Cinder

"Ehehe, brother was maybe too much direct."

Harriet said as she looked at the deadpanned Ren and wonder-looking Nora after they were transported from cell to lavishly made room by officers who changed from rude to very respectful ones.

"Wow! Renny! They brought pancakes!"

Nora said as she, in the blink of an eye, teleported to the dinner table the officers brought.

"How?"

Harriet asked, in bewilderment at Nora's speed.

"No, don't ask. When it comes to pancakes, it is like reality itself shift around Nora."

Ren said as he gave up long ago understanding how it worked.

"Well, alright."

Harriet said as she sweatdropped at the Rens admission on Nora's actions.

"More importantly, what person is your brother?"

Ren asked as he found the current situation strange. They were treated from suspected criminals to royalty in the blink of an eye just thanks to one call after Harriet said them her name.

"Eh, as you can see, big brother Aegis is, well, overprotective."

Harriet said with a little laugh.

"Yes, I can see."

Ren said with a raised eyebrow.

"Common! It's not that bad, well yes, he probably threatened the head of the police station but, well now I said it loud it sounds bad..."

Harriet said as she became quiet.

"Mnhhhfff? Mrrfff! Mffff!"

Nora said with a full mouth of pancakes.

"Nora, please the first gulp and then speak."

Ren said to his friend, who nodded her head quickly as she tried to finish the food in her mouth.

"Eheem! I said that your big brother is best!"

Nora said with eyes sparkling.

"Big brother, or pancakes?"

Harriet asked with laughter.

"Both! Your big bro made them bring pancakes! so both!"

Nora said with a laugh at her shamelessness.

"Noraaa."

Ren said he sighted and wanted to apologize.

"No, you don't need, I find Nora's acts hilarious."

Harriet said as she saw Ren again, wanting to apologize.

Harriet truly felt at ease with these two. Ren couldn't feel greed even if he wanted and Nora, Nora was too much Nora to feel greed.

Harriet smiled to herself as she became quiet and watched their interaction with each other.

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

In the wildness of Mistral, the black-haired girl that looked in her early twenties was walking with a green-mint-haired girl that looked on her fifteen years old.

"This trip was a waste of time."

The black-haired woman said through clenched teeth.

"Cinder, we couldn't know that both of them are death..."

The green-haired said.

"I know Emerald. Still, it seems we must visit our informant to let him know how much we 'happy' are with his intel."

Cinder said to Emerald as she thought of what they found out when they visited the home of the Black family where they wanted to recruit Marcus Black to their cause.

What they found was an almost empty home that looked like if nobody was there for a long time, and when they searched through the house for possible leads, they found out a dead boy who was probably Mercury Black closed inside a cage that looked battered up by the boy who wanted to get outside.

He died from starvation...

And lastly, a reason why it felt so neglected, the Marcus Black last target was a Schnee family, with did bring light to them as it was clear that Marcus didn't come back and Mercury, his son died in a cage he put him into before going outside.

He caged his son as some animal...

Cinder grounded her teeth. Even if she was no saint, no, she was evil, she knew that, but even she still had some reservations when it came to hurting children...

That was the reason she semi-adopted Emerald, even if it's true that her mental semblance was just a cherry on top of the cake.

Still, a Schnee...

"Urrghh!"

Cinder grounded her teeth in pain as another mental pain shot through her head when she thought of the current patriarch of the Schnee family...

Aegis Schnee...

"ARRRRGGHH!!"

"Cinder!"

Emerald quickly came to Cinder's aid as she supported her in another of Cinder's episodes.

"Did you again thought about that boy?"

Emerald asked as this was not the first time Cinder had pain when she thought about Aegis Schnee, it started when Cinder, for the first time, saw Aegis Schnee on some concern.

Cinder wanted to speak with Aegis as she wanted to see if he could be swayed to their side, but when she, for the first time, saw in person, she blacked out.

And from that time, she had nightmares and migraines every time she thought of Aegis.

"It's alright!"

Cinder said as she patted Emerald's head, who beamed at her thoughts. Still Emerald knew that it wasn't alright, but she learned to not voice her concerns.

Cinder, meanwhile, again saw flashes that haunted her dreams and mind after she saw Aegis Schnee for the first time.

Images her Mistress said were her last life memories after she said to her Mistress about her conditions.

A girl similar to hers was holding the body of a young boy who was clearly burned from flames as she wept and apologized again and again.

She could feel the phantom pain from these images as her heart squeezed in pain.

The girl wept and, in a desperate attempt, hold the dying boy as if she tried not to let his soul leave.

"It-s n-ot yo-ur fall-out."

The boy said as he used his last strength to clean the girl's face from the tears that were streaming from her eyes.

"I-I-i lo-ve you."

The boy said as his hand squeezed her cheek and then fallen to the ground as his eyes glazed in the sign of the end.

Emerald looked at Cinder, who stood in trance that happened every time she gets the head pain, and like always, she could see how Cinders eyes became wet as tears streamed along her beautiful face.

Cinder, meanwhile, still was in her thoughts as she could hear the heart-wrenching scream of a girl that lost the sole thing she loved. She could feel the pain, the rage, THE ANGER!

She could feel her heart burned in anger, at the world, at the people that made her do this...

She felt anger at herself, so much anger, and as she looked at the girl who held the boy's dead body, she could see how darkness around the burning mansion raised shadows and how the girl's amber eyes shone with so much hatred that the flames felt cold.

"They will pay."

It was a whisper, but to Cinder, it sounded like thunder across the skies.