#★ salem ★ || verse . mother of darkness

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@aestasrosis continued from here

So, the little Rose thought she didn't have any more to lose, did she? Clearly, Salem hadn't done enough to teach her the meaning of the word pain, of true loss.

"You think you've lost anything?" Salem asks, slowly circling Summer. Her voice was soft, calm, as though discussing something nothing more substantial than a preferred vacation spot or place to shop.

"My dear…., you have everything to lose," she murmurs, standing in front of the Huntress. "You were one of Ozma's precious pets…., and all I've done is taken you out of the equation." She leans in close, and her voice is barely above a whisper now. "Trust me when I say that you will lose …. everything you love."

While normally Salem didn't take…..special interest in anyone beyond Ozma, Summer Rose had made herself a nuisance, and that had made it Salem's business to deal with her first.

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@caeloservare definitely didn't ask for this

Salem had had Cinder grab the Tin Soldier as they left the sinking city; he could still be useful, after all. He had been part of Ozma's inner circle for quite some time, after all, and they had abandoned him; what loyalty would he have to them now?

But she knew full well that he wouldn't be that easy to break; he wasn't like Leo, a coward to the end, or like Hazel, hellbent on revenge. No, she was going to have to see just how she could get into that pretty little head of his, to take him apart from the inside-out, to get him to tell her what she wanted to know.

"Awake at last, I see," she said, approaching where he was being held. "I was beginning to think we'd wasted the effort in rescuing you." She was going to have to see just what made him tick to get under his skin….., and what better way to start?

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@delicatevillains / @aestasrosis liked this post for a starter and I am so sorry

Salem sat in what had once been the throne room (though really, she supposed it still was, all things considered), contemplating the next thing she would do to break the little Rose. There were all sorts of options, but physical torture wasn't exactly something she enjoyed. It had a time and a place, just as any and all forms of pain did, but it certainly wasn't her specialty. That was largely one of the reasons she had minions, to take care of such things.

But Summer Rose had made things personal, and Salem intended to deal with the girl herself.

Which was why she had decided on a different course of action for today. It had been a while since she'd used her magic like this, but this wasn't the sort of thing you just forgot how to do.

Salem stood, concentrating on her appearance. A beam of magical energy swirled around her, obscuring the mother of darkness…..until there, in the place that Salem had once been standing was Taiyang Xiao Long.

She beckoned one of the Seers to her, going over some of the memories she'd already seen. While she knew her performance didn't have to be perfect, given the state of Summer's mind at the moment, she wanted to make sure she was at least convincing.

When she was satisfied that she could at least fool the woman long enough to do what she was intending, Salem took a moment to slip into the shoes of the fool she'd just witnessed.

Tai rushed into the room where Summer was being held and stopped completely short in the doorway, his eyes widening. "My gods, Summer," his voice said as he dropped down next to her. "I was hoping I'd find you, but I wasn't sure I ever would." He takes a moment to look over her, a whispered, "What did they do to you?" leaving him, even as he's looking for a way to try to free her from her restraints. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

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Darker vibes // Accepting

@eiiskonigin asked: ❛ get the hell away from me. ❜ / for salem owo

So….this was the latest Maiden, the one who had managed to defeat Cinder. She didn't look like much, not really. Pale skin, white hair…., honestly, she looked like her daughters like Salem, as she had been, so long ago. Full of the same naivety, too, putting blind trust in others.

Had one of her children survived? Gone on to have children of her own? Could this girl be her descendent?

"It seems strange that you should be the one to possess such powers," she comments, slowly circling the young woman, a thoughtful expression on her face. "A Schnee, coming into more power than they can handle. Though I suppose it wouldn't be the first time." She had lived through the rise of the Schnee Dust Company; she knew what the world had been like before, and it hadn't had nearly as much strife in it then.

She ignores the demand, looming over the girl, standing in her space. "What's so special about you, hmm?" While the Maiden's powers didn't always pass to someone 'worthy' of them, she knew Ozma tried to plan around that, if he could. And this one….., well, the tin soldier had told her all about how she'd been hand-picked.