Chapter Text
"Miss Rose. I need to discuss something privately with her. I will kindly ask you to leave." Ozpin's tone was formal, but Rubt could feel there was something dark behind it.
"Uhmm... Discuss what exactly?" Ruby asks confused.
Ozpin glances once more at the young visage of Salem, narrowing his eyes before answering Ruby in a serious stone.
"Miss Rose, I'm afraid this doesn't concern you. Could you please-"
"Oh my goodneeeeees!" Ruby jumps back and Ozpin looks confused at Salem expressing her frustration loudly.
The blonde crosses her arms and raises a questioning eyebrow at the headmaster.
"Ozpin, you really going to guilt trip me into this, aren't you?"
"Huh!? Guilt trip? Headmaster, what does she mean!?"
Salem puts a hand on her chest and closes her eyes. She begins to recount her relationship with the Headmaster for the young huntress.
"You see, Ruby. My semblance is quite powerful, as you have no doubt witnessed. So ever since I came to Vale, my dear Oz has been begging me to join Beacon non stop.. Curriculum this, benefits that."
She shakes her head with a sigh. "It's exhausting, really. But I didn't believe he would stain his reputation so much as to use you to get me to enroll!" She finishes with dramatic flair.
Ruby begins to tremble as she looks worried between Salem and the dumbfounded headmaster. "U-u-u-use me? What do you mean?"
Salem points an accusatory finger at Ozpin. "Isn't it obvious, little Ruby? Unless I agree to join Beacon Academy, he will charge you with fighting without a huntress license!"
Ruby begins to tear up. Ozpin remains silent but his eye twitches in annoyance. "But I just defended myself! P-please don't put me in jail Headmaster Ozpin!"
Salem gives the young huntress a sad look. "You did defend yourself at first. But the moment you chose to pursue that bowler hat criminal up the roof it ceased to be self defense. And now my dear Oz is holding your actuons over my head to convince me to join him."
She glazes at Oz. "I expected more from you... a hero of your stature? Reduced to... this?"
"ENOUGH!"
Ozpin makes Ruby jolt and Salem look at him with a satisfied smile.
The headmaster regains his composure and adjustes his glasses.
"Miss Rose. I can assure you no charges will be pressed. I can also assure you Miss Salem was aware of that. She simply used you to rile me up. I am ashamed to say she succeeded."
He closes his eyes and puts his hot chocolate mug down on the table with a slightly shaky hand.
"You are free to leave Miss Rose. And you have been accepted into Beacon Academy. I will not use what you did today as a boon against Miss Salem. I simply wish to put this conflict between me and her to rest."
Ruby looks at Salem curiously. The blonde nods firmly. "You can leave, child. I will handle this."
Ruby nods back and gets up from her chair. "Okay... you don't look that much older than me tho."
Salem chuckles. "My soul is old. Now go." She shoos Ruby who smiles one more time before leaving.
Silence envelopes the room after Ruby leaves. Ozpin and Salem simoly stare at eachother.
Salem is the first to break the silence. "Before I reveal anything, I want to give you some insurance. Do you have a knife on you?"
"No."
Salem thinks. "Hmm..." she glances at the empty plate on the table. An unnerving smile forms on her face.
"This will do fine." She lifts her hand and smahses the plate.
Ozpin's expression doesn't change but he tightens the grip on his cane.
Salem takes one of the shards of the broken plate and makes a small cut on her finger.
"Watch." She says as she lifts the slowly bleeding finger for him to see.
Ozpin looks intently at the wound, after a minute of it not closing he widens his eyes and looks at Salem.
"You are not immortal..." He whispers just loud enough for the witch to hear.
Salem nods slowly. "Now that you know you can just kill me if I go on a rampage, will you listen to what I have to say?"
Ozpin ponders for a second before pulling out a hankerchief and offering it to her. She smiles and takes it, using it to wipe the blood while engaging her defensive aura to heal the cut.
"I am a physical manifestation of Salem's life as "The girl in the tower." A fairy-tale given flesh."
Ozpin tilts his head to the side. "Only that phase of her life?"
The witch rests her chin in her hands. "No control over Grimm. No immortality."
She lifts her hand in front of him rainbow particles appear and rapidly spin around it.
"But my magic is not degraded."
Ozpin immadiately engages his aura. Salem deadpans at him and closes her hand, dispelling the particles
"Calm down. I am simply saying the real Salem's magic is also losing it's strength. Nowhere near as much as yours, but it is diminishing, little by little..."
The headmaster narrows his eyes. "And what is your purpose here?"
The witch takes Ozpin's discarded mug. "You are taking too long."
She takes a sip. "Mmm~ As I was saying. It's obvious to the powers that be that you are not capable of defeating the real me."
Ozpin raises a questioning eyebrow. "The powers that be?"
Salem gulps down the entire hot chocolate mug, earning a deadpan stare from the headmaster.
The witch rests her arms on the table. She continues her explanation with a casual tone.
"Not the brothers. But someone else. Or rather, something else. It's not that important anyway. All you need to know is I'm here to lock up the witch. So hurry up and enroll me in your school Ozma."
The headmaster gives her a look.
Salem shrugs. "I'm strong. But not strong enough to just waltz alone into the real Salem's castle and beat her into submission."
"Then I could gladly offer you a job as my assistant-"
"No."
Salem's stern rebuttal leaves Ozpin on edge.
The witch looks at him sadly. "Ozma. I am not trading my father's tower for yours. If you want to keep an eye on me, that's fine. But i am not letting you lock me up."
"And letting you walk among my students is safer?"
Salem smiles and shurgs. "You have 3 options my dear Ozma."
She lifts her fingers in front of him.
"1) Accept me as a beacon student, and we can work together to stop the real me.
2) Try to imprison me. I will simply escape and flee the kingdom.
3) I can just walk away and we will never see eachother again. I will go to another kingdom and gather forces there.
Your choice."
"... How much do you plan on revealing to your future allies?"
The witch cups her chin.
"As much as needed. Maybe a bit more, depending on how persuasive they are."
The headmaster takes a deep breath before releasing it. He extends a hand to the witch and plasters a fake popite smile on his face.
"Wellcome to Beacon, Miss Salem."
The blonde smirks and takes it. "Thank you, Headmaster Ozpin."