Cinder POV

My morning started as it usually did, I got up and made breakfast and coffee. Then I remembered that I had taken in a child. I opened my scroll to do some research for an upcoming heist that I had planned for later this week.

"Good morning Cinder." (y/n) said still half asleep, I quickly closed my scroll and sat it down. "Good morning (y/n), what are you doing up so early?" I asked

"Oh I guess my body has gotten used to waking up so early." he said as he did a innocent smile developed.

"(y/n) can you explain something for me?" I said and he looked at me confused. I then pulled a small broken necklace out of my pocket as well as an unusual switch blade. "Where did you get these?" I asked, but (y/n) got a sad look in his eyes as if he were just reminded of something he had long sense forgotten.

"I got those from my aunt before I left." he said, I could tell he was holding back tears.

I looked at him in my old T-shirt and couldn't help but smile. It wasn't anything special or anything it was just a black T-shirt with a blue flame on it. It strangely suited him quite well. I stood up and walked over to him and hugged him. "Tell you what, lets go shopping later and get you some new cloths and some toys, how does that sound?" I asked and he nodded in response.

"Now lets get you something to eat before we go shopping." I said as I released him from the hug and began to walk towards the kitchen. I made (y/n) some scrambled eggs, but the since the burner had broken last week, I had to use my maiden power to light the burner.

As (y/n) and I sat down to eat I got curious about his semblance or if he had even discovered it yet. "(y/n), if you don't mind me asking, but your semblance what is it?" I asked and his once deep red eyes turned silver and he stood up and walked off and as he did a dark void appeared in front of him. My first thoughts were 'oh no Salem is dropping in to check on me', but my thoughts went blank when a second void appeared by my side and (y/n) stepped through it. he was holding a newspaper from Mistral. "(y..y/n) how did you do this?" I asked in disbelief "You wanted to see my semblance." he said "It's called void. It allows me to teleport to anywhere, disarm opponents, redirect attacks, and store anything." he said, this made me realize that maybe it would be better to keep (y/n) around as opposed to sending him to an orphanage. Originally I was just going to use him as a cover so if I would get into trouble I could have a scapegoat of sorts. But now maybe it would be better to introduce him to Salem.

Time skip (y/n) POV

Cinder and I went shopping I got some new cloths, a few toys that I didn't really have any interest in, but Cinder looked happy so I kept quiet. I also got a new necklace and got my old one fixed.

As Cinder and I walked down the street so that I could get the haircut that I desperately needed out of the corner of my eye I saw him, my father. He was flirting with some faunas girl at a bar and grill across the street. I stopped walking and Cinder noticed. "(y/n) whats wrong?" she asked, I pointed across the street, then she saw him and seemed a bit nervous. "Dad." I said, I reached for my switch blade and made my eyes turn red.

"Cinder, I'll be back there is something I need to take care of." I said, "(y/n) no don't you dare leave my sid-" but before she could finish I opened a void beneath my feet and another in the bar.

I opened the switch blade in the void and as I exited I lunged at my father with the intent to kill just like how Aunt Raven had taught me to. To my surprise the drunk actually dodged the attack and launched a counter attack of his own which was too quick for me to dodge, so I took the hit. He was faster than I had anticipated. He picked up a nearby butter knife and took his combat stance, I mirrored it. I had spent more time than I could remember trying to perfect this stance.

"You don't wanna do this kid. You can still walk away and go back to your mother" he said, 'you would like that wouldn't you' I thought. I opened a void and threw my blade in it, I then used one of the most effective tools I had under my belt the clap stunner. when I did and he was stunned, I began to throw punch after punch landing blow after blow. Tears began to form in my eyes I could feel the stinging of my eyes begin, but my last second dodging of a thrown butter knife caused me to loose focus and left a small cut across my left cheek, but it didn't matter he was disarmed and that means he's vulnerable. I gave a devious smirk as I reopened the void launching my blade at him to my surprise he dodged it and looked at the strange blade. He then noticed the symbol on the hilt.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU HAVE A KNIFE WITH THAT SYMBOL ON IT?!" he yelled, ignoring him I let my eyes revert to silver and ran to my knife and grabbed it. "She was right about you. You are pathetic." I said as I opened a void and rejoined Cinder who was still in shock a bit at the sight of a five year old going toe to toe with a pro huntsman.

"We should go mom." I said and my words seemed to have pulled he out of her daze. We walked away and I heard the police arrive seconds later.

Time skip to later that day

We had left the hair salon that Cinder had taken me to and were almost home when Cinder suddenly stopped walking, "(y/n) when we get home we need to talk about a few things." she said I couldn't be sure, but I could have swore her eyes began to glow for a brief second. "Ok." I said.

When we finally got home and inside Cinder slapped me, "DON'T EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!" she yelled and then she pulled me into a warm hug, "but I don't mind you calling me mom or mother or things like that." she said and began to blush a bit.

"I'm sorry I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment and spoke without thinking." I said as I joined her in the hug.

"(y/n) we're going on a little trip in a few days so I suggest you start preparing." She said, "and (y/n) I'd prefer it if you did call me mom." she said as she released me from the hug. "Ok mommy." I said, even though I had only known her for a day, Cinder had become more of a mother to me than anyone else.

Time skip four days later

It's been four days and Cinder frantically buzzed around the apartment making sure everything was ready for the trip. I had packed a few things on my own, but Cinder said that I should pack some more clothes and some toys since we would be gone for a few weeks. I did as I was told and in the past few days I continued to consider Cinder as my mother more and more.

"Mommy, shouldn't we get going soon?" I asked. She had told me a lot about her in the past few days. She had told me about her semblance and about her maiden powers. I could tell she wasn't telling me everything, but I didn't mind. I eventually told her my story at least what I could remember of it.

"No we have a private bullhead that we're going in, I just wanted to make sure that I didn't forget anything important." she said, I nodded and pulled out my switch blade that I had named "Shadow Fang" and began to look at it closely, mom had taken it to get some upgrades added to it, but she didn't tell me what they were she had also gotten my new symbol engraved into the blade on both sides. A simple blue flame now decorated the once empty black blade.

Then I noticed a slight shimmer from the very bottom of the hilt. I closed the blade and examined the hilt. I saw some fire dust had been added to the blade and the bottom could opened to reload dust.

"Mommy did you make my blade able to use different types of dust?" I asked, "yes (y/n) you finally figured it out." she said, when she gave Shadow Fang back to me she told me that I had to try to figure out what she had done to it and if I got it right she would help me train and learn how to use it.

Time skip three hours later

We were finally on our way to wherever we were going. No matter how much I pestered mom to try to get her to tell me where we were going she wouldn't even give me the slightest hint. All I was told was that I wouldn't be allowed to look at the scenery as we traveled and eventually I will have to take a pill to make me fall asleep while mom drives us the rest of the way to where we were going.

I didn't mind any of that though, I was just happy that I was going to somewhere new and with my new mother.

We had only been flying for about an hour now, but I was getting really tired. "Mommy, I'm tired" I said as I rubbed my eyes. She smiled and patted the seat next to her. I sat down next to her. She set my head on her lap and told me to go to sleep. Her lap was warm, I could tell that she was using her maiden powers to keep me warm.

I soon fell asleep.

Cinder POV

With (y/n) asleep I wouldn't have to give him the pill which made me happy. I didn't want to give him anything that could possibly hurt him or worse. But I knew that all that could change in a matter of moment depending on what Salem wants and if she even decides he's useful enough to keep around if not then there will be a good chance that I will have to kill (y/n).

It was about eleven forty pm now so I thought that I should get some sleep as well

Time skip four hours later

We had finally landed and somehow (y/n) didn't wake up during the landing. I couldn't help but blush at how cute (y/n) looked sleeping on my lap. I felt my heart begin to beat a bit faster, I hadn't realized it until now, but I had began to develop some maternal feelings towards (y/n). For the first time in my life I wanted power not just for myself, but for the sake of protecting (y/n) and I liked the way it felt.

As we exited the bullhead and got into the car that was waiting for us I put (y/n) into the car seat that I had bought him for this trip. We drove for another two hours before we arrived at Salem's domain. Luckily we were far enough into her domain that it didn't matter if (y/n) saw, because he began to wake up. "M..m..mommy w..where are we?" he asked and I could hear the fear in his voice, "it's ok sweetheart were almost there, but I can tell you that it's not going to set any less scary here." I said trying to comfort him as much as I could.

We drove for another hour before we finally reached Salem's castle. I held (y/n)'s hand as we entered the castle.

As we approached Salem's throne room I told (y/n) to wait here for me and not to wander off. He nodded and I entered the throne room.

I bowed before Salem, "Lady Salem I found a child that I believe will prove useful to you." I said she looked at me as if she were not amused. "Cinder I may have raised you but that does not mean that you can joke around with me especially about something as important as my plans." she said, "my lady I wouldn't dare joke about your plans. I brought the child with me, his name is (y/n) and he is unusually strong for a child of his age. He held his own against Qrow Branwen with a dulled switch blade and came out only a small cut." I said this got her attention, "bring him to me." she said and I obeyed her command.

(y/n) POV

Mom finally came out, she smiled at me and took my hand and walked me into the large room. It was surprisingly less scary than the rest of the castle from the few rooms that I had seen. Then I saw her. Considering she was sitting on a throne I assumed that she was a queen of some sort, 'but why would a queen look so much like a grimm?' I thought, then mom let go of my hand.

"Here he is my lady" she said as she bowed. "Thank you Cinder now leave us." the grimm queen said and mom obeyed. "Come here boy." she said and I did as I was told, "do you know who I am?" she asked, "i..if I had to guess I would say the queen of the grimm." I said trying to sound respectful. She smirked at my response, "are you afraid of me?" she asked, "a bit, but that may be just because of how the rest of the castle looks." I said innocently, "I see, but what if I didn't look like this would you still be afraid?" she asked I didn't understand the question, but it didn't take long before I realized what she meant. The black vanes that once decorated her body vanished, her snow white shin began to regain its color, her red and black eyes had turned a light blue, her snow white hair had turned blonde. The once terrifying woman I had once been sitting before me had been replaced by a beautiful woman who looked nothing like she had mere moments ago.

"How about now?" she said her voice was softer than before it was soft and calming unlike her once commanding tone that was present in each word she spoke. "Come here."she said, as I approached her I felt something strange like I was being watched I resisted the urge to draw Shadow Fang and continued to walk towards the lady. when I was closer to her she picked me up and sat me down on her lap. "(y/n) I'm Salem" she said with a warm smile, I still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. "Miss Salem this might sound strange, but I feel like someones watching us." I said, "oh do you now, your senses are sharper than I thought." she said and then she snapped her fingers and a girl about my age jumped out of a shadow. The girl looked almost exactly like Salem except for her black hair and her wolf faunas ears, she had light blue eyes like Salem, she wore a black and silver dress. She was armed with a short sword that doubled as a revolver.

I reached back for Shadow Fang and as I grabbed hold of it the girl lunged at me. I opened a void in front of me and Salem. I opened the blade and then opened another void towards the ceiling the girl landed on her feet, 'well that failed' I thought, the girl gave me a sadistic smile and lunged at me again this time I was ready and parried her attack, she jumped backwards away and I got off Salem's lap. I opened a void and threw Shadow Fang into it. I rushed at the girl who slashed at my head with her sword, I dodged her attack by sliding on my knees, I then kicked her feet out from under her, but she just fell into her shadow and came out again back on her feet. I gave her a confident smirk and made my eyes turn deep red and opened a void launching Shadow Fang at her which she dodged, I opened void after void repeating this attack until I opened one sending Shadow Fang flying at me. I caught it and jumped and kicked in mid air and as I did I opened a void and opened another behind the girl and kicked her from behind. I could tell this made her mad because her light blue eyes were gone and were replaced with the piercing red eyes of a grimm. I felt my eyes begin to sting. I decided not to fight it and let my crimson eyes activate. when I did something strange happened my aura began to manifest around my body, every hair on my head began to spike except one strand that stayed down on my forehead. I felt lighter, I looked at my hand and my once blue aura had turned to a deep midnight black and so did my once (h/c). I lunged at the girl from the complete opposite end of the room my feet never once touching the floor. Only when I skidded to a halt did I touch the floor, I unleashed a spin attack causing the girl to go on defense. With each motion a crimson streak came from my eyes. Each strike from my blade pushed her back further and further then the fire dust in my blade activated when I lunged at the girl firing a bolt of fire sending through the large doors effectively destroying them. When the doors exploded mom ran in to see what happened, and when she saw me she gave me a look like she didn't even recognize me.

I saw the girl get up, but this time she had large bones protruding from her arms, and her back. Her fingernails had become razor sharp claws and the whites of her eyes had turned a deep black. I lunged at her once more and she lunged at me for one final attack. "(Y/N), LUCINDA THAT'S ENOUGH!" Salem said her eyes turned red and then back to light blue.

"Sorry mom" the girl said as she returned to normal. "(y/n) what happened to you?!" mom asked as she ran over to me and hugged me tightly. "Cinder it appears you neglected to tell me about his unique abilities namely his silver eyes." Salem said, "I'm sorry my lady I was unaware that he had silver eyes." mom said still hugging me. When I was released from the hug, my aura returned to normal, but all of my energy had been completely drained. I fell back into mom's arms and passed out.

Cinder POV

I became terrified when (y/n) passed out in my arms, but when Salem stood up and walked towards us my fear only rose. "Cinder I would like to keep (y/n) here for a year, and during this time I would like you to stay in Vale." she said, "will I be able to see him again?" I asked, "yes you can see him once each month and on holidays, and on his birthday he will return with you." she said reverting to her original form.

"Mom why do you want that psycho around here?" when Lucinda said this my eyes burst into flames.

"Cinder you may go I will take care of (y/n)." Salem said as she took (y/n) from my arms. "yes my lady." I said as I took my leave and returned to Vale.

Time skip one year (y/n)'s POV

A year came and went, and it was finally the seventh of October, it was finally my birthday. I sat in my room. Lady Salem gave me a large room it had a large dresser, a desk, some bookshelves, and a connecting bathroom. I liked my room, but I missed the apartment mom had.

"Hey (y/n)," Lucinda said as she opened the door, "mom wanted me to come tell you that Cinder is here if you wanna see her." she said.  I jumped off my bed and opened a void beneath my feet and another in the great hall where we were supposed to meet.

"(y/n) look at you you've gotten so big." I heard a family voice from behind me. I turned around and saw mom standing there with a small wrapped box in her hands. "Mommy!" I yelled as I ran to her and as I reached her I wrapped her in a tight hug. I hadn't seen her in almost five months and Lady Salem never told me why she had stopped visiting me. But I was happy that she was here now.

"So how has your training been progressing sweetheart?" she asked, I gave her a smirk.  "I've mastered my crimson eyes, my silver eyes, and my dark aura." I said as I demonstrated my mastered dark aura.

"(y/n) what have I told you about using your dark aura outside of the training area?" Lady Salem said as she entered the room carrying a large box. Lucinda came in with her mother and shortly after Tyrian showed up. I didn't like him and he knew that, so why was he here?

I glared at Tyrian, he hated me because of how close I was to Salem, both in the fact that I sat to the right of her at the meetings and because of my personal connection to her. We had gotten into several fights for several different reasons, but mostly it was him attacking me for no clear reason.

Salem notated how I looked at him and motioned for him to leave. Over the past year I had gotten used to Salem's normal appearance, but on occasion she changed to the beautiful blonde woman who I met on my first day here. And my birthday was one of those occasions.

"(y/n) would you like to open your gifts?" mom said as she patted my head. I looked up at her and smiled and nodded. I took my usual seat next to Salem and mom sat next to me, Lucinda sat to Salem on her left side. Mom handed me my first gift. It was from her, I opened the box and inside was a brand new scroll. I hugged mom and thanked her, then Salem handed me her gift. I opened the large box and found a long thin dark crystal, I was about to grab it from the box but mom had stopped me before I could. "What are you thinking?!" mom said in a harsh tone and I noticed that Lucinda was glaring at her mother. "If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to kill (y/n)." mom said, "now why would I kill my greatest weapon." Salem said. "(y/n) take hold of the crystal." she said, "mom you said that I would get Negistigma!" Lucinda cried, but it was too late I had already taken hold of the crystal.

My arm began to tingle and burn my arm felt heavy. I wanted to let go but I couldn't, and finally everything stopped the crystal had been replaced with an enormous blade similar to my fathers. " Ahh, that's the form it manifested for you. (y/n) you are now the wielder of the cursed blade Negistigma. It's characteristics with reveal themselves to you over time, but it's up to you to discover and master them." Salem said.

I heard that name before. I remember Lucinda bragging to me about how one day she would wield Negistigma, the most powerful weapon anyone could hope for. It didn't look all that powerful to me though. When I picked it up it was surprisingly light. So light that I held it with one hand without a problem. "Why me?" I asked Salem smiled at the question, "why you, why wouldn't I want my greatest weapon to have the most powerful weapon." she said.

I saw two triggers along the hilt of the sword. When I pulled the small trigger the blade bent back towards me and the hilt extended into a pole. All I could think was how this was a dark version of my fathers sword and how I would use it to get my revenge for abandoning me. Then I realized what I had just thought, never before had I ever though of getting revenge on my father, when I attacked him the first time it was an attempt at showing him that I was still alive, but when he didn't recognize me I just repeated what Aunt Raven had told me about him.

"What is this thing?!" I said as I threw it to the floor, I ran to mom and hugged her. I was so scared I couldn't stop shaking. Salem just laughed at the sight of this, "(y/n) Negistigma is a weapon that I created using magic." she said, "then why did it make me want revenge on my father for abandoning me?!" I said trying my best to hold back tears. "Ahh so that's what this is, Negistigma amplifies dark and negative feelings and emotions in it's user so to put it simply you have always wanted revenge you just never let yourself be aware of it." she said the softness of her voice caused me to wince a bit as she told me that somewhere deep down I hated my father.

"(y/n) you have one more gift." Salem said, both mom and I were surprised to hear this as far as we could see their were only two gifts and I had already opened them. Then Salem motioned towards Lucinda. I could see her blush slightly when we looked at her. " S..Salem you can't possibly mean Lucinda is the gift?!" I said she nodded in response. "If you don't like this then you will have to talk to Lucinda about it. " she said, "she practically begged me to let her do this." she said, "MOM!" a very flustered Lucinda said, she was blushing uncontrollably now.