CHAPTER ONE
(The Birth of Madness)
The village was far beyond any measure of saving or liberation – Elena's once devoted world had been ruptured into a state of unimaginable chaos. Why had Mother Miranda abandoned them? Why was their community teeming with monsters? And why now? The inhalation of too much smoke was probably aggravating her and clogging up any rational thought she had left as she dragged herself out of the ruin and rubble of Luiza's house. She willed herself not to look back at the remains of her father. No, it wasn't him anymore, Ethan was right, whatever was back there was a mindless, thoughtless, monster just like the rest. She just wished she had figured that out sooner, but it was hard when he was all that she had left. It had just been the two of them for years. And now…well…
"Ethan?" Elena called for the stranger in town, but not too loud. Her voice was hoarse and her throat itchy, she covered her mouth with her hand and coughed hard, rolling away from the last pile of burnt wood until she landed on the snow outside. The cold and heat collided into her unnaturally from both sides, she didn't know whether to shiver or sweat – both at this point. As she lay on her back, her blurred vision cleared to the mix of snowflakes and ash dancing as one. A part of her hadn't the urge to wish to move, but another (greater) part knew she had to, lest she wished to be torn to pieces. Elena fumbled away from the charred wreckage on her hands and knees, slumping halfway due to her light-headedness. Ethan was going to Castle Dimitrescu, she needed to catch up to him, anything was better than staying in a corpse-littered village by herself. The inhuman howls in the distance only confirmed it. Elena held onto the remnants of a broken stone wall as support as she lugged herself to her feet and then she stumbled her way uphill, navigating beyond the small chapel to the eerie black castle. It seemed from another world entirely, with its spires high enough to touch the clouds. "Nothing but blood and death…" She reminded herself, seeming almost hesitant to want to breach another step.
And she had good reason, of course.
Even the ominous village hag had spoken in disturbing riddles of what lurked beyond the gates – whenever someone entered Castle Dimitrescu they were never seen again. Some believed it as an old wives' tale, but Elena's instincts had always cautioned her otherwise. It was the last place on earth that she wanted to go, and yet here she was pulling open the heavy front door with just enough space to squeeze through. It was a tad warmer inside than she had expected. She'd always imagined it would be as cold as it looked. Still, a looming chill caused Elena to rub her hands on her arms as she ascended the stairs leading to the foyer, her attention immediately captured by the large handpainted portrait waiting at the top. It complimented three regal women with updo raven hair and pastel-colored frocks – Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela.
It must have been created sometime in the 19th century, but it was in remarkable condition for such an old piece.
As a matter of fact, the further Elena ventured, the more she discovered that the castle was pristine, aside from some oddly broken urns and vases. When she peeked her head into the door to the left, she saw a quiet hallway and explored it. It felt wrong, to be intruding in the castle and it felt even worse that it was so quiet. For somewhere so large, it didn't have any staff on hand – or any measure of security. Why?
She jumped after she heard someone screaming from deeper in the castle – quickly recognizing the voice's owner. "Ethan!" Elena's sudden adrenaline made her abandon caution as she ran to the other end of the hall, she pushed open the door to a large lobby with four faceless white statues and spied fresh blood on the marble tiles. It was as good a clue as she would ever get, thus she followed the streaks to another room. Her heart began to pummel, it seemed foolish to go towards the signs of danger, but if it led her to Ethan then at least they would have strength in numbers.
"Oh god, Ethan!" Elena scurried to the man as she saw him dangling from the roof with two hooks impaled in his hands.
"Elena?" Ethan groaned, in agony but still confused. "You're alive?"
"I managed to crawl out before the place collapsed…my father didn't make it…I'm sorry, I should have listened to you before, you tried to warn me."
"It doesn't matter now, you're still alive, that's what is important." Ethan spied the lever by the fireplace. "Elena, I need you to get me down – see that handle over there? In front of the fire? If you pull it towards you it should lower the chains."
"I see it." Elena nodded and moved for said lever. "Ethan, how did you get up there? Who did this to you?"
"These crazy bitches, I don't know, three of them appeared out of nowhere and there was another one – she was tall, about the height of the roof. They called her their mother."
Elena listened while she wrapped her fingers around the iron lever next to the fireplace, ready to tug to lower the man to the ground.
"Who are we calling crazy?"
Pausing, Elena heard a voice and demented laughter, but when she spun around she couldn't find anyone in sight. Her heartrate soared, throat tightening. As the turned back, she nearly bumped noses with a woman – dark hair, ashen skin, sunken eyes and smiling manically.
"Boo." Cassandra stepped forward, twirling her sickle loosely in her hand as though it was a child's toy. "Another guest for dinner? Mother will be so pleased." She purred, dipping her head forward to take in the girl's scent, their cheeks lightly grazing.
That, alone, stole the life in Elena's legs, her chest seized until she thought her ribs would snap. Even the lycans, vicious and hounding for flesh, hadn't paralyzed her with such fear. She was a goner, she knew it.
"Elena! Get out of here, run!" Ethan warned her and started pulling on the hooks much to his own suffering.
The village girl only just broke free from her frozen trance, prompted by the man's yelling. She turned on her heels and legged it out of the room, stomach flip-flopping when she heard the echoes of delighted laughter behind her.
"Don't run far!" Cassandra teased and slashed Ethan's shin for good measure as she strolled out of the bed quarters in pursuit of the second intruder.
Elena – in short – had no clue where she was going, the fact that she lacked a weapon and any means to defend herself didn't bode well for her confidence as she shot up the winding staircase, racing for the wine room. Her feet pulled to a sudden stop as a swarm of insects huddled out of nowhere in front of the door, blocking her from getting in. 'Great, what now?' She asked herself.
Cassandra manifested into solid form and stepped out from the dark mass, golden eyes twinkling in mischief. "So much fresh prey today, I wonder if mother will let me have the first bite this time." She glided her fingers along the smooth curve of her sickle.
"I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to intrude, I just want to help my friend." Elena barely recognized her own voice from the amount of panicked stuttering rushing from between her lips.
"That man-thing? He belongs to Mother Miranda."
Elena subtly took a step back for every one Cassandra took forward. Confusion riddled her face, nearly overriding her fear. "Mother Miranda? What does she want with Ethan?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Daniela's chin rested on Elena's shoulder from behind, throwing the girl into a sudden scare, but she quickly grasped her hips to hold her still.
"I found her first, Daniela." Cassandra's hysterical attitude became nothing short of sibling bickering now that her sister had appeared, unannounced.
"But I captured her, Cassandra."
Elena was ready to faint at any moment. These women were wielding aged weapons and dressed in dark garbs, hooded, and they presented energy nothing less than psychotic. She could hardly hear herself think over the pounding of her heart in her eardrums. "Cassandra? Daniela? The women in the painting?"
"An admirer." Daniela grinned, mouth settling near Elena's ear. "Everyone falls for me in time."
"W-What?" Elena didn't know how to respond. Nothing in her lifetime had ever prepared her for this tier of sheer madness. Her assuredness continued crumbling further into oblivion as Cassandra reached out and grasped the sleeve of her cardigan, trying to tug her back to her.
"Find another plaything." Cassandra chastised her sibling. "You had the last maid. You're so greedy."
"And you break them too quickly." Daniela countered and yanked the villager back.
Elena felt like a human doll caught in tug-o-war. She was submerged in terror, color draining from her face so fast that she nearly matched the sisters in their pallid complexion. One moment she was drawn closer to Cassandra, the next she was dragged back against Daniela's chest – she didn't know who would win and she didn't want to either. Neither was a promising option for her longevity.
"Why don't I cut her, and you can have whichever part falls off first?" Daniela withdrew her sickle and grazed the blade lightly on Elena's wrist. "Do you want an arm? She has very pretty hands, you could make good use out of one of them."
Okay, now Elena threatened to throw up, her legs grew weak and on instinct she shunted back harder against Daniela's chest, trying to pull her arm from Cassandra's grip to get it free from the threat of the sickle.
"See?" Daniela's eyes lit up, smugly. "She already can't resist me."
"Girls!"
Cassandra and Daniela suddenly lost their sense of competitiveness as their mother's voice called to them. They bowed their heads, almost timidly, and backed away. Elena had no idea what happened, or why, not until she heard slow footsteps from the staircase. As she turned, she saw that Lady Dimitrescu had arrived at the scene. She looked every bit as porcelain and regal as she did in the pictures displayed in the chapel. However, Elena was overwhelmed by the woman's staggering height as she ascended the final step. She lifted her chin so high just to see her that it threatened to strain her neck muscles.
"Why do I hear incessant bickering?" Alcina rested one hand on her hip, awaiting an explanation. Bela, her oldest daughter, stood dutifully by her, staying on her good side.
"I found another intruder, mother." Daniela claimed and pointed her sickle at the petrified human.
"I found her, mother!" Cassandra argued, adamantly.
"Enough." Alcina snapped her fingers, silencing her children. Her eyes landed on their latest victim. "What do we have here? A village girl?" She signaled for Elena to be brought forward, to which Cassandra and Daniela immediately complied and dragged her close by an arm each.
"She was trying to help the man-thing escape, mother." Cassandra declared, hoping to score extra brownie points.
"Was she?" Lady Dimitrescu remarked, uninterested, as she effortlessly lifted the human by the scruff of her neck until they were face to face. "What would possess a villager to assist Ethan Winters, I wonder." Alcina paused momentarily to nudge Daniela and Cassandra with her foot after she noticed them try not-so-subtly to glance up the female's skirt purely because they could. Oh yes, if her children could make things terribly uncomfortable and tormenting for their prey at any given moment they did. "Girls, don't be so uncouth to our guest."
"Yes mother." The pair mumbled, accepting their scolding.
After realizing what they had been doing, Elena subconsciously wanted to die, or vanish into thin air at the very least. This was precisely why she never wanted to enter Castle Dimitrescu. Alcina was as frightening as she was beautiful, all of the old tales must have been true. The daughters, however, were another matter entirely. All three were so different, with their only common ground so far being their unpredictability. Elena remained completely still as she was scrutinized. Lady Dimitrescu didn't seem too favorable of Ethan, so she hoped she didn't take the same dislike to her.
"What is your name, village girl?"
"…Elena…"
"What was that? You are so quiet; I could find more chatter from a mouse."
"Elena."
"Elena." Alcina repeated, patronizingly. "Why did my children find you helping that vile man creature? Answer honestly now." She swung Elena over the balcony above the lobby. "It would be so tragic if you broke something valuable." A sinister smirk curled along Alcina's ruby red lips. On cue, her dear daughters laughed at her menacing antics.
No matter how bad Elena thought her day was, it was always proven that it could become so much worse. She resisted holding onto Lady Dimitrescu's wrist in fear that touching her at all would be punishable by instant death. "…Ethan saved me in the village when the monsters attacked…I owe him my life."
"Honest, if not a little disappointing." Alcina scoffed. "Obligation to a man is so revolting, isn't it girls?"
"Yes mother! Most nauseating!" The sisters concurred promptly.
Alcina slowly brought Elena away from the balcony and tossed her to the floor, in front of her children. "Unfortunately for you, my child, Mother Miranda has no interest in anyone outside of the Winters' bloodline. By assisting your friend, you have made yourself quite expendable. What am I to do with you?" Alcina contemplated her options. "I am in need of another fine vintage…" Her gaze skimmed the faces of her children, she could tell that they were eager to have something to play with since Ethan Winters was off limits, but they had never been good at sharing. "Very well, Elena. Up." She nudged the female with her heeled shoe. "Come now, if those legs of yours helped you to invade my property then they can help you to stand."
It didn't take much more persuasion for Elena to climb to her feet, still woozy but willing. Her throat grew numb as Alcina's gloved hands held her shoulders and spun her to face her three children.
"I will let you choose which of my daughters you are given to. My eldest, Bela. My middle, Cassandra. Or my youngest, Daniela."
Elena only saw three blood-lusting, raving lunatics. Her gut instinct told her to choose Bela since she appeared the most obedient, but she had a very silent vibe of 'crazy' about her. Cassandra? Well, she was just flat-out demented. And Daniela? The way she was smirking and waving at her with her fingers was deeply unsettling. "C…Ca.."
Cassandra's eyes lit up.
"Can I go with you?" Elena chanced her luck, willing to take her odds with the most level-headed person out of the lot.
Cassandra pouted.
Lady Dimitrescu laughed and gave a firm squeeze to the human's shoulders. "Well played, dear girl. But no, my children are to be rewarded for finding you."
Crash!
Alcina's expression drew blank, in no mood for what she had just heard. Ethan Winters had escaped from the hooks. "Daughters, whichever one of you puts that vile rat in a cage can have the girl to do with as she pleases. Is that understood?"
"Yes, mother!" Cassandra disappeared within one second now that the promise of a reward for Ethan's capture was dangling in front of her.
Bela and Daniela were quick to disperse too, Elena didn't know whether she felt comforted now that she was alone with their mother or not.
"This way, child." Lady Dimitrescu walked forward, leading towards the right side of the upper floor.
Elena was tempted to flee as fast as she could, but with those three daughters around she wasn't sure how far she would get – and she was too terrified of Alcina to want to test her wrath. She followed behind her warily, now wishing that she had taken her chances with the monsters in the village instead. "Mother Miranda has always protected us, why did she abandon us now?"
"Mother Miranda's interests now lie elsewhere, with the newborn child."
"Ethan's daughter? She is here? In this castle?"
"So, you haven't swallowed your tongue after all? What a relief." Lady Dimitrescu made it clear in her own way that she wouldn't answer any questions, least of all to a trespasser. "My daughters will be rather pleased with that I can imagine; it has been so long since they have had young prey. Maidens are their favorite, and sadly a rare commodity. I dare say you are the last living, breathing female from your village."
"I didn't find any other survivors…but maybe they ran?"
Alcina chuckled at the innocent thought. "They wouldn't have gotten far."
Elena didn't comment, Lady Dimitrescu seemed to know more about this nightmare than she ever would. She couldn't work out why everything had turned out so wrong, and over such a short period of time, too. There wasn't much else in the world left that she hadn't lost, she just hoped that for Ethan's sake that he could survive. And for her own sake, she hoped he avoided getting caught. The last thing that she wanted was to end up being passed over to one of Alcina's crazed daughters like a slice of freshly baked cake. There was something in the way that they reacted that was far more unhinged than the monstrous forms she had faced in the village.
Perhaps she could make a subtle escape from Lady Dimitrescu at some point, she imagined that she could outrun her, most of the doorways were small and the corridors were narrow, it would be impractical for the woman to chase her full speed, wouldn't it?
If she could be patient for just a while more then she would know when to choose the right moment for herself. This castle wasn't going to be her tomb.
Author's note: This was a highly requested fanfiction and something I've personally been itching to dive into. More chapters to follow, so stay tuned! :)