Chapter 7 -[A little mercy goes a ling way]

The reddish petals swirled in a dizzying and disorderly whirlwind, an inconsistent dance carried them from one place to another, pushing them on an endless journey, as if there was no place to fall to the ground, they were similar to a swarm of aggressive corpulent bees, tortuous, disorderly and relentless, not a single petal fell to the ground.

Cinder watched her without moving a single muscle, the little red girl's gaze told her that she wasn't here to have a friendly conversation, her tense attack stance, unblinking eyes, her hands tightly holding the handle of her scythe, which by the way she was sure was quite sharp and loaded with projectiles, all that and the tension in the air made Ruby's intentions very clear to the brunette.

She dared to breathe for a second, the young woman in front of her bent her back slightly, like a tiger about to jump and tear her throat, any sudden movement she made would be countered, she gently moved her head, it was barely a tiny inclination of her cheek, the fall of some strands of her hair were the most noticeable.

The brunette sensed them, it didn't take a genius to sense the other auras around. They had arrived shortly after Ruby, three more presences, all well distributed around her, hidden for now, covering any escape route the brunette could use, at least not without a fight, Cinder turned her attention back to the little redhead who looked at her frowning, prepared, she saw her hold the handle of her weapon tighter, it was just a matter of time before she decided to jump on her.

Cinder's amber gaze didn't lose sight of Ruby as she quickly calculated the possibilities in her mind, the chance of non-confrontation was almost nil, she would obviously have to engage in a fight here.

She was sure she could face them, she knew team RWBY and they were formidable, that was no doubt, but Cinder could fight them, her powers as a fall maiden were more than an advantage over any hunter, but if Ruby was smart and she was sure she was, she would use her silver eyes to prevent any of her companions from getting hurt. Given that, Cinder was at a total disadvantage, she was completely vulnerable to the little red girl's attack. That diminished her chances.

However, there was something else... Did she really want to fight? Did she want to defend herself? Maybe this was the end she always deserved, maybe her destiny had already caught up with her. Helplessness, bewilderment, and doubts assaulted her mind, all the brunette could do was slightly shrug her shoulders, she was a trapped animal.

" Damn it " the voice of the platinum-haired girl resounded, finally everyone appeared ready to attack her, she slowly turned her head towards her, Weiss looked at her with disgust, of course, it was like that, she had stuck a spear into the girl, that could anger anyone.

"So, it was you after all "This time it was Ruby who spoke. The brunette didn't answer, instead, she looked at the rest of the girls around. Who would attack her first? " Don't even think about it, Cinder " The little redhead looked at her with suspicion " Weiss "

The platinum one didn't need any more words, Cinder could feel the power beneath her feet, she was already immobilized by a glyph by the time she lowered her gaze, her heartbeat had started to race, her throat went dry, another blink, and a strong black ribbon had her with her arms surrounded by a single throw from the faunus girl.

The brunette moved her head in all directions trying to figure out the next attack, but it was the blow to the back of her knees that knocked her to the ground, she grimaced in pain, the tape surrounding her arms was squeezing her with an inhuman force. Blake was squeezing her from one side and Ruby's older sister pinned her to the ground, with one knee on her back and the metallic hand holding her head, the glyph adhering her to the ground as if it were glue.

Cinder let out soft moans but remained silent, she didn't resist, she didn't fight, her good eye was at ground level, what she mostly saw was the grass, the light of the symbol that stuck her to the ground, and the figures of team RWBY above her.

There wasn't much to do, she hated seeing herself so weak in front of her enemies, she always hates weakness, but even if that was the case, if she died like a weak rat in front of a group of teenagers, it was a death she deserved, she knew that maybe she deserved a more cruel and painful death, if she had at least one thing in her favor, it was that it wasn't Salem who would kill her, the pale woman would have harassed her with her greatest fears until death, she was glad to know that she would never have to see her again...

But... there was something she greatly regretted, she had not been able to say goodbye to Tessa, she would have liked to see her one last time... see her face... see her eyes... tell her that she was grateful for everything she did... just see her one more time...

Cinder's gaze saddened and was lost in the grass, she clenched her teeth, a painful pang tightened her heart...Tessa...she, she was the only reason why...

" Cinder " the younger one called her again with a stealthy look " What are you doing here? " She asked sternly " Is Salem planning to do something in this place? "

The amber-eyed girl didn't say anything, she just watched her thoughtfully. She had spent too much time sinking into her own misery that she had forgotten what Salem planned for the world. The world as they knew it was in danger.

" Answer the question " Yang slammed her head into the ground, causing her to grimace again.

" What is Salem planning here? " the little redhead tried again, the black-haired girl remained silent, exasperating the silver-haired heiress.

" We are wasting our time, she is not going to say anything "

" Maybe Weiss is right, she's not going to tell us anything " That was the first time Blake spoke since they had arrived " Maybe it's better to take her to Oscar " she was clearly referring to Ozpin, the faunus seemed to be the most uncomfortable with the situation they were in " She's not giving us a fight " she murmured in a low voice.

Ruby sadly shook her head. "No, you don't know how dangerous she is," she said to Blake, clenching the scythe in her hands with a melancholic look. "She's the one who killed Pyrrha."

Her words caused a stabbing sensation in Cinder's chest, apprehensively recalling one of the moments in her life she most regretted, the murder of an innocent yet brave girl that now haunted her nightmares.

" You better talk, if you don't tell us what Salem is planning in this place, we will finish you right here " Ruby's voice was not crude but it was not friendly either.

" Here, nothing... at least that I know of " answered Cinder with a serious voice.

" So what are you doing here? " the question came from the blonde, the brunette fell silent again. What was she going to tell them? That she had been living with Tessa for months, the last thing she wanted was to involve the brunette in her problems.

"She's lying to us, if she's here it's because Salem is planning to do something" the platinum-haired woman pointed at her with her rapier.

The little red girl looked at her attentively, there was a warning in her gaze " Cinder... " she heard her jaw clench

" Maybe she'll tell us what Salem is planning " a deep voice called from the distance.

Walking with calm but firm steps, Qrow approached carrying Tessa by the arm, the frightened brunette reluctantly let herself be led by the tall and burly black-haired man, they stopped at a prudent distance from the group, Tessa could not stop a startled gasp when she saw the way in which they had Cinder against the ground.

" Cinder! " she tried to get away but Qrow held her without much effort.

The brunette froze, opening her eyes wide, watching in terror as Qrow held the brunette in a grip that was not rough but strong enough to keep her from breaking free. For the first time, Cinder tried to move, lifting her head from Yang's metallic grip. She straightened her neck, raising her back, but the blonde pushed her down.

" Tessa? "

The brunette looked at her frightened, trying in vain to break free again. "What are they doing to you?" she asked without understanding, shaking her head severely.

" Uncle Qrow, who is she? " his niece asked him with confusion, the rest of the team also looked strange.

The aforementioned pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes moving from Tessa to where the teenagers were, raising his eyebrows he replied " The villagers who identified Cinder, said that she always accompanies the kind village nurse who lives near here... which is her" he pointed at the brunette with his head " It seems that Cinder has spent all this time with her... Isn't that true Cinder? " He raised his hand accusingly " She is your accomplice "

" What? " the brunette raised her voice " No! No way! " She assured angrily " Just look at her! She has nothing to do with this situation " She tried to lean on one elbow to get up but the young blonde resisted her, she was strong.

"Please leave her alone," the brunette asked them in a broken voice, the group looked at them in bewilderment.

" She has nothing to do with Salem " Cinder spat out the words.

" Do you know her? " Qrow turned to Tessa " Do you know who she is and what she's done? "

" Yes, I know who she is " Tessa did not hesitate to answer.

" Cinder is a criminal " Qrow's voice was harsh, at no time did he stop holding her arm " She has committed terrible crimes and if you helped her during this time, you also become a criminal " Qrow closed his eyes in apprehension " We will take you with us, they have to lock you up "

Tessa's crystallized gaze did not leave Cinder, helpless, sad for not being able to help her, she was afraid and confused, but she had that glint that told her that she did not regret having helped her, the brunette could see all that, her heart was a fist of despair, she could not allow it.

A powerful fire inside her burned like never before, she could feel it like a volcano emanating burning lava from her very soul, the grains of earth around her moved slowly, gaining speed as the air built up sharply. The energy in her body exploded in an instant, the burst of power threw the entire RWBY team back, in the blink of an eye the brunette had freed herself from her bonds rising with gigantic waves of air, the flame from her eye was long and crackled as if it were consuming living wood.

" Leave her alone! " She shouted at the dark-haired man who had tried to cover Tessa with his body. " I won't let you hurt her! " She warned him with her jaw clenched, her voice sounding as dangerous and sharp as a knife.

" We won't hurt her, Cinder... you forget that we're not the bad guys here " Qrow's voice was a calm, soft, confident whisper, no deceit in his words.

The amber-eyed girl looked at him, she saw the sincerity in Qrow's eyes, they were not the bad guys in the story, Cinder was the villain, she was the criminal, the one who had put the world in danger on more than one occasion without caring about the consequences, she was the murderer and manipulator, everyone else in this place were innocents trying to fight to save people and all of humanity, it was from her that they had to keep her away. Her orbs turned to the brunette, she was still stunned by the burst of energy, clumsily holding on to the black-haired man's arm, the flames in her eye diminished until they almost disappeared.

"Tessa..."

A silver flash hit her, blinding her and plunging her body into agonizing pain. In an instant, Cinder had fallen almost inert, dejected...she already knew that feeling.

There was a resounding ringing in her ears, her vision had gone black, waves of pain were crawling through her body, her Grimm arm was the one that was lashing her the most, she was lying on her back, Cinder sat down on the ground, but stopped with a gasp. That arm hurt her extremely, its bandages had been destroyed and it was exposed dripping smoke, she could do nothing but dig her nails in and scratch herself to try to mitigate the growing pain.

Startled voices caught her attention, the group of teenagers were already standing, alarmed and bewildered, Ruby looked at her cautiously, attentive ready to use her eyes again, while her uncle held Tessa who was struggling to break free and run towards her, she couldn't quite understand what she was saying but she knew her was screaming her name.

With a wince she tried to stand up but failed embarrassingly, the brunette's legs gave way beneath her and she fell face-first onto the wet grass, Ruby let out a startled moan and backed away feeling the effects of her power. The little redhead looked at her with a mix of horror and surprise. She had only used her vision enough to knock her down but that was all it took to inflict great pain on her.

" Cinder! " Tessa screamed. The aforementioned was able to hear her voice after shaking the ringing in her ears. " Cinder! " Her voice sounded desperate. " Please let me go to her, she's hurt," she begged Qrow but he only looked at the black-haired girl.

Cinder tried again, getting on one knee to stagger forward but her foot slipped out from under her. More glyphs, she slipped trying to stand, barely keeping her hands on the ground. Panting, she looked around, she was surrounded again. The brunette sat back on her knees, exhausted, her eyes darting to Qrow.

"Salem doesn't know I'm here, " she said, an annoyed tone in her voice. "She probably thinks I'm dead, I barely survived your sister's attack. " Yang's eyes narrowed at the mention of her mother. "I crawled through the woods dying, about to die, but… "she paused, looking at Tessa instead. "She found me. " She took a deep breath. "I threatened her and forced her to help me. "

" What? " the brunette protested without understanding " No Cinder! Don't lie! " Tessa turned to the rest of the group sobbing " She didn't threaten me! I knew what she was doing! "

"Of course, I told her that if she said anything I would kill her" Her eyes fled from Tessa and she looked hard at Qrow" I've been hiding in her house all this time"

" No! " Tessa refused on the verge of tears, the rest of the group was in shock, Qrow gestured to Yang to hold the brunette and walked up to Cinder standing in front of her cautiously.

" Sounds like something you would do " Qrow narrowed his eyes

"That's how it is "

" Why should I believe you? "

The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "They're going to kill me, aren't they?" she said.

"Yes " He confirmed

"Then, there is no point " She challenged him with her gaze " If you put her in jail, you will lock up a good woman, an innocent woman, it would be an injustice "

The black-haired man looked at her without blinking, defiant, the same way she looked at him, for a moment everything was silent, Qrow remained thoughtful, he looked at his two nieces and the rest of the group with an indescribable expression on his face until his eyes fell on Tessa, the brunette already had teary eyes looking at Cinder in pain.

Qrow knelt in front of the brunette. "We won't take her prisoner," he looked at her sternly. "I promise you, she'll be free." He paused without blinking. "But you... won't make it past today."

" No, please! Don't hurt her! " Tessa tried to break free, the blonde held her, but even Yang looked shocked at what was happening.

The amber-eyed girl swallowed and nodded slightly, she closed her eyes listening to Tessa's struggles and screams, she remained silent refusing to look at her, she heard her own heartbeat hitting her chest... she could feel her blood flowing to her head.

Qrow looked at Tessa again, watching her sadly, he sighed. "You better take her away," he said to the teenagers, Blake and Yang shared a puzzled look, Weiss had a stunned expression. "It's not good for her to see what's going to happen."

The moan of disbelief was unanimous " Uncle Qrow! Please! What are you going to do? " the little red girl demanded with a disgruntled face.

" What should have happened a long time ago "

" Please no! " Tessa cried, losing strength from her struggle " Don't hurt her, she's not bad! Please! "

" Uncle Qrow… " the blonde tried with distress, Blake had the same expression as the girl next to her, even Weiss herself seemed dismayed.

" You can't do this, I won't allow it Uncle Qrow" This time Ruby faced him" Doing that is not right" she pointed at Cinder.

" Are you okay with what happened to Amber or Ozpin… what happened to Pyrrha? " Qrow's voice was harsh "All the people who died by her hand? " He demanded, silencing Ruby, his niece's eyes glistened with tears at the memory " For once, trust my judgment… " he murmured, looking at her with less severity, Ruby looked at him sadly without saying anything else, it was a melancholic silence " Now go " the blonde looked at the brunette with guilt and began to take her away, followed by her insecure companions.

" No! " Tessa struggled again" Cinder no! Please don't! " Tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks, dripping down her chin to the ground" Cinder! " She screamed between sobs" Please Cinder! "

The brunette gave Tessa an apologetic look, she saw her struggle and scream, getting lost in her eyes. "I'm sorry," her voice was barely audible, she closed her eyes again, listening to Tessa's sobs fade into the distance, her heart sinking with each second.

"They're gone now, " Qrow said in a tone akin to compassion " I wouldn't force her to watch " Cinder took a deep breath and nodded, the black-haired man imitated her breathing with a long sigh, his face becoming harder " The time has come Cinder " he unsheathed his weapon, preparing it with a sharp sound.

The aforementioned opened her eyes again, tried to regulate her breathing and her trembling hands, she raised her chin subtly, she wanted to die with at least a little courage, she concentrated her breathing trying to calm the fear that grew inside her, despite her attempts she could feel her body tremble... she was afraid... she was afraid of dying... no matter how many times she had been close to death, she couldn't stop the terror from invading her... her fingers gripped the grass desperately, clinging tightly, when she saw Qrow's feet preparing his position, she closed her eyes unable to keep them open, trying not to faint in the process.

The sound of Qrow's sword swinging through the air to gain momentum terrified her, sending an electric shock through her body. She bit her tongue trying not to sob and clenched her teeth tightly, feeling the air being cut by the sharp blow of the sword that was heading for her neck.

Everything happened very quickly, the passage of air was cut by the sharp sword, it was a dry and fast movement, without hesitation or hint of doubt, the drops of sweat fell on the shiny edge of the dangerous weapon that was stuck to the skin of her throat.

"Shit... Cinder " the Qrow snorted " Were you really going to let me kill you? " he had the sword stuck to the brunette's neck, he hadn't cut her, he only had the edge against her skin, he had stopped the blow just at the right moment, Qrow moved the weapon away with a graceful movement and put it away.

Cinder let out all the air she was holding, rushing forward with uneven breathing and blurry eyes, she blinked a few times to clear her vision, she was shaking.

"I'm surprised," the burly black-haired man said, pausing to sit next to her. "Really surprised." Cinder looked up and looked at him tiredly.

" Why didn't you do it? " She asked.

The man shrugged, stretching out his leg on the grass. "You seem to have changed," he paused. "More than I've seen anyone change."

"Fuck you Qrow… you don't know me " She spat with more exhaustion than anger.

"I could see a miserable woman who was happy doing evil… but now " He observed her carefully, curious "Now you are a miserable woman who is sorry for what she did " he smiled sideways " And now to top it off, she is in love "

The amber-eyed girl remained silent, looking at the ground with defeat and misery written on her face.

"You don't know what to do with that, do you? " The question was friendly but Cinder didn't answer, the carefree black-haired man snorted a laugh and scratched his hair " You're screwed Cinder "

This time the aforementioned raised her eyes to the sky and snorted. "Yes. I am."

[T/N: YES!!! Qrow! If you like this chapter then leave a comment, write a review, and drop some stones. If you want to read a few advanced chapters then check out the Patreon or the Ko-fi.]

[Also check out my other books, either go to my profile or search up 'Invisible-a Harry Potter FanFic', 'Searching in the Abyss', or 'Omnitrix of Justice'.]

-----------------------

[patreon.com/PuddingLord]