10 Salem 1

<Atlas, Schnee Family Mansion>

Salem stood on top of a branch of a tree, situated right in the heart of the Schnee family garden. She watched a lone figure sitting on a bench, drinking her sorrows away. A wine glass in one hand and a bottle in the other. Salem can't help but lament her pitiful fate.

'How did it come to this?' Salem thought inwardly.

It all started when her precious daughter coaxed her into the idea of marriage with multiple partners. At first, her daughter only advocates those kinds of practices for herself but she somehow managed to drag Salem into the equation.

Salem was raised during an era where those kinds of ideas are prevalent and the thought of practicing it sends shivers to her bones. She was not some lecherous lord and she certainly didn't expect her daughter to be one.

'My daughter has the appetite of a third rate scoundrel…' Salem thought inwardly.

Salem did try to reject Sage's idea at first, since she doesn't actually see the merits of those actions. Her daughter, however, was relentless in her pursuits. Salem, after much deliberation, finally caved in to Sage's 'assault' and listened to some of her plans.

The day Salem mentioned her willingness to listen to Sage's plans is one of the worst days in her life. Apparently, Sage anticipated her answer and she had already prepared a few things in advance.

'The Mommy Candidate List…' Salem thought with a cold shudder in her bones.

The Mommy Candidate List, as Sage would have called it, is a list that has information on every 'Mommy' candidate that she believes to be suitable for the role of her second mother. The list is not big but it is loaded with information.

Salem was only going to choose one of those candidates but Sage also roped her into choosing the two other candidates. As such, Salem's list of candidates now includes a sad summoner, a scholarly witch and a cowardly bird.

Sage also mentioned the shortness of the human's lifespan and only because of that particular reason, did Salem finally agree to her plans. If age didn't kill the humans, then she can speed the process up by taking matters into her own hands.

'And it led me here, watching a drunk woman drink herself to oblivion…' Salem thought inwardly.

Willow Schnee, the lone heiress to Nicholas Schnee. That man was a hero, a human that even Salem has to respect. His daughter, however, was anything but a hero. She is a pitiful woman who sits around wallowing in her pain.

'Of course, I am also wallowing in my pain but at least I try to get my revenge…' Salem thought inwardly.

When Ozma died, Salem begged the Gods but that didn't work. She was cursed and Ozma was taken from her. Then, when Ozma was finally by her side, he betrayed her just because he was scared by some pricks with powers.

Fate has never been by her side but that doesn't mean she has to stop and give up. She murdered Ozma countless times and she cursed the Gods everyday. Her life might seem miserable to others but at least, she never gives up.

'This woman on the other hand…' Salem thought inwardly as she continued to observe Willow.

Lost her father and later lost her husband's love, if there ever was love in his heart for her. She then neglected her family and her children. Her eldest daughter is now looking for fatherly love from some crazy militarist.

Her second daughter is now leaving her and her son is following in the footsteps of a prick. Sage summarized her situation to Salem but she can't believe that Willow will allow all of this to happen right under her nose.

'Is that all your life amounts to? The love of the man that betrayed you?' Salem thought inwardly.

Granted, Salem's life didn't turn out any better until her little monster came into her life. Sage's laughter and her mischievous giggles. The way she smiles when she finally figured out how to make a Grimm.

'She was the best thing that had ever happened to me…' Salem thought inwardly.

'Gwak!'

Salem heard a sound coming from behind her. She turns and she sees a normal bird, eyeing her down like a decent meal. Sage felt annoyed and without any hesitation, she casted a spell, cutting its head off.

The bird and its head fell to the ground and it attracted the attention of the drunk Willow sitting on the bench. Willow slowly put down her wine glass and bottle, she then approached the beheaded animal corpse.

'What is that?' Willow thought inwardly.

Willow noticed the bird falling into the ground, but the bird seemed a bit off to her. She decided to get up and check on the poor bird. When she finally arrived at the bird, she saw a horrible sight. The bird with its head detached from its body, dyed in blood.

Salem expected Willow to scream hysterically and faint but her next move shocked Salem. Rather than screaming in fear, Willow quickly brings out her scroll and starts scrolling through the cameras that she has installed in the mansion.

'She's a sad woman but she is not weak! Her fangs are dull right now, but the right person can sharpen it!' Sage once said to Salem.

Salem just watched quietly as Willow went through the various views of the cameras. She didn't seem particularly stressed but Salem can see Willow's anxiousness in her eyes. After finding the camera that was showing her son in his room, she stopped.

"He's okay…" Willow said slowly as she let out a huge sigh.

'She was checking on her son…' Salem thought inwardly.

Salem knew about the cameras that Willow had installed in the mansion. Her daughter mentioned it to her and it is one the few things that Salem remembered about Willow. Despite Willow's inherent weakness, there is still some strength left in her.

'How did Sage know about the cameras?' Salem wondered.

Sage, although honest to a fault, kept a lot of secrets from her. Salem didn't really care to find out her daughter's secret. Salem could tell that most of the secrets that Sage is keeping are somehow related to her.

'She is still trying to help me…' Salem thought inwardly.

Salem knows that her daughter is aware of her devastating past. Being the cautious person that Salem is, she makes sure to rummage through her daughter's chests sometimes. She found some interesting theories that Sage had made about her.

Sage accurately guessed that Salem used to have a lover and her lover is immortal. Sage also guessed some other stuff about her past and Salem can see that in the notebooks that she has been writing in.

'She's trying to get me to love this world…' Salem thought inwardly.

Sage concluded that after reading countless legends about Remnant, she had finally found a way to mitigate some of Salem's curse. She concluded that in order to break Salem free from the curse, she has to love something and let it go.

For Salem, Sage's efforts are cute and endearing but also dreadful for her. Salem never talked with Sage about her curse or her desires to die. She refused to mention it because she knew that her daughter would beg her to stay alive.

'I refuse to love this wretched world, but I can love you, Sage.' Salem thought inwardly.

Salem thought that if Sage's plans actually hold some merits to it, she would try it. If Salem indeed gained her mortality back, she would not destroy the world like her original plan used to be and she would leave it for her daughter to rule.

'But I refuse to live this life anymore…' Salem thought inwardly.

"Klein, can you come to the garden and clean up this corpse?" Willow said into the scroll.

Willow's words woke Salem up from her stupor and she sees the white-haired woman looking at the corpse of the bird and she is clearly trying to hold her nausea in. After a while, a bald man in a suit comes to the garden and cleans the corpse quickly.

Willow, on the other hand, continues to search for the perpetrator of the events through the camera feeds but she fails to find anything. She sighs slowly and starts looking around the area until her eyes finally see Salem, standing on top of the branch.

"An albino squirrel?" Willow said slowly.

'I blame my daughter…' Salem thought inwardly.

Salem can just kidnap Willow but Sage forces Salem to woo her instead. She forbids threats and any other heinous schemes. Salem was going to veto Sage's orders but Sage used her eyes on Salem and for whatever reason, Salem can never deny those eyes.

She agreed to Sage's plans and now she is stuck in this pathetic disguise of an albino squirrel. The squirrel form is also a suggestion from Sage and after Salem turned into the squirrel for the first time, she was smothered by Sage.

'Did it kill the bird?' Willow asked inwardly.

Willow was a Schnee and thus she specialized in Summoning. To summon a creature, you must know the creature first. Willow has been studying the animals of Remnant ever since she was little and Remnant has some amazing creatures.

The Grimms, Faunus and other mythical creatures walked the world of Remnant, thus a squirrel killing a bird two times its size is not that unbelievable. Nature is a strong force and also a strong catalyst for evolution.

'It wouldn't be strange if this squirrel can actually kill the bird…' Willow thought inwardly.

The squirrel was also an albino, which means that it has some genetic mutation to it. It could be the reason as to why the squirrel would have the strength and the aggressiveness needed in order for it to kill a bird that size.

'But, it's too far-fetched. A squirrel simply doesn't have those capabilities.' Willow reasoned with herself.

Her mind has been slipping further into the darkness lately. Sometimes, she doesn't even realize that she has been walking around drunk. She uncorked a bottle and before she even knew it, she was laying on the grass in the garden.

"The alcohol is getting to me…" Willow whispered under her breath.

Willow then realized that the squirrel was looking at her directly and she somehow saw a shred of intelligence in its eyes. The squirrel appears to be staring right into her soul, which creeped Willow out but also made her curious.

"Did you… happen to see the bird dying, Mr Squirrel?" Willow suddenly asked.

It was an absurd idea, talking to a squirrel but Willow still did it because of her curiosity. She had never seen such a clear sign of intelligence from any creature before and she can't help but wonder if the squirrel is intelligent.

"..." the squirrel looked at her silently.

After waiting for an answer from the squirrel for a while, Willow decides to discard her idea of an intelligent squirrel. It was clear to anyone that the squirrel is just a normal animal that doesn't have any shred of intelligence.

'Maybe it's time I go to bed…' Willow thought inwardly.

It seems that the strain that the alcohol put on her mind seems to be even more serious than before. Now, she is imagining in her mind that a squirrel can understand human words. Willow then decides to leave the squirrel alone in its tree.

Willow turned around and started walking toward the bench to retrieve her wine glass and her bottle of alcohol. She decided that it was time for her to take a nap in order to reduce the effect of the alcohol that she has been consuming.

"Leaving so soon?" a voice asked Willow, which stopped her in her tracks.

Willow, her mind churning faster than ever, turns around at lightspeed. After turning around, she sees nothing but an empty garden and a tree with a squirrel standing on its branch. Willow was quite certain that she heard a voice just now.

'Am I going crazy, finally?' Willow asked herself.

Willow then focused her attention on the squirrel that is still looking at her from the top of the branch. Again, the squirrel's eyes show a semblance of intelligence in it and she can't help but wonder if the voice actually came from the squirrel.

'It can't hurt to try right?' Willow asked herself again.

"Hey Mr Squirrel, you didn't just talk, right?" Willow asked.

"..." The squirrel stayed silent.

"Of course not, I'm just crazy…" Willow whispered slowly as she looked down solemnly.

"You are not crazy." a voice suddenly retorted.

"..." it was Willow's turn to be silent.

'It can't be…' Willow said as she looked up towards the squirrel.

"Mr. Squi…" Willow's words were cut off by the voice.

"It's Madam Squirrel to you, woman." Salem said solemnly.

Willow was shocked to her core. She was so sure that the alcohol had finally destroyed her mind. A squirrel actually talked to her and answered her questions. This is the craziest day in her life.

"Y-you talked?" Willow asked with a bewildered look on her face.

"I did…" Salem answered nonchalantly.

"You are talking…" Willow said quite loudly.

"Indeed…" Salem answered again.

"A squirrel that talked!" Willow said again.

"Pardon, this is getting old really quick. Will you…" Salem tried to calm Willow down.

How unfortunate for Salem, as soon as she starts talking, Willow falls to the ground. She appears to have passed out from the shock and from her alcohol consumption. Her body laid unmoving on the ground and it doesn't seem like she will wake up at all.

"Great! What do I do now?!" Salem said angrily.