Destiny No More

Chapter 35

Lionheart's office was not nearly as imposing as Ozpin's. It didn't reside in a tower overlooking the entire campus, nor did it give off the same sense of power. It was smaller, lined with bookshelves, with a large wooden desk, it was much more like what she expected the combat school Headmaster offices were like. Despite that, it was still likely the most secure place in the entire academy; yet she didn't feel safe within its walls.

As she walked through the door she was greeted by the ever grim expression of General Ironwood. Even with his disciplined control however, he still winced when her eyes met his and he caught a glimpse of the fire burning within them. Looking away, he coughed into his gloved fist in an attempt to clear his throat.

"It's good to see you, Glynda."

"James." She replied coldly.

Lionheart looked between the two awkwardly, and for once she couldn't blame the man for his uncertainty. She very much doubted he ever would have been able to deal with the situation on the verge of exploding in front of him. Especially if he didn't know what it was.

"Um, that will be all for now Professor Tawny." Lionheart dismissed his Deputy Headmistress, allowing them to speak in private. He waited several long moments after the door closed before sitting down, leaning forwards and rubbing his hands together awkwardly once more. "Now that we have a moment to ourselves, would you mind telling me what you are doing here?"

Glynda turned towards Lionehart, continuing to glare at James from the corner of her eye. "Ozpin wished us to discuss the coming school year, I wa-"

"We are alone, Glynda." James interrupted her. "We can be honest with him now." Glynda looked towards him with a mild look of confusion, uncertain what exactly the man was planning, his eyes were locked on Lionheart however.

The room was quiet for a moment, Glynda waiting to see what James would say only for him to remain silent.

"H-Honest about what?" Lionheart stuttered, it was only then that Glynda realized what James was doing. His silence and grim expression, while not uncommon for the public, usually faded away in their private meetings; being replaced by the far more charismatic man that had earned their trust. He didn't allow himself to relax however and it was clearly aimed at making Lionheart uncomfortable. Looking towards the once brave Huntsmen, she was surprised to see such a simple tactic was working.

"Qrow and one of my Specialists have gone missing." James replied, his voice clipped and cold. "Inside your Kingdom."

Glynda snapped her neck back towards James, only just managing to hold back the verbal maelstrom that she planned to save for later. The plan had been to distract the Headmaster while Pyrrha and Tai looked for Qrow and Miss Schnee, she had been prepared to lie and make up several excuses for her visit; what she hadn't been ready for was to be so direct.

"Oh." Lionheart replied simply. "That's... quite troubling." Glynda's attention was drawn back to the man behind the desk, he hid his face behind his hands as he looked down; keeping his expression hidden from them.

"We believe that the Queen has made a move against us." James continued. "Qrow was here to investigate a lead on the Spring Maiden, I lent him one of my best agents as back up."

"The Spring Maiden?" Lionheart picked his head up from his hands, looking at them with a confused expression. "I didn't... I hadn't heard any news in regards to her whereabouts."

"The news came rather suddenly, and there was no guarantee." Glynda sat back and listened to James lie, amazed at the amount of detail he was able to make up with not a hint of hesitation. "Ozpin suspected there may be a traitor somewhere in the school, someone who might be after the Spring Maiden as well, he didn't want to risk their safety by alerting you."