beans are a Mistra-"

The man was cut off as a mug slammed into his forehead, causing Salem to rear back at the sudden attack. The fact the mug didn't break, nor that either individual seemed particularly fazed by the action, spoke to how common such an event was.

"Put on a new pot next time!" Glynda snapped.

Ah, that explained it. Any sympathy Salem had for the man dried up instantly as she nodded. Really, he had it coming, what kind of monster failed to start a new brew after finishing off the last? Some things translated even across enemies, it seemed.

"But, you don't even like-" The mug slammed into the back of his head, pushing him and his chair over.

Glynda turned back towards the cupboards, rummaging around for a few moments before drawing out a few packages and containers. Moving over, Salem watched the woman work quietly while Bartholomew picked himself up from the floor. Before long, Glynda flipped a switch on the frankly ancient machine and started putting everything away.

"Is it really so difficult to choose to act like an adult?" Glynda mumbled softly to herself.

Salem's first response to the black liquid that eventually crawled out was that it was Grimm in nature, but when Glynda poured a mug and slid it over to her, a far more concerning thought occurred to her. Was she trying to poison her? No, surely not. Jinn and Ambrosis had insisted that everyone would see her as the Headmistress, and that it had always been that way… surely Glynda wouldn't try to kill her boss… right? She couldn't have been that angry with her yet… Right?

Salem eyed the cup suspiciously, it might not kill her, but she wasn't all that eager to drink the contents regardless.

Pouring her own mug, Glynda took a sip, her face puckering in disgust as she shivered. When she didn't immediately fall over dead, Salem grabbed her mug and looked down into the "coffee" as if expecting it to attack her.

A hollow void stared back, darker than any Grimm spawning pool she had ever used.

Glynda moved over towards the table, and Salem took her chance as the woman's back was turned to dump the coffee in a nearby potted plant. Remaining standing, she pretended to take a drink to keep up appearances.

"So…" Salem said simply, rather unsure of how to proceed. "What is on the agenda for today?"

"You mean aside from the welcoming speech that you ditched and the mountain of paperwork waiting for you on your desk?" Glynda dangerously asked.

Salem chuckled nervously. "Yeah, other than that."

Glynda sighed heavily, looking towards the ceiling as if seeking help from a higher power. Salem could say from personal experience that she wouldn't find any. Eventually, the woman seemed to realize that, and rejoined them in the present moment.

"There is little until tomorrow morning with the initiation." Glynda said. "Which you will be in attendance for!" The woman didn't seem willing to even consider an alternative.

Swallowing hard, Salem nodded quickly.

"After that, Team assignments, room assignments, and class schedules will need to be made for the following day," Glynda said. "Can I count on…" She looked across the table to the only man in the room, before looking towards Salem. She seemed to deflate at the assumption she would be doing most of the work. "Never mind," Finishing her sludge and standing from the table, she quickly moved towards the door. "Just take care of the paperwork on your desk, please."

Salem nodded, confident that she could at least do that much. Really, how hard could it be?

"Oh, and Salem," Glynda stopped at the door. "What did you choose for the relics this year? The staff will be along shortly to take them out."

"Ah, yes… the relics." Salem's eyes slid over to an obnoxiously large chess set sitting next to the couch. "I have some… ideas."


The next morning, Salem sat up with a start at the sudden noise, launching a small fireball at her attacker before her mind fully recalled where exactly she was. It went perfectly through Ambrosis' chest and crashed into a stack of unfinished papers, the force from it tipping her over her chair and onto the hard floor.

"Wow, seriously, rude." The man crossed his arms over his chest, otherwise unfazed by the attack.

"Ugh..." Salem groaned. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock." Jinn smiled.

"Five more minutes." Salem closed her eyes, curling into a small ball under her new desk.

"No can do, unless you want to attract Glynda's ire again."

"I'm up!" Salem practically leapt up from the floor, eyes roaming around the office as the night before came crashing back to her. She'd gone from the staff room directly to her office to finish the paperwork that Glynda had set out for her, with the aid of Jinn and Ambrosis of course, but at some point someone had shown up with more. Then later, another person had showed up to drop off more, before eventually the sun had set and Salem had been nearly overwhelmed by forms and ink. Her wrists ached, and her fingers felt stiff. The worst part was that only about half of it had been completed, the rest still sitting on her desk, though some of it had caught fire when Ambrosis dodged her attack.

Salem smiled as an idea came to mind.

Ten minutes later, her desk was clear, any remains of the paperwork currently smoldering in the trash bin next to her desk, and her wrists felt remarkably better. Dusting her hands together at a job well done, she set off for the door. Glynda had sent a helpful "reminder" to her scroll, an implied threat more like, alerting her to the exact times she would need to meet up, and with the aid of her constant guards, she managed to make it a whole five minutes early.

Glynda… seemed a little surprised, a fact that would have hurt a little, were it not a side effect of her taking over Ozma's life. Clearly, she was just a more effective Headmistress than he was; a fact which should have been obvious. She had always been the brains to his simple brawn.

"Good morning Glynda!" Salem forced a smile onto her face, though the muscles there felt remarkably tired from the effort, as she was certainly not used to smiling so much.

The look of shock at her timely arrival disappeared quickly, Glynda nodding as she handed over a larger version of a scroll. "The students should already be making their way towards the cliffs, if this keeps up, we may actually be able to start on time for once."

Salem tried to hide her smugness at getting one over on Ozma, as she followed Glynda towards the aforementioned cliffs. The students, true to form, followed only a few minutes after, stopping to stand on various platforms set up in the grass. Eventually the students stopped streaming in, and Salem assumed they were ready to start. Five minutes later, she finally noticed Glynda staring at her expectantly.

Was she supposed to do something?

Sighing, Glynda stepped up to explain what exactly they would be expected to do, she didn't pay too much attention however. The fact they hadn't been told beforehand felt like an obvious oversight on Beacon's part, and Salem couldn't help but find it an odd choice. Surely it would have been better to give a warning so that they could plan ahead of time. In Salem's experience with her underlings, they loved to plan, although they liked to call it scheming. In fact, it seemed to be their favorite part of working for her, which she respected. Everyone loved a good scheme.

When Glynda was finished, she turned towards Salem and nodded. What that nod meant, she wasn't certain but, looking down at the small screen in her hands, she noticed a red button icon. Probably for a timer if she had to guess. Pressing it, she quickly realized it was not, in fact, for a timer, as the students were launched out into the forest.

Salem's mouth hung open as she watched the insanity take place, as each one miraculously managed to not die on impact.

"It seems we are off to a good start," Glynda said softly. Salem looked at her like she was crazy. "Do I have something in my teeth?"


Never, in all of her centuries, had Salem seen such insanity. This was how the kingdoms trained to fight the Grimm? Throwing children into the forest to fight them alone?! It was barbarity! Salem had been anxious throughout the test, a fact that was barely lessened as it came to a close.

"I want to talk to them." Salem said as a team of four girls finally managed to kill a Nevermore that had been plaguing them since the start of the initiation.

"Hm?" Glynda hummed softly.

"All the students that passed, gather them up," Salem said simply. "I want to speak with them."

Glynda paused for a moment. "They will be gathered together soon for Team assignments, I can amend the schedule to make room for an address if you would like."

"Yes," Salem said as she turned away, she couldn't bear to look out over the forest anymore. "Thank you."

Salem had never had any illusion about the world, she and Ozma were at war, and that fact had always come at a cost. Once she had written that off as necessary, but had it really led to this? Hurling children into a forest filled with dangerous monsters? She hadn't known… surely it was a recent development, some unusual crisis that had forced those so young into such a place.

Surely they hadn't chosen this.

Jinn and Ambrosis had been oddly quiet throughout the initiation, and she couldn't help but assume that was intentional now.

Was this the choice they had referred to? If so, Salem didn't see how it was supposed to change her mind. The students here were idiots that chose the wrong side. If they genuinely believed that they could stop the Grimm, then they were fools, and Ozma was too for filling them with such idiotic ideas. How was watching children play soldier supposed to make her change her mind?

These people, these children, chose to stand against the impossible. It was simply expected that they would suffer the consequences for that… and yet, she couldn't shake the feeling of it being wrong. She would convince them to give it up, it would be for the best for all of them.

A short while later, she stood before the assembled body of students that had passed and made it into Beacon Academy. They all looked so proud, as if they had won a great victory, and yet all she saw were children unaware as to the truth they were trying to involve themselves in.

"You all have come here to become Huntsmen and Huntresses," Salem spoke clearly, confidently. She was no amateur and she knew how to command a room's attention, and though she was no true Headmistress, the students gave her their full attention and the room quickly quieted down. "You… you chose this life." The word felt like a lie. They hadn't, not really. If they knew the full truth, they never would have dared pick such a fateful career. "Each and everyone of you has a reason you think you should be here, but whatever it is, I say now you should reconsider."

Her words had the expected effect, a quiet murmur spreading throughout the gathered group. She let it simmer for a moment before continuing.

"Some people are forced into their circumstances, through no fault of their own." It was a tale as old as time. Life was rarely fair, something Salem knew more than any other. "For some, that choice is stripped away, and they are put on a path they never would have chosen of their own free will." She hadn't ever thought she would be the person she was now, a woman that controlled monsters that fought children. That choice had been stripped from her long ago however, and now she was set on her path. "But you all still have a choice!"

They could lay down their weapons, return to their homes, and live long and happy lives. Or die fighting monsters for people that would never know their name. The choice seemed so obvious to Salem, and she couldn't understand how they would disagree.

"And so I shall be giving you all this one opportunity," Salem continued. "Leave. If you do so, no actions shall be taken against you, and I am certain those of you wise enough to accept will find gainful employment elsewhere."

The hall was silent as they waited for her to continue, and though she waited, none took her offer. "None of you?" Her voice was almost a whisper. "Not a single one of you would change the choice you have made?"

Though the room was silent, Salem could recognize the resolve in their eyes, a fire that had only seemed to grow brighter when she tried to change their minds.

"Then welcome to Beacon." The words were sour in her mouth as the crowd cheered.

At the end of it all… she just had to remind herself that they had chosen this. Even if she couldn't understand why.