"Well, well. Look who came back empty-handed?" Arthur Watts trolled.

Emerald sat next to Cinder and Mercury as usual. They had returned to the gloomy Evernight Castle and were sitting at the table, waiting for Salem to begin the meeting. She watched Cinder's reaction. Cinder glowered at Arthur, but said nothing.

Tyrian Callows, who sat between Arthur and Hazel Rainart, clapped his hands together with a manic grin on his face. "I can't wait to see what our Goddess does to you for your failure."

Suddenly there was the sound of the large wooden doors to the meeting room creaking open, and everyone stood as Salem glided into the room to her usual spot at the table. She lowered her hand for everyone to be seated.

"Cinder," Salem began. "You don't appear to have my crown with you. Why is that?"

Emerald knew she was referring to the crown of choice- a relic that was supposed to have been hidden in Vale Palace that could show its wearer a future.

"It wasn't there, My Queen. I searched everywhere for it," Cinder replied in a gracious, calm voice- with more calm in it than Emerald would have been able to muster under the same scrutiny.

Salem leaned closer, her scarlet gaze locked on Cinder. "And Ozpin?"

"I killed him," Cinder answered.

A smile of satisfaction and maternal pride lit Salem's face. "Excellent. It is likely that he has hidden the crown differently than he has hidden all the other relics, so I won't hold its absence against you. As far as I'm concerned, your mission at Vale Palace was a success. Well done, Cinder. I will personally find the relic and destroy Vale after you've obtained the relics of knowledge and creation."

Arthur frowned, and Tyrian began to mope with disappointment. There had been infighting within Salem's circle for at least the entire time since Emerald had been a part of it. Tyrian and Arthur both disliked Cinder. With Tyrian, the reason was obvious- he wanted to be Salem's favorite and viewed Cinder as a threat to that position. With Arthur the reason seemed more complicated. Emerald wasn't quite sure why he felt the need to antagonize Cinder and always wanted her to fail. She knew that Cinder didn't like them either and had learned to stand up for herself against older men who didn't respect her- a skill she had passed on to Emerald.

Emerald, for her part, breathed an internal sigh of relief. She was glad that Salem wasn't mad at Cinder for her inability to find the crown. When angered, Salem was the scariest person she had ever known. She had seen Salem turn that rage on others before- there used to be a healer in Salem's circle, but Salem had killed her. The thought of Salem turning her anger on Cinder, whom Emerald had come to love as if she was the older sister Emerald had never had, gave Emerald chills.

Granted, Emerald had never actually seen Salem hurt Cinder before. Salem and Cinder's relationship was...a lot. Cinder had told Emerald that Salem was like a second mother to her. Emerald knew the tragic situation Salem had rescued Cinder from as a teen. Cinder had been through so much, and had shared all of it with Emerald, telling her she wanted her to be able to protect herself and training with her. But Emerald wondered if Salem loved Cinder nearly as much as Cinder loved Salem. Sometimes Salem seemed to view and treat Cinder like a daughter. Other times, Salem seemed to view and treat Cinder as a thing to be used. To manipulate and control.

Case in point: the...marriage...Salem had arranged between Cinder and King Jax Asturias of Vacuo.

Cinder had just turned 18 when Salem had made the arrangement, and Emerald had been 17 and had only been in the circle for a few months, but already felt close to her. King Jax and his twin sister Princess Gillian were new recruits of Salem's and were only a year older than Cinder, so his age wasn't the issue Emerald had with the arrangement. It was the arrangement itself that didn't sit right with Emerald. She had been eavesdropping when Salem and Cinder had had their first conversation about it.

"The young king of Vacuo has agreed to help us find the Summer Maiden and give us the sword of destruction, but he wants something in return," Salem declared.

"What does he want?" Cinder asked.

"He wants you, and I told him you'd be his."

Cinder was silent.

"He doesn't know you yet, of course, but King Jax Asturias is interested in finding a powerful bride to bear his future children. You're already strong now as the Fall Maiden. He won't find a bride as powerful as you, especially if you claim the power of the other Maidens. The wedding will take place after he delivers the relic to me, but he would like to...spend time with you tomorrow night. I assume he seeks intimacy with you."

"I-"

Salem laid a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "I would not ask this of you if you were still a child, Cinder," she said gently. "But you are a woman now. This man is part of the power I promised you. You will be his queen and have magic at your disposal in the New World. He is merely a year older than you, and easy on the eyes. You know that the relic is vital to my peace, and to your future."

"I'll do it," Cinder announced.

Salem smiled and gave Cinder's shoulder a rub. "Very good. I knew that you would have the courage to do what needs to be done."

Emerald shuddered. Salem just offered Cinder's body to a man in exchange for something, she thought.

The next evening, with Salem's nod of approval, Cinder had worn one of the most revealing outfits in her closet- a red bustier exposing her cleavage and midsection, detached red leather sleeves, and a matching red leather miniskirt- and Jax had spent the night with her. The morning afterward, when he had left, Emerald went to check on her.

"Cinder, are you ok?" She asked, taking both Cinder's grimm hand and human hand in hers. On the human hand was a diamond ring.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Cinder asked. "I'm engaged to a king."

"Cinder, Salem pressured you to seduce a man just so she could get a relic," Emerald blurted out, unable to hold back her negative emotions about the situation. "Doesn't that hurt you?"

Cinder yanked her hands away from Emerald and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. "Stop the pearl-clutching, Emerald. Salem showed me a way to bring us closer to our goals, and I chose to embrace it."

There was a silence between them, and Cinder was still holding herself. She wasn't looking at Emerald.

"Besides," Cinder added in a sultry voice, "I enjoyed our night together."

There was another silence between them, but eventually Emerald's thoughts quietly came out of her mouth.

"She's supposed to love you," Emerald said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Cinder's eyes locked on Emerald's. "What did you say?"

Emerald met her gaze. "I said, she's supposed to love you. She's like a mom to you, you told me. But mothers who love their daughters aren't supposed to offer up their daughter's bodies as bargaining chips to get things."

Cinder glared at Emerald. "Get. Out."

Emerald complied, wondering if anything she'd said had been wrong or too harsh. She respected Cinder and didn't want to treat her like she had no agency or make her feel judged. But because of the nature of her relationship with Salem, and because of everything Emerald had learned about Cinder, it felt wrong for Salem to use her that way. What would Salem have done if Cinder had said no?

Later that day, Mercury, who had only been with them for a few weeks at that time, caught Emerald looking gloomy.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"I'm just a little worried about Cinder."

"Why?"

"It's not really my story to tell," Emerald replied. Mercury was attractive to her and in some ways reliable, but he wasn't mature enough for certain conversations.

Mercury's focus on Emerald was suddenly intense. "I don't think you should get invested in Cinder or her problems."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emerald demanded. "Cinder is my friend."

"Amber thought Cinder was her friend too, but Cinder only got close to her so that when her deadly illness killed her, she inherited her Maiden power," Mercury replied.

"That was different, and you know that."

"Was it really?" Mercury asked. "Maybe it was. Only time will tell. Even if Cinder does really care about you, she comes across as the kind of person who will get caught up in some bad shit some day. There may come a time when your caring about her is dangerous for you and brings you pain, and I don't want to see you get hurt, Emerald."

Emerald felt herself blushing. Sometimes Mercury could be an obnoxious flirt, but other times- moments like this- he really seemed to care.

Still, Emerald's mind was on Cinder and what Salem had manipulated her into doing with Jax Asturias, a man she didn't even know.

If this was how Salem treated Cinder when she was pleased with her, what might Salem do to Cinder if she ever lost her approval?