AN: I feel good about this chapter! If i disappear for a little bit, it just means I'm doing life stuff and writing the next chap! I'll be back, quick as a flash bc *i need to see what happens next in this sapphic family drama little story*
Summary:
'To enact, at last, the perfect plan
One more sweet boy to be butchered by men'-Hozier-Swan Upon Leda
Fragile drops of ice bloomed against the ground, piling into a thin sheet over the hard dirt. Errant clumps of white settled on Lady Dimitrescu's eyelashes as she walked through the sparse forest around the castle, a task rarely done without a good reason. The cold never bothered her, even at such drastic temperatures; the Cadou gave her strength beyond mortal reach.
Ducking under a branch, she hears Fauna try to hide her shivering to no avail. Holding her arms close to her chest, the experiment attempted to warm up as she limped her way across dry twigs. Dark red hair shone near black in the night with only a sliver of starlight to guide their way. Shallow puffs of hot air brushed out of Fauna's lips as she stared ahead, stoking the flames in her heart to keep her going. Turning away from Fauna's plight, Lady Dimitrescu refocused on the path ahead. This test was meant for much later on when the experiment was in better health but such insolence forced the matriarch's hand.
There was no hope for Fauna now unless they turned back to the castle; a choice that would not be taken.
Because all you know how to do is destroy.
It was the honest truth; the skeleton that kept her savage Lordship upright. To rule her kingdom and prove herself to Mother Miranda, Lady Dimitrescu needed to make the experiment a suitable host for the Cadou.
It was the first time in a long time there were hiccups to her methodical plans. Jumping the gun was the worst thing you could do when conducting research; if a test subject wasn't ready or their affinity seemed too low, it all came crumbling down as a failure. Holding her irritation in check, she ducks under another branch as local wildlife ran from the dragon's presence, scattering a buildup of snow from the trees.
This problem never arose till Fauna's entry and now, the project was at risk due to pettiness. That squalid ugliness in Lady Dimitrescu's soul, the mercy and anger, all human emotions that caused this mess. All because of that day in the music room.
It's not too late to say something.
Stifling a grumble, Lady Dimitrescu ignored the pesky thought, turning her attention back to Fauna. The goal was skewed by rushed progress but it could still be achieved if the experiment's mettle was unbreakable.
Once those glazed eyes wandered in thought, the test would begin.
White silk dragged against the snowy forest path, gathering dirt once more into its expensive folds. Forays into the outside world were staggered for a reason. Quietly tutting, the Lady tilted her head down to examine the newest filth.
The things she did for Mother Miranda.
Glancing up, ash-grey eyes studied the empty space next to her, noting that Fauna's rough breaths had lingered behind. Staring into the forest, Fauna slowed her pace, lost to the skittering crows jumping between the trees; unnerved by their presence.
Let the games begin.
Much like the castle, the shadows blanketed Lady Dimitrescu, hiding her amongst the foliage as she stepped off the path. Even in blissful white, the snow gave her coverage, blending her into the scenery as if she were never there at all.
Fauna was all alone; the observation period had begun.
Snapping out of her daze, Lady Dimitrescu watched as Fauna looked around, reaching for her knife in the bare lowlight. She investigated the world around her, at one point staring directly at the Lady without an ounce of recognition before looking back to the beaten path. As Fauna limped forward, Lady Dimitrescu took a step to follow, documenting mentally how the experiment wove her way through the forest.
Niceties had been discarded, even though, within her damaged soul, the matriarch felt the briefest swell of guilt once more.
Are these tests really worth the agony you're dispensing? To make a monster, you'll have to scoop every last strand of humanity from Fauna.
Bitterly, Lady Dimitrescu found herself weighed with memories, different ones than the sweeping regret of days long gone. The carriage, the piano, the hostility leaning towards the moon and fleeing into the sunlight. Calmed by music and enraged by petulance.
Fauna.
All of that would have to be sacrificed. What a shame really…the piano missed your touch.
It was a sensitive time, troubled by the instrument Lady Dimitrescu refused to play. So many emotions just burst out, channelling into Fauna as the target. Even tears never wept since her daughters' birth streaked down her face; a moment of weakness brought on by that thing.
No mercy.
Splitting the night, a madwolf's howl beckoned from deep in the forest, signalling the next step of the test. Fauna flinched as crows erupted from the snow-dusted trees, throwing laughter down before flying off. Agile, thundering footsteps ruptured the tranquil landscape, alerting the experiment with her blade swiftly drawn.
Cold grey eyes look away for a moment, before refocusing on the trial run.
Goodbye, Fauna.
Through a shower of branches, a Lycan ripped its way into the path, gnashing its pointed, grimy teeth before lunging at its new prey. Lady Dimitrescu could see the pain shoot through the experiment as she dodged the attack, bearing the weight on her bad leg. Thoughts bubbled and popped in Fauna's head, informing her movements beyond the pain as the blade tore shallow welts across the Lycan. The beast stops suddenly, flexing its claws as it growls; the pack wouldn't come, not when a greater predator loomed from the darkness.
Even so, this prey was his; wounded and willful. The creature in the trees refused to lay claim to this meat.
A dirtied, white hem moved along the trees as the two monsters fought, following their fatal dance down the path. Fauna was on the defensive, trying to keep her stamina up in the chilly, foreign terrain. Normally, she attacked without hesitation, normally she was fearless in all things.
Blue-hazel eyes glance around quickly; piquing Lady Dimitrescu's interest.
Was she thinking of fleeing so soon into this newest research? Fauna said it herself, she wanted to be a monster. Predators of Men couldn't roam this land without the strength to take on its hunters.
Add this newest finding to the logbook, the experiment looks for an out when its life is at risk.
And she would, in due time, but for now, Lady Dimitrescu had to study the horror she wrought and see if mercy or cruelty was the winner.
It was a sickening wager, but one she would see through till the end.
The Lycan swooped its hands again, nicking Fauna's shoulder, tearing thin lines of blood into her shirt. Breathing heavily, white clouds heaved out her throat, igniting something in those dead eyes. A shallow path unveiled itself behind the enemy, a risky plan that laughed in the face of hallowed chess games. She couldn't be serious. Then again, Fauna had scaled the castle walls just to get captured, the human lacked basic common sense but this was-
"Stupid woman, you're going to get yourself killed…" Lady Dimitrescu whispered between the tall branches, hiding her comment beneath the wooden limbs.
Pushing her heel in the dirt, Fauna took off, giving the Lycan a wide berth as she scampered down the path with buried pain locked into her face. The wolfman tried to grab her but missed, nearly bellowing, slamming its hands on the ground as it sprinted after her.
Passing between the soft dirt and stones, Lady Dimitrescu tailed the pair, nearly ripping her dress sleeve on a piece of tree bark. What a damnable, wretched place indeed.
Beyond the displeasure came entertainment as she knew very well what lay in store for the monsters.
A perfect arena.
Another roar echoed from the distance as the matriarch broke through the foliage, stopping in the shadows to witness a lethal encounter by the river. Ice coated the water, hiding black mud and shrivelled plants in winter's graceful fist.
The roar sounded again, crying out in resentful bloodthirst; a female voice.
Fauna screamed as she dipped beneath the Lycan's claws, driving the knife into its stomach, and twisting the blade. Garbled rage leaked from the wolfman as blood oozed out the wound, spilling onto Fauna's fist. Withdrawing the knife with a sickening sound, Fauna didn't relent, stabbing the side of the Lycan's neck in quick succession till she pried off cartilage and bone.
Clutching its savaged flesh, the Lycan swiped its claws to Fauna's side before it fell.
A brief snap rang out as her leather holster collapsed into the slushy mud.
Regaining its silence, the forest enclosure danced with fresh wind, cutting through Fauna's shivering body. She gasps for breath before collapsing to her knees, fumbling her knife as she grabbed the holster, piecing back together the weapon and its home.
She did it.
And with such delightful fury.
Burning flares had indeed shown themselves in this cold land, simmering steam around Fauna's willpower. At last, a worthy experiment. Lady Dimitrescu poked her shoe tip from the forest's shadows, her gaze stuck on Fauna's bowed, jittery body. From the incredibly meagre kindnesses she dispensed, the noblewoman believed Fauna earned her rest for the night for such a slaughter.
The test was sprung far earlier than it should have, after all.
Black and white drew shadows and lights on Lady Dimitrescu's ghostly skin as she pulled herself from the forest to stand in the enclosure. With a hand on her hip, she took another step, readying her caustic remarks and empty praises for the experiment's tired ears.
But the best-made plans of monsters and men often went wrong.
A growl spoke through the blood-drenched river soil.
Entering a manic state, the Lycan rose from its grave as it lunged at its prey for the final time.
Still recovering, Fauna didn't see the Lycan till it was too late, staring up at her impending death with a blank expression. Fearless to her last moments, Fauna didn't move, held back by her leg and deteriorated stamina. Snowflakes drizzle on her red hair, cooling her skin. With a deep breath, she closes her eyes, losing herself to the sensation.
Ashen grey burned with gold as Lady Dimitrescu fought against the bitter poison swimming in her head; let her live or die, a choice had to be made.
Exhaling slowly, she adjusted her hat in silence, choosing death.
Hunching, the Lycan shoved its shoulder into Fauna's chest, knocking her back with inhuman strength, sending her rolling over the river bank and onto the ice. Chuckling, the wolfman sprays a jet of blood through its open throat, panting before those haunting, lupine eyes gloss over. It falls with a thud, never to rise again.
It didn't kill her.
Moving as much as her dress allowed, Lady Dimitrescu watched Fauna regain herself. Shaking the impact off she groaned in pain before gasping sharply. Fight or flight was not the only reaction Fauna was capable of.
She froze.
Layers of ice drove terror into Fauna's face slowly as her trembling ruptured from winter's chill to nightmarish fear.
Thin to the touch, the river could no longer hold Fauna's weight as it began to divide in webbed fissures. She looks up, petrified in uncharacteristic panic as she laid her hands on the river that slowly opened up below her.
And much like the ice, Lady Dimitrescu's mask splintered as a light sheen of tears extinguished the fire in Fauna's eyes. A look only the panicked humans had whenever the dreaded Lord of the village would visit.
"Help-" Fauna pleads as her words were stolen by the hungry river, pulling her into the inky darkness of its belly.
In this land, monsters were cannibalised by their hostile surroundings.
That was the unspoken law.
A few bubbles rise from the water's depths, signalling life.
Lady Dimitrescu takes a step forward, before stilling at the crossroads of her warring morality.
Wait. If the experiment is truly unforgiving to death, she will prove it.
A gloved hand rests on the black brim of the matriarch's hat, holding it steady from the wind. She would prove it, wouldn't she? That damn human hunted a Lycan; dying to simple river waste would be…a disappointment.
Another bubble rolled towards the river's surface. Time disappeared into the waves along with the last seconds of Fauna's life.
Hesitation was the mark of cowards. It was a plague to bear within a land so vile; a target on the backs of fleeing peons. Lady Dimitrescu forced cruelty to course through her modified veins, refusing to bend to such stupid thoughts.
No mercy.
No mercy.
The words kept repeating in her head as she steeled her expression and watched the human drown; a failed experiment. Crows clutched tree branches in their talons, silently judging the show that ended so pitifully.
No more bubbles rise.
Lady Dimitrescu looks at the still water, her mask splintering once more as an internal shout sent spikes of mutant adrenaline pulsing through her veins.
GET HER OUT OF THERE, NOW!
Ignoring the silt collecting on her dress, Alcina rushed towards the ice-laden river, slamming her fist on the surface, upturning chunks of frozen water with little effort.
"You cretin, " Lady Dimitrescu huffed as she ripped the ice away, soaking her gloves in the dingy water, "I've dirtied my dress irreparably because of you."
Though said in anger, her voice held no venom, instead, gripping onto the barren streams of humanity as its buoy. Grimacing at the dark water, Alcina plunged her arms in, bitter disgust showing plainly on her face as she searched for the body.
Nothing.
Leather-wrapped fingers scraped the earth at the river's bottom; still nothing. Wading in further, she submerged her dress as creamy silk floated idyllically amongst the frenzied splashing, bringing elegance to a morbid moment. Ice shards drifted on the river as Alcina brought crashing waves to the once tranquil area.
Frigid water chilled her hands, a feeling belonging to her bolstered humanity, seeping into her body in disturbing realisation. It had been a long time since she last felt so cold.
Nothing.
Wading deeper into the water, Alcina stared at the water's surface, looking for someone that wasn't there anymore. But this is what she wanted, after all…To show dominion over a human for getting involved in her life. To brazenly cast wickedness into the world and relish the screams. To further her goals by any means necessary.
The snow collects in her hat, painting the dark material with small spots of white. An empty feeling comes over her, overwhelming to the point where she feels nothing.
Was all of this torture worth it? Are you finally satisfied with yourself?
The wind steals her answer away.
Check again, one last time.
With the mask far gone, Alcina waves her hands through the water again, feeling around for blood-red hair, blue-hazel eyes, a withdrawn scowl turned amicable in the moonlight. Parsing through the muck, her hand hits something different, softer than the stones and ice.
Fauna.
Feeling around, Alcina places Fauna into her arms, before rising from the river's depths. Droplets of liquid rolled off Fauna's paling face, frozen in mortal slumber. Her arm hung limply at her side, swinging with each step taken. Kneeling by the river's bank, Alcina assesses the damage she's done, laying Fauna on the earth amongst the slush. Bringing her head down, she listened for breathing, concentrating.
Nothing.
Not a single strand of life was found in that waterlogged body.
Taking a deep breath, Alcina focused on Fauna, gritting her teeth as she placed a large hand above Fauna's chest, hovering over the battered skin. Like the piano, like the hesitation, it rose in spades, halting her movements, halting her progress. As a monster, it was in her nature to kill. As a former human, she felt the sting of death buried deep in her memory.
A silent music box trickled into the open air, bleeding out from the past; a sign.
You couldn't save Annie, but you could still save this one.
The crossroads held her choices, and she ran towards the one forcing her movements.
Discarding hesitation, Alcina begins to push steadily with both hands on Fauna's chest, attempting to dislodge the water with restrained strength.
In this land, a monster promised to pump Fauna's heart with the blood of true humans.
Wake up.
Doubling her pace, Alcina pressed harder on Fauna's chest, viciously forcing the human's soul to return.
Wake up!
With her lips parted in stagnant death, Fauna slept peacefully, unmoving, cold to the touch.
No smoke in the drenched stacks. No fire to be found.
"WAKE UP!" Alcina growls with a shaking voice, attempting to reverse the butchery she allowed.
Water shot up Fauna's throat as she turned to the side, coughing it out, shivering violently from exposure. She heaved her blocked lungs into the dirt, gasping for air. Removing her hands quickly, Alcina turned away with concerned shame as Fauna clawed her way back to life once more.
With your help.
For once, instead of taking a life, she returned one.
But the Cadou will see to that, won't it?
Listening to Fauna get her bearings, Alcina sobers with the Cadou's reemergence into her plans. Experiments were made to be tested on, not revived. Fauna turns on her back, shaking as she looks up, those wild eyes were kindling again; where there's smoke, there's fire.
She was an interesting human indeed.
In a death-raggled stupor, Fauna reaches a trembling hand down to her hip, groping around for a treasured object. Her fingers bunch against the earth as she carefully sits up, fighting her danger responses.
Go get it.
Wordlessly, Alcina rises against her better judgement, dragging her dress into sticky mud to search around the Lycan's body. Stiff and still, the wolfman soaks in his own blood as a flash of white bone peeked through the skin. A pungent stink curled into the air as the Lycan blood began to harden from the frost, leading the way to the knife's location. Sitting in a deep bootprint, the holster stood stark against its muddy grave.
Positively disgusting.
The mud sloshed onto Alcina's gloves as she dug for the strap, hoisting it upwards and away from her body as it dangled. Returning to Fauna in a few brisk strides, she lowered the knife into the human's lap where both her hand and the item was snatched up. A distant look came over Fauna as she stared into nothing, sinking into herself violently; detaching completely from the world. It was a look Alcina had seen before, on the first day Fauna was delivered to her door.
She was at her limit.
Slumping back to the ground, Fauna fell unconscious, coiling into the dirt while keeping a death-grip on her knife, releasing her hold on Alcina's hand. The matriarch looks at her muddied glove, sighing. It was unknown to her whether Fauna was present when she held her hand, but the gesture alone…frightened yet softened her.
Please, stop hurting her. She's wounded enough.
Alcina lets the thought linger instead of driving it away. It would be something to ponder on later, when Fauna was safe.
Looking back to the human in question, she spied Fauna stretched out on the dirt, fully lost in a living slumber. This was…inopportune. Even so close after death, Alcina was somewhat hoping the human would be able to walk back to the castle and save her the embarrassment.
For the torture willingly unleashed onto Fauna, this was a cosmic punishment she could live with…begrudgingly.
Looping her arms around the unconscious woman, Alcina lifted her up smoothly, gripping her harder as she trembled so that she didn't flail out her arms. It would be a shame to lose her to the cold so soon after her hearth rekindled.
Embarrassing and weak.
Ash flowered instead of gold, as she walked with purpose and haste, kindling something in herself; feeding the fire of compassion instead of cruelty. An embarrassment Alcina stowed privately in that desiccated heart of hers, for no one but her to scatter dust on. Cutting through the forest paths, the wind whipped the branches in warning, heralding the possibility of more snow. Glancing down at Fauna, she saw those battered hands squeeze the muddied holster, summoning a sliver of white fabric near the knife handle.
Black, floral embroidery webbed the corners of the material, soaking in dried man-blood; an item Alcina knew well from her time in the carriage with Fauna. Stubbornness wailed to be let into her bleeding heart, berating all the choices she made to save Fauna from the deathtrap laid out for her.
Humans are not meant to be saved.
That was true. In this land, mercy was not condoned, but a grand Lord -a true monster- bent the rule that governed this place just once; already corrupted by her fading humanity. It wasn't meant to be this way. Alcina hurries up the forest paths, sending a murder of crows scattering towards a different venue. She felt the shift in her mood, knowing that yellow was blazing in her eyes, overtaking grey in small increments.
Fauna coughed, hugging the knife-holder to her chest, forcing the handkerchief of its cave just a little more; a bane to the gold circling in Alcina's eyes.
Looming above the sparse woods, Castle Dimitrescu made its presence known, a bastion of evil and the monsters within. Alcina tears her dress hem on a stray root, boiling down the emotions within, ignoring her damaged property to resuscitate this damaged property.
What is wrong with you?
Humanity.
Streaks of forest waste clumped in rug tassels and marble grout, a mystery of filth the maids would surely detest once they saw it. However, the cleaning would have to wait. The maids in question blended into the background, giving the Mistress as much space as she needed. No one needed to make a mistake today, not after another servant went missing a few days back.
Passing through the painted halls, Lady Dimitrescu muttered angrily to herself while Fauna warmed up from the candlelight. Colour was returning to her face slowly, but the shivering had yet to stop. Though Lady Dimitrescu no longer felt the chill of winter, she understood the dangers of the cold; her daughters could not be sacrificed to the village wind.
Ever.
Tracking the loathsome sludge across the castle, Lady Dimitrescu found Fauna's bedroom and opened the door with care. Her home was already too dishevelled, it wouldn't do to break a door down, even with urgency. As she ducked under the door, her black hat snagged against the door frame, falling to the ground like a leaf.
The things she did for this damn human.
Now to ensure the feral thing didn't die. It would be infuriating if Fauna keeled over after all of that disgusting wading.
Flames crackled in the stoked fireplace as Lady Dimitrescu approached, gently lowering Fauna to the ground closest to the warmth; an offering to the brimstone gods. Shadows and orange lights spun around on her face like sunlight, highlighting the cuts and bruises on her paling caramel skin.
Look at what you've done to her.
Refusing to entertain the pin-pricks of guilt, Lady Dimitrescu began to search Fauna's room. Silently, she roamed the little space, approaching an armoire with a hand outstretched before she noticed the state of her gloves.
Rancid village filth.
With little care, she plucked each glove off her hands before setting them down on a nearby end table. She could hear Fauna's chattering teeth while she dug through the wardrobe, spying a plush blanket nestled in the corner.
A tearing sound passed through the room, alerting Lady Dimitrescu to the source. It wasn't often that a cruel, bitter person like her was caught off guard, but what she saw was truly shocking.
Guiding the knife with shaking hands, Fauna began to slice through her clothes, leaving little red scratches with every sweep of the blade.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Lady Dimitrescu said in alarm, crushing the blanket in her hands, "Have you no decency?!"
Fauna remained focused on her task lest the knife found its way into her heart. She glances at the Mistress with hazy eyes before looking back to her task.
"T-the worst t-thing you can do when y-you're freezing is t-to stay in your wet clothes," she stammers out, gritting her teeth as she passed the knife along her abdomen, "I d-don't want a f-fucking fever."
Averting her gaze elsewhere, Lady Dimitrescu scoffed, looking around the room for clothes that would cover up such a shameless display. Only humans had the capability to be so frustratingly uncouth and vulgar. With the blanket still in hand, Lady Dimitrescu looked around the room for anything else that could help. Sitting on the edge of the bed, a maroon dress creased neatly under itself, shimmering like blood in the candlelight. A dull scrap of parchment peeked out from one of the pockets and with her free hand, Lady Dimitrescu drew it from its confines.
The folded square opened out, nestling between her fingers.
'The maids were too scared to bring it this time so here you go! By the way, don't worry about the maiden's blood on the dress. Good thing it's red, huh? I'll hunt you soon, Makeup!'
Neat, small handwriting spanned across the page, driving another wave of painful emotions into Lady Dimitrescu's chest. Dearest Daniela, her gentle, sensitive daughter. Always doing things without permission, even when the risk is larger than the reward.
Out of all her daughters, Daniela reminded her the most of days long gone; bearing her presence was always a heart-wrenching ordeal.
Her littlest princess…
This is why you need to make her STRONGER! Your incessant doting warped her into this fragile mess. Do not relent, this is the law of the land.
Folding the note, Lady Dimitrescu dropped it on the bed as she scooped up the dress, grunting bitterly about her current situation. Wet, dishevelled and tracking mud everywhere, the weakness crept through her system, dismantling the careful cruelty she worked so hard to build. With proud strides, Lady Dimitrescu walked over to Fauna, all but throwing the gathered items at her. Her eyes gleamed a burning gold, catching the firelight with orange hues.
Fauna coughs again, scowling as she reached for the items.
The gold barely recedes as Fauna covers herself up, but it was too slow a movement to shield Alcina from the pain telling a story on Fauna's bare body. She looked away from the human, both in misery and in decency.
Scars wove their way up and down Fauna's body, mingling with the fresh cuts that plagued her skin. The newer wounds were all from Castle Dimitrescu, breaking down what was already broken. On some occasions, Mother Miranda said the Cadou seeks out strength of all kinds, bolstering affinity in the hosts it chooses. Such agony was necessary for her goal. The human crawled faster and faster towards the promise of being a monster.
Even though, it may very well take her life again.
Scuttling on the floor, Fauna moves closer to the fire, wrapped fully in a blanket and dress to ward off the chill running rampant in her body. She stares into the flames, losing herself in the heat; wet tendrils of hair stick to her face, drying slowly. As sullen and silent as its guest, the room pressed down on Lady Dimitrescu, making her uncomfortably aware of how she stood over Fauna for so long. Despite her incessant need for a clean home, the matriarch sat on a chair near the fireplace; it would need reupholstering after being dirtied.
No words were exchanged as Fauna warmed herself by the fire, sinking into herself, shuddering from something other than the cold. Glimpsing to her uncovered hands, Lady Dimitrescu stared at the palm Fauna had grabbed in her moment of weakness, tethering the fragility into her own heart.
"I don't feel like a monster." Fauna pipes up, disturbing Lady Dimitrescu's thought pattern.
Shifting in the chair, the matriarch holds her head high with pride to shroud the tender humanity blossoming in her barren chest.
"Good things come to those who wait," she replies cryptically, failing to tense her expression; drifting back to calm dread, "You chose to rush into the fray but such actions will not net immediate progress."
The fire replies to the conversation with swift crackling as silence returns on Fauna's end.
Drawing her knees up to her face, Fauna rests her eyes on her legs, mumbling, "I can't take it anymore."
A few strands of mussed black hair fell past Lady Dimitrescu's cheeks as she bent her head down to study the human. This was not the willful warrior that broke into the castle anymore.
"I don't want to feel anything anymore," Fauna continues mumbling into her legs before raising her gaze to the fire, allowing the blanket to uncover her head.
Little tears beaded down Fauna's blank face, falling on the floor to be dried by the flames. Sunrise hues coloured in the tears dripping down her face; watercolours of stoic despair.
It was a face Alcina knew well, she had seen the same in the music box's reflection. A stifling of agony, stamped down by pride and power. A wish to forget what could not be forgotten.
Don't say anything. Don't say it. You will regret it, Lady Dimitrescu.
You allowed this to happen so let her choose. She has a right to know.
Fauna had a right to know.
"There is something in my possession which may alleviate some of your symptoms," Alcina offers quietly as she pushed a few strands of hair back, "Whether it will give you purpose or not is up to you. I will bestow you with an opportunity to leave if the content outweighs the reward," she pauses, thinking of her next words carefully, "Generosity of this level is rare; once you choose, there is no turning back."
There is no answer.
Alcina lifts herself from the chair, pacing towards the door, bending to collect her hat before disappearing into the hallway.
Mud would be tracked into her room, but it was for a reason she could condone, only this once.
Just like Cassandra in the spring.
Alcina smiles to herself as she walks down the hallway, her cloak of shadow replaced with the earthly touch of candlelight.
So many nightmares had compiled themselves into one second. The pitch-black river water pulling her to the abyss, the air escaping, replaced with icy water. The phantom of her mother's corpse floated in the dark with her as she felt the last strands of life being cut.
And then, an angel of death hovered above her with glittering grey eyes, forcing the water from her lungs. Fauna didn't feel grateful to Lady Dimitrescu, but the relief of not perishing to her nightmares calmed her angry heart. She would rather be tortured a hundredfold than step one foot in any natural body of water.
Turning the page, Fauna studied the little book Lady Dimitrescu brought her, skimming through medical notes about herself and something called the Cadou.
A parasite that brought power or death.
Glancing over to the book's owner, Fauna quickly appraised Lady Dimitrescu, noting her thoroughly dirtied clothes. Large splotches of mud and grass littered her finery while pieces of her attire were torn by the elements. Neat black curls were wet and dishevelled; hatless, making her look less…threatening. Were it not for her shellshock, Fauna would have chuckled at the sight.
Welcome to nature, you super-sized bitch.
Fauna reads through the next page, following the elegant script about the variety of tests she was supposed to undergo, the last being a scuffle in the wilderness under environmental pressures.
The Lycan.
"If I've done the last test, why don't you just put the Cadou in me now?" Fauna says with disinterest, glancing over to the noblewoman seated nearby.
"Having skipped over a portion of the trials, you are not as yet suitable to become a host," Lady Dimitrescu replies, taking a slow puff of the quellazaire she retrieved, "The Cadou is not just some stray organ you can shove into a cadaver. Its placement requires scrutiny."
Fauna hums in response, licking her thumb to turn the page, still scanning the detailed, magnificent horrors the Cadou bestowed.
"Is this thing in you too?" Fauna asks quietly, staring up from the book to study Lady Dimitrescu for a scar, "Did it make you…" she fumbles her words for a moment, before finding them, "into what you are now?"
Rolling the quellazaire in her fingers, Lady Dimitrescu crosses her ankles before replying, "It is indeed and it did. I rule this land with no leniency because of the Gift."
She says nothing more.
"Did you try to kill me?"
The sentence jolts Lady Dimitrescu's attention to Fauna. The torture of tyrants bothered her, but if it was for the cause of becoming a monster, she would greet it with open arms. Fauna had tortured herself enough to reach this milestone, she would bend her body to the call of beasts till she broke.
Even if it meant dealing with that big bitch.
Lady Dimitrescu tries to let the shadows cover her, but without her hat, she was defenceless in the throes of conversation. Looking at the fire with ashen eyes, she lets the light paint sincerity on her face.
"Yes." she states as stoically as she could, "Your prideful nature continued to disrupt me; I allowed this choice in the heat of the moment," she sighs before looking directly at Fauna, "A crime of passion, if you will."
Gulping, Fauna closes the book, hiding the deranged information within, "Why did you save me then?" placing the book down, Fauna shucks off the blanket, allowing the blood-red dress to shine crimson down her arms, "Was my worth as an experiment too much to lose?"
The questions are excruciatingly genuine; Fauna sees Lady Dimitrescu hold her gaze with unbending control.
"In some ways, yes."
The silence returns again and Fauna breathes deeply, feeling a gentle blockage rattle up her lungs. Dreading the omen, she knew sickness would come soon and braced herself for the fever that would, in time, pull her back to the abyss of her nightmares.
"My daughters are my life," Lady Dimitrescu says without prompting, the curls of smoke from her cigarette weave spirals around her face, "Comments about their upbringing, especially from those uninformed, can draw certain reactions from me. My behaviour within the music room is a regrettable occasion."
It sounded like a confession, albeit a very formal one that skated around the problem.
But it was a confession nonetheless.
Fauna listens, as she always did, too weak to fend off the poison coursing through her frigid veins. A second death collapsed her blood as the venom took hold.
An apology.
That doesn't change the fact she tortured and tried to kill you.
But she brought you back. For a monster to apologize… it takes something more than strength to do such a thing.
Lady Dimitrescu draws a breath, steeling her cold eyes before it melts to mercy, "It was not my intention to mock your mother's passing, Fauna."
Curling her legs to her chest, Fauna nods, feeling a bundle of heavy thoughts drop from her shoulders for now. A simple apology couldn't take back every painful, rigorous encounter that happened in the castle, but for just this moment, she would allow it.
Only for now.
Can she ever be forgiven?
Fauna didn't know and didn't want to ponder more on it. Forgiveness was…distant. Yasen taught her revenge, not mercy. Flashes of green and yellow traipse across her mind; woodsmoke and fresh herbs, stag meat boiling in a pot. Racing to the small town on bikes, pedalling past the farmland grain in stellar sunlight, the wind in her hair as she stood up on the bike as stones dented beneath her.
The cottage stood frozen in her mind and she gave a tired, nostalgic smile at the memory of a man who smiled back.
"I'll stay but on one condition," Fauna says, looking to the fire, smelling the past in its embers, "I want to send a letter to my brother."
Lady Dimitrescu hummed in understanding as she looked at Fauna, "That can be arranged," drawing another puff from her quellazaire, she exhales her hidden stress, "And the Cadou?"
"As soon as you think I'm ready, I want it done," Fauna replies slowly, her blue-hazel eyes taking in the whipping flames, dyeing them in brimstone, "I need this."
The snow pelts outside the bedroom window, begging to be let in to greet its former prey. Alcina watches each pellet scratch the glass, drawn in by the savage wind she felt not long ago.
Turning back to the experiment, to Fauna, she glimpses only a moment before staring at the sky filtering through the window. She couldn't see the moon, it was all darkness outside with only the peppering fist of winter to hold the castle.
Alcina was hoping Fauna would say no. It would have been easier if she just left; forcing her out would've been easy but…the last strand of humanity bloomed from the needle of her monstrosity.
Stitching together the picture of a woman lost to a time before the Cadou.
Sighing softly, Alcina, closed her eyes, sitting straight and proper as she always did, but slouching internally. A bare, ghostly pale finger runs a line across her chest, tracing a scar above her heart that was no longer there due to her mutation.
Fauna was already suitable for surgery.
She was ready.
Alcina was not.
End Note:
Looks like someone very big and tall is softening up ;)
Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it :D
My favourite thing to do is whenever Lady D softens up, i change the narrative to her first name. Playing with stories structures is my little evil hobby :D