Chapter 27:
Daniela flew into the bathroom, grabbed all the towels that were folded on the rack, and grabbed them in her hands. She flew back into her mother's room and threw them on the bed. Cassandra helped her to unfold the soft towels and together they laid them onto the bed sheets. Bela was working to take your boots off and threw them to the side while Alcina unbuckled your belt.
You were laying on the floor, your upper body resting against Alcina while Daniela and Cassandra worked on the bed, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. Alcina steadied you and gently tore your shirt off as delicately as possible and undid your bra. You were in too much pain to care about the girls seeing you like this and let Alcina handle you. "Mother, the bed's ready," Cassandra said as she and Daniela moved to the side waiting for Alcina's next orders. Alcina nodded her head as she threw your bra to the side and felt her stomach drop as she looked at your bare back. She shook her head and refocused, her attention needed to be on tending to your wounds right now, she couldn't begin to cry again.
"Very good. Cassandra, Bela, come and steady Y/N while I take off her pants. Daniela, go into that closet and pick out pajamas for her to wear." Movement started up again as the girls quickly moved to their next tasks. Bela and Cass went to either side of you and held your shoulders while Daniela flew to the closet and started throwing clothes out trying to find the most comfortable pair to wear. "Mother, there aren't any nightgowns in here! I don't see any!"
"A nightshirt and pajama bottoms, they're on the right of the closet," Alcina called back and Daniela disappeared into the closet as more clothes were thrown out. Alcina had moved to your legs and started pulling your slacks off while her eldest two held you. You winced at being moved and held in a sob. The pain was unbearable, your entire back felt raw and stung all over. You wished Alcina had just laid you out on the snow and left you there to rest. The cool air had felt so great on your back, even if you were freezing. You wished you could just lay out on the snow and stay there for a while.
"Ahhhhhh!" you grunted as Alcina gently scooped you back up in her arms and laid you on top of the towels. She helped you lay flat on your stomach and ran her hand down your hair to soothe you. Blood began collecting onto the soft fabric and seeped from your back and onto the towels. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, she could see how much pain you were in. Alcina kissed your forehead and wiped some of the tears away from your face. "I'm sorry, my love," she whispered in your ear. She grabbed a towel and laid it on your back gently, ignoring the wincing that came from you.
"Can we give her anything for the pain?" Cassandra asked uncomfortably as she watched you.
"Perhaps some vodka might help?" Bela suggested. Alcina nodded and Cassandra quickly disappeared from the room. Daniela came up to the bed and set the clothes down on the floor.
"I prefer Jameson," you grunted out. Alcina and Bela chuckled at you.
"Glad to see you still have your sense of humor," Bela teased and crossed her arms.
"She didn't whip that out of me," you replied, making Alcina shudder.
"Draga, please don't say that."
"Sorry, Alci." Cassandra came back inside the room in her swarm and quickly handed a bottle of vodka over to Alcina.
"Here, Mother."
"Thank you, my sweetling," Alcina said, twisting the top off. You opened your eyes wide and felt your heart beat faster knowing what was about to happen. Alcina ran her hand through your hair again and soothed you once more. "I know my girl, I'm sorry. It is only the disinfectant and the chem fluid, it will be over quickly and the vodka will help."
You didn't give a damn how quick it would be, you didn't want anyone touching your back! You tried to scoot away from Alcina and protect your back but she was quicker than you. She held your arm and assisted lifting you onto your elbows so that you could drink it. "It's alright Draga, you're safe now," Alcina whispered in your ear. You took a few deep breaths and closed your eyes, steadying yourself. You knew Alcina was only trying to help and that she would never hurt you or cause you any pain on purpose. "Okay," you said.
Alcina put the bottle up to your lips and you slowly started drinking. The liquor was strong and burned going down your throat. You gulped it down and kept drinking as much as you could so that your back wouldn't sting too bad from the disinfectant. "Asta e. ușor, dragă," Alcina said, adjusting the bottle to you. Once your head started feeling light you stopped and pulled away from the bottle, resting back into the bed. You felt hazy and tired and wanted to fall asleep now. You could hear Alcina moving around the bed probably prepping the medicine and grabbing towels and rags and whatnot.
"Are you ready, Draga?" Alcina asked softly. You kept your eyes shut and nodded your head on the pillow.
"Just do it."
"Daniela, Bela, grab Draga's shoulders. Cassandra, take her legs.," Alcina said.
"Careful, it's my first time," you joked. Using humor in tough situations was always your go to, it was a great defense mechanism for you. Cassandra snickered a little but stopped promptly once Alcina shot her a death glare.
"Ready yourself, Draga," Alcina said, taking off the towel that was on your back and soaked with blood and tossing it aside. You nodded and sighed heavily, bracing yourself. Cassandra held down your legs and Bela and Daniela had a death grip on your shoulders, careful not to touch your back. The cool liquid poured down onto your skin and you instantly tensed, biting down on your teeth again. You thought you could stand it for the first few seconds, but then it just got unbearable and you jerked trying to scoot away but Daniela held your right side down. "Ahhhhhh shit! Fuck," you tried to hold back a scream and stuffed your face into the pillow. "Stop, stop, stop- wait a minute! Hold on! Gah, fuck!" You growled out and held your head in your hands and squeezed your temples in pain.
Alcina ignored your protests and poured the hydrogen peroxide back and forth on your back as you cried into the pillow. Once she was satisfied, she set the bottle down and rubbed your thigh as bubbles formed all over your back. "Îmi pare atât de rău, draga mea! It's almost over." she said. You buried your face as far into the pillow as you could and screamed, punching the headboard. "Jesus Christ!" you screamed. Alcina and the girls murmured soft praises to you as the disinfectant settled and rubbed your arms and shoulders comfortingly.
"Now the chem fluid. This won't sting like the other one, Draga. I promise," Alcina said, noticing how you tensed up. She uncorked the bottle and applied a generous amount onto the lashes. Instantly the skin began to heal itself and the wounds closed up. Some of the deeper and more serious lashes formed to angry, red marks on your back rather than a deep cut with broken skin. Alcina traced each of them with her fingers gently and inspected them, grabbing the towel on the floor and wiping away some of the remaining blood on your back. You relaxed onto the bed and sighed in relief, the pain had all but disappeared after she used the chem fluid on you. "That shit's amazing," you said.
"How does your back feel?" Alcina asked you. Gingerly, you moved a little testing your nerves and being careful not to move too harshly lest you scream again. Surprisingly nothing stung or burned at all when you moved. You just felt exhausted and wanted to fall into a deep sleep. Alcina must've sensed how tired you were, she instantly began fluffing up the pillows around you and pulled the covers over you as you relaxed further into the mattress. Daniela slipped under the covers next to you and held you as started to fall asleep. The poor girl had been worried for you once Alcina brought you inside and saw how raw your back had been. Even Cassandra, the sadistic and torture-loving fanatic had been uneasy ever since Alcina had brought you back. Bela moved onto the bed next to Daniela who had buried her head into your neck and cried silently. She rubbed her little sister's back and cooed at her gently, Daniela had been nervous and twitchy during the whole ordeal. "Mother?" she asked.
"Yes, sweetling?" Alcina asked, reaching over you to run her hands down Daniela's face.
"Why did Mother Miranda do this?" Alcina looked down and sighed feeling a weight of guilt overcome her.
"To punish me," she said sadly.
"But why would she hurt Y/N? She didn't do anything!"
"Power," Cassandra said standing next to Alcina and looking down at you. "It's a fear and intimidation tactic, she hurt Y/N to hurt Mother. Probably wanted to send a message to the other Lords too." Alcina nodded next to Cassandra and wiped some tears away. Daniela sat up slowly and looked up at her mother angrily.
"So Mother Miranda whipped Y/N unconscious and you didn't do anything? You didn't stop her?!" Alcina looked down in shame, her hat covering her face and a shadow of guilt on her.
"Daniela, calm down," Bela said.
"No! You're supposed to protect her! How could you let this happen?!" Daniela yelled at Alcina.
"No one lets it happen, Dani," you murmured from the bed, eyes still closed. You wouldn't let Alcina take the blame or guilt herself, this was not her fault at all and you wanted her to know this. You knew how hard Alcina could be on herself.
"But she-" Daniela started.
"No, Dani. It's not your Mother's fault," you said. Daniela scrunched up her eyes and inhaled sharply.
"You're just a human! You don't have any powers like us, you might be stronger than other humans from whatever stupid experiments Miranda did, but you aren't like us! You shouldn't have gone!" Daniela yelled. You opened your eyes and turned around to face her.
"Listen Dani, you don't understand-"
"No! You don't understand! We've been forced to obey Mother Miranda for decades, forced to live in seclusion, carry out her stupid experiments, and worship her like some goddess! I thought she really cared in the beginning, when we were reborn. I thought we were important to her, that we meant something, but we didn't! Miranda's never cared about us or showed us any concern!" She sat up and looked up at Alcina. "And you! You are… so stupid!" The redhead started laughing slightly.
"Daniela, stop!" Bela said but Daniela ignored her and kept yelling at her Mother. She swarmed out of the bed and stood in front of Alcina. Even though she was shorter than her mother, Daniela seemed somehow taller than her, Alcina seemed to shrink at her daughter's words.
"You really thought that she cared about us? Mother, she's never once showed us any concern! Like, at all! Remember when the Villagers used to try and overthrow us? Didn't you ever find it curious that Miranda never warned us, or gave us a heads up? Anytime we've ever been stormed she's known and she never warned us! She didn't care when Bela got that horrible cadou sickness all those years ago! Or when Cassandra went missing in the woods for a few days when we were first reborn and showed up at the Castle damn near dead! Remember that, when the lycans almost killed her? And you never thought that it was suspicious that the lycans would attack one of us when you know damn well Uncle Heisenberg would never order the lycans to try and kill us? You didn't think that bitch ordered them to attack her?!" Daniela yelled.
"Daniela, enough!" Cassandra said from beside Alcina who was quiet through all of this.
"No! I never trusted her, not once! But you swore that Miranda loved us, that she cared about our family and would never hurt any of us! Well, now look at what she's done! She was behind the lycans storming the castle, she whipped Y/N, and she was the one who ordered the maids to leave, and you just let her! Oh, and by the way, in case you haven't noticed, our food supply is gone! Honestly Mother, how could you be so stupid?!" Daniela yelled.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Bela and Cassandra were shocked, simply beside themselves. Daniela had never ever yelled at Alcina once. She was the baby of the family, by far the softest out of her sisters, always hugging her Mother or curled up against one of her sisters reading a book. To see the redhead screaming and shouting at her Mother like this was… scary, to put it simply. It added to the already uncomfortable atmosphere of what would Miranda do next, what would happen next, the anxious feeling that had been resting heavily on everyone's shoulders since the maids had left the castle.
"Daniela…." Cassandra said, standing on Alcina's side and mouth wide open in shock. Daniela was breathing heavily and started shaking, angry tears forming in her eyes. She trembled in her feet and shuddered in a few breaths. "I can't do this anymore," she murmured and broke down crying. Cassandra moved to hold her and Bela swarmed over to her side, holding Daniela and Cassandra both.
Alcina moved away from the sisters and let them be for now, giving them their space as Cassandra and Bela comforted their younger sister. A few moments passed of Daniela crying and breathing in her sister's arms. You weren't exactly sure what to do, you wanted to comfort Daniela and Alcina at the same time.
"Daniela, listen for a minute," you said, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing your face. "Miranda threatened you and your sisters. When we went to the… hideout, or whatever that place was, she gave your Mother a choice: me, or you three. I told her to pick me before we even walked inside, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Don't blame your Mother for this, she didn't do anything. Blame Miranda."
Daniela had calmed down a little and her sobs had turned to silent whimpers. "I'm sorry, Mother," she said quietly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of that!" Alcina instantly scooped Daniela into her arms and held her youngest, crying with her and speaking to the redhead in Romanian.
"Copilul meu. Îmi pare atât de rău, te-am eșuat," Alcina cried, rubbing Daniela's back.
"Mamă, nu am vrut să spun asta! Îmi pare rău, nu ar fi trebuit-"
"No, no, mica mea musca. Cuvintele tale au adevăr pentru ei, I should have betrayed her years ago. I should never have allowed her to continue ruling the Village for this long."
"Mother, ea ne-a manipulat pe toți. We're all at fault," Bela sighed, looking down in shame.
"Bela, fata mea dulce, you and your sisters are so young. Your uncles, aunt, and I are to blame, not you. We should have foreseen Miranda's betrayal from the moment she kidnapped the Winter's child. She has been using us to resurrect her daughter, of course she was always going to abandon us given the chance to have her daughter back. I am so sorry, my children! For everything." Alcina cried, tears pouring from her eyes as Bela and Cassandra hugged them both.
"Mother, please don't blame yourself," Cassandra said, hugging her back. "No one could've known any of this would happen."
"This isn't your fault, Mama," Bela said.
"No girls, your sister is right. I was a fool for ever thinking that Miranda cared for any of you. I know she was behind the lycan attacks and I know that she was aware of the Villagers' attempt to kill us, every time. She had always told me it was an examination of your skills as vicious killers, to see if I had raised you girls as the strong, terrifying daughters you were supposed to be. She wanted to know we were loyal through and through. I am so sorry, my bebelusi pretiosi! Please, forgive me for being such a fool!"
The daughters held their Mother and whispered sweet words in Romanian to her. Alcina kissed their heads and began calming down slightly. Daniela swarmed out of their embrace and picked you up, bringing you over to their hug too. It felt nice to be held and loved by Alcina and the girls. They felt like your daughters too, like your family and you wanted to be a part of every moment with them, even the tough ones like this. "Mamă, îmi pare rău că am țipat la tine," Daniela said, wiping some tears from her eyes.
"No Daniela, do not apologize to me. I should be begging you girls for forgiveness for not protecting you enough," Alcina said, sniffing.
"Mother, don't blame yourself. You have been protecting us, Mother Miranda hasn't tried to hurt any of us in decades since the last time the Villagers stormed us," Daniela said. "I guess I'm still upset about things that happened in the past."
"It would make sense, my sweetling. I wanted Mother Miranda's approval so badly that I was blinded by my own foolishness, I should have seen through her lies and manipulation." Alcina murmured, kissing her daughter's foreheads again as well as yours.
"Mamă, te iubesc," Daniela said, Cassandra and Bela repeating her words.
"Și eu vă iubesc, muștele mele frumoase," Alcina said.
Okay, you had absolutely no idea what was being said as you couldn't speak Romanian, but you had a pretty good idea that the screaming was over. "Does everybody like each other again?" you asked, making the four Dimitrescu's chuckle.
"I forgot you can't speak Romanian," Daniela said, giggling.
"So you've just been sitting there and listening to us having no idea what's being said?" Cassandra asked.
"Well, pretty much. If I had to guess what was being said though, I would say you guys were talking about how I've totally swept your Mother off her feet." that made the daughters laugh together and earned a slight giggle from Alcina.
"Ever so witty, aren't you?" she said. You smiled up at her and grabbed her hand, kissing it.
"I know I've only been here for a few years, but I can't imagine all of the pain and torment you've all been through," you said. The Dimitrescu's all had a far-off look on their faces as they contemplated your words. It was as if they never saw themselves as puppets of Miranda like they never viewed themselves as victims just like how all of the Villagers were. "It's all going to change soon, isn't it?" Cassandra asked.
"Yes, my sweetling. It will all be over soon," Alcina said, stroking her daughter's face. "For now, let us have this day together. As a family." Alcina led her daughters and you to the bed where you all got in and laid next to each other. The daughters spread themselves out between Alcina and you, putting their arms around each other as well as you and Alcina. Your back still hurt a bit, but not nearly as much as it had before. Alcina began to hum a sweet, soft melody and lulled you and the girls to sleep. Whatever challenges you would face tomorrow would be problems for that day. For now, you wanted to be with your family and spend this time with them.