13 Chapter 11

<Vale, Beacon Academy>

"We're finally here…" Glynda said slowly as she let out a big sigh.

Glynda puts her hands on the handle of a door and twists it carefully. The door opens up into a room which seems to be a living room or some sort. It can't actually be called a normal living room since it looks a bit bleak and dreary.

A single sofa in the middle of the room, with white curtains covering the windows. The room seems to have never been used, but it is cleaned, at least intervally, based on the absence of cobwebs on the ceilings.

'Home sweet home…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Ooh…" a voice said slowly from behind Glynda.

Glynda turned around and she saw a girl that looked very suspicious to others. Equipped with a creepy mask that covered her face and her hands cuffed. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the cuffs, instead, she is looking at everything curiously, as if she has never seen anything like it.

"Aren't you coming inside?" Glynda asked exasperatedly as she walked slowly into the room.

Glynda's question seemed to wake the girl up from her stupor and she stared at Glynda, scrutinizing her every move. The stare did give Glynda the creeps but her senses aren't sending her any danger warnings, thus she decides to not do anything about it.

"Mommy, is this your real house?" Sage asked while following behind Glynda.

"I guess…" Glynda said lazily.

"This house is hideous!" Sage said, without pulling any punches.

"..." Glynda was silenced.

'This girl…' Glynda thought with annoyance.

"This is my suite that is provided by the Academy for the professors. You will be staying here while you attend the Academy." Glynda explains.

"We can't put you in the dorms since you are way too dangerous for that. I'll also be living here with you, in order to keep an eye on you." Glynda continues to explain.

"So we are going to be living together, Mommy?" Sage said innocently.

Glynda stopped in her tracks and she looked back at the girl with annoyance and confusion in her eyes. She is trying to desperately figure out the girl's plan but the girl appears to be more articulate than she had previously thought.

'I'll need to catch her off guard…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Can you stop calling me that? I'm not your mother and you are certainly not my daughter!" Glynda said with a voice that is laced with anger.

"But my adoption papers say otherwise!" Sage said nonchalantly.

"I am not your mother!" Glynda said resolutely.

"Sure! Whatever you say, Mommy!" Sage said.

Glynda can't help but cringe after hearing Sage's words. Those adoption papers were forged but since the Mistral Council has approved of those papers, Glynda can't do anything about it. Her hands are tied due to Ozpin's weakness.

'He refused to use his power for important matters…' Glynda thought inwardly.

Ozpin has been their leader even longer than Glynda could have remembered. He has connections that can effectively make him the leader of the known world. But Ozpin, being the man that he is, refuses to use his connections for his own good.

'He is too soft…' Glynda thought inwardly.

Ozpin's relaxed and hands off ruling has always been a massive weakness for him. He despised Salem's method which enforces control, thus he decided to rule with freedom and democracy. But too much freedom can also be the cause of many problems.

Just like Vale's underworld which festered after being ignored for so long. Now, the council members of the other kingdoms have a grasp on his weaknesses. His recent weakness includes his way of handling his loyal soldier, James Ironwood.

Ozpin has been experiencing some issues with his image lately due to his support for James. As James has been expanding the Atlas army and he has been gathering more supplies than what Atlas usually needs, people are worried about the threat that Atlas posed.

Since Ozpin nominated James for his position, he is held responsible if Atlas suddenly starts a war. Ozpin needed the other kingdom's support in order to remove the stigma against him and James, which is how the Mistral council forced Ozpin's hands.

They also used reasons such as abuse and negligence to trap Glynda but she knows that it is simply an issue of money. They have been bought by Sage's mother and that fact alone shocks Glynda since very few people in Remnant can buy an entire council's vote.

'She must be one of their biggest crime lords…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"How do you get the Mistral council's vote?" Glynda asked Sage.

"Are you dodging your responsibility by asking me a question?" Sage asked.

"Just answer me, Sage!" Glynda said angrily.

Hearing Glynda calling her name seems to have made Sage a very happy girl. She skipped into the house and Glynda couldn't help but roll her eyes after noticing the clear happiness shown by the girl.

"What are you talking about, Mommy? I don't quite understand…" Sage said knowingly.

"Money alone is not enough to buy an entire council's vote…" Glynda said slowly while closing the door behind her.

Glynda then moves towards the singular sofa in the room and sits down on it tiredly. Sitting on the sofa seems to have caused her more discomfort but she doesn't seem to care. She closed her eyes as she tried to slowly relax her mind.

"What did your parents promise them?" Glynda asked Sage without even looking at Sage.

'Phuk!'

The section of sofa beside Glynda caved in and she felt somebody lean onto her intimately. She thought about smacking or even punching the girl out cold but she restrained herself. After all, the girl is legally her daughter right now.

'I can't make those abuse accusations real…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Mom didn't promise them anything. She just needs to order them to do it…" Sage said slowly as she lay her head on Glynda's shoulder.

'She has been mentioning her mom a lot…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Your mother must be a very powerful woman." Glynda said cautiously.

"She is very powerful, not to mention beautiful and single. She's the best Mom ever…" Sage said knowingly.

'Single?' Glynda asked inwardly.

"What about your father?" Glynda asked.

"I don't have a father. Mom gave birth to me alone…" Sage said with a tinge of loneliness in her voice.

"I see…" Glynda said solemnly.

Glynda can't help but feel guilty after hearing the tone in Sage's voice. She knew the feeling of losing one's family after all. Glynda can feel sympathy building up for the girl from inside her gut and she can't help but despise herself for being too soft.

"You are really 'handsy', huh?" Glynda asked suddenly.

Sage is now plastered into her like a fungus and Glynda can't help but feel stuffed. She has been hugged by students before but not intimately like Sage. She can feel the coldness emanating from Sage's body.

'Wait, cold?' Glynda thought inwardly.

"You are my Mommy! So I have a right to be 'handsy' with you!" Sage said.

'That sounds wrong…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Then shouldn't I have a right to refuse being 'handsy' with you?" Glynda asked.

"Of course, you can ask me anything. I'm your child after all!" Sage said happily.

'Is she starving for love?' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Besides, Mom is not touchy by nature, so I have to be! She used to do it when I was little but now I have to ask Mom to hold her hands!" Sage said, with an aggrieved tone in her voice.

"I understand her pain…" Glynda said exasperatedly.

'So she is starved for love…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"What do you mean by that?!" Sage asked angrily.

"Nothing…" Glynda said slowly.

'Her mom must be having such a great time without this 'leech' stuck onto her!' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Anyway! She is a great mother, but…" Sage hesitated.

Hearing her hesitation, Glynda can't help but open her eyes and turn her head toward the girl. The tone which seemed to be void from the girl intrigues Glynda somewhat and she can't help but take a closer look.

What she saw was two beautiful blue eyes looking at her but she also noticed the girl's black sclera, which is not a normal feature for humans. A faunus might exhibit those features but Glynda is quite sure that the girl is not a faunus.

"She is strong and strict, too strict sometimes. Which is why I need someone like you, Mommy…" Sage said slowly.

"Me?" Glynda asked.

"Um! Someone who will pamper me more openly and maybe even help me coax Mom!" Sage said giddily.

"So I am a bargaining chip? A tool to keep your Mom out of your hair?" Glynda asked, feeling ridiculous.

"Indeed. The only way to keep Mom in line is by giving her more stuff to love. That includes you, Mommy." Sage said slowly.

Sage then takes a hold of Glynda's hand in hers and slowly caresses it. Glynda can't help but shudder when she hears the words that leave Sage's mouth. The girl is clearly presenting an option to her and it seems like she can't reject the offer.

"Are you asking me to have a relationship with your Mom?" Glynda asked.

"I'm not asking. You need to have a relationship with my Mom." Sage said astutely.

"This is ridiculous! I'm not going…" Glynda said angrily as she tried to rise up from the couch.

However, Glynda found her body weak and immovable. Try as she might, she couldn't lift even a single finger on her hands. Glynda starts to panic inwardly as she struggles to move her entire being away from Sage.

"What did you do to me?!" Glynda asked with hatred in her voice.

"A paralyzing poison that numbs your nervous system. Varying amounts can cause various effects. I dabbed enough on your skin to make sure you are immovable but can still talk." Sage said nonchalantly.

"You!" Glynda said angrily.

"Calm down, Mommy. I'm not going to hurt you." Sage said calmly.

"That is a load of nonsense! You've just said that you poisoned me!" Glynda said angrily.

Her angry tone would've intimidated Sage if not for her emotionless face and her still body, sitting calmly on the sofa. Seeing that Glynda has been completely paralyzed, Sage quickly moves in front of Glynda.

'Kchink!'

Sage broke the cuffs that were on her hands easily, which shocked Glynda since those cuffs are special cuffs that were enhanced with Dusts. Even a fully fledged Huntsman would have a tough time freeing themselves from those cuffs.

"Can you just please listen to me first? I know this looks bad, but I have a totally good reason for paralyzing you!" Sage said slowly, trying to reason with Glynda.

"And why is that?!" Glynda asked again.

"I need you to marry my Mom." Sage said seriously.

"For the love of…" Glynda was just about to curse but Sage cut her off again.

"You can save the world! If you marry her, you can literally stop Ozpin's war!" Sage said hurriedly.

The atmosphere suddenly turns deathly quiet. Time seems to have stopped in its tracks and both of the people in the room seem to have just stopped talking all together. Sage is merely following in Glynda's footsteps of staying quiet.

"How do you know about that?" Glynda asked.

"The war? Mom told me about it!" Sage said nonchalantly.

"Your Mom?" Glynda said slowly.

'That is impossible!' Glynda thought inwardly.

When most people talk about war, the general consensus will think of the Great War or the war against the Grimm. But since Sage mentioned 'Ozpin's' war, it means that she knows about the real war that Ozpin has been waging.

"What about the Maidens?" Glynda asked again.

"Powerful women with crazy magic? What about it?" Sage nonchalantly again.

'She knows about the Maidens too?!' Glynda thought inwardly.

Many common people know about the legends of the Maidens but in all of those stories, not even once magic is mentioned in it. Their organization has been trying to erase any mentions of magic from those legends in order to further protect the maidens.

"Then you must know about 'her', right?" Glynda asked for the last confirmation.

"Her? Who?" Sage asked, pretending not to know about the person that Glynda is talking about.

"Ozpin's opponent in the war! You know about her, right?" Glynda.

"Oh? Salem? Yeah, I know about her!" Sage said giddily.

"Did your Mom tell you about Salem too?" Glynda asked.

"Yeah!" Sage said.

'Who is her mother?!' Glynda thought inwardly.

Salem is one of their organization's best kept secrets but now, a teen who has not even hit puberty is talking about the most unholy evil in the world. Glynda just can't seem to comprehend as to why Sage's mother, a crime lord in Mistral, knows about Salem.

"Your eyes are telling me that you are confused. Do you want to know, Mommy?" Sage said with pity in her voice.

"I…" Glynda stuttered.

Glynda was annoyed and angry but she couldn't do anything about it. Her body was still paralyzed and even if she can move, it's not like she can just force the story out of Sage. Her morals wouldn't let her.

"You know, you can just ask me to tell you. I'm serious about being your child and you marrying my Mom. I will literally listen to any of your orders!" Sage said seriously.

Sage, who has been standing in front of Glynda, proceeds to sit down and put her chin on Glynda's legs that are still paralyzed on the sofa. Sage's eyes seem to be begging Glynda and Glynda can't help but feel entranced by her blue eyes.

'This is crazy. This girl somehow loves me…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"You are serious…" Glynda said slowly.

"Yup!" Sage answered slowly.

Glynda can feel Sage's gaze, showering her with endless childish love. The girl seems to be infatuated with her and Glynda doesn't know the reason why. It scared Glynda, knowing that this child craves parental love from her.

'But, I can potentially use this…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Then tell me about yourself and your Mom. How does your Mom know about Salem…" Glynda said aggrievedly.

Glynda, at her core, is a full-fledged teacher. She dislikes using anything related to children or students for her own benefits. Now, she has to stomp on her own morals in order to figure out the secrets of the young lady.

'I guess I'm just like Ozpin…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Oh, that is easy!" Sage said nonchalantly.

Sage then swiftly starts unbuckling the straps that tied her mask to her face. Glynda is quite surprised by Sage's actions. She asked Sage to remove the mask before and she refused adamantly but now, Sage is willingly removing her masks.

'Is it because I accepted her as my daughter by asking her the question?' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Wait, I changed my mind! You don't…" Glynda, who has been regretting her choice, tried to stop Sage but it was futile.

Sage has already removed her mask and what lies behind the mask shocked Glynda to her very core. An ethereal beauty, as most people would've called her. But with her ethereal beauty, there is a certain dread behind Sage's looks.

"You are beautiful…" Glynda said slowly.

"Really? Ehehe…" Sage said happily.

"But…" Glynda's voice cuts off Sage's daydream.

"You are a Grimm?!" Glynda said with fear in her voice.

"Yeah! Let me formally introduce myself, Mommy. I'm the Princess of the Grimm, Sage." Sage said nonchalantly.

Sage then moved closer towards Glynda. Glynda, who is still paralyzed can't do anything but let Sage, the Grimm, move closer towards her. Glynda started panicking when Sage brought their faces closer together.

"My Mom is Salem. The Queen of Grimm!" Sage said nonchalantly again.

'Is this the end? Am I just going to die here without ever doing anything with my life? Will she bite my face off?' Glynda thought inwardly.

'Chu!'

'Huh?' Glynda thought inwardly.

"And you, Mommy Glynda, is the first consort for my Mom!" Sage said happily after kissing Glynda's cheeks.