No matter which way she looks at it, the road leading to Donna Beneviento's estate is creepy. Despite the warmer weather keeping the freezing fog away, it does nothing to alleviate the atmosphere.
Birds fly above Bela Dimitrescu's head, the odd feather floating down in front of her. Something lurks through the bushes beside her, something that does keep her hand on her scythe just in case. There are gravestones ahead of her, surrounding a large tree. As if intended as a warning to the curious, there are dolls hung from the branches and perfectly placed around the headstone. The flowers at least are well tended to, stems cut, some of the flower heads missing entirely.
The path is narrow, sun shining through the trees casting intricate shadows along it, cliffs next to the path, the odd stream of water trickling down. She passes another headstone, more dolls hanging from the trees and she can hear rattling that she would swear was bones. When she reaches the bridge leading to the house, it rattles and shakes almost as much as the bones.
The next path is equally as narrow, iron fencing on either side. She passes a tunnel, foliage covering it, while wind blows through the tree branches. There is a house near it, worn away to rack and ruin, broken wood jutting out from the roof. A large headstone looms ahead of her, several smaller headstones surrounding it and a mausoleum lingering behind it. When she is close enough, Bela can see it is covered with dolls and flowers, the names given away to time.
The mausoleum is the entrance, cleverly hidden. Bela approaches it and pushes the door open, going through the tunnel to the creaky elevator waiting at the other side. She pulls the gate shut, presses the button and waits.
There is at least some light, and Bela uses this time to touch up her appearance. It was the Duke who provided the directions, the man's knowledge is comparable to none. She was grateful when he provided such, willing to indulge her curiosity about the dollmaker Mother Miranda called her own. Donna did visit the castle, coming for dinners when Bela ordered the correct ingredients and had the cooks make something for them. At times Donna would bring her work with her and Bela would watch fascinated as she fixed the dolls, reattaching arms and legs, carefully painting eyes and lips before stitching the clothing together for the final touches.
The elevator comes to a shuddering halt. Bela opens the gate, follows the tunnel and finally comes upon the Beneviento manor. It is a grand house, iron gates at the front. When Bela looks on it, she could almost swear it looked as if it had been carved out of the mountain beside it. She walks along the path, gaze fixed on the house to the point she trips up the stairs.
She swears under her breath. She picks herself up, glad that neither of her sisters were there to see this, fixes her hair, dress and cape, then pulls her hood down. She knocks on the door and waits.
It is several moments before she hears movement behind the door. By this point, Bela has wandered back and forth, looking in both sets of windows to see if there is life. What she sees are dolls, hundreds of them, perched on every surface, every chair, placed to look like they are every bit the residents of the house as Donna is.
"You're early, Duke, I wasn't expecting…" Donna trails off when she see Bela there.
Bela grins at her. "Surprise!"
Donna blinks and recovers herself. "I wasn't expecting you either, Bela."
She spreads her arms. "Here I am, You visit the castle so frequently, I thought I'd visit you for a change."
Donna steps out of the way to let her in. "You…You are welcome to."
Bela follows her in and is struck by the appearance of it. The foyer is brightly lit, warm mahogany wood on panels on the wall and up the banister. There are rooms sequestered to either side, each leading to a different corridor. A rocking chair is ahead of her, a clock ticks away quietly, plates and pictures hung on the wall. Bela is entranced with it all, wandering between one end of the room and the other, reaching out to run her fingers against the wood or the pictures.
She turns back to Donna, hands on her hips. She tilts her head when she sees Donna wearing a small smile on her face. "What? Is there something in my hair?"
Donna's eyes widen. "Oh! No, no...I…" She turns her gaze to the floor. "I'm not used to anyone being as fascinated with the house as what you seem to be."
Bela turns back to the staircase. "It is as grand as the castle. Did Mother give you decorating tips?" She grins, turning back to Donna. "That was a joke, Miss Beneviento."
Before she can answer, they both hear the footsteps of Angie, sprinting across the room above their head before she appears at the top of the stairs. She runs down them, straight into Donna's waiting arms.
"Who invited you here?" she says.
"Angie, be nice," Donna answers. "Bela is a guest."
"An uninvited one."
Bela bites her lip. "I can leave, if you wish."
Donna shakes her head. "No. No, I'd like you to stay." She looks down to Angie. "And we're going to give her a tour of the house."
Bela's face lights up, and she approaches Donna, hooking her arm around Donna's. Donna blinks, takes a shuddering breath then puts her hand on Bela's.
Donna takes Bela around the house, Angie getting more and more involved, telling Bela about each one. The staff flit back and forth, some staying to speak to Donna, all of them speak softly to Donna and she is far kinder to her staff than any of the Dimitrescu women. It's almost enough to make her feel guilty about the maid she'd sent to the dungeon that morning.
Almost.
Bela goes between shelves, tables, picking up the various dolls. Donna watches her, Angie too, now she has warmed up to Bela.
Angie leaps out of Donna's arms, reaches for Bela's hand and she bends down to take the doll's hand.
"I'll show you the next room," she announces, leading Bela down the hall. "This one has all my friends in it."
The upstairs is filled with more dolls. They line the shelves and floor, Bela is sure some of them are moving when they pass. She looks over her shoulder to see Donna bent down to one of the dolls adjusting its arms and legs.
Angie stops too. "She can make them move with the cadou, like me."
As if to prove Angie's point, one of the dolls lifts its arm and waves at Bela. Even though they are well-made and cared for, it does send a shiver down her spine when she sees this. Angie leads her over to the waving doll and lifts it up. The doll tries to walk and Angie puts it back down on the floor. Bela watches it toddle over to Donna, who fusses over it, smoothing its hair down and fixing its dress.
Donna stands up and lets the doll wander off. She catches up with Bela and Angie, then hesitates before she offers Bela her arm once more. Bela grins and takes it.
They continue the tour going both upstairs and down. The basement contains a study, a kitchen and a workshop where Donna spends most of her time. It is filled with doll arms and legs, paint, an airbrush and several toolboxes.
Bela immediately heads for the toolboxes and doll parts. She picks them up, waving the arms, turning to Donna and Angie, waving to them with the doll arm. Donna laughs and this makes Bela smile. She does it so seldom that Bela tries anything and everything to draw a smile from the dollmaker.
The tour finishes there, Donna escorting Bela back to the foyer.
"This was…enjoyable," Donna says.
Bela nods. "I would like to visit again, if you'll allow me to."
Donna nods too. "Yes…Yes, I think I'd like that."
Bela grins, pulls her hood up then reaches over and squeezes Donna's hand. She leaves just in time to see Donna lift her funeral veil and the bright red that has swam across her face.
Bela does visit again. And again. It becomes a weekly thing for her, Donna accommodating her each time.
Donna continues to piece together dolls, going back and forth from the workshop. Bela accompanies her, grabbing any other tools she's instructed to take while Donna collects the dolls. There is a box on one of the shelves that Donna picks up, one that she opens carefully and takes something out of it. She returns to Bela, gestures for her to follow and she does so.
They return to the living room, Donna engrossed in her work, Bela following her movements, fascinated. Donna nimbly inserts pieces of doll, hands, feet, then paints the eyes, the bright lips and airbrushes a small amount of blush. Lastly, she clothes them, dresses in dark, somber colours. Bela thinks it brings out their natural beauty.
On one of Bela's visits it is Angie and one of the staff that answer the door and let her in. Donna is already in the workshop, busy as always, creating new dolls and inserting pieces of the cadou that helped create Bela and her sisters.
Bela brings a bottle of wine, freshly made from the castle. The staff lead her down to the workshop where Donna is and she looks up from her work. She has the veil lifted and Bela can see her face. She has applied a small amount of makeup, blush and a light pink lipstick.
Bela clears her throat, Donna looking up from her work and smiles.
"Mistress Bela, I didn't hear you come in," she greets her.
Bela hugs her. She feels Donna start to tremble, her breath shaky and Bela quickly lets go. "Apologies, Donna," she says, "it was not my intention to make you uncomfortable."
Donna shakes her head. "No, no. I am…fine." She smiles, then takes a deep breath.
Bela raises an eyebrow before deciding to change the subject. "What have you been working on that's kept you down here?"
"Ah, my project." Donna heads back to the table she was working at then holds up a doll.
It is almost the spitting image of Bela, right down to the cape and her dress. Bela gasps, one hand over her mouth. She approaches Donna, reaching out to touch the doll.
"She's not quite finished yet," Donna tells her, a blush on her cheeks. "I had hoped to surprise you. I understand it's your birthday soon."
Bela runs her fingers over the doll's cheek, then, on an impulse, swoops in and plants a kiss on Donna's lips. "I shall cherish her once she is finished."
Donna's face is now a deep red, heat all but radiating from her. She looks down at the floor then back up again. "I…I'm glad you like her."
The next time Bela visits, she brings food, wine, and various other items. She is shown in by the staff and they take her cape, hanging it up on the clothes stand nearby. Donna appears at the top of the stairs, Angie already rushing down them towards Bela.
Bela scoops up Angie into a hug, one that is returned with equal ferocity. She puts Angie down on the floor, then waits for Donna.
Donna walks over to her, raises a trembling hand and cups Bela's cheek. Bela holds Donna's hand, leaning into it. Donna brushes her thumb over Bela's cheek then takes her hand, leading her out to the garden.
The gardeners of the house are already out, pruning and perfecting the flowers and bushes. Branches are swept up and put into an ever growing pile, leaves added to another pile. It tidies up the garden, making it even more beautiful.
Donna hands her a pair of garden shears, while she holds a smaller pair, already heading for the nearest tree. Together they tidy up branches, cutting off any dead or dying branches and leaves. They get to the flowers, going through the flower beds, cutting dead leaves, freshening up the soil with a layer of new soil.
Donna plucks a flower from the garden and puts it behind Bela's ear. "It suits you," she says.
Bela picks a few, threading them together like a daisy chain, then creates a crown which she places on Donna's head. "And now they are as pretty as you," Bela answers with a smile.
The two return to the house, heading into the living room, settling down on the large couch. The room is beige, undecorated for the most part with blank, painted walls and boxes littered around the corners.
Bela brings the wine, pouring two glasses. Donna switches on the television, volume down, and sips at the glass.
A bottle later, Bela produces another, pouring more wine. They go through more wine, and perhaps too much. They are slouched on the couch, watching terrible television shows, and game shows while shouting the answers.
Halfway through another game show, during which Bela has shouted herself hoarse, she leans down to rest on Donna's legs. She feels her stiffen, taking a few deep breaths, then Donna puts her hand on Bela's shoulder.
Bela smiles to herself and nestles down for the night.
Both Bela and Donna end up drunk from the wine. They are found asleep on the couch with the television still blaring out its shows. Bela is awoken then shipped home to the castle, while Donna nurses a hangover. Angie finds it hilarious and does nothing to help, reveling in Donna's drunken misery.
The cold months begin without warning.
Her mother has already warned against going outside, particularly to Bela after her last stunt during which Alcina found her in the village.
Bela is lying on the desk in the Duke's room, typewriter now living on the floor, much to the Duke's amusement. She bemoans the fact it is too cold for her to leave the castle, and that she is effectively grounded.
The Duke produces paper, a pen and a small ragdoll he has acquired. "It was intended for Miss Beneviento, however I think it would mean more coming from you," he says.
Bela grins at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "You are a wonder, Duke."
"I am merely doing my job, my dear."
Bela immediately goes to start writing letters, heading to her room and gets set up at the desk she keeps there. The doll Donna made of her sits proudly on the desk, able to be viewed from the moment anyone walked into the room.
She finds a servant, hands them the seal letter then sends them on their way to the Beneviento house.
It is a few days later when she receives a response. Angie turns up on the doorstep, with a wrapped box that she hands to Bela. Bela lifts Angie and sits her on her shoulder then gives the doll a full tour of the castle. It is only fair after all, Angie led the tour of Donna's home.
Angie is delighted, running between shelves and cabinets, opening drawers and cupboards, picking up anything and everything. Bela is amused by this display, leading her along corridors and into halls.
When the tour is done, Angie leaves, waving over her shoulder.
Bela eagerly opens the box, finding a book of pressed flowers and an answering letter. After reading it, she goes to start a reply, grabbing papers and pens then sits at her desk, considering what to say.
Once it is written, she waits for the Duke to return and purchases items she knows Donna would like. She parcels these items up, filling the box with coloured paper, wrapping it up in paper and ties a ribbon around it. She finds a servant and they ferry it to Donna, as Bela eagerly awaits a reply.
The reply comes with flowers from the garden and an admission of feelings for Bela.
Bela feels her heart soar that the building feelings for Donna are indeed reciprocated. She reads the lines in the letter over and over, feeling a smile spread across her face, then reads it again as if trying to convince herself it is indeed real.
She finds paper and thinks of what to reply with, how to word her own feelings and express just how much she cares for the dollmaker. She begins the letter tentatively, slowly writing it out, reading each sentence in her mind. When she's satisfied, she gives a nod and continues to write.
The letter is done, doll parts, magnifying glasses are packaged into the box she intends to send along with the letter. Her usual servant that she sends to do this has been taken to the dungeon and she has to find another. It does not take long, and this servant is sent to the house with the delivery for Donna.
Bela does not receive a reply.
Instead she receives the Duke, waiting in the foyer when she leaves the corridor she has been shooed to.
The Duke has a grim expression, something she has never seen before. She approaches him, head tilted.
"Ah, Bela, I was waiting for you," he greets her.
This makes her stomach drop into the dungeon, a churning coming in waves. "Why?"
"I regret to inform you that Donna has been killed."
Bela's eyes widen and she sinks to the floor. She lets out a sob, and feels the Duke put his arm around her shoulders. She turns to him, grabbing onto his shirt, resting her forehead against him as she heaves great sobs. When she is finished, she wipes her eyes.
"How?"
The Duke lets her go. "The father of Rosemary Winters. Your Mother Miranda intends to use her to resurrect her own daughter. He is on his way here to do the same."
Bela's expression becomes stone. She takes a few deep breaths. "Then I will deal with him."
"I am sure you will. Just, do please, be careful. Do not take any unnecessary risks."
Bela nods. "I will be careful."
For the next few days, Bela patrols the castle waiting for this man, the one who killed Donna. Her sisters know to stay out of her way, Daniela particularly. Her mother waits too, ready to defend her family.
She is going between rooms on the second floor of the castle when she hears footsteps she does not recognise. She turns into a cloud of flies and follows the noise.
Bela finds the man-thing wandering through corridors, trying various doors to see if they open. Of course they do not, Bela has ensured this. She gets him from behind, digging her scythe into his back, between his shoulder blades. He already has several fingers missing, what's a few more to lose?
She turns into a cloud of flies, dragging the man-thing down into the depths of the dungeon. She knocks him out, hauling him onto her shoulders then throws him onto the most spiked chair, securing him to it.
She wants to destroy him, to tear out his insides, to maim him. Take out all the anger and hurt and sorrow she feels on learning of Donna Beneviento's death at his hands. That he singled her out and murdered her. Bela wants to hurt him, however she knows she cannot, not when Mother Miranda's ritual is taking place.
She does none of these things, leaving him tied up in the dungeon ready for Cassandra to have her fun with.
It is days later and the man-thing is still in the dungeon.
The Duke however has made an unexpected visit, and has spent his time speaking to her mother. Alcina's expression grows grim and she nods once. She looks around and notices Bela, gesturing for her to join them.
She does so.
"What's going on? Is everything all right?" she asks.
Lady Dimitrescu shakes her head. "We must leave here, my dear. Mother Miranda had other plans and now the Duke has been so kind as to help us leave."
"Leave?"
The Duke nods. "I'm afraid so. Mother Miranda intends to kill your mother and the rest of the lords of the village."
It feels like her entire world is crumbling before her. She shakes her head. "Kill Mother?"
"We need to gather our things, dear. Go to your room and pack as much as you can."
Bela bows. "Yes Mother."
It is fast and unorganized but it is done, Bela has packed everything she wishes to keep and remember into a suitcase that she drags down the hall. Her sisters join her in this impromptu evacuation of the castle, to go somewhere none of them have any idea about. They trust their mother, however, she would not lead them wrong nor into harm.
They return to Lady Dimitrescu, bags packed and ready.
The Duke ushers them into his carriage which is right outside the door to ensure none of them feel the cold. Heavy coats are provided to keep them warm, as Lady Dimitrescu rides the carriage at the front with the Duke.
They are leaving. They are leaving behind the only home they've known and going into the unknown.