Remaining Embers~Jaune x Cinder

Envy

Again and again, she asked Emerald to repeat the action, so she could see that silver-eyed girl burn. Emerald had cast the illusion so often she was becoming exhausted, and the illusion flickered. It lacked the depth and complexity it had before, and Cinder could see its imperfections. That was stoking the flames of her anger further, and with each successive burst from her palm, she felt the pain in her arm and the emptiness behind her eyepatch.

What had once been a very therapeutic exercise was proving ineffective now, and the release of flames to cleanse her of the sight of her hated enemy was little more than an outburst of frustration. Worse, there was no ebb to her displeasure: she was instead reminded that she was destroying nothing but an illusion, and the consistent reminder that she could not harm the silver-eyed girl made the ache of her wounds even worse.

Salem had been pleased observing Cinder perform these exercises before, impressed by her disciple's dedication in pursuing vengeance. She intended it to steel Cinder's resolve, to make her stronger slowly but surely and keep her active and driven during her period of recovery. Unfortunately, Cinder had crossed too far. What had once been a useful exercise had transformed into self-indulgence.

Hatred was a useful tool when it drove one to excel, but hatred vented at a single target wasn't enough kindling to sustain the fire. Cinder may have been driven to settle a personal vendetta, but what good was that in plans as far-reaching as Salem's own? Once Cinder knocked off the silver-eyed girl, where would her eye turn? What motivation would she have?

It was necessary to remove the impediment of a silver-eyed warrior, and probably best to do so while she was still young and inexperienced. The girl had already managed to injure Cinder and significantly delay Salem's plans, and though the details had been... unclear from his ranting, it seemed she and her circle of allies had gotten the better of Tyrian as well. Nurturing Cinder's hatred for the girl would be beneficial in the short term, but there were greater trials ahead than just one little girl.

And for Cinder to play the role Salem had in mind, she would need to hate. Not to hate one person, but to hate them all. To hate everything that existed as it was, so she would feel compelled to burn it all away and leave naught but ashes to be Salem's groundwork. Cinder had been so promising when she was recruited, driven by the desire to stand apart from -and more importantly, above- her peers. That ambition had morphed into an insatiable desire when she'd absorbed half of the Maiden's power, and the burning in her soul had been amplified by feeling incomplete.

Then, just when Salem feared Cinder might grow too big for her bonds, she was brought low and once again in her mistress's thrall. Salem tried to nurture her drives again, but Cinder's focus had shifted. Cinder's goals had always been personal, but they'd always been in alignment with Salem's own. Now... now things were very much out of alignment.

In the process of being humbled, Cinder had drawn a smaller, more honest soul into herself... and now Salem feared she was tainted. Salem betrayed no such concern to her acolyte, of course, but when she'd been unable to extract the essence of that soul, Salem had to quickly disguise her doubt by construing her act as a punishment.

Cinder had shared, if only for a moment, a common goal with that honest soul. Just when Salem had Cinder under her thumb, the girl had suddenly gained an unexpected emotion that could complicate her plans, if not undo them. If there was one thing that was certain to undo meticulous planning, it was an emotional response.

"That's enough," Salem instructed, as Cinder's tantrum began before Emerald could even summon the façade. "Rest, child."

Cinder looked as though she wished to protest, but complied. She knew better than to defy her mistress in the state she was in. Cinder bowed her head and exited, while Emerald staggered away, betraying her own weakness only once her mistress was out of sight. Salem made a note of the girl's display of loyalty: at least that was an emotion she could make use of.