As written on my profile, this is an incomplete work I'm posting. You can go there to see the entire explanation.
~1~
She's been summoned to a meeting with the King of Vampires. Her father wishes to see her, to speak with her, and if the tight feeling in her gut has any say, this meeting won't be a good one.
Life had been peaceful albeit hectic since she'd been exonerated from the crimes pinned to her by the former goddess, Veronica. She'd already been accepted in the demonic realm as a welcomed creature of darkness before the incident with Veronica had arose. That and she was the assumed partner of the esteemed high ranking knight, Lord Zeldris. So Gelda was rather surprised and wholly pleased to discover even after it was thought her to be behind the attacks against the demons, none seemed to hold it against her. In fact, they appeared to be somehow more taken with her.
Perhaps their affinity to deleterious drama has a heavy hand in the matter.
The main cause for the more hectic turn in their lives though was the fast arrival of baby Zaneta. Zeldris was still the same and yet wonderfully different in his treatment towards Gelda. His words were still firm, rough, and commanding, but his arms around her were always loving, his eyes full of passion and promise. He held no qualms in holding her at night if her hormones sent her into a crying fit or going out to gather her a number of humans even if he was weighed down by his duties as the lead Commandment.
But when their tiny little girl finally came into their lives, no one was to doubt his devotion. His words had said it all then as he'd held his newborn daughter like she was a miracle that would vanish if he wasn't careful enough.
"You both are mine…. And I hope to never lose you."
Gelda gazes down at her daughter swaddled in soft blankets in her arms and feels herself fall in love all over again with her tiny features, her porcelain skin dusted lightly with the flush of life like her mother's, and the ebony shock of hair that cradles her face. Gelda loves her hair the most as it reminds her of Zeldris, the way Zaneta's bangs and a cute tuft of hair at the top of her head absolutely refuses listen to the laws of gravity despite the rest of her hair being straight and manageable. Gelda takes comfort in the sight of her daughter and the hope that her father will fall in love with Zaneta as well as so many others have already, before focusing on her walk ahead.
The darkened halls of Edinburgh surrounds her, stretching on ominously despite the many sconces that light the way. It's simply the eerie feeling that sinks into her being, filling her mind with the absolute worst as she passes vampire after vampire, none of which seem to acknowledge her presence. It's also because she decided to come alone, not that Zeldris wouldn't have come with her had he known. She couldn't bear to impede on his mission to acquire the loyalties of a high ranking kingdom in the south of Britannia. Besides, this was something she felt she could handle alone and leaving Zaneta behind was an impossibility with the baby needing to be fed quite often still.
Her frantic thoughts all halt then silence, leaving her mind blank the moment she reaches the two large doors that separate her from her father. Gelda inhales shakily before raising a hand to tighten her daughter's swaddle, casting a last glance at her formal attire that weighs around her legs as well. Then she gives a nod to the two guards beside the door who immediately push them open and announce her presence.
"Princess Gelda has arrived, Sire."
She hardly sees the two guards who take up posts in far corners across from each other in the room as she strides in poised steps to stand before her father and King. Before curtseying as best as she can with a baby in her arms, she takes note of the way he still looks the same. Tall, corded in bulky muscles, his hair dark, wild and falling around his chest and shoulders. Even the maniacal burn of his eyes still curdles her stomach the same way. He's the exact brute he always was. His care for her being more about power and control than anything.
"Rise," is his curt rumble of a greeting to her.
She ignores the slight burn that began to make itself known in her muscles and straightens. With a steadying breath she focuses her crystal blue eyes onto the powerful being before her. "You wished to see me?" If he wishes to be cool with her, she'll show the exact same indifference in return. Even if her bravado is mostly for show and gives nothing away to the stuttering beats of her heart.
Izraf's dark gaze pierces right through her. Her play at bravery means nothing to him if the biting smirk on his face is anything to go by. "I see you brought the abomination with you."
'Abomination…?' Gelda's jaw slackens as her heart bursts into double time drowning her hearing in a momentary roar. Zaneta squirms in her arms. "My baby… You think she's—"
"Of course I do!" Her father cuts in before she can even begin to comprehend the emotions that are beginning to sear through her veins. "That thing should have never come into existence."
'Abomination. Thing. Never come into existence.' The words stampede through her mind over and over in sick mockery, demeaning her precious daughter that had every right to be here. Her daughter that should never have been hidden. Zaneta who her father loves dearly. Again her mind falls into abrupt silence, the words vanishing like the tail end of whispered wind, and it becomes so clear to Gelda that the thing that was starting to poison her mind was sheer, unbridled rage.
A sweet misleading smile comes to her face as she closes her eyes briefly, holding her little one closer to ease her fussing. "And why is that father? I thought you wanted me to marry a powerful suitor and bear his children? I do apologize that it's happened out of order, but Lord Zeldris and I are soon to be wedded, I assure you."
She knows it's about to happens seconds before it does which is why she places a hand against Zaneta's ear and presses the side of the little girl's head close to her mother's heart. Izraf sends his fists crashing into the armrests of his throne smashing them with thunderous precision in his rise to his full height. "No daughter of mine is marrying demonic filth! I won't have it!"
Gelda's eyes gain an icy edge. "He is anything but! He is a Prince and the leader of the Ten Commandments! I couldn't have picked a better man as a life partner and I won't let you tell me otherwisefather."
Their eyes, light and dark, clash and hold for terse long moments. Never before has Gelda challenged her father in such a way. Never has she felt so sure of herself and her ability to handle the situation.
"I'm afraid you leave me with no choice then my daughter." As she watches his hand raise slowly in lieu of a signal, she realizes something else.
"Seize her!"
Never before has she regretted coming alone.
Her insides lurch jarringly within her as she spins to face the coming threat. Zaneta's wailing in her arms, despite Gelda having done her best to block the explosive sound her father created that nearly shook the room. Soothing her baby can't be her priority right now. Not with the armored men stalking towards her and no doubt more coming this way.
As she shakily takes a step backwards, the horrifying thought of the other Royal Vampires arriving promptly has her back straightening and her eyes focusing sharply. No, she'll be long gone before they arrive. She won't let anyone lay a hand on herself or her daughter. Buckling under fear can't happen this time.
So the moment she sees the signs of the guards' bodies tensing in preparation of a lunge, Gelda feels a cool sensation begin to unfurl from around her heart. It swells and builds until she can feel it snaking along her skin, the power to enchant, the power of temptation. It sparks like blue alluring flashes in her eyes, the power her father cursed her with many years ago, but she uses it now to live, to defy him right under his nose. With nimble fingers she tugs the tie keeping her hair together, and the energy running freely through her, charged and thrilling flourishes around her, wafting through her tresses and pulling words from her throat.
"Stop!"
The guards hesitant to do as she says, their figures twitching with uncertainty that's quickly unraveling the longer she remains silent. She has to make this quick in the shock of her upsurge of power, otherwise her father with strike her down himself.
She takes slow, almost languid strides forward, slipping into an elegant, seductive sway as she gazes at her targets with eyes befitting of a predator. "What is it you want?" She makes her voice a low, charming purr, while subtly pulling Zaneta closer into her chest allowing the quieting child to cling as she wishes. "Wealth, power? ...A warm body to find pleasure in?" Sultry laughter leaves her for a moment. Rumbling, tempting. "I'll give you whatever you want in exchange for safe passage from this castle."
The guards make the mistake of meeting her eyes.
"You incompetent fools! What are you doing!?" And like that her time is up. The ground trembles with the ferocity of her father's charge for her.
The two guards though practically leap to her defense, giving her and her now racing heart a chance to dash for the door with clacking heels announcing her every move. She only has one hand to shove the doors open and once through them, the heavy wet splatters of the guards' demise follows after her.
It only takes a few clumsy missteps in her heels to decide to abandon them in rushed kicks, one shoe flying off and managing to nail an oncoming guard turning a corner blindly. Now with bare feet slapping on the stone floors and her squirming daughter held securely, Gelda sweeps her eyes no longer holding their entrancing allure in every direction. "Come on... I need a shadow to escape into," She huffs through exerted lungs. But everywhere she turns she runs into halls alight in the illumination of torches, far more than she recalls there ever being. Her eyes widen when she turns at a bend and nearly crashes into a hissing wall of guards and knights. Hastily retracting her steps she almost trips over her insufferable dress and cringes at the ruckus pounding of feet behind her. 'This was a trap! Father never had intentions of welcoming my daughter into her birthright. I should have known. I was foolish.'
Gelda's eyes burn with irrational tears of anger as she flees desperately. The emotion begins to flood her, nipping at her skin and sparking at her fingertips. She just wants to go home where she and her daughter are safe and loved. Ahead of her she can see men piling in through the corridor, closing in on her rapidly. Her skin begins to sear as something boils in her chest.
The moment her feet slow to a halt, the blaze heating the air becomes apparent around her. "I've had enough." Those words are the spark needed to ignite the inferno that twists up around her ferociously.
She was never certain of where exactly the flames came from, only remember having a fever for weeks and weeks upon end when she was a little girl, the healers swearing she would not make it in the end. Sneaking out on what she thought would be her last night alive, she'd ended up in the in a small field not too far from the castle. That's when something had threatened to burst from her chest in a painful explosion, but instead she'd somehow purged the burning power from her hands setting fire to the lands. She'd kept this power of eternal flames a secret under wraps for so long, only practicing with it in secret due to how she might be viewed by her brethren. Vampires perish easily with the touch of flames, so she the Princess of their race wielding such a weapon would have made her expendable. No use in hiding it now.
The dying screeches around her are what snap her mind out of its enraged state, the roaring twists of the flames around her calming slowly with the change. Her now worried eyes fly down to Zaneta cradled in her hold, almost frightened to see the look on the baby's visage. She'd heard no screams or wailing from her surely indicating something to be wrong. In the momentary lapse of pursuit with piles of putrid smelling ashes around them, Gelda's breath stutters at the sight of Zaneta entirely fascinated by what hovers between her chubby palms. Icy blue flames.
"Zaneta? What...?"
A soft scratching sound quiets her astonishment and raises the hair along her skin. It's too silent now, like a predator has moved into the area. Gelda takes one last look at Zaneta, now occupied with chewing on the long locks of Gelda's hair with no flames in sight, and swiftly decides on heading for her former chamber in hopes of escape.
Contrary to the rather urgent feel that wells up inside of her telling her to run as fast as her feet can take her, Gelda herself almost slinks forward, stressing her senses outward for any more opposition. Surely her father wouldn't just give up? And yet as she leans around a sharp corner, feeling the harsh stone bite into her palm where she clings to keep her balance, she sees no one upon this floor. Only flickering torches, tightly shut doors, and cobwebs upon the roof that sway sluggish to an invisible draft.
She steps out of hiding, almost wishing to shush the giggles and croons Zaneta makes while playing with Gelda's hair. This is her best chance to escape, but why does that feel like a sinking notion in her gut, like it's further from the truth?
She gets her answer when she pads hesitantly towards an unguarded door in the form of low hisses melded with clicks, the kind of noise that chills every nerve in your body while twisting your stomach in sheer terror. The kind of sound that only a creature can make. Slowly, ever so slowly the Princess is positive she doesn't even take a breath, she begins to rotate around.
And turns right into the wide gaping muzzle like maw filled with a row, no, two rows of jagged teeth dripping globs of saliva lazily.
She wants to scream, she almost does staring in horror at this thing a few inches taller than her, black as midnight and more fuzzy than a wolf. This thing with eight legs a distant relative of a spider makes another rattling sound and Gelda stares in a prettified sort of fascination as its rows of teeth click together repeatedly more rapidly than she can discern.
It's with the knowledge that so much as one step backwards will certainly be the end of her that urges Gelda to snap her shaking hand forward. The creature springs right into a spray of flames screeching a high pitched noise as it begins to skitter around wildly, burning slowly alive. Zaneta cries then, no child could possibly be at ease with such a sound.
Gelda sprints as best as she can in the opposite direction, driven by adrenaline alone. Those must be her Father's Attackers, only used when absolutely necessary or for executing criminals of high crimes of treason. So in his warped sense of logic she fits the bill. She'd never seen one before, only heard of them in horror stories. Their innate ability to track was always a point of praise however. "What do they have of mine? I have not be here in ages!" She hisses frantic as she reaches a spiraling staircase that should lead up to the floor where her chamber used to be. The almost blinding and unnatural speed two Attackers appear before her, one shooting down the stairs, the other climbing along the wall dredges up that scream she withheld.
She's quick to push flames outward as they leap for her, polluting the air with the stench of their burning carcasses as she runs past them. Her heels, she realizes as her numb feet carry up the stairs that's how they found her so easily. Gelda presses a kiss to Zaneta's head just as they reach the top of the stairs. The expanse before them is empty for now, giving her a sense of staggering relief. "It's okay, ssh, sweetie. Mommy will get us home soon, okay?" It was a terrible mistake to bring her daughter on this trip, but Gelda was running on a false hope that things would go smoothly.
So far the only thing that seems to be going right is her journey to the ornate door at the end of the hall. Her heart practically sings in her chest as she nears it. Soon flushed in exertion, lightly coated in sweat, her hair tousled and wayward and softly obscuring her vision, Gelda extends her hand out to turn the doorknob.
Only instinct jerks her hand back quick enough from being completely lobbed off. As it is a deep gash snakes down the back of it giving way to crooked rivers of crimson liquid that drips from her fingertips.
Gelda turns slowly while gently bouncing Zaneta in the cradle of her arm to face the last people she wanted to see. Ren stands poised as ever, eyes piercing and not a strand of raven locks out of place. Blood drips from one of the two lengthy blades she wields, almost casually creating a small poodle upon the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, Gelda spies the ever crazed Orlondi looking more than ready to suck Gelda and Zaneta dry. Mod and Ganne, the behemoths of the group appear more than ready to rip and mangle on command.
Gelda's eyes shift back to Ren the unspoken leader of the group. "You do know how this will end, Gelda?"All sophistication as her voice oozes certainty.
"Ooh, can I have the baby when you're finished with Gelda, pleeasse? I wonder how it'll taste." Orlondi cuts through the tension, practically drooling over the prospect already.
Gelda bares her teeth in a feral warning. "You won't touch me or my baby!" She reaches into herself scrabbling for the inferno that will protect them. And it reacts, surging outward and around mother and daughter in a shield., forcing the Royal Vampires to jump back or risk being burned alive. Gelda expects this to be her savior, for this to be what gets her and her daughter out alive. What she hears is an amused chuckle from the ravenette.
"You won't be able to keep that up for long."
Gelda's heart stops cold as she chokes on understanding. Already she can feel herself breathing harder, sweat drenching her skin as her flames weaken. She's used too much of her power in her haste to protect the two. No, she's used all of it. As if rain opened up above her in droves, her flames go out in a silent whoosh leaving her to fall to her knees with her hold tight on Zaneta.
Tall white boots framed by long blades stride into her vision. "And just like that, the mighty fall."
Gelda doesn't respond, can't really as she stares blankly ahead. She failed. She fought so hard to make it through, to make it back home to Zeldris. Two glimmering tears roll down her cheeks, one after the other. He'll be devastated to find out his family was murdered in cold blood. And it was all because of her stupid mistake.
"Crying again, little Gelda? What is it my brother sees in you, I wonder…"
Her head snaps up at that languid rumble she'd know anywhere. Estarossa walks calmly, almost boredly in their direction with an expression that shows he hasn't a care in the world. His eyes slide over every one of them landing finally on Gelda, instantly swapping her devastating with unease. Those eyes could never be comforting as something slimy and cruel rests too deeply within them.
"What are you doing here demon?" Ganne growls antagonized.
"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Estarossa responds not stopping in his path towards the group.
Ren notices his intended move to guard Gelda and acts to cut that idea short. The Princess barely sees an unnaturally squiggly blade for only a moment before she seals her eyes shut. Surprisingly, Ren's screech sounds, pulling her eyes open once more. Except she can't see past the impenetrable wall that is Estarossa's mass.
"You should get going, Gelda." She cranes her neck up to see him gazing down at her over his shoulder with that lazy grin of his.
She doesn't argue. As easily as she can, she makes sure Zaneta is held carefully as they make their escape into the chamber behind them, finding the necessary darkness to take them home soon after.
~.~.~
Pitch black obscures everything in sight and the only way she knows they're home is from the distinct feel of demonic energy swarming in abundance. Gelda lets herself fall to her knees while clutching her fussing daughter to her chest. Her heart beats a frightened tune that takes several minutes to calm and even then she has to whisper soothingly and rock Zaneta gently in her arms to allow her mind to latch onto something and keep her tethered. When her breathing finally evens and her mind fully registers the way Zaneta paws at her chest—most definitely ready to eat—Gelda goes about adjusting her clothes and the little girl in her arms so that feeding her is comfortable.
She only winces slightly when the lack of adrenaline makes the deep gash on her hand known, but Gelda doesn't relent in the secure hold she keeps on Zaneta while she feeds. Rubbing her blood soaked fingers tenderly in her daughter's raven hair, Gelda leans her head back against the wall behind her and closes her eyes in the darkness. "Mommy messed up." She chuckles humorously as her baby squeezes her tiny hands on Gelda's chest tighter. "But that's okay. We're okay. Daddy didn't lose us…"
After several quiet moments, Zaneta decides she's finished by patting Gelda's chest and making a happy gurgle of agreement.
Gelda gives a loving smile at this, quickly pulling up the sleeve of her dress before lifting Zaneta and placing the tiny girl over her shoulder. Gelda bites back a moan of pain at the way her hand strains but she goes about burping her baby anyway, always putting her loved ones first. 'Not today,' a voice bitterly whispers in her mind.
Turning away from the thought viciously, Gelda slides Zaneta back into the crook of her arm the moment the gas is cleared from her tummy. Knowing her daughter will fall asleep soon the vampire moves to stand shuffling cautiously towards where the exit hopefully is. She needs to see the castle's healer before she loses too much blood. Already her mind spins with sickening vertigo the moment her feet find purchase on the ground. Still she persists in measured paces until her hand brushes against a door. The handle is quickly found and light bleeds into her vision.
She hisses in dismay seeing that it's still daylight; only an hour or two had passed. It'd felt like years since she'd been running to protect herself and Zaneta. She looks down at the drowsy baby now, still wary of how she'd react to sunlight. Until Zaneta grew in her teeth, Gelda's not certain who she takes more after.
Not taking any chances, Gelda is quick to orient herself in order to make a plan to get her and her daughter where they need to be unscathed. And with a few quick glances, she's delighted to find minimal windows built at a higher vantage point and the path leading to the castle's healer being only a few halls away.
She sticks to the walls below the windows, hardly passing anyone in her quest. She has a moment where she wonders where everyone could be when a warm hum crops up in the back of her mind. Her steps slow as she tries to analyze it shifting the snoozing baby in her arms while doing so. It's not a moment later before a fond smile takes shape across her lips and she turns left to face an unassuming door.
Gelda takes great care to ease the door open slowly bit by bit revealing a study of sorts with one silver haired goddess seated behind the desk centered in the room. Elizabeth writes on a parchment with one hand while her other rubs her swollen stomach in almost frustration. It becomes clear exactly why when she abandons her attempts at works in favor of chiding towards the little one inside her. "I know I'm not your Father and I can't reason with you like he can with his magic touch, but... Can you please settle down for me? He'll be back soon I promise."
Her sweet tone doesn't seem to sway the child if the groan of pure distress she gives a second later is anything to go by. Gelda wears a smile that looks remarkably like a wince of sympathy as she finally lets herself into the room. "I've had too many moments like that to count, except I couldn't ask Zeldris for help for a good lot of it."
Elizabeth's head snaps up in shock before her blue eyes round in fear, most likely having noticed the amount of blood coating the vampire's hand. Gelda sees Elizabeth's hands moving to brace herself in an effort to rise quickly and the vampire moves to intercept, simply taking a seat across from the goddess so that her wounded hand can be grasped in caring hands. The instant the goddess' magic pushes beneath her skin like sparks of warmth, Gelda sighs and feels the tension that had built up in her muscles evaporate. She feels just as drowsy as the baby in her arms suddenly as Elizabeth releases her hand.
"What happened?" The serious address has her eyes looking up into eyes hardened by the concern borne from friendship.
This just makes the self loathing churning inside her fester and spread like wildfire. Gelda smiles, shaken. "I was a fool. I was summoned by my father, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and Zaneta and I nearly left as corpses."
Elizabeth's eyes shimmer with understanding and burn with sympathy. "Gelda, what happened in Edinburgh was not your fault," she responds fiercely.
Gelda shakes her head and runs her fingers through Zaneta's hair, so much like her father's. The thought is almost crippling. "We would have died there! And it would have been my fault. Zeldris would have lost us!"
Elizabeth's mouth thins for a moment, Gelda's only warning before the goddess has a firm hold of her hand between hers. Gelda hadn't realized her hands were shaking until the calm of Elizabeth begins to wash over her. "Listen to me. Your father obviously had no intentions of meeting with you civilly. The outcome would have been the same no matter what you did. Don't blame yourself." Her expression softens and Gelda finds herself hanging onto the emotion she finds there, gaining strength in her belief. "And you both are here and perfectly fine,' she squeezes Gelda's hand with a teasing smile. "You and Zaneta made it through on your own."
Gelda's stomach twists with painful unease at this, something Elizabeth must notice as her thin brows begin to scrunch up. "That's just it. We would have died... Had Estarossa not been there to save us."
Elizabeth recoils back, jaw slack, and completely astounded. "What!? But wasn't he—" Gelda sees the flush of rosy life drain from her face much too quickly for it to be healthy as the goddess' eyes suddenly focus on something beyond the vampire. Gelda starts to reach for her, worried when she too realizes what could make Elizabeth gain such a countenance.
"Hello, Lady Elizabeth. I was just checking to see if Gelda here was okay after her run in with her kinsman. It seems though you've taken good care of her in my absence."
A constant race of chills down her spine quickly spreads out to settle in her stomach like cemented fear. How much had he heard? Why was he there? Certainly not to check on her well being.
Elizabeth's eyes narrow although her sickly complexion remains as her hand goes back to rubbing her belly. "Of course, Estarossa. She's my friend and I'd do anything to help her."
"Yes, we've seen that, haven't we?" Something about the humor that colors his tone sounds off, practiced, as if he'd thought about a moment like this an immeasurable amount of times. Gelda hates having her back to him.
"You wouldn't mind me escorting little Gelda here back to her room since I'm certain the demons here wouldn't be too pleased to see you doing so yourself, Elizabeth?" His tone evens out into a casual resonance, easygoing, and careless of the veiled threat he placed over their heads.
Gelda's heart weighs heavy with fear yet forces her blood to blare frantically in her ears. She sees Elizabeth's jaw clench in defiance, sees the way the goddess wants to stand her ground despite her odds-especially in her condition. So Gelda makes the decision for her.
The exiled Princess stands to her feet and offers her friend a reassuring smile. "Yes that will be fine." When all Elizabeth does is continue to hold her gaze as if asking her if she's sure, pleading for her not to trust the demon, Gelda turns away with resignation.
The first thing she notices is the way Estarossa gazes down at her is the lazy way his eyes bore into her and the barely there smile that creeps up from the trail of hair along his chin. The vibes leaking from his towering form is that of self satisfaction, triumph simmering low in his eyes. She has to look away before the intensity of it threatens to shake her apart.
His hand presses in between her shoulder blades guiding her from the room. 'Come now, I'm sure you'll want to be freshened up in time for my brother's return."
Her head hangs low as she carries Zaneta wondering what it is Estarossa could be so satisfied about, and why he chose to bring up Zeldris who isn't due back until the next day? They stick to the darker, lesser used halls as he guides her towards her chambers, halls she's normally comfortable traveling down, but now she can't seem to shake the feeling of being trapped in with a predator. So to keep herself from going mad with possibilities of what the demon could do to her and her daughter, Gelda peers at him sideways and gasps at seeing his eyes right on her. She swallows thickly, eyeing the distance they have left until they get to the next turn. "So w-what happened with the vampires?"
He gives a closed eyed smile that would actually be charming if it weren't for the words that come out of his mouth next. "I turned the raven haired one into a demonic breast before making her explode into unrecognizable pieces. A warning of sorts." His hand goes back to the space in between her shoulder blades and she yelps having been shaking in horror from his words before. But he keeps his hand there anyway, letting his fingers glide on the side of her ribs. His fingers abruptly dig there turning her to face him and her heart lodges in her throat stealing her precious breath so she cannot scream.
He's as calm as ever though as he gazes down at her. Then he says something truly mystifying. "If anyone hurts my family there's a certain price they must pay, Gelda."
The knot lodged in her throat makes it so that all she can do is nod shakily.
His hand slides from her back and he turns away from her, striding unhurriedly from sight. She breathes quickly as her body leans against the door behind her, belatedly realizing it to be the one to her chamber. Not wishing to stay out of the relative safety of her room any longer, Gelda finds the door's handle and takes her daughter inside all the while wondering if Estarossa was threatening her or saying she was a part of his protection.