"MOTHER!" Alcina's three daughters swarmed her the second she stepped into the threshold. "WEWEREPLAYINGHIDEANDSEEKANDWECAN'TFINDSELINEANDWELOOKEDEVERYWHERE!" Their panicked voices blended together as Alcina tried to take off her cloak. "Girls, please calm down and explain what's going on." Bela, ever the responsible oldest sister, tried to calmly explain, just like her mother asked. "Cassandra was bored, so we were playing hide and seek with all the maids- don't worry, nothing got broken- and we can't find Seline!" Just the mention of the little girl made Alcina bite her lip, finally knowing the full story. "I'll help you look." After nearly an hour of hiding, shouting, and maybe some crying, Seline had given up on ever being found. "Please get me out of this box…" Even though her voice was nearly gone, Alcina's heightened senses were able to pick up on the little girl's whisper. "Over here." She led her party of seekers around the castle until they arrived at the maid's closet. "We never looked in here." commented Daniela, and Cassandra threw open the door. Seline heard the commotion and started wiggling in the box again. "Hello?! Is someone here?! Please get me out!" Alcina picked up the box, girl and all, and took off the lid. Her heart simultaneously softened and hardened at seeing the terrified child. Seline leapt out of the box and threw her arms around Alcina. "I was so scared that I was never gonna get out of there…" Alcina was a bit surprised. "Um… Don't cry, little one. You're safe now." Still, Seline kept her face buried in Alcina's dress. "It was so scary, I never wanna play hide and seek again…" Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra were all apologizing profusely in the background, but that didn't really matter to either of them. If this had happened to any of her daughters, Alcina would've chastised them, but instead she just tried her best to calm Seline down. "It's okay. I'm sure my daughters know not to play that game anymore." she said, shooting the three a glare. "That was a really good spot, though." commented Daniela, and Seline laughed. "Yeah, but I don't think I'm gonna hide there anymore." Finally, Castle Dimitrescu's first and last hide-and-seek game had ended, and things went back to… Mostly normal.
As the season began to shift from Autumn to Winter, things inside the castle had begun to shift as well. Alcina found herself both happily and anxiously waiting for the knock on the door that signified Seline's arrival. Every time she laid eyes on the little girl, bits of her conversation with the Duke would resurface.
"Her mother died when she was just a tot, and with nobody to hold him back, her father turned to drink."
"No matter what she did, it was never enough for her father."
"He dumped her on the road, like she had done nothing for him."
How did that child manage to smile and laugh, even though she had gone through all that? Alcina desperately wanted to ask Seline about everything, but there was never a time. She was either working or talking, and it was rude to interrupt, right? Or was that just an excuse so that she didn't have to bring up the difficult topic? Alcina huffed in frustration, causing one of the maids to give her a concerned glance. She wasn't even sure what she was nervous about. Was it the confrontation, or the very real possibility Seline would leave after Alcina asked her? If that girl leaves, the castle will go back to being a dreary, gloomy, hopeless place. We can't live like that any longer. I can't raise my daughters in a place like that. And I wouldn't be able to see her anymore… "Lady Dimitrescu?" squeaked out the maid from before, and Alcina whipped around. "WHAT?" she snapped, and the maid flinched. "Y-you asked me to remind you about your m-meeting with Mother Miranda…" Alcina sighed, remembering that she had, in fact, asked that. "My apologies. Thank you for the reminder, I shall leave soon." As Alcina went to fetch her cloak, she passed Seline in the halls. "Hi, Miss Dimitrescu! Are you going somewhere?" she asked curiously, and Alcina nodded. "Yes, I'm going to visit my siblings." Seline's eyes lit up. "I didn't know you had siblings! I bet they're just as amazing as you are!" Alcina laughed, and had an idea. "Would you like to accompany me?" Seline gasped. "Really?! Yeah!" She scanned the girl's outfit, and Alcina called for Bela. "Yes, Mother?" Bela asked as she reformed. "Go to your room and bring me your oldest and smallest dress." Realizing what this meant, Seline tried to refuse the gift. "I-I can go in my uniform! I don't need a dress!" There was no way Alcina was allowing her to see Mother Miranda in a dingy uniform. "Nonsense. Ah, thank you Bela. Let's see…" Holding up Bela's old dress, it was still far too big for Seline. "Close your eyes and turn around for a second." Seline did as instructed, and Alcina extended one of her claws. Carefully, she slit the hem of the dress, cutting it to the little girl's size. "Abracadabra." She said, presenting the dress to Seline with a flourish. "Woahhhh! It shrank! Am I actually allowed to wear this?" With a nod of confirmation from Alcina, Seline headed to the bathroom to change into the dress. "Does it look good?" Cassandra formed in front of them, and was visibly confused for a few seconds. "Is there a tiny cloned version of me?" Looking closer, the resemblance was pretty clear. "No, that's Seline. I'm taking her to the House meeting." Cassandra filed that tidbit away and went to go tell her sisters. "Well, shall we go?" Alcina asked, and Seline nodded happily. "Woo-hoo!"