Summary:
'Remember me I ask, remember me I sing
Give me back my heart you wingless thing' - The Amazing Devil-The Horror and the Wild
Peeking out from behind the wall, a little wisp of reddish hair followed suit. Daniela's lips curved upwards as she flattened back against the wall; hugging the shadows. She could hear footsteps coming up the hall, not her sisters' not her mother's, a human . Her pulse raced as she readied herself, tensing her fingers on the wallpaper in excitement.
Here she comes.
Clamping a hand over her mouth, Daniela fought to repress a giggle. The hunt required silence, pure and simple, if she blew her cover now, then where was the fun in that?
Behind Daniela, a single footstep echoed; breaking the disorganized chatter in her head.
NOW!
Squealing with primal joy, she jumped into her prey's path, jabbing her arms out to snap close the wicked mousetrap.
"Well, look at the size of this fish!" Daniela teased loudly, grabbing her quarry's shoulders to prevent any escape.
Not that they could, even if they tried.
The bright grin plastered on Daniela's face slowly fell as she studied her victim; lighting confusion in those grey eyes instead of mischief.
Different face, different hair…just…different. For starters, this human's eyes were too alive.
Shaking in Daniela's grip, a maid recoiled, knowing this encounter meant the castle's disappearances would become an experience. This was not a place where normal people thrived.
"You're not Fauna," Daniela complains, peering down the corridor in case her timing was off, "This is the third hallway today, damnit!"
The human in question had been elusive since the argument in the kitchen, which was a shame, really. Those humans sure knew how to hide when they were ready; her mother called them rats for a reason.
You're letting your family down.
Daniela grumbled in frustration, forcefully drawing herself away from the thought. It wouldn't be good if she went down that spiral again.
"Have you seen the new lady with much darker hair than this," she leans her head, exposing a lock of light-ginger from her hood, "dead fish eyes and a permanent scowl?"
Stammering, the maid replies, "The newest guest? L-last I saw, she was wandering the library, I think, my Lady," averting her gaze in pale terror, "That or in the foyer…"
Taking one last peek down the hallway, Daniela didn't see any approaching shadows on the wall and chose to refocus on the maid.
There was something strange about the way she spoke as if each word required heavy thought.
The maid never saw her. She's trying to save herself.
Lady Dimitrescu taught her daughters early on how to spot liars and become one with ease. Those tools lent themselves handy for her new prey's capture.
"You know what happens when you mess up in the Castle, don't you?" Daniela taunts playfully, "Lying to me was a mistake ."
Lilting cackles swam down the hall as the maid was chosen to become part of the castle's rumours. Droplets of blood began raining from the maid's throat as Daniela ripped away at her jugular caught firmly between her teeth; feeding. Like old rags, the maid's neck was reduced to ribbons, sloughing tender skin to reach the precious maiden's blood.
While she was hunting for that hardy human, she might as well stop for lunch.
Another day, another place, another time. Daniela waited by the kitchen doorframe, tapping her finger against the wall. No sign of her yet again. This convoluted plan was starting to get tedious now. Leaning back, Daniela counted bricks in the ceiling. The option of just waiting by the human's bedroom was too tasteless; her last resort. In her other hand, she fidgeted with a bundle of cloth, bouncing it up and down in the near darkness to keep her attention from drifting.
It didn't work.
Bela hates you.
The poisonous thought rockets up Daniela's spine, disrupting her hunt with a violent chill. Keeping herself in motion was crucial because once she slowed down, it all fell down. Oftentimes, her brain was abuzz with sugary thoughts but between those candied fault lines were darker, haunting judgements. She looks around as the playful spinning that lit her eyes died down, grounding herself by studying the castle's decorations.
Dim sconces hung on the walls, trailing obscurity on the paintings nearby, shrouding them in the castle's night-like privacy. Listening to the flames, Daniela fought to control herself, control her weak mind that always threatened to shatter like chandelier crystals.
The hunt's over sadly. Time for a more direct approach.
Readily agreeing, Daniela pushed herself off the wall, scattering her blowflies across the marble tiles, pulling herself towards Fauna's bedroom with blinding speed. At this point, an easy win would still be a win so long as she outran the menacing thoughts hounding her every step.
Knocking a few times didn't seem to yield any results.
Daniela stood at the door, hiding the bundle of cloth behind her back as she waited. Shadows passed along the bottom of the doorframe in limping succession; Fauna was in there, which means she definitely heard her. Daniela knocked once again, trying to draw the sullen human out of her cave, before returning both hands behind her back. If the human didn't answer, she'd just keep knocking.
Savage though she may be, Fauna couldn't hide from a Dimitrescu huntress for long.
Angry footsteps began to thump at the other side of the door, quickly approaching the latest intruder.
Gotcha.
The doorknob clicked as it swung open, revealing the long-awaited prey; glassy eyes and all. Fauna looked at Daniela impatiently, leaning against the doorframe to support her leg, grumpy and uncommunicative as usual. It looked like the wound was healing just fine, even after all the rigorous strain; broken toys weren't any fun after all. Fauna said nothing to the youngest child, holding her in a stalemate gaze; her annoyance was clear. Copper-blue and tarnished, the human's expression appeared familiar.
Fauna lunges the makeshift blade at her neck, attempting to kill what could not be killed.
Untamed yet precise aggression cut the air with her swing; empty of everything but the hunt.
Back to Day 1, it seemed.
What a shame.
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, Makeup!" Daniela greeted, smiling whimsically as if no blood dripped down her face, "What've you been up to?"
Fauna doesn't budge while she waits for Daniela to finish before contributing nothing to the conversation. The human was always grumpy but in the kitchen, she seemed less…hostile. It was a nice change of pace.
Playing nice with your food again? This is why House Dimitrescu doesn't need you.
Swallowing, Daniela puts on a smile, before speaking again, "Are you gonna say anything, Makeup?"
Something sparks inside of the human when Daniela speaks again; a glint of curiosity shone beneath her sombre shell.
Thoughts begin to race through Fauna's head as she slowly reacts, "Why do you keep calling me Makeup?"
She says nothing more, passively listening instead of glowering; intrigued.
"Sooo," Daniela starts, laughter tinging her voice, "Remember the day I danced with you? When you first came?" she sees Fauna nod bitterly, "You had the loveliest coat of man-blood on your face, like makeup! I thought you would've worked that out by now with all the thinking you do!" Daniela giggles at the memory, "Yknow, if I hadn't eaten dinner, I would've ripped you to shreds ! Lucky you!"
Fauna's eye twitches at the vaguely threatening statement before she answers in monotone, "Ok."
Like a stone, the human stays still, tapping her fingernails on the knife handle at her hip. Daniela could practically feel the thoughts churning in Fauna's head, changing her expression only slightly.
From annoyed to calm, those hazel-blue eyes shifted in intensity.
Daniela recognized this look too.
The kitchen.
"Oh! Guess what I have!" Daniela exclaims excitedly as she unclasps her hands from behind her back. A bundle of maroon fabric draped itself around Daniela's hands, shining blood-red in the candlelight.
Meticulous embroidery ran along the unbunched parts of the material, carving little vines and flowers into the stitching.
With mild suspicion, Fauna appraised the fabric sluggishly before she carefully reached out to the cloth, ignoring Daniela's blood-stained grin. With practised hands, Fauna shook the gift out, holding it by its edges, watching the material tumble down into the shape of a dress. A bittersweet expression appeared on the sullen woman's face, nostalgic almost, but still sad.
Humans were always so unpredictable. That's what made them fun.
Fauna held up the dress, losing herself in her own world before she snapped back into place, gathering the clothes to her chest. She still looked suspicious but there was no more hostility to be found. For now, at least. Fauna purses her lips, looking away from the youngest Dimitrescu as she lowers her voice, saying something she meant to back in the kitchen.
"Thanks Daniela…", The words circle the air before Fauna draws another breath, adding to the sentence, "How are you feeling since…the fight."
Ah. Yes. The fight…
The memory soured Daniela's mood, but she pushed it away, shifting uncomfortably as if her nerves were frayed.
Taking a deep breath, she put on a smile for the performance given, "Much much better, it happens sometimes, well, not all the time but, hey, I'm used to it by now…"
Daniela trails off with a jittery giggle, allaying her reaction as much as she could. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. Though Fauna was mostly reticent, she still listened deeply, watching Daniela with…sympathy. The dead glaze lifted from Fauna's eyes, opening her guarded heart for only a moment and no more.
"Siblings are a blessing and a fucking curse, aren't they?" Fauna jokes dryly with the smallest smile on her face, "but if that bridge isn't burned, I think you might still be able to cross it," wistfully, Fauna sighs before continuing, "Families are…complicated."
For once, Daniela is the silent one as she nods awkwardly at Fauna's exchange. Though she was happy the human spoke more, she was also distressed significantly by the content of said words. Little black shadows stretched out in Daniela's mind as she tried to control herself, forcing down the slippery anxiety that buzzed inside her chest.
You can't fix a bridge that's burned. Bela hates you because you bring shame to this family with your weakness.
Breathing deeply, Daniela squashed thought after thought, focusing on the paintings barely visible in the dim light. She tried to follow their stippled eyes, silently pleading for them to siphon her growing dread.
Fragile constitutions have no place in the castle. You should have let the winter take you long ago.
"-going to bed"
Fauna's voice grabs Daniela from drifting away, snapping her back to the conversation at hand. Brooding and difficult were two things that described the human well. Within that moment, however, she seemed partially concerned, as if trying to hide the emotion.
"I said I think I'll go to bed now," Fauna repeats, straightening herself against the doorframe, "Thanks for the dress and…uh…" she pauses before giving a supportive smile, "It'll be ok, Daniela."
It had been a long time since someone other than Cassandra said anything like that. Daniela returns the smile, noting how the tenderness quickly disappeared once Fauna finished speaking. Nothing lasts forever. Closing herself off for good, Fauna's face returned to passive aggression as she grabbed the side of the door.
"Goodnight," the human says finally, hinting subtly at her need for privacy. She had no more kindness to give.
The youngest Dimitrescu takes a step back, following the door as it firmly shut. In the brief moments, before the door closed, Daniela saw the shadow of a smile on Fauna's face, catching not a single lie in those haunted eyes.
A puzzle to solve, a new game to play, Fauna was an excellent contender in the plans Daniela spun in her playful daydreams. Mischievously, she tapped her finger against the door a few times before walking down the hallway, fizzing bugs into transportation. Daniela heard the bedroom door swing open as she fluttered away, listening to Fauna groan in annoyance at such a foolish prank. Giggling, she turned down the hallway with excessive speed, floating up past the decorative moulding till she touched the ceiling before pelting towards the ground, skimming the floors. A series of paintings passed her by, blurring together into a kaleidoscope of old colours. Fauna was still grumpy but she would change, that's all humans ever did anyway. They change in time, live in time-
They all die in time too.
Like spheres of glass. Without a solid grip, they fall from your hands, shattering on the ground.
Humans were too fragile.
Don't think about it.
Daniela shook the thought off as she raced down the hallway, feeling air whip past her face, throwing her hood off with reckless abandon.
Perpetually moving, forever and always.
Pebbles of ice rained on Fauna's window, pressing snowflakes on the glass. The weather was turning, adding to the piles of snow crusting the castle roof. In her bed, the murderous human lay flat, her leather holster tucked beneath the quilt, just in case. Castle Dimitrescu was an opulent, eerie place that ripped comfort from those within. Unfortunately, Fauna was one of them, her current residence was not an easy one. Shifting on the bed, she tried her best to fall asleep, but her constantly whirring mind refused to be put down.
'You will never know who I am.'
Red brows furrowed as Fauna smacked the mattress in frustration, relieving some of the rage tangling up her insides.
All an act.
Within the dust of the piano room, Fauna had seen a softer side to Lady Dimitrescu, one that had been abandoned in a picture frame. Even for just a moment, the wicked scarlet smirk fell into a small nostalgic smile. But snakes always shed their skin and pretty flowers hid their poison. Lady Dimitrescu outgrew her past it seemed, only holding on for a second before pure fury shook the rafters. What a complicated bitch…
But Fauna was no stranger to sharp thorns and she climbed through those fretted brambles that guarded Lady Dimitrescu, listening to the person she once was before ruining it all. Humanity ran circles around them both that day, cooling the rampaging fire in Fauna's wary heart, softening her in a way she couldn't abide by.
She dropped her guard, forgot to use her knife, too lost in unimportant things.
Fraternizing with the beasts? You should be ashamed.
If only she could take her knife and slice away the threads of humanity warring within her. It would've been so much easier than this. The Dimitrescu's were monsters, but their presence irked Fauna, extracting worthless emotions she tried to stamp out since youth. Daniela's visit only solidified that fact; an opportunity to fight that she-witch again was wasted. Opposite to a scuffle, she reassured that crazy psycho in a fully shameful display. This was not the way things were supposed to go. She knew their names and showed each one of them a kindness they shouldn't have been given.
This was not the behaviour of a murderer.
"WHERE IS IT?!"
A piercing roar snapped Fauna out of her futile attempt to sleep, alerting her fight or flight response. Waiting for a chance to shine, the knife is pulled from its holster, ready for whatever demons barked. Nearly flung off its hinges, the door slams open as black clouds of bugs gather almost instantaneously by Fauna's bedside, obscuring the firelight in ghostly clumps. The siege of insects piece together quickly, throwing a ravenous gloved hand from the fray. It grabbed Fauna by the collar, crumpling the material in anger.
"Where did you put it, pig?!" Cassandra growled, surfacing from the tempest she wrought, "I know you have my fucking handkerchief, give it to me and I'll kill you fast instead of slow."
Near-manic, Cassandra refused to let Fauna answer. With a vicious yank, she pulled her off the bed with incredible strength, dragging her against the floor with little care for her human flesh. With the knife in her hand, Fauna slashed upwards, trying to cut Cassandra with futility.
Something, anything, just fucking get her.
Insects crawled out each cut she made, making Cassandra giggle maliciously as if each wound were a feather on her skin. The middle child stopped quickly by the door, flicking her wrist to send Fauna skidding towards the corridor wall. Dizziness and sharp pain raced through Fauna's body as the collision stole her breath. Paintings and candelabras nearly rattled off their hooks from the impact, threatening to add insult to injury. Fauna was right to be wary of Cassandra; right to not trust her intentions.
You just had to stitch that old thing up. Compassion has consequences. Now it's costing you your life.
Compassion made her weak.
Heavy, gargled groans filtered from the bedroom door as Cassandra stalked out, her hood obscuring parts of her rabid smile. Just like the snow outside, dotted with bodies, Cassandra's eyes reflected death and winter. Nothing thrived within the storm's frenzy, nothing lived to tell the tale.
"Bela has it." Fauna snarled, pushing herself off the ground with care as she rubbed the back of her head. The stomping ground of monsters was a place of injury and to become one, she would push her body till it broke.
Taking another step forward, Cassandra swung the sickle in a half-circle as emphasis, "DON'T TRY TO SAVE YOURSELF NOW, PIG!" her laughter pricks Fauna's ears like boisterous hail, " Lying will get you nowhere. You just want an excuse to run away, just like every fucking human."
Putting little pressure on her bad leg, Fauna rose to her feet, clutching her knife like the short blade so many nights ago.
Hide or kill.
The Dimitrescu sisters seemed to all have one thing in common; invulnerability. Simple weapons couldn't do anything, sealing Fauna's fate; a fate she had no fear running into. She would go down swinging, leaving nothing but blood and fury.
Kill.
Rumbling bugs flew around Fauna, zipping wings around her as Cassandra lunged, hurling the sickle downwards with immense force. Ignoring the pressured pains running through her body, Fauna leapt away as the sickle's tip drove through the wallpaper. Every second counts in these types of situations. Lethal fights had strict deadlines.
Cassandra's frenzy made her dangerously offensive, but in those growling swings, she lacked defence. With her midriff unguarded in the chaos of her movements, Fauna marched towards death in spectacular recklessness.
Psyching herself up, Fauna bore the pain as she ran forward, launching herself into Cassandra's path. The special knife found its mark, burying itself into embroidered cloth and screeching bugs; not a single drop of blood. Silver and iron, the sickle remained planted in the wall, leaving the middle Dimitrescu disarmed and angrier than ever.
The knife in her gut surely didn't help.
"Blades cannot harm me," Cassandra said with delighted bloodthirst, balling her fist against the floor, "But everything can harm you."
Oh, that's definitely not good.
Acting fast, Fauna attempted to yank her knife out, feeling not an ounce of give. Little insect legs tapped against the metal slicing into Cassandra, tugging at the blade to keep it still. Bracing her legs on the marble tiles for leverage, Fauna kept trying, refusing to break. She only stopped when Cassandra threw her hand onto Fauna's, pinning the knife with painless joy.
"No cheating," Cassandra hissed, "If I don't get my weapon, you sure as hell don't get yours!"
As if in punctuation, she swung her other arm, punching Fauna square in the face. Grimacing, she recoiled, feeling her lip tear from the impact before rage flooded her system, coiling icy hot emptiness into her gut. Blood dribbled from her wounded mouth; a garnish to the meal Cassandra threatened to eat.
She would go down swinging.
Shouting wordlessly, Fauna brought her fist down on Cassandra, succumbing to the last deadly trap.
"Ready to be splattered on my face?" Cassandra teased wickedly, squeezing Fauna's wrists, waiting for bones to start snapping, "Because I'm going to rip your throat out and bathe in your BLOOD!"
Chattering in bloodthirsty glee, Cassandra lunged once more, aiming to tear into Fauna's throat.
NOW!
Tilting her head back, Fauna rocked forward, slamming her head into Cassandra's. Stars and black dots flashed in her vision, forcing her to choke back a groan. Though her body was a weapon, it wasn't always the best one, especially when the enemy felt no pain. It was a stupid idea, solidified by the sharp giggle Cassandra made after impact. Of course, Fauna was the only injured party.
Of course, she couldn't win.
The middle child stared with wild eyes, laughing as she gripped Fauna's wrists tighter, eliminating any chance for escape. The same hand that held the handkerchief held Fauna hostage; mercy was extinguished beneath Cassandra's vengeance. All of it could have been avoided if she just left that damn cloth alone.
Weak.
And now, a beast with blunt teeth would devour the monster Fauna never got to become.
"CASSANDRA!" a thunderous shout echoed from down the hall.
Solid clicks marched down the corridor, heels belonging to a person Fauna hadn't seen in a while. From the coiling secret of the corridor, Lady Dimitrescu approached elegantly but with strict haste. All frenzy bled out of Cassandra as she practically shoved Fauna away, scrambling to stand at attention.
Lady Dimitrescu looms, casting a dreadful shadow on both women, a tree with little mercy to give. Through the shadow of her hat brim, bright gold flares up like relentless sunlight. No fear crested in Fauna's features as the big bitch returned. All she felt was a stinging shame from letting the Lady's poison creep into her system.
Yasen wasted his time trying to help you.
Clenching her teeth, Fauna ignored the caustic thought; another enemy was on the horizon now.
"Tell me, daughter," Lady Dimitrescu drawls, enveloping her words with subtle harshness, "Did I not say to mind yourself around her," the emphasis lingers as she glances at Fauna before huffing angrily to see the sickle in the wall, " and you've damaged the walls again, I see."
Cassandra stares up at her mother, respectfully clasping her hands behind her back as she bears the terror of being caught. The sickle dangles out the wall, waiting to return to its owner, instead, drawing the ire of a dragoness.
"She had something of mine, mother," Cassandra relayed with an undertone of fear in her voice, "It was just horseplay."
The matriarch leaves a silent gap in conversation, studying her daughter's face for the truth; furrowing her brows, she finds the answer.
Through the pause, Fauna considered sneaking away but the emptiness in her hand was too uncomfortable. Escape was not an option, not without her knife still proudly sticking from Cassandra's stomach.
She would not be caught off guard again.
Lady Dimitrescu stepped past Fauna's fallen body, wrenching the sickle from the wall before holding it out to her daughter. Hesitantly, Cassandra gripped the leather-bound handle, accepting the fuming mercy that was given. A rare act within House Dimitrescu when someone messed up; not even the ladies of the castle were exempt.
Golden eyes begin to lose their colour as Cassandra sheathes her weapon, exhaling a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. A silent conversation is held between the two as Lady Dimitrescu gestures at the knife. Creeping worry dulls her severe expression as she gently wraps her large hand on the weapon, withdrawing the blade with ease.
A single thread of humanity stitches itself to Lady Dimitrescu as she watched the former wound close with squealing bugs. Though Cassandra could not be harmed from blades alone, the grim horror of losing her daughter still tugged at the ruined heartstrings within her chest.
Be gentle with your sweet man-hunter, if she were human, you would have lost her.
Or fan her fury to make her inconquerable.
Conflict thrived in Lady Dimitrescu's head but she refused to let it show. Choices were to be made. In this land, monsters gave no mercy. To make her daughters strong, she had to make them merciless. Love would only make them vulnerable; easily killed by whichever man-thing saw themselves a hunter.
That didn't make it hurt any less.
Cassandra's grey eyes jitter in apprehension as she waited for her mother's word; a sign.
"We will discuss your punishment at a later date," Lady Dimitrescu lectured, reigning in the harshness with understanding, "For now, you may return to your duties till dinner; do try and keep your weapon brandished at true conspirators from now on, dear."
Gulping, Cassandra nods, straightening her back to look presentable, "Yes, mother."
From under her hat brim, Lady Dimitrescu glances at Fauna for a moment, swallowing her guilt before she pries words from her throat, "Be careful next time."
It's said with concern, wrenching the threads of humanity from her monstrous soul; a reassurance to a daughter she failed. Raised by a former human, Cassandra couldn't be faulted for the flaws passed down to her. In momentary weakness, Lady Dimitrescu reaches out to her daughter's face, gently scrubbing off some dried blood, just like that day so long ago. No matter what, she would always love her girls, even if she had to sacrifice these moments to make them strong.
The wild winter that plagued Cassandra bloomed to joy as her long-aching heart accepted what she thought was lost. Regrettably, the moment ended quickly, reforging the rift that separated them so.
With a curt nod, Lady Dimitrescu dismissed her daughter, following the fracturing stream of blowflies till Cassandra crumbled like dust before her eyes. She remained that way in a slight melancholy, even after the humming songs of bugs disappeared.
Splayed on the marble tiles was a human fighting herself as she watched the encounter unfold. The marvellous poise Lady Dimitrescu bore fractured at the sight of her daughter; the bane of a monster's will. She was a broken jigsaw that spoke to Fauna's curiosity; a feeling that conflicted with the sweltering hate that pumped through her heart.
Beautiful poison would be her death knell.
Enough of this shit.
The hate ripped through the tenderness, shredding it to emptiness; locking down her foolishness. Kneeling, Fauna braced her arms on the ground, hauling herself up to limp towards Lady Dimitrescu; blue-hazel eyes never left the knife gripped in the dragon's claws. Bitter silence rained on the hallway as the bandit made her way through the dim candlelight with a lone purpose.
Stopping a few feet away, Fauna refused to get too close, just in case.
Those same hands that dwarfed her knife could easily crush her, she couldn't let it happen again. That's what she kept telling herself as she fought these creatures. Fauna had crossed the food chain's threshold, finding herself amongst true killers of man; a place she stood no chance.
It was maddening.
"As I've said before, you would not win a fight against Cassandra. Only a fool would seek such an obvious death," Lady Dimitrescu says cooly before throwing a playful insult, "Then again, such behaviour is in your nature, bandit."
Fauna's silence speaks volumes, just like the night she broke in; capturing every thought and stifling it beneath those dead eyes. Her vile tongue was quiet, unbending to Lady Dimitrescu's pettiness.
Fauna refused to make the first move.
To nullify the experiment's rage, Lady Dimitrescu held the knife out, feeling the quick swipe of Fauna's hand along her palm before the weapon took its rightful place. Without the holster, Fauna gripped the blade to her chest, taking another step back while she examined the tender flesh around her mouth. A purplish splotch swelled on Fauna's split lip, spilling drops of blood on her shirt collar.
Mercy was not given freely in Castle Dimitrescu, neither was it condoned.
But many missteps had been made with the matriarch's reputation since the human's arrival; cutting into old scars she believed to be forcibly healed. Insults, barbs and violence was the only thing distancing herself from such a loathsome creature and it had to remain that way or else…
All she did was open up and you cut her down again; your anger was misplaced where compassion should have stayed.
Compassion doesn't net results. Fear and brutality do. The human will succeed or break. There is no in-between.
The guilt warped the monstrosity blooming in Lady Dimitrescu's heart as she did something that a feral, stubborn human had no right to earn.
She gave mercy.
As Fauna fussed over herself, Lady Dimitrescu retrieved a handkerchief, reaching out to offer Fauna the white flag.
But things had changed since the piano room; where peace was kindled, it was also extinguished.
An immortal tyrant only knows how to destroy.
Fauna glares with emptiness in her eyes, smacking away mercy with a closed fist. A drop of her raging blood seeps into the cloth, staining its exquisite material. Few humans had the gall to step on a dragon's tail, but with every passing day, Fauna grew bolder; angrier.
Just like the night she broke into the castle, sealing her fate.
"I'm not getting strangled again," Fauna says coldly, throwing heavy thoughts in her head like projectiles, "You super-sized bitch."
With no hesitation, she lit the fuse to her own pyre, learning nothing but mistrust from the music room. Her vile tongue could be bitten no more.
If she couldn't forgo her humanity, she'd take it down with her.
"Watch yourself, now," Lady Dimitrescu growled in warning, flexing her fingers to repress her annoyance, "I am not a woman of unlimited patience and you are not a human of unlimited lives," she brings the bloodied handkerchief to her mouth, tasting the metallic fury between her teeth, "Now that the man-stink has run dry from your veins, you've become prey once more. If you weren't so hellbent on becoming a monster, I would have devoured you."
Unblinking through the monologue, Fauna tenses the knife in her fist, "So speed things up," the words split with unbridled frustration, "Get it over with already!"
Rolling her fingers together, Lady Dimitrescu toyed with a quellazaire that wasn't there, matching Fauna's boiling energy with her own frigid aura. As the sky grew darker, snow began to fall once more, drenching the trees circling the castle. The weather shifted, dropping sharply, giving Lady Dimitrescu an idea.
You can't be serious.
She most certainly was.
The matriarch strolled around Fauna, circling her like a crow, allowing her irritation to peak. No human had ever been so unruly, so disrespectful, much less in her own home; such behaviour deserved punishment. The gnawing guilt receded, festering into something sinister.
"Well, well! The feral, brutish cat wants to be a tiger! I do believe there is an alternative way to reach your goal," Lady Dimitrescu says with devilry in her demure tone, flourishing her hands as she spoke, "Gather at the castle's entrance tonight with your precious knife," she pauses, stopping behind the agitated human, "and we'll see if you have what it takes."
Fauna sank into the shadow cast over her, staring at nothing, thinking.
She was always thinking.
Lady Dimitrescu peered down at Fauna's leg, before her gaze travelled to her tensed hand; squeezing the handle as if counselled her.
"Ok." Fauna finally said in solid agreement, breaking the quiet that had settled over them both.
Powdery snow caressed the cloudy windows, matching the beat of Lady Dimitrescu's gait as she left, turning to the corridor to let the human stew in silence. The crushing emptiness of the castle settled around Lady Dimitrescu, adorning her like a cloak. It was a familiar feeling of power she kept fastened tight around her presence.
But a less familiar feeling clawed up her metaphorical cloak, forcing her to look over her shoulder at the chaos she wrought. Fauna remained like a statue, plunged beneath the waters in her mind, fighting battles Lady Dimitrescu couldn't truly see.
You're going to get her killed.
Experiments are disposable, if the human conjures the wrath of God, then bring it down with an iron fist.
Grunting softly, Lady Dimitrescu broke her line of sight, returning to the shadows to prepare for tonight, banishing her thoughts to focus on the newest test. If the experiment wanted to be so defiant then so be it; gasoline would be her fuel instead of wood.
No mercy.
Sculptures followed Lady Dimitrescu with a frozen gaze as she navigated her home, tailing her like her dogged humanity. It whispered in her ear, shaking dirt from her rotten heart, worming its way through the cruelty.
Breaking her will solve nothing.
Gold shines through the darkness; if there was a mirror in the hall, it wouldn't have been safe from Lady Dimitrescu's foul mood.
End Note:
Thanks for reading! I enjoy jumping between characters bc it helps me take a break from writing the same one for too long normally. The passive and active POVs are *really* getting crossed together these days. Whoops :p
Alternative Scene:
Daniela: Do you wanna know why I call you makeup?
Fauna: *glares infinitely bc that's all she does*
Daniela: Its because YOU CANT MAKE UP YOUR GODDAMN MIND!
Fauna: *surprised pikachu face*