Much to Alcina's chagrin, the three daughters burst in immediately, meaning that they had been eavesdropping. "Girls, what did I say about spying on Mother's private meetings?" The three looked down ashamedly, before instantly perking up when Seline stepped in front of them. "Hi! My name's Seline!" The blonde-haired woman was the one who greeted her first. "Hello, my name is Bela Dimitrescu. It's a pleasure to meet you." she said quietly, and a red-haired woman decided to go next. "I'm Daniela Dimitrescu. Nice to meet you." The last sister with brown hair had to be pushed by Bela before she greeted Seline. "...I'm Cassandra Dimitrescu. Nice to meet you, I guess." Alcina sighed. "Seline will be joining our maids. Treat her as you would treat anyone else." The girls shot looks at each other. There was no way they would do as their mother said. Where's the fun in that? "Well, why don't you girls prepare for lunch while I show our newest hire around the castle?" The three girls nodded. "Yes, mother!" Rather than walking out the door, they all dissipated into their flies and flew away. Alcina couldn't help but look at Seline for her reaction, and surprisingly, she was starstruck. "Woooooooah! That was SO COOL! Can you do that too?" A bit taken aback, Alcina shook her head. "No, I can't. Now come along. We have a lot to go over in a short amount of time."
Anyone looking at the scene would've laughed at the absurdity before them. The 9-foot-tall Lady of the castle, walking with a not-even-5-feet little girl. Well, in Seline's case, it was skipping. Alcina tried to talk about the castle, but Seline would interrupt her every five seconds with a question or a comment. Had it been anyone else, Alcina probably would've speared them through the heart, but she found herself enjoying this little girl's company. Not even in an hour, Seline had brought a breath of fresh air into the gloomy castle. It was a welcome change, but Alcina was sure that it would not last. A flower can't bloom in a dungeon. They reached the end of their tour, finishing at the maid's closet. "All cleaning supplies will be found here. And might I ask, can you cook?" Seline wholeheartedly nodded. "Yeah! My last job was taking care of some children, and I had to cook for them every day!" Alcina raised an eyebrow. "Last job?" Strangely, Seline laughed nervously. "Yeah, my- um- my mother is sick and my father wasn't making enough money for her medicine…" That sounded like a flat-out lie, but Alcina didn't press her. It wasn't her place to pry. Instead, she told Seline to work in the kitchens. "Help the older maids with anything they ask, and come find me if any trouble arises." Seline gave one more overexaggerated bow. "Thank you, Miss Dimitrescu!" She went on her way to find the kitchens. Alcina watched the little girl run in the wrong direction, pause, then turn around again and continue running. Such a strange little girl. Though I have to admit, I'm growing fond of her already. But there's no way a child will be able to keep up with the work in Castle Dimitrescu. It's inevitable that my daughters will devour her.
The kitchen maids were just as shocked with the little girl's personality as Alcina was. Never before had they seen someone so happy to work in a castle of death. She chattered happily while working, and didn't even care when she didn't receive a reply. They were so focused on her strangeness, they didn't notice what she was making, until she took them out of the oven. "Y-you baked cookies for the mistress?" One maid dared to ask, and Seline nodded. "Yeah!" They had to admire her… What was the word? Boldness? Stupidity? Or just plain kindness? Whatever it was, it was sure to get her killed. Everyone watched as Seline expertly began to frost them with gorgeous flower shapes. The bubbliness about her vanished, replaced with precision and flair. Setting the beautifully frosted cookies down to set, Seline got back to work, but looked up for a second. "Did I do something wrong? Why are you all staring at me?" They were quick to assure her that no, she had not done anything wrong, they were just surprised. "Your cookies look amazing…" said a shy maid, and Seline laughed. "Have one! I made sure to bake extra, so that everyone could try one?" If the maids were shocked before, they were positively blown away with this. Cookies? For them? And she did that on purpose? Each of them tentatively reached out, one at a time, and took a cookie. Some ate them right away, some took the time to savor them, not wanting to ruin the frosting, but everyone agreed that they were delicious. But would they be good enough for the mistress and her daughters?
"L-lunch is served!" A trembling maid called out, and other maids slowly brought the dishes in. Much to everyone's relief, everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. However, just as they finished, they heard someone else come in. "Hi, Miss Dimitrescu! Hi, Bela! Hi, Cassandra! Hi, Daniela!" Seline revealed that she had been carrying a covered plate. "I made something for you!" She put the dish down and whooshed off the top. The women were caught off guard at the sight of her elegant cookies. "You made these?" asked Bela, and Seline nodded. "I'm pretty good with painting and stuff, so frosting's the same, just on delicious cookies instead of canvasses!" Daniela's eyes lit up, happy to have found another art lover. However, she held her tongue. Alcina cleared her throat. "Thank you for the cookies, little one. Now, why don't you ask one of the maids to show you where the courtyard is? I believe it could use a good sweeping." Seline grinned, as if nothing would make her happier than getting to sweep up some leaves. "Okay!" After she had gone, Alcina excused herself (with 4 or 5 cookies) and went to her room. After the girls had eaten the rest of the cookies, Cassandra had an idea. "What do you say we go have some fun with our new maid?" She had already expected Bela to refuse, but certainly not Daniela. "Come on, sisters! It's autumn, so we won't freeze or anything!" Bela, ever the softie, had to chime in. "That's not a good reason why we should. The girl has done nothing wrong." Cassandra was not to be easily stopped, though. "How about this: you bring one of your boring books, Dani brings one of her boring sketchbooks, and I'll be the only one having real fun." Just by mentioning her sketchbook, Daniela was persuaded. "Weeeeeeeell, the changing trees are good for drawing…" Bela decided to come too, but mostly just to make sure Cassandra didn't accidentally kill Seline. "I guess it is nice to read outside…" Cassandra laughed with delight and they all went to put their coats on. "But if anything happens, I'm blaming you, Cass." Bela said, but her sister ignored her.