#my brain ten seconds later 'okay wait that would actually add an interesting facet to their dynamic'

[littlecactiguy]

I think it's probably the mix

Salem was likely seeking out a girl she could put the maiden powers in (given the rest of the inner circle we see are men, she'd have the need to recruit). So she gives the order to her lieutenants to search for a good candidate.

The deaths of Madame, her daughters, and Rhodes definitely would have caused a stir. News gets around that it was the young girl the Madame "so graciously" took in, whichever lieutenant is in Atlas at the time catches wind, and well, here's a girl in the right age range who won't shy away from darker acts and is isolated and desperate enough while on the run that they can mold her.

They'd still probably have to hunt Cinder down and trap her in an alley (mirroring how Cinder recruited Emerald) before she'd listen. I also think it would probably be Salem herself, speaking through a Seer Grimm (I'm pretty sure that's the right name for the floaty ones with tendrils used when she communicates with Lionheart/that scene with Ironwood, but I could be wrong, it's been a bit), that would convince her. I don't think Cinder would just believe a random, normal-appearing person so soon after Rhodes betrayed her trust.

It'd be interesting if it were Watts, in a 'it'd add new flavor to what their dynamic was' way i.e. part of why Watts had no qualms about needling Cinder was bc he saw her when, from his pov, she was just a weak child. And Cinder hates him for it, for knowing her origins (on top of him just generally being Atlesian).

what do y'all think, is cinder's recruitment by salem going to be more similar to cinder recruiting emerald or mercury?

i'm thinking mercury is more likely, with the whole "killed your parental figure (and maybe the house is on fire idk)" thing, but that could also imply that whoever did the recruiting wasn't necessarily there for cinder but rather for someone else—which admittedly would be an interesting angle to explore due to cinder's belief in destiny.

on the other hand emerald's recruitment was a coincidence that heavily relied on her semblance, which... i can't really see cinder's semblance being that much of a draw as emerald's would be.

could also be a combination of the two; it happened soon after cinder had killed the madame, her step-sisters, and rhodes, but it was also coincidental, an opportunity that was too good to pass on.