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“This is all your fault!”
“How is it my fault? You wouldn’t have dropped it if you’d just let me help you.”
“You bumped into me!”
“To try and help you!”
Mercury and Emerald had been bickering like this for weeks. A constant back-and-forth that had initially been one-sided on Mercury’s part, only for Emerald to start shooting back after a while. In all honesty, Cinder found it amusing, but it certainly made stealth harder.
This time, it was because Mercury had tripped while the group was walking, still getting used to the prosthetic legs Winter had crafted for him with impressive military ability that Cinder wasn’t aware she’d even had. Emerald had tried to help him steady himself, only for him to shove her away and lose grip of the map the group had been following. They’d been arguing over the fact that they were now essentially lost on a path in the middle of nowhere for the past half-hour.
“Look, it’s not like I asked to come along.” Mercury snapped.
“Well, feel free to leave.” Emerald’s response was just as snarky. The two were certainly a perfect fit, Cinder thought.
“Quit arguing,” Winter scolded, briefly turned back to glare at the two teenagers behind her. “It’s not helping anything.”
Emerald and Mercury fell into silence, though they still wore scowls on their faces as they tried to outpace each other.
“Oh, give them a break,” Cinder said lightly to Winter. “I think it’s cute.”
Winter gave her a look. “How is it ‘cute’?”
“Come on,” Cinder teased, winking. “Don’t they remind you of us in the old days?”
Winter sighed, the same sigh she always did whenever Cinder brought up their relationship. “And look at what came of it,” she pointed out, “Arguing that often simply isn’t healthy, and you know it.”
Cinder didn’t reply. Arguing was half the fun of it. Sure, not the hateful kind, but the childish bickering they’d done as teenagers was what had fueled the best three years of Cinder’s life. What harm was there in that?
“Come on,” Winter clearly didn’t want to dwell on the conversation any more than Cinder did. “Let’s try to figure out where we are.”
It might have been easy if they were still on Anima, where Cinder knew at least some of the layout, but they were in eastern Sanus now, where no party member had much experience at all, if any. It was completely unfamiliar ground.
The path they were on was old and worn, as if it had once been a common traveling point, but now lay bare and empty. The only manmade object to be seen was the ancient wooden fence that ran down both sides of the path, but the rest of the landscape was filled with trees and distant mountains, with no settlements in sight.
The sky was dark, thick with heavy rainclouds the washed the scenery in gray, and silence resonated aside from the group’s own footsteps. Cinder didn’t like it. Wherever they were, she had a bad feeling.
“Wait.” She stopped, squinting. She could see something ahead, moving slowly in their direction. Her bad feeling grew.
Winter blinked at the distant figure. “Is that…a horseman?”
Emerald and Mercury drew up behind him, worry in Emerald’s eyes, while Mercury was already starting to take a fighting pose.
“Calm down,” Winter put a hand out to stop the teenage boy from rushing forward. “We don’t know if it’s a threat.”
The moment the words left her mouth, something exploded from the trees. The rider was knocked onto the ground, and the horse took off in the opposite direction. Cinder’s heart froze when she recognized the attacker’s movements, even from here.
“Tyrian,” She spat, racing forward despite Winter’s cry. A moment later, rushed footsteps told her that the rest of the group was following.
All sense left Cinder’s mind as she drew Midnight and rushed at Salem’s henchman with both swords. The risk of exposing herself was at the back of her mind; right now, an innocent person would be killed if she didn’t do something.
Despite her attacks, Tyrian was too fast for her, dodging every blow. For a moment, Cinder feared that she’d made a life-threatening mistake, until a blue of white rushed past, and Winter was there, taking Tyrian by surprise and landing a blow with her own swords that sent him skidding back in the dust.
With Winter, Emerald, and Mercury by her side, Cinder watched Tyrian picked himself up. When his bright yellow eyes fixed on her, his face lit up with unsettling delight.
“Well! If this isn’t a surprise! An old friend, after all this time!”
“Shut up,” Cinder spat. Of all of Salem’s lackeys, he’d always been her least favourite. “I never even liked you.”
Tyrian feigned a hurt expression. “Oh, how rude! And to think I was so worried that you’d perished, all those months ago.”
So that was it, then. Salem had thought she’d died on her mission. And now, she was going to find out otherwise.
Winter stepped forward, one sword pointed directly at Tyrian. “Stand down, Tyrian Callows,” she warned, her voice low. “You’re wanted for numerous murders across Anima.”
Noticing her, Tyrian looked even more thrilled. “First the Fall Maiden, now Cinder Fall and a Schnee! How exciting!”
The what!?
Tyrian took her brief moment of shock as an opportunity to dash forward at an alarming speed, his dangerous tail aiming straight for her chest. A scream sounded from Winter that pierced Cinder’s heart more than any weapon ever could.
And then, Tyrian was thrown aside as a gust of wind picked up out of nowhere, strong enough the send leaves flying in circles over the path. Taking aback, Cinder turned her head, and her mouth fell open.
There the horseman, who Cinder had almost forgotten about, stood- no, not stood- she was floating a foot above the ground. The wind spiraled all around her and her eyes were lit with orange flames, almost as if her soul were escaping her body.
The Fall Maiden.
She was real, after all. And she was here.
A cackle sounded from Tyrian as he shielded himself from the gust. “Now this is a fight!” And like the madman he was, he was throwing himself at the Maiden again, fighting the wind to get to her.
The Maiden wielded a simple staff, but it seemed to Cinder that it was only a way for her to channel her power, watching her twist it to send the wind directly at Tyrian in a fierce blow. But this time, Tyrian was ready, and dodged, leaping at the woman to land a blow that she was only just able to block with her staff in time.
Cinder shook herself back to her senses. “Come on!” Not knowing if her companions would join her, she drew Midnight again and launched herself back into the fight. As she did, Tyrian’s movements changed. He began flipping and twisting, almost as if he was moving with the wind instead of trying to fight it. He was clever, Cinder admitted to herself.
Relief swamped her when Winter joined her at her side, slashing at Tyrian as he danced around. He was clever, but he was still only one person, up against a former assassin, a military-trained warrior, and the Fall Maiden.
Gunshots sounded as Tyrian flinched and staggered, caught-off guard. Cinder smirked, glancing at Emerald and Mercury. Now, the scorpion faunus had talented teenagers to fight as well.
“Give up,” The maiden spoke for the first time, glaring down at Tyrian. “You’re drastically outnumbered.”
“This is your last chance.” For extra measure, Winter summoned a glyph that appeared behind her.
Tyrian glanced between all five of his opposers, a calculating look in his eye. He chuckled. “Very well,” he relented, not sounded all that upset about it, “Salem will certainly want to hear about these new developments anyway. Farewell!”
And just like that, he backed into the trees, and was gone. The wind died down as the Maiden floated back down to the ground, and Winter un-summoned her glyph.
Cinder put Midnight away, desperately trying to process what had happened as she panted for breath. She turned and looked properly at the Maiden for the first time.
If Winter was beautiful like icicles hanging from a willow tree over a frozen lake, then this woman was beautiful like a sunrise and autumn leaves falling over a warm and cozy cottage. In a way, she was simple, short brown hair framing her face in a bob, and with a golden pendant pinned to her chest being the only thing that really stood out about her outfit. But her eyes were round and gentle, and resonated a brilliant warmth, not like fire, but the first sunlight of day.
“You’re…the Fall Maiden.” She managed.
The woman blinked, looking around at the group. “Right. Um. Any chance you lot could keep that between yourselves…?”
“Don’t worry,” Winter assured her calmly, her eyes as fixed on the woman’s face as Cinder’s had been. “We know about the people that are after you. We wouldn’t put you in that kind of danger.”
The woman studied Winter curiously. “You really are Winter Schnee,” she noted, surprise in her voice. “What’s someone like you doing out here? Last I heard, you were missing in action.”
Winter winced. “Right. Well, just like you, I have reasons for needing to stay out of the public eye, let’s just say that.”
“Hm. Alright.” the Maiden still looked curious, but she turned her attention to Cinder, narrowing her eyes slightly. Cinder tried not to flinch. “And you…what’s your history with Tyrian, huh?”
Cinder’s chest tightened. She couldn’t dodge this as easily as Winter had. “I was…in Salem’s faction,” she admitted. “I left when I realized what her true intentions were.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You left Salem? And you’re still alive?” She sounded impressed.
Cinder wished she could bask in the glow of that comment, until her heart sunk down to her feet. She sighed. “Not for much longer, probably.” Tyrian wouldn’t hesitate to tell Salem all about her betrayal now that he knew she was alive. Not just that, but who she was with, and that she’d stopped him from getting a hold of the Fall Maiden. However well she’d been hiding until now, she was done for.
Winter’s hand flew to her shoulder. “Don’t say that,” she replied, her fierce tone surprising Cinder. “She won’t get anywhere near you.”
Cinder refused to shrug her off, enjoying the touch, but still disagreeing. “You don’t know Salem like I do,” she insisted. “Once she knows I betrayed her, she won’t stop until I’m no longer a threat.” And then she’ll probably go for you, too. And I won’t be there to protect you.
“Cinder’s got a point,” Mercury spoke up, “If anything you guys have told me about this lady is true, we’re all doomed.”
Emerald’s eyes were wide and concerned. “You said she controls the Grimm, right? She could raise as big an army against us as she wants.”
Cinder finally brought herself to shake off Winter’s hand. “She’s not going to do anything to you three,” she insisted, “Just me.” She took a deep breath. “I need to leave you all. If Salem tracks me down, it’ll only be me.” She could go to Vacuo, maybe, or back to Atlas. Somewhere remote, where she could maybe enjoy a few more days of life before Salem found her.
Winter’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed Cinder’s wrist. “Absolutely not,” She snapped. “We’re partners, remember? We’re in this fight together.”
Cinder pulled away. “I’m not letting the only people I care about get hurt for my sake.” she retorted. Even if it kills me.
“What if I came with you?”
Every eye turned to the Fall Maiden as she spoke.
Cinder stared at her. “What?”
“I owe you guys for helping me out with Tyrian,” the Maiden explained. “If I could join your group, maybe I could use my powers to help keep you all safe from Salem.”
Winter’s eyes were wide with surprise, edged with a gratefulness Cinder rarely saw in her. “That would be extremely generous of you,” she replied. “But we could never ask you to do such a thing.”
The woman shrugged. “It wouldn’t be a big deal. Really, you’d be helping me out.” She opened her hand and summoned a small flame. Cinder stared at it in wonder. “It’s my job as a Maiden to help people,” the woman explained. “Not only could I do that by joining you, but I could certainly use a team to help me protect others, if you’re up for it.”
Winter looked deeply considerate. She glanced at Cinder. “What do you think?”
Cinder found herself unsure. On one hand, a Maiden would be an irreplaceable ally, one her group would be extremely lucky to have. This woman was clearly a capable fighter, if a bit inexperienced. Having her join them would strengthen their chances against Salem’s forces for sure.
But she didn’t like the way Winter looked at her. The way she’d only ever looked at Cinder before, with that softness in her eyes, and even awe. The way she was so clearly taken with this woman just upon first sight. But then, how could Cinder blame her? She found herself looking at the woman the same way.
She looked at Winter, then at Emerald and Mercury. Even if she did leave, and Salem exacted her revenge, how long before she found them anyway? And then, they wouldn’t have Cinder by her side. If Cinder was going to die, she at least wanted to be with Winter when she did.
She sighed. “I think it’s a good idea,” she relented. “We could use all the help against Salem that we can get.”
The woman smiled. She had a wonderful smile. “It’s settled then,” she replied warmly. “My name is Amber, by the way.”
Amber. Like her eyes.
Cinder composed herself. “I’m Cinder Fall,” she gestured behind her to the two teenagers. “And this is Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black.” There was no point introducing Winter, obviously.
Amber nodded. “It’s good to meet you all,” she replied. “So,” she glanced around. “Assuming you’re not planning on going straight to Salem’s doorstep, where are we headed?”
Winter stepped forward. “Well, Amber,” she started. “Is there any chance you know your way around Vale?”
Amber let out a short laugh. “Oh, I’m terrible with directions,” she replied. Before anyone could react in disappointment, she reached behind her. “Good thing I have this map, though.”
Mercury snorted. “Just don’t let Emerald near it.” He was met with a shove from the green-haired girl. The chance of them beginning to fight again was just as likely as the chance that it would rain that day.
Cinder smirked. “Fair warning,” she spoke to Amber as the other woman began unrolling the map, “We’ve got a fun trip ahead of us.”