Hi everyone! Nearing the finish line. Alcina and Roderick finally come face to face in a most unexpected way, and she shows him the Dimitrescu way of hospitality. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 17:

Night had descended over the land by the time Rednic had telephoned Alcina. Her assumption about Roderick no longer the owner of the manor had indeed been correct.

"The new owners did tell me something rather fascinated, though," Rednic said. "Apparently Roderick had sent in some of his cronies to take some of his possessions. According to the new master of the manor, he was told Roderick had gone into hiding in a village near the Carpathian Mountains."

"Are you sure of this?" Alcina said, jolting right out of her seat in excitement.

"That is what I was told, my lady, and if he is…, well, he has been living right underneath your very nose this entire time…"

"Listen to me, Rednic, I want you to return here immediately." She hung up on him and called Mother Miranda.

"I see," Mother Miranda listened closely to her daughter. "I will send the Lycans out to investigate. Perhaps they can sniff the rat out from his den, but be warned, Daughter. This rumor may lead to nowhere. Rednic's source is a reliable one; however, be sure you do not get your hopes up too high."

Alcina did not like hearing those words. Stiffly assenting she understood her words, she slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"Wherever you may be in this world, Roderick, I will hunt you down. I will break you just as you almost broke me." The words left a sting on her tongue, her teeth bared. "Unless you have left this world and traveled into the next. You worthless, son of a bitch. That would be your final act. Removing yourself from the board to try again later rather than suffer the humiliation of defeat."

Oh, but if Alcina only knew. If she only knew that Roderick had once again found himself in trouble. That the man was headed straight for her village, but he was not alone. In toe was a woman carrying a baby in her arms. His family. His wife, Leona, and their daughter, Rena.

The authorities had finally managed to track him down due to one of his 'friends' tipping them off.

"There is a village not too far from here," Leona said. "We can take refuge there. Shh, hush, my darling." She cooed to Rena, who had started to whimper.

"We need to find shelter from the cold. Rena won't survive long out here."

"I know, my love, I know…"

{-}

Alcina had been up throughout the entire night. Unable to sleep. The voices in her head too loud. She had consumed an entire bottle of her wine and was already on her way to retrieve another.

The wine was certainly silencing the voices little by little, but there was one voice in particular that was speaking the loudest. The one that was guiding her away from her wine cellar and towards the Entrance Hall.

Ducking through the door, she stopped and gazed around to find nothing out of the ordinary.

"Idiot." She started to duck down and leave when she heard a voice. She stood fully upright and stared hard at the front doors. Listening.

She could not hear a thing for a moment, but then came the voice again. Much closer this time.

'Could it be, Rednic?' she thought. 'The crazy fool does tend to talk to himself… then again so don't I.'

Knock. Knock.

"Hello?! Is anyone there? Please help us!"

Alcina found herself on the verge of laughter.

These people are looking here for help? Unless they are not from around here. Foreigners?

Intrigued by this Alcina approached the doors and opened them. She was met by a young woman carrying a baby in her arms, and a man who had his back to her—eyeing around the area before he finally turned his attention to Alcina.

Their eyes locked.

Roderick.

There was no mistake.

"H-hello," he said, gawking at this enormous woman. "W-we are looking for shelter. Our daughter…"

Roderick kept fumbling out words, but Alcina did not hear it.

He didn't recognize her. It made sense, but still. The urge to kill him on the spot was so tantalizingly tempting. No. Not yet. She had to savor this opportunity. She would jog his memory in the best way she knew how.

"Please come in," Alcina said kindly. "There is a fire going in the Main Hall. You can warm yourselves there."

"Thank you so much, my lady," Leona said, kissing her daughter's cold forehead.

"How is she?" Roderick said.

"Cold, but she will live."

Alcina listened to them speak as she led them down the short hallway, glancing over her shoulder to see Roderick place a kiss to his wife's cheek. The sight was like a smack in the face. To see this man. This cruel; sick bastard act so loving. Kind. When she knew what really lay under the surface. Just behind that mask he wore was a demon.

"Here we are. Please make yourselves comfortable."

The couple took a seat on the couch, trying hard not to stare at their hostess and diverting their attention down to Rena.

"She is a beautiful babe," Alcina commented. "May I ask how old she is?"

"Eight months," Leona said.

"We apologize for disturbing you," Roderick said, introducing himself and his wife.

"Why is it you were traveling at the dead of night?" Alcina inquired. "Quite a risk considering all the dangers that lurk in the forest." (And right before you…) "You are not by any chance fugitives fleeing your village?" she laughed sharply, her eyes intense.

The atmosphere in the room grew rigid. The air brittle and could have easily been broken by a pin dropping.

"In our little nook of the forest justice is served mano a mano. There are no courts. There are no authorities to make peace and settle it diplomatically. The accused is dealt with in many a time by extreme punishment. Many of these people wind up missing and never seen nor heard from again, but that is not an anomaly."

"P-please we do not mean to bring trouble."

"Quiet Leona," Roderick snapped, though he was clearly shaken, too. "We h-have done nothing wrong."

"Oh, but you have," Alcina's laughter grew louder, scaling the walls and bouncing about to cause a terrible echo. "You should have continued walking, Roderick. For the sake of you and your family, and I never let a good mistake go to waste."

"What are you—"

Whoosh!

The fire blew completely out.

Leona cried out, leaping up to her feet and holding her daughter closer.

"You will not escape, Roderick the Rat," Alcina flashed him a smile, the chandelier lights dimming and making the room even darker.

Leona grabbed hold of Roderick's arm, the couple backing away as Alcina prowled closer and closer. There was nowhere for them to run. Nothing to defend themselves with. Suddenly Roderick stopped. The wheels slowly turning.

"'Roderick the Rat'? That is what you said… There was only one person who ever called me that."

Alcina extended out her claws, the smile now gone from her lips.

"Alcina…"

The chandelier blinked completely out, leaving the room in pitch darkness. Leona whimpering in terror, Roderick held her close and started to guide them back in the direction they had come in from.

When the sound of the doors they were trying to reach creaked open. And directly after the sound came a low growling and hissing.

"My god what is that?"

Another set of doors creaked open this time. Heavy footsteps coming in their direction. So concentrated on the new noise, Roderick did not have time to shield himself as cold; clammy fingers grabbed at him. He yelled out in terror, swinging his fist at his attacker.

The thing hissed loudly. Its breath a mixture of blood and a dead animal. He could feel its sharp nails through the thick jacket he wore.

"Leona! Go!"

Crash!

Roderick was tackled by a second creature that had grabbed his legs. Kicking and punching into the air wildly, he then heard his wife scream followed by a feminine laugh.

"Let her go! Alcina!" A lucky blow to one of the creatures allowed him to scramble back to his feet and charge straight up the steps. He tripped numerous times, but eventually made it to the second floor and into a dimly lit hallway. Taking one of the candles off the walls, he trotted past doors that were either locked, or led to nowhere.

He could still hear the creatures below, but it appeared they were not following him anymore.

"Leona!" he roared. "Leona answer—"

Roderick was cut off by fingers wrapped around his neck in a steel-like hold, and if that didn't surprise him, he was then hoisted off his feet. Now gasping for air, he stared straight into a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

"A-Alcina," he dropped the candle, trying to pry her fingers off, but it only made her tighten her grip.

"Can you feel it, Roderick?"

"F-feel what?" He choked.

She sniffed, the corners off her lips turning up.

"I guess not quite, well, I have ways to remedy that." She slammed his head against the wall, knocking him out instantly.