Sleep was a dream itself as the night had seen Cassandra lie awake for a considerable amount of time. As the dark corners of the room became visible under the dim sky that signaled an approaching sunrise, she knew that the night was almost over. She could not shake the restlessness that had been stirred since that horrific nightmare. Closing her eyes did nothing to pull her away from the world of the awake. When the Specter Moons finally crested over the edge of the landscape, there was no going back to bed.
She'd stay up for the time being. Perhaps the night ahead would yield better results, she hoped. Until daylight progressed and the hour was acceptable for everyone else in the castle to be walking about, Cassandra would remain in bed, pondering her troubles.
Descending the stairs, she found the way down to the center of the castle easier to find than she had remembered. When she first entered this fortress, she recalled getting lost along the endless number of stairs that one of the towers held. Putting thought into it; her ascent should not have led to the library below.
It was obviously another one of Lia's tricks. But the transition of the environment was seamless and left Cassandra wondering what else the fawn was capable of. If she could alter the structure of the castle, could she affect a person's dreams too?
It was a thought that she'd rather not have. Their past interactions were already enough to sour her mood and she did not want to consider other ways the woman could bother her. Cassandra's head was heavy with exhaustion and it would be smart to spare the additional stress. A sudden growling that birthed from inside her stomach would quickly change her train of thought.
She was hungry. Breakfast was in order.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she could already hear the sound of Lia and Leta just around the corner. Peeking her head beside the wall, the two fawns were seated across from one another – Lia's fingers adorned with blue energy.
Great…more magic.
As Cassandra stepped around and proceeded to advance toward the two, Leta's eyes peered over toward her. As soon as they did, Lia's voice brought them back to where they had previously been; her hand.
Slow, yet stern, Lia seemed like she could only hold so much patience. "Leta, pay attention. You need to learn this."
"Yes, Lia." The girl tried to focus on the task that she was presented with. Her arm was raised forward, palm up; each finger spread an equal distance apart. There was a slight glimmer along Leta's nail bed, but nothing that could compare to the glow that the pads of Lia's fingers displayed.
"Do you feel the energy channeling through your wrist?" Lia asked, keeping her eyes on her hand.
"I do."
"Okay, now breathe. Imagine the energy moving up to the bones below your knuckles. Can you feel that?"
"I do."
"Good." Lia nodded before licking her inner lips and steadying her glare. "When you feel it hit your knuckles, stop it right there. Let it gather and grow. Just be careful that it doesn't build up too much otherwise –"
A blue aura flashed from the back of Leta's hand before bursting through the tip of her fingers. It did not projectile like Cassandra had expected to see, instead, the blue energy manifested in a circular ball of fire that quickly evaporated. Leta yelped from a brief splash of pain before she quickly pulled her hand back against her stomach.
Lia's patience fell short at that very moment. "Otherwise, that will happen! Ugh…" She closed her hand and relinquished the display of light from it. After wiping her brow and pulling down at her eyes, the older fawn shook her head in disappointment. "Can you try not to get ahead of me?"
Leta's face squinted from what was left of the pain. She looked like she was trying to be an adult and not tear up from what had just happened. As she flexed her fingers, her weary stare went back toward her sister, responding with a softened voice.
"I'm sorry, Lia…"
Cassandra couldn't help but feel bad for the child. While she did not understand the first thing about fawn magic, she could tell that Leta was not in good spirits right now. The girl had mentioned that Lia was a 'surge' and that the ramifications of their magic could be fatal. This lesson had to have been important.
For some reason, seeing the girl unhappy reflected that emotion onto her as well. Caring for the well-being of someone else was entirely new to her, but that had to have come with the territory of being a friend. Whatever the reason was – Cassandra couldn't ignore it. There did not always have to be an answer for everything.
Sometimes, people just felt the way they did.
"Hey," her voice pierced the atmosphere between the two sisters, "what are you learning?"
Lia's hand clenched for a second or two before she released it. Without turning her head to Cassandra, she responded before Leta could get a single word out. Her voice now carried an extra helping of agitation. "Energy manifestation…and it's best that you not distract her."
It is too early for this. I already want to strangle you.
Cassandra's face was visibly infuriated; evidenced by her compressed brow and the curl of her upper lip's right side. Instead of replying with a direct insult, she decided to focus on Leta, not wanting the girl to have to witness their bantering.
"What do you have to do, Leta?"
Holding her fingers close to her chin, Leta twiddled her fingers up and down as she shifted her gaze between Lia and Cassandra. "It's a basic channeling that fawns use. I'm trying to harness the energy from my core and pass it through my fingers. After that, I can advance to making that energy more precise."
Lia hung her head down, running both of her hands through her wavy, light-brown hair. The conversation between the two was already starting to get to her.
Cassandra nodded with a smile. "That's interesting. I'd love to see you show me once you've learned it." Cassandra mimicked the motions with her hand, earning a glare of contempt from Lia. "You're going to do great. I believe in you."
A smile brimmed along Leta's face before she looked down at her hand as well. "Thanks! I can't wait to show you."
Lia pointed toward the next room while her stare stayed fixated on Cassandra. "Can you go now? I'm trying to teach my sister this vital skill and you're distracting me."
Argh! She makes me so mad!
Cassandra's face fell into a deep frown – coupled with a flash of her wrathful eyes. As soon as the image of how she felt was conveyed, the brunette pulled a grin across her cheeks as she turned in the direction that Lia had assigned her.
"Then stop worrying about me and teach her like you should be doing…"
The fawn did not respond with any words. Her lips parted, baring the ends of her teeth. Cassandra's mission was a success: she had angered Lia just as much as she had her. Without allowing any more dialogue to happen between them, Cassandra turned away and casually walked toward the next corridor.
Heel-to-toe, her bare feet paced along, one in front of the other. Her pose was an insult on its own. A gotcha, if that was the best word to describe it. If Lia wanted to create problems out of nothing, then she could suffer the results of them too.
As she made her way out of the room, she began to wonder if her actions against Lia would indirectly affect Leta's learning.
It would do the child no good if Lia was too irritated to concentrate. Worse, she'd probably reflect some of that frustration into her own words as she spoke with her sister. In hindsight, it may have just been better to not have spoken at all and let things be.
It was another slip-up. A regression back to how she normally was before arriving here.
If someone made Cassandra upset, she'd be sure to return the favor and then some. Unfortunately – she never considered the potential consequences of those actions.
Castle Dimitrescu – February 7th, 2021
"Cassandra!" Alcina's loud voice erupted throughout the castle. "In my presence at once!"
As soon as she heard the explosion of her mother's anger, Cassandra broke from her tinkering in the armory and dispersed into her swarm, barreling toward the location of Alcina as quickly as she could. Speeding through the many doorways, she found herself in the middle of the Main Hall, surrounded by the rest of her family.
At the center of the room, directly under the chandelier, stood Alcina. The towering woman looked angrier than ever. Her trademark wide-brimmed hat hung at an angle as she awaited her daughter's presence in front of her. Sure enough, Cassandra appeared within seconds of being ordered to do so, though it did not look like her timely arrival was going to do her any favors.
The swarm of flies quickly merged into the thin-framed woman whose posture was an immediate bow. Hands clasped together. Eyes toward the floor. Bela and Daniela each stood beside Alcina and had already postured themselves the same way. That pose was common whenever one or more of the daughters were present during moments such as these.
The loudness of her mother's voice did not subside despite Cassandra being within feet of her, "Look at me, Cassandra!"
In an instant, Cassandra's head lifted and her blank – albeit sad – face was directed at her. Her response was swift, yet scared. Anything could happen. "Yes, mother!"
The fear in her heart was real. She wanted to condense into a ball and shrink as much as she could. Alcina may have been over nine feet tall, but that wasn't what made Cassandra feel small.
To say Alcina looked displeased was to sugar-coat the truth. She was downright furious at her daughter and ready to tear her soul to shreds. Her deafening shouting soon gave way to a lower tone as she questioned Cassandra. While quieter, the way she hissed each word was no less frightening. "Why is our castle short a maiden tonight?"
Cassandra battled between two paths in her head. She could lie. Tell her mother that Luana had talked back to her and try to explain how that warranted death as it would have during the earlier days. Or, she could tell the truth. State how she was hungry and in a fit of anger over Bela's orders taking precedence over her appetite, killed Luana.
There was, however, a caveat to both.
The lie made Cassandra look better at first. To say that such insolence – even the unfathomable idea of a maiden insulting any one of the noble daughters – deserved punishment was without question. However, with the staff at record low levels on par with the village's shrinking population over the years, death was not to be handed out without explicit permission from the lady of the castle herself. Cassandra knew that all too well and to have responded in such a way still called for an explanation that would never suffice.
Alcina would see right through the fib as Cassandra was not a good liar. When it came to her mother; she'd never dare risk that kind of infraction. It was almost as if such caution and obedience were ingrained deep into her mind. Lying became mentally and physically impossible.
The only other alternative was the truth – and it didn't look good.
And the truth was that Bela's word over the food was law.
Alcina had granted Bela such authority with the utmost trust in the elder daughter's judgment. There was a method to the madness, as while the food was plentiful now, the region had seen some unexpectedly harsh winters come from out of nowhere. Such drastic shifts in climate would decimate the local livestock. Wildlife was another suitable option, but hunters tasked by Mother Miranda to procure such harvest were often met with the trouble caused by the stray Lycans that roamed the region.
It wouldn't have been impossible for Miranda to corral the feral creatures or even neutralize them herself. Such a measure would have been very doable, but the prophet couldn't care less if one or two happened to die during their journey into the outer perimeter.
On top of that; some of the captured meat did have to go to the villagers themselves. While Miranda had seen many to their deaths over the years, she always stressed that there had to be a village at the end of the day.
No villagers meant no worshippers of the Black God – pure and simple.
Castle Dimitrescu had to have a contingency plan in case hard times grew harder. They needed a logistical approach to their food cache – lest they run short before the warmer seasons. To freely pick and grab at the food would dwindle their supply and Cassandra's insatiable appetite was their worst enemy.
Logistics required a careful and attentive mind – Bela.
The blonde took on the responsibility with pride and ensured that everything in the kitchen ran smoothly. The servants were instructed and taught how to not waste a single scrap of food. She'd check in on them regularly, making sure that everything was going according to plan.
She'd rage at the feeble women herself at times; much more than she would ever explode at one of her sisters. Obedience was the sibling of correction, and they were both the children of ferocity. Those girls would never dare disobey any of the daughters, but to disobey Bela meant to disobey Alcina.
And Cassandra knew it – yet, a girl was killed.
The workload may become too much for the rest of the maidens. They could be pushed to their absolute limits but even then, performance was finite. At some point, a seat on death's chair cradled by her shackles was a better alternative than the push to labor beyond one's ability.
By killing Luana, Cassandra risked her family's stability.
Her pride had to take a backseat in this conversation. There would be nothing to gain by attempting to save face. Cassandra parted her lips to spill the truth, observant that she had already begun to take an extended amount of time to answer her mother. One or two more seconds to spare and she'd –
"Answer me when I address you, Cassandra!" Alcina erupted in a fury. Her eyelids expanded to their fullest capacity, showcasing the intense amber orbs at the center. Her bared teeth, encased by lips coated in light burgundy, paralyzed Cassandra's body as they flashed in her direction.
It was too late. The brunette had already dug herself deeper and there was no clawing her way out of it now.
"I killed her, mother! I wanted food and she wouldn't let me have it!" Cassandra looked up at Alcina with strained eyes, her face locked in a frown. She wanted her mother to understand why she did what she did, but, in her heart, she knew there was nothing to understand.
Cassandra had let her anger get the better of her – once again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bela's shoulders raise and slowly lower. She wasn't sure what kind of thoughts were going through her sibling's mind. The only thing that she could be certain of was that Bela had to have been the reason she was being yelled at in the first place.
She did warn that an explanation would be needed when their mother asked. Why wouldn't the blonde go out of her way to make herself look better than her?
"Did I not firmly state that none of the staff would be killed without my orders?" Alcina reigned down at her. "How dare you disrespect me, Cassandra!"
Her lips tightened before they split. Her voice fell but the fear of inflaming Alcina's ire kept it audible. "It was an accident, mother. I would never intentionally disrespect you."
"You most certainly have!" Alcina stepped forward and leaned in closer, forcing Cassandra to bow her head once again as she was too afraid to look at her. "You have disrespected this family…time and time again!"
All you do is yell at me!
Alcina's voice grew louder, "Can you not hold the expectations of a Dimitrescu?"
I feel like I'm nothing because you treat me like this!
"The expectations of as my daughter?!"
I don't feel like one!
Another moment of silence and Alcina was just about ready to throw her hat against the floor. The atmosphere in the room was thicker than steel. Below the tall lady's heavy breathing, a small, shallow voice spoke out from under the hood.
"I'm sorry, mother…"
While the was a slight reduction in the immense scorn that permeated her soul, Alcina was still nowhere near done with Cassandra. She stood up, turning her body over to her other two daughters.
"I can trust Bela with anything. She gets tasks done and accomplishes them the way I see fit! She is responsible and composed, unlike you! Why can't you be like her?"
Words could barely describe how horrible Cassandra felt to be compared to one of her siblings and be told that she was not good enough. It reinforced her negative outlook on herself tenfold. "Why" was the burning question, indeed.
She always feared that her mother may have thought of Bela as the better daughter. Why wouldn't she? Bela always did what she was told and never fell short of Alcina's expectations nowadays. The blonde always sought ways that she could find herself in the spotlight; at what Cassandra perceived to be, her expense.
Now, to hear the validation of it all was nothing short of heartbreaking.
I'm trying…
"And concerning Daniela…"
Please…don't…
Alcina glanced over at the quiet redhead who had not moved at all ever since she was brought down here. Daniela's face was barely visible, shrouded by her messy hair and dark hood. While she could not see her expression, Alcina was well-aware of how different her youngest daughter had been and knew that Cassandra was at the forefront of it all.
"I expected you to rectify the mess that you created the previous night! I told you that your actions were to be made right." Her voice boomed throughout the room, echoing down the halls. "First, you ruin what should a been a wonderful dinner between the four of us. Then, you disregard my orders in favor of whatever it was that you preferred to do all day! Who do you think you are, Cassandra?!"
"Nobody, mother." The only remaining truth she was able to speak.
"You failed this family and now, you will provide for it."
Cassandra instinctively nodded – though she did not know what her mother meant by that.
"Normally, I would have half a mind to simply revoke your privilege of hunting during the spring and summer months. That would surely have been well-deserved under most circumstances." Alcina's scowl rose to a smile, but the woman was far from happy. "Instead, since food may run low into next year; I want you to hunt."
What?
As soon as her mother saw the perplexed twitch in Cassandra's brow, she elaborated further. This was not going to be a slap on the wrist. Alcina's voice has spoken with a long draw as she accentuated her desires. Whenever she did so in anger – there was nothing positive to expect.
"You will go out and you will bring back enough deer to feed everyone in this castle…every day. Since you call yourself a "skilled huntress" let's see if you can manage that. You might as well be good at something."
I…
"And if you fail, even once," Alcina warned, "just you wait..."
Cassandra felt the urge to address the cruelty that had been shown to her. But, alas, there was no strength for argument. The only thing she could do was lift her head back up and stare at her mother with an almost robotic glance; the only exception being the determination in her voice.
"I won't fail, mother!" She spoke loudly.
"We shall see…" Alcina's voice lowered to a grumble. She turned away from Cassandra without any other words, ignoring her other two daughters as she did so as well. The tall woman soon left the room, leaving the three to stand alone together in silence.
It was instinct for them to wait until her presence was far removed before they were to resume any further actions. Daniela's rapid breathing was the only sound left after the loud clacks of Alcina's heels disappeared. She was likely still reeling from the encounter in the library and to have been an audience to her mother's yelling surely must have unsettled the redhead to no end.
Bela was the first one to emerge from her bowed state, moving over to Daniela and tapping her on her shoulder. "Go rest," she whispered to her.
Daniela said not another word and only dissolved into the fragile mass of insects that quickly flew away from the area. The blonde was left now with Cassandra – alone.
The eldest sister could sense how much the tirade had devastated her sibling. She was no idiot. She was well aware of how much had been tossed at Cassandra and she wanted to check in on her most of all. While she believed that her sister had earned a firm scolding, she also found her mother's words harsher than expected.
Approaching the brunette, she reached for her shoulder; a pull on her brow, and a parting to her lips. "Cassandra, I –"
Her sister quickly pushed it aside, shaking her head as she did so. She would not even spare her a single glance as she spoke, "Don't talk to me."
Before the blonde could get another word out – Cassandra had dispersed and was long gone. Bela sighed as she lowered her hand back to her side. She knew what would transpire once her mother found out about Luana's death.
The woman was already furious enough that Cassandra had not shown up to dinner. It warranted an explanation and that meant that her sister's name would have to be put on the fire. It was a terrible feeling to have been caught in the middle of all this. At the same time; it would have been her if she attempted to deceive the lady of the castle.
Cassandra's actions had put her merit and position on the line. It was one that she could never afford to fail for so many reasons. Putting aside all her pride and happiness of being in Alcina's favor, Bela felt she had a strict duty to uphold the woman's will, especially when it concerned the stability of their livelihood.
On the other hand; she also believed that she owed her sisters a caretaker. They needed someone who could teach them what they needed to thrive and grow. There was no joy in seeing Cassandra being berated by their mother, but to cover for her would not have done any good either. In truth, Bela was horrified at the idea of being in front of Alcina's hurricane-like delivery, but she hoped that Cassandra would learn something from it.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to be learned from this – and she knew it.
Bela's face grimaced for a brief moment as both her hands curled. She dug her right heel into the ground before wrapping her arms around her chest. Another sigh, "Damn it." She rolled her lip and tilted her head up before closing her eyes.
One by one, each fly departed from her body and slowly trailed out of the Main Hall, back to wherever it was that she would be needed next. There was no time to think about Cassandra's state of mind. Work had to be done and she was the one who needed to oversee it.
The eldest daughter beared the burden.
Locwitary
Milo held the pen firmly in his hand as he sat at his table, jotting down notes as Cassandra detailed what she knew about her realm. The man felt like he had won the scientific lottery – if there ever was such a thing. To be sitting across from a visitor from an entirely different plane of existence was an extraordinary opportunity.
Years ago, he would have imagined himself asking question after question; his voice speeding along like a shooting star as if there were only seconds left to converse and an eternity of answers left to uncover. As he sat there, listening to her words, he was as calm as he would be if he was talking to any other person.
That was the thing he had begun to notice about Cassandra. She wasn't like some otherworldly creature, despite her aggressive nature. Aside from her pale complexion and unusual markings – she was a young woman through and through.
"So," he continued, "you're telling me that this "snow" covers your region throughout most of the year?"
Cassandra nodded as she bit into the leftover dhin that he had provided her. The dried meat crunched along the ends of her teeth. It was not as good as the Ginyol, but it was still tasty. "It does." She swallowed the food before clearing her throat. "It is so terrible."
Milo turned to a series of sketches he had that depicted what Earth looked like to the visionaries who saw it ages ago. "Hmm…" He studied the drawings, noting characteristics of where she said her home may have been. "That would explain the blanket of white that covers the top and bottom of this planet. Most interesting," he stated. "We've never had that here."
"I'd love to trade," Cassandra remarked right as she took another bite. Her hunger was still in full swing, no matter how tired she may have been from the lack of sleep.
"That theory makes perfect sense." He continued writing down notes on a new sheet of paper. "Cold temperatures in an extreme form would most certainly crystalize moisture. I would have thought the temperature of your single moon would have been enough to quell such changes."
"You mean the sun?"
A small chuckle broke his concentration. "Yes, that's what I meant. We must compare verbiage some time."
We've been needing to do that for a while, Milo…
"I agree." Cassandra chomped down the rest of her food.
"Weather aside," Milo set his pen down and rested his arms. "What kind of things does your world have that ours doesn't?"
Her eyes glanced up at him and she continued to chew through the meat. "Deer," she said with a muffled voice. "Well…" Cassandra paused to swallow her food. "Deer without sharp teeth that want to eat me. So, no dhins."
Milo wrote down another note following her answer. "That is very interesting. We have the same animals, but yet, they are not. Docile dhins? I couldn't imagine that."
She glanced down at the scars left on her skin. "And I couldn't imagine a deer trying to tear my leg off, so we're even."
Milo laid back in his chair, tapping his pen against the table. There was something on his mind that he wanted to ask. It appeared that he was simply trying to find the correct words for it. The silence caught Cassandra's attention for the moment. She set down her fork and knife and glanced at him with a puzzled stare.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes," he affirmed as he sat forward. "Does anyone in your realm possess what could be considered special abilities?"
"Like magic?" Cassandra asked.
"Yeah." Milo wiggled his pen around. "It doesn't have to be the same type of things that Lia can do. I'm only curious if or what other worlds may hold. You said you could turn into a swarm of flies?"
Damn… I forgot that I told him that.
"No," she lied. "I can't…"
Cassandra couldn't figure out why she felt like lying to the man. There was something about divulging the truth that made her feel uneasy. She did not want to worry him for whatever reason. When she had stated that, her adrenaline was still in full swing from the fight with Ethan. Mixed with her intense fury after having dealt with Lia's antics and being told of her current situation – she was a loose cannon.
In hindsight, she wished that she hadn't made mention of anything at all.
If anyone in the castle found out that she was a mass murderer, everything that she had gained could suddenly fall apart. She wouldn't blame them if it did. Who would want to take care of someone responsible for countless acts of torture and substantial loss of life? While slaughter was her passion back at home, in Locwitary; it had been reduced to a terrible secret that only she should know about.
Killing people was not on her mind nowadays anyway – for some reason.
Milo perked his head back up as soon as he heard her response. Something didn't sit right with him and Cassandra could see it. He normally took all of her answers at face value as only she would know how things worked in her world. Now, there was a glimmer of doubt in his eyes.
Did he know that she was lying?
Cassandra tried to reel it back in with a better explanation; one that would not be such a cause for alarm. "I was out of my mind when I said that. So many things were going through my head. I can summon flies to my location. They…gravitate to me, so I guess so?"
"Uh huh…" Milo shrugged his shoulder before going back to his notes. "Anyone else?"
He doesn't believe me…
"Uhm…" she tried to focus on the task at hand, closing her eyes as she rubbed her nose. "Yeah! My uncle, Heisenberg, he's got this thing where he can move metal with his mind, I guess. He's always carrying around this big, stupid hammer," Cassandra scoffed as she imitated holding the absurdly large tool, "waving it around like he owns the room."
Milo's focus turned away from Cassandra's answer about the flies and shifted to the information regarding her uncle. "Metal? That's an uncommon material; at least around this region. Is it found in abundance in your world?"
Cassandra nodded, rolling her eyes as she did so. "You should see his factory. My mother always complained about what a mess that place was. Heaps upon heaps of metal just sitting around. Don't know what the man does with it."
"A factory? What is that?"
"You don't know what a factory is? It's some big building where people mass-produce things. My uncle's factory is useless. He's the only one that goes there from what I've been told."
"Mass production?" Milo continued to write down what she was telling him. Such a concept was truly other-worldly to a man like him. "Amazing. Your uncle, where did he get his powers from?"
"Mother Miranda." Cassandra picked up a glass of Vioclak and began to sip on it. It wasn't as bad as the Mioclak that she tried on her first day here. Still bitter, but much smoother.
"You've mentioned that name before to Lia, have you not?" Milo glanced over at her. "Who is she?"
"The ruler of our village. All the villagers pray to her. She's my grandmother and she bestowed her powers onto her children. Heisenberg is one of the four. I don't know what Miranda sees in him," she laughed, downing another sip as she did so.
"What are Miranda's powers?" Milo seemed like he was zeroing in on something. Cassandra couldn't help but notice his growing suspicion. Did he know something that she did not? Or, was it merely a scientist's ever-growing desire to uncover as much information as possible?
Regardless, Cassandra could not come up with any answer and offered the only bit of truth that she had. "I honestly do not know. She is very reserved. I can tell you that you can feel her presence when she enters the room. The prophet commands respect, as mother says."
"She's a prophet?" Milo's attention had turned yet again. Cassandra's story was going in all different kinds of directions, but for some reason, he did not doubt her now. "Does that mean she abides by a higher power?"
"All the villagers do."
"What is it that they worship?"
Cassandra was about to respond when a sudden bout of yelling was heard from outside the room.
"Leta!"
What the…?
"I'm sorry!" The girl cried out.
What happened?
"You need to concentrate!" Lia continued to raise her voice.
Cassandra carefully got up from her seat. "I'll be right back." She stepped over to the doorway, peaking her head out to see the two fawns still sitting where they were before. Lia appeared even more annoyed than she was since they last traded words; massaging her forehead tensely. Leta's head was low and a small frown could be seen along her jaw. The girl was clearly upset with herself.
A small glimmer of smoke hovered in the air before vanishing. Exiting the room, Cassandra's view broadened, allowing her to glimpse a small, charred piece of paper that Lia held in her hands. Curiosity soon took over.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Lia's eyes turned to Cassandra. Her lips pressed together along with a flare to her nostrils. She looked like she wasn't in the mood to talk, but at the same time, was trying to do her best to halt any further yelling.
Lia sat the paper down beside her feet, running her fingers through her curls as she sat forward. "If you must know…I'm trying to teach her how to regulate her powers, which she –" the fawn cut her sentence off and returned her fixation to her sister. "Leta, listen to me: I can't do all the work for you. If I lower my channeling, you won't learn anything."
The girl nodded slowly, hair dangling over her face, failing to utter a word.
The was a sense of familiarity in the display that Cassandra could relate to. She had been in the same position before; feeling like a failure in the eyes of those around her. The many times she'd hang her head during her mother's unrelenting screaming was too much to count. Leta was the same in the way she responded to Lia.
All she could do was sit there and absorb it.
Whenever Bela corrected her at the beginning of their lives, Cassandra stayed quiet. There was a degree of obedience that she held for her older sibling. However, as the years went on and the memories of being scolded continued to stack up – obedience fostered frustration.
Frustration conceived anger.
She'd fire back; reminding Bela that she was "not her mother." It would earn future dialogue from Alcina herself, but for the blonde – she had taken note. The corrections simmered down slightly and Cassandra had her volatile nature to thank for that. It was bad enough that she felt like she couldn't do anything right – the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of it.
Leta likely wouldn't dare mouth off to her sister at this age, but who was to say how things between them would be in the future if Lia continued to treat her like this? If she didn't feel insignificant now, it was bound to happen later. Seeing Lia talk to her like that set something off inside the brunette. There was never someone on the side to back her up; to tell her that she was still doing well.
It didn't have to be the same for this child, she decided.
"How does this work?" Cassandra inquired about their activity.
Lia reared her head back to the woman, growing visibly annoyed at her presence. "Could you please leave us? I need to teach her a lot of things and I'm not going to let you hold her back."
The constant demeaning words that Lia had been directing at her had begun to wear her patience down to its thinnest levels. Cassandra wanted to lash out at her, but it wouldn't do Leta any good. Fighting against every urge in her body to do what came so easily to her, Cassandra inhaled a loud, sharp breath.
"I'm not going to argue with you right now, Lia," she stated with a moderately-elevated tone. Her amber glare widened as their eyes locked. "Maybe, I want Leta to learn too. If I can do anything to help, then how about you let me help? This isn't about you."
Disbelief was spread across Lia's face. She was as flabbergasted as she was infuriated at Cassandra's remarks. To be called anything close to selfish seemed to strike a chord with the fawn. A curl formed on her lip. She shot her arm down to the ground and scooped up the fried piece of paper.
"Fine! Do you see this?" She waved the paper in front of Cassandra. "It…" Lia took a moment to calm herself, seeing that she was allowing her emotions to get the better of her. Her voice leveled down to the point where she sounded somewhat reasonable. "It is used as an indicator of how hot the energy between us is becoming." She breathed again, flexing her fingers. "I hold her hand and send my energy into her body – which she then has to control in her other hand. She holds this paper and if it begins to smoke, she must try to subdue it."
Lia's face adopted a signal of disappointment as she glanced back at the blackened scarp in her grasp. "If it catches fire – like this one did – then the holder is not able to handle the increase of energy."
Cassandra was intrigued by the display. It was a simple measure – but one that still demonstrated a great insight as to how fawns worked. "So, why does it catch on fire?"
Leta reared her head up only slightly; her voice still showing how diminished she felt. "If a fawn can't control their energy – or uses too much – they catch on fire."
What?!
Lia shot a glare toward her sister as soon as she heard that. Her eyes were wide with a sense of urgency, almost as if questioning why she had to go and say that. Drawing a long exhale right after, she groaned and shook her head again.
"It's called a 'burn-out' and it's fatal," she told Cassandra – albeit displeased to do so. "Happy?"
"Why would I be happy about that?" Cassandra replied, which prompted Lia to glance at her with some perplexity for a second before she snapped out of it.
"Whatever," Lia said. "It's rare and something you won't ever see – I promise. I can control my powers very well."
Acting to move past the woman's apparent display of dominance, Cassandra returned to the topic at hand. "Glad to hear." Her next words came out swiftly, "Anyway…what can I do to help?"
"Nothing," Lia affirmed, still determined to see Cassandra leave. She had not even thought about the decision. Leta finally broke from her quiet state and smiled at her sister, hoping to change her mind.
"Can she try? Please?"
Lia paused as she turned her attention back to Leta, studying her momentarily. It did not take long for a solution to come to mind. "Fine, I'll concentrate on sending you energy." She then turned her head to Cassandra one final time. "Just talk to her – but, not too much. She needs to maintain a hold of what is coming her way."
"Okay." Cassandra knelt next to Leta, bobbing her head in reassurance to the young fawn. "You can do this. Listen to Lia, alright?"
"Yeah." Leta relaxed, smiling back at Cassandra. There was no doubt that an elevated level of comfort arose from the brunette's presence. Her confidence had begun to crawl out of the hole it had fallen into and she was ready to give it another attempt.
"Alright." Leta steadied her body, extending her hand for Lia to take hold of after being handed a new square of paper. With the small sheet between her fingers, she closed her eyes and awaited the next wave of energy to be passed through.
Meanwhile, Cassandra tried to figure out what she could say to help Leta out. There was no relating to the fawns when it came to abilities such as this. It was out of her expertise – out of her realm.
However, it did not take long for one aspect of her past to come to mind – her flies.
"Leta," Cassandra said, "don't let the fire break away from you. You control it. You own it. You're that fire."
The girl nodded, eyes closed, not saying another word. Cassandra could see the focus stirring inside her head picking up. Lia breathed slowly as she tightened her grip. A blue glow flashed from between their locked hands, steadying itself as the older sister continued to send the current.
Not too much. Not too little.
Cassandra could see the light illuminating the veins down her wrists; mirroring the same on Leta's hand. The paper that the girl held remained intact as Leta's shoulders rose. Sparkles of blue appeared in various sections of her body, present in the form of fleeting orbs under the skin. They would only stay visible for less than a second before fading away like fireflies into the night sky. When the orbs drew closer to Leta's other hand, she squinted her face, acting to control their travel.
"When you feel like coming apart, bring yourself back together." Cassandra encouraged her. "Every piece of you. Every fragment."
Leta stayed silent, though Cassandra could tell by the curl of her brow that she was taking in those words in full. From the tips of her fingers, another blue glow began to shine, and with it – the tiniest plume of grey smoke.
It was heating up yet again. That was when Cassandra finally caught the weakness in their strategy. Lia's thousand-yard stare had broken as her eyes shifted to the paper. The glow only continued to elevate as she gifted her attention to the sheet.
"Lia," she instructed, "look at her."
While she would normally have objected to any suggestion from Cassandra regarding her magic, the fawn did not take the time to respond with any verbiage. Instead, she returned her focus to Leta, realizing that she was sending out too much energy. She slowed it down, just enough for her sister to seize control.
The glow of Leta's fingers dimmed to a mild state, allowing the girl to trickle it down her bones and back to her wrist. The tail of smoke soon disappeared from the paper, leaving no further sign of an imminent fire. Lia focused on her sibling as much as she could, while Leta fixated on balancing out the energy she received.
"You're doing great," Cassandra said.
A twitch of the girl's lips - the break of a smile that warmed Cassandra's heart.
It's working. It's all working.
For a dozen more seconds, the sisters held their position, keeping the flow of blue energy intact. The river of magic pulsated down Lia's wrist, displaying Leta's success at sending it back to her. As Leta's breathing began to pick up, Lia released her grip and pulled her hand away.
"Alright. That's enough for now. Let me see that." She plucked the paper out from the girl's grasp, inspecting it thoroughly. "No considerable burns. Let me check your fingers. Do you feel any pain?"
Leta spread her palm for her sister to examine. Not a single scorch mark in sight. No peel on her skin. Nothing.
The young fawn finally spoke, "Did I do good?"
"Yes," Lia affirmed, showing her the paper. The gleam on Leta's face was immense. She was so happy to see such progress.
As Lia set the paper down, she appeared to be in the midst of deep thought – if only for a moment. Her emotionless face soon morphed into a smile as she picked her head back up. "We shall repeat this training soon, but do you see now how the process works?"
"Yes." She nodded enthusiastically, shifting an eye to Cassandra as she did so. It did not go unnoticed by Lia, as the fawn tilted her head and rolled the corner of her mouth.
Cassandra, unaware of Lia's expression, smiled back at Leta. "You did well."
"Thanks, Miss Cassandra."
Lia stood up from her seat, shifting her light-brown locks of hair behind her shoulders as she did so. Pushing out the wrinkles and folds from her gown, she gestured toward the hall. "Well, that is enough training for now. If you would kindly return to your room, I wish to bring you some books that you can study before our next meal."
There was a slight hesitation in the girl's response as she glanced back at Cassandra. It was as if she did not want to study at all and wished to spend time with her instead. The woman was no fool. She could see the same expression in Leta's eyes as Daniela would have whenever she'd beg her sisters to hang out with her. Those wide orbs were filled with the unmistakable shine of loneliness.
Still, before another word could be uttered by anyone around her, Leta agreed to her sister's request. "Thank you, Lia. I will see you soon." She hopped off her chair and bowed her head at the two women before exiting the room shortly after. Cassandra could not remove the final image from her mind.
Maybe it was the memories of Daniela that intensified her emotions more than they should have. Leta was a kid, and whenever something they wanted was within reach but still far away, that face was sure to follow. The redhead always acted like a child at times. As much as Cassandra often loathed her simple nature, she knew that there was a part of her that secretly admired it at times.
Whatever it was that powered Daniela Dimitrescu's mind and soul – it kept her happy.
Bliss and joy were forgotten treasures for the brunette. She could not recall the last time she was gripped by such pure feelings. Decades of fixating on the brutality of the Dimitrescu craft and honing her skill as she did so put her mind in a different direction. Much like Bela; she had steered away from 'childish' delights. The only difference was that Bela remained constructive – in contrast to how destructive the middle child grew.
The gore of the dismembered corpses gripped her eyes – fueled by the need to purge all the pent-up pain she kept to herself. The screams of every victim stole her ears like a siren in the middle of the ocean. The only kind of talk that made her feel better was the one where she was being begged to show the mercy that she did not have.
It did take its toll in the end. While she was always excited for the next kill, she knew she'd be the last one to leave the dungeon. Another body – another evening away from her sisters.
She may not have aged a day, but her soul did. It was another reminder of how much she yearned to return to their earlier days. If she could; she would have tried to embrace other hobbies besides hunting and killing. Maybe she might have taken up an interest in books or science like her siblings. Maybe they would have bonded more.
Maybe their sisterhood would not have been broken during those final days.
Lia looked like she was ready to depart without another word to be said to Cassandra. Not a "thank you" or anything else. It was like she was trying to pretend that she wasn't there at all. Testing the fawn's waters, the brunette decided to try her hand at speaking to her. Perhaps they could have a civil discussion for once.
"Looks like everything worked out."
Lia was not quick to respond; only rolling her brow as she turned her head. "She still has a long way to go," the woman remarked as she began to step away. She seemed eager to depart; not wanting to spare Cassandra any more talk.
Really?
"Lia…" Cassandra called her back.
The fawn stopped, tensing her posture as she did so. Hearing her name being called must have hit a light switch in her stability. Without looking back at all, her voice flew out, sounding more annoyed than ever, "What, Cassandra?"
The brunette's eyes narrowed at Lia as the woman turned around to look at her. As Cassandra remained silent, stunned by her display, Lia spoke again, "We're done here."
"Is that it?" Cassandra held her arms out. "Does she not get any encouragement?"
Lia paused, raising her brow in disbelief at what was said to her. She lifted her hand in the air. For a second, Cassandra thought she was going to unleash her magic upon her. That idea died when all Lia did was point a finger in her direction. "Do not tell me how to raise my sister. You know nothing of what she must learn. This conversation is over."
Cassandra stood her ground, balling her fists at her side. A small grimace broke on her face. "Yelling at her teaches her nothing."
Lia waved her off, proceeding to make her way out of the room. Cassandra could feel her anger swelling at such a slight. Leta may have kept her emotions simmered, but Lia was proficient at stoking them. There was something about the way she spoke and carried herself that injected such disdain into the brunette's heart. It was so condescending and she was starting to reach her fill of it.
Cassandra had one last thing to tell her, "If you couldn't focus, how can you expect her to?"
Lia stomped her foot on the next step she took. "Enough!" She reared back to face Cassandra; tired of her words. "I was fine until you came along and injected yourself into our training. As long as you are here – in these walls with us – I suggest you find yourself elsewhere."
She could not take the fawn's attitude any longer. Cassandra took a couple of steps forward, only stopping when she glanced at Lia's fingers beginning to spread by her side. "What is it with you? Ever since you woke up from your little nap, you've been the most disrespectful wretch."
She knew insulting Lia would yield no progress toward easing the negativity that she felt in Cassandra's presence. If anything; it was going to drive those feelings into a deeper spot and solidify them for good.
But Cassandra didn't care. She could not hold these frustrations in. With Leta out of the scenery; it was only the two of them. Alone with Lia, she saw no reason to behave. There was no incentive to withhold her opinions. No child's face of sadness to claw her back from her wrath.
Lia was no help either. All the venom that she spouted – Cassandra absorbed. She could thrive in the hate; as long as she could double it and turn it into her own. Lia was not going to back down and neither would she.
"My 'little nap?'" Lia's brow tightened; expressing how outraged she was at the brunette. "How dare you? You're the reason that happened to me! And, I'm disrespectful? You are the most vile, arrogant, and self-centered creature that has ever set foot in this world!" She pointed her finger at Cassandra again in a swift, sharp motion. "You have no right to complain about how someone treats you!"
"It wasn't my intention to weaken you so much," Cassandra remarked, her voice carrying an almost sarcastic calmness that spat in the face of Lia's previous ailment.
"Weaken me?" Lia dropped her arm. "Oh, that's what you think? You think it was merely me getting tired?" She brought her hands up to her forehead as a long groan came out through her teeth. "Before you make me scream at your ignorance, I'll have you know that it was not some simple exhaustion, Cassandra. I was put through a lot of pain and lost consciousness – all because you are a spoiled brat who didn't get what she wanted!"
It was Cassandra's turn to step forward and cast her flames. Lia's statement had done enough to ignite her emotions, especially the ones surrounding how she felt about the state of her family. "You showed me my home being destroyed and you expected me to be calm? I needed to know if my family was safe. Everything we had was in ruins! You know nothing about how that feels!"
In an instant, Lia saw red. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped – only to curl in a snarl. Even Cassandra could not have expected her to react like this. She began to quickly advance toward the brunette, hands shaking, ready to explode. "For once in your miserable life," she stopped within inches of her face, "just shut up!"
Before Cassandra could react, Milo's arm was already pushing her away from Lia. The fawn was not spared, either, as he sought to separate her as well. After dividing the two women, Milo's loud, stern voice brought their yelling down to silence.
"Enough! Both of you!"
Cassandra stood in awe as she saw Milo looking in her direction. Did he think that she was responsible for this? Before she could address him, Lia's glare reacquired her attention, prompting her to lash out. The anger inside her had swelled up to the point of carelessness yet again.
"Speak to me like that again and I will cut your tongue out!" She moved forward, stopped only by Milo's resistance.
Lia was immediate in her follow-up. She was just as mad as Cassandra was – if not angrier. "Spoken like the true animal you are!"
"Lia!" Milo shouted, pointing his finger toward the hallway. "Go!"
"Oh!" Lia continued. "You're taking her side?"
"Just leave," Milo told her. "I will not have you two arguing like this, understand?"
Shifting her eyes between the both of them, Lia angrily turned away and stormed out of the room. A loud grunt was heard after she disappeared past the wall into the large, open center. If Cassandra aimed to whittle down her patience until there was almost nothing left – then she had succeeded.
Now left alone with Milo, Cassandra was still tense as ever. Her mouth opened, ready to yell another insult toward Lia, but the man was fast and cut her off before she could utter another word.
"No! Don't even try it!" He scorned her.
The brunette backed up, shocked that he was now directing his frustrations toward her. Fury engulfed her heart as her eyes glared at him. It was the same, vicious look that she had given him during their first encounter.
"She is the one that started it! She seeks confrontation and she will surely get it!" Cassandra screamed.
"Lower your voice…"
She began to pace around, both hands fidgeting with rage as she did so. "Do not tell me to lower my voice!" Cassandra's fingers curled into her palms, forming tight fists as she bared her teeth. Despite Milo's instructions, she only continued to grow louder, "I voice my opinion and all she does is –"
Milo's composure suddenly fell and at that moment, he erupted. "Enough! I will not listen to any more of this! You need to stop!"
His intense voice would have been enough to wake up a dormant giant. Cassandra paused when she heard it, adding to the abrupt silence that befell the castle. Her aggressive posture softened and her face grew loose – almost sad. Her eyes wandered the floor while her hands instinctively came together. She snapped out of it within a second, but the impact of the motion weighed heavily upon her.
She swallowed her thoughts, glancing back up at him in a somewhat sheepish manner. "Milo, I –"
"No! I don't want to hear it!" He cut her off on the spot. Cassandra immediately tensed up – endless waves of resentment and grievance coursing through her body. Her fists shook against her hip while her mouth twitched. He saw her eyes squint right before they shot open in his direction.
"Why? Why does no one ever listen to me, huh?! Why must I always be scolded, screamed at, and forced to act the part of the guilty when no one ever lets me explain myself?" Her lips curled as she faced him, a slight quiver to them as she wrapped up her outburst. "Is that all that I am to everyone?"
By the time she had started shouting back at him, Milo had already realized how much he had lost himself. It was even greater by the time Cassandra was done. He knew it was a mistake; one that he was utterly ashamed of having committed. Such progress made toward building trust with the brunette was ready to collapse. Yelling at her was already cause for an argument, but now it became something far worse.
He had just brought her mind into a very bad place.
His voice fell to a soft wind; calm and apologetic. The man's brown eyes lowered to the ground, picking back up as he re-addressed her in a move to undo some of the damage. "You're right. Tell me what happened. Take all the time that you need, please."
Cassandra's mouth opened but quickly snapped shut. She glared at him some more – waiting for anything else that was to come her way. As the seconds mounted and the stillness in the air continued, she realized that she was being true to his word.
He was giving her a chance to explain herself.
At that moment; all the words that she could've spoken ceased to form. There was nothing that she could conjure up. She was always prepared for the things that she expected to come her way. But, something like this was completely unexpected and she did not know how or where to begin.
"I…" She looked around the room, her eyes bouncing around from object to object. They could barely focus on anything. She might as well have been staring through the furniture and walls around her. "It started…I…argh!" Cassandra stomped her foot as everything inside of her boiled. Her distressed groans took a higher pitch as if she was beginning to come apart.
"It's okay. There is no rush. Just breathe, Cassandra."
And breathe she did; loud, long, deep breathes – over and over.
There were so many things going on through her mind right now that she couldn't pick a single one to examine. It was one emotion after the other and the longer she took – the more overwhelmed she became. Before the container could burst, Milo attempted to help her expel some of her steam. She needed a direction to go in.
"How did this start?"
When her respirations quelled enough to speak fluidly, she swallowed to clear her mouth. "I just wanted to help. That was it. I wanted to help and I did not like how Leta was being treated. So, I voiced my opinion." Bitterness began to creep in. "And then she started to belittle me."
Nodding attentively, Milo sighed as he wiped his forehead. "I believe you. I heard you assisting Leta. Lia shouldn't have responded the way she did. You were just trying to help."
"Exactly!" Cassandra's brows raised.
"But," Milo added, "you can't allow that to cause you to say the things that you said, either. Threatening her is not going to make it better, Cassandra."
While she was humbled by his respect for her side, defiance still flowed through her veins. "You've seen the way she talks to me!" She yelled before catching herself, dimming her tone a hair before continuing. "I am trying to do better and she will not allow it. I wasn't going to hurt her. She just makes me so angry!"
Milo looked on as she stood there in desperation – anxiously awaiting his approval like a troubled daughter. "A lot has happened to Lia since your arrival – and before that. She doesn't always react in the best manner when she gets angry too. I think it's best that for the time being, you and her do not interact. If it does more harm than good, I see no productivity in it."
Cassandra's eyes swayed around the room, returning to him only when he said one other fact of the matter.
"For Leta's sake."
Her lips curled in, willing to accept his choice of path. "Fine." She straightened out her hood, concerned that it may have moved during her war of words with Lia. As she did so, she was not aware of how her hand stroked the tassel of her exposed locks of dark hair.
Milo, however, picked up on the movement. She was still distressed; trying as hard as she could to contain the way she felt. He thought of himself as a total fool for having lost his temper. He wanted to be able to set a good example for the woman, especially since she had been making strides to communicate better. His lack of restraint had left her unexpectedly shaken and he felt terrible.
"Look, I shouldn't have screamed at you, either," Milo said. "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back."
The stroking of her hair was suspended – cut short by his admission of regret. Her breathing paused and her eyelids lowered. With her hand still wrapped around her locks, Cassandra parted her bottom lip before pressing it back up. Expelling a long breath through her nostrils, she slowly bobbed her head. "Yeah…"
While she acknowledged his apology, Cassandra looked like she still needed time to collect herself.
Milo graced his white beard with his palm, unable to shake the self-commentary that she had provided. The nature of it tugged at his soul. She had not been so forthcoming about her personal life, but from the way she mentioned it; it was anything but stable. He felt even worse knowing that he had damaged her emotions in some way. From another realm or not – she was still a person. To be singled out and rebuked had to have hurt her considerably.
He would not allow her to be alone with such thoughts, however. Even if she wasn't ready to return to the way they were earlier, he hated to leave her on a sour note. She had to know that what she believed wasn't true anymore. "You deserve to have your voice heard and people do want to hear it."
She remained still, swaying around in small micro-movements, staring at the ground. Milo could see that her walls were coming back up. Such hostility being tossed her way only inspired their construction. Yet, part of her looked like she was taking his words of encouragement in. Behind the thousand-yard stare of her amber eyes, she was processing it. He could only hope that it would help ease her unhappiness.
A sudden knock sounded at the front of the castle door, prompting Milo's curiosity to take over. He was not expecting a single visitor. Their castle rarely had any, to begin with. If it was anyone he knew, they would have had to have traveled from Acomb. But, for what?
"Who could that be?" He turned and left the room, leaving Cassandra by herself. The brunette stood idly by, dwelling in her mind as the sound of the castle doors opening blew past her ears. The heavy wood and iron turning against the stone walls carried along like a drum's echo, overshadowed by her recollection of everything that had transpired.
She was too focused on replaying the argument in her head to listen. All she wanted to do was see where she could have gone wrong during her interaction with Lia. Were her initial statements a catalyst for a fight? What could she have said better? Did she raise her voice first?
Cassandra analyzed it over and over; looking for everything and anything that she could change.
"What brings you here?" Milo's voice was heard in between the scenes she re-visited, drowning out as they took over.
Why did I have to let it get to that point? I'm always letting this happen to me.
"Yes, the rumors are true; it was a dhin," Milo said.
I tried to do the right thing! Ugh…this is what I get. I'm just glad Leta didn't have to witness it.
"Leta is unharmed."
She'd be terrified to hear me scream again. I saw the look on her face in those woods. Why am I like this?
"Unfortunately…yes, but she is doing well."
Milo yelling at me was so…horrible. We were not at odds beforehand. Look what you did, Cass.
"She's busy right now. I'll let her know you were concerned."
Why is Lia so mad at me all the time? What else did I do to her?
"She's okay, I assure you."
This has to be affecting Leta. Argh! Why? Why does Lia have to be here? No…don't say that.
"I would not recommend such things."
Don't say that. She is her sister.
"Fine…Cassandra!" Milo called out to her, breaking the woman out of her concentration. "You have a visitor."
What? Who?
Intrigued by whoever it was that would have journeyed over to the castle to see her, Cassandra set aside her thoughts for the moment and stepped out of the room. Rounding the corner of the wall, she saw Milo standing beside the opened door. Beside him was the visitor that he had mentioned. The spark of curiosity on her face fell as soon as she looked at him.
Vasan – the young man who had previously attempted to stop her from stealing.
Oh, great…
The man's light brown eyes lit up upon seeing her. "Cassandra, you are indeed well!"
"Ugh…" She lowered her head, shaking it slowly. Her voice spoke with a dragged-out draw to her words, "What do you want, now?"
Vasan took a step forward – only to bring himself back as he became hesitant at what he had to say. He shot a glance toward Milo, as if asking for some type of approval, but the man simply curled his brow and rolled his head. Cassandra picked up on the gestures and knew that something was hanging in the air. Her impatience getting the better of her, she clapped her bare heel on the ground and tensed her hands.
"Just tell me what it is you want!"
Swallowing his nervousness for the moment, Vasan took two steps toward her and clasped both of his hands together, holding them out to her as if he was begging. "I am so glad to see that you are okay. I received word that there was a dhin attack on the outskirts of Acomb and that the basket you and Leta had was recovered."
How does word travel around this place so quickly?
She did not wish to make the conversation deeper than it had to be, wishing that he would simply address whatever it was that he came here for. "And?"
Vasan nodded – for whatever reason – before continuing what he had to say. Milo stood in the background, amusement in his eyes as he watched the young man. Cassandra's glare briefly shifted to him, only to go back to Vasan when Milo lifted his brow at her.
"Cassandra," he said, "I was worried that you and Leta were killed when I first heard the news. Thankfully, you both escaped! I had just had to come to find out for myself."
The pale woman's amber eyes scrutinized every fiber of his being, staring him down as she analyzed every sentence – every word – that he had spoken so far. She had her assumption that this was yet another example of how annoying the people from that town could be. She also firmly believed that Vasan was naturally irritating and nosey – finding himself in places where he did not belong.
Such conclusions were shattered to pieces when he said what was to follow. "I thought my chance to ask this would be lost forever, but you are safe and well. I was hoping that you would want to spend an afternoon together?"
…What?
She glanced at Milo one more time. He tilted his head to the left and shrugged his shoulders, with no further comment on the matter. Seeing that no help would come from him, she returned her eyes to Vasan; whose wide smile had only grown larger following his request. The man – or boy, as she regarded him – looked incredibly nervous on the inside.
His smile was a failed attempt at feigning the strong confidence that he lacked – and she quickly saw it.
"Get away from me." Cassandra pointed him back to the outside world. It shattered his hope in an instant, though he still felt the need to press her one more time.
"I mean not to upset you, Cassandra," he told her. "I can see that a lot has happened to you over the last day."
"What is that supposed to mean?" She quickly took offense at his statement, angrily stepping toward him. Her finger curled back into her palm, forming a fist that hung in the air.
Reminded of his first encounter with her the day prior, Vasan lifted both of his hands as he began to stutter. "I...I'm sorry! I...I didn't mean it like that!" His eyes scanned her entire body; from her face and shoulders, all the way down to her exposed legs. "You are as beautiful as ever."
Fire engulfed the brunette's piercing glare. Her face tightened at the sight of such ogling. Cassandra was already on edge from the exchange with Lia and now, she had to deal with him. If Vasan had picked any time to walk over to the castle and pony up to her – this was the worst one.
"I swear…" Cassandra's fury began to rise. He held her hand up, forefinger and thumb apart by mere millimeters. "You are this close to getting hurt if you don't –"
Milo calmly interjected, "Cassandra…wait."
She ceased her tirade as soon as she heard him. At first, she imagined that he was going to accuse her of losing control for no reason, despite how Vasan made her feel. Before she could roar back at him, their previous conversation led her to decide to wait for an explanation. It was best not to jump to conclusions, she decided then and there.
She sighed. "Yes, Milo?"
The man continued, "If you are willing, I believe some more time outside this castle may help you out. A breath of fresh air is always good."
Her lips parted and she looked back at the now-sweaty young man nearby. As soon as her stare returned to Milo, she already had her response ready to go. It was as firm as it could be. "No."
"Look…" Milo proposed. "No one here is going to force you to do something you don't want to do. I just think it might be nice for you to spend some more time outside these walls today. It's my suggestion, but I'll check up on you if you desire. You might have more fun out there than in here."
Spend the day in the same castle as Lia or spend the day with Vasan? Can this day get any worse? Can Leta at least join us? What am I thinking? No, she won't be allowed…ugh…
Cassandra stared at Vasan, picking him apart piece by piece as she did so. "What is it that you propose?"
Like the rug was pulled out from under his feet, Vasan was suddenly taken aback by Cassandra's question. He could not believe that she was even beginning to give it any thought at this point. "I…I…"
"Enough stuttering!" She demanded that he get to the point.
"I wanted to share a meal with you and maybe see if you would enjoy what our town has to offer! I know you were in a rush last time to get back and with your illness, I wasn't sure if such a thing was possible."
"Illness?" Milo was confused. Cassandra shot him a glance, hoping that he would pick up on playing along. The man suddenly nodded his head, rolling his brow as he did so. "Oh, yes! Your illness, Cassandra."
His acting did nothing to convince anyone in the room. Maybe it was intentional? Or, perhaps not. Either way, Cassandra glanced at Vasan, who questioned the exchange with a look of bewilderment on his face.
Ugh! At this rate, I'd rather spend some time outside of these castle walls and away from everyone.
"Never mind that." She faced Vasan with a heated glare in her eyes. "Fine! I'll go with you."
The young man jumped in sheer joy as soon as she accepted his offer. She could see Milo out of the corner of her eye, taking a breath; unsure if he had made the right move on his part. Cassandra shook it all away as she rattled her head.
Vasan approached her like a happy child. "Oh, Cassandra! I promise you will have a wonderful day!"
With both eyes squinted, her amber irises shined within her lids, piercing through his words. Her eyebrows lowered, annoyed at herself more than him. She curled the right side of her upper lip against her nose, flashing some of her teeth in the process.
"Great…"
NOTES:
Welcome back! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
A lot went down, that's for sure. We see Alcina finally lay down the hammer and the crater it left will shape the last day of Cassandra's life – all the way up to her final hour. There is still more to come in these flashbacks, as the lives of everyone in the village are doomed to end as chaos soon takes hold.
In Locwitary, things aren't looking so good. Her fight with Lia was as ugly as it was brief – cut short by Milo. Unfortunately, his relationship with Cassandra is also on sour terms. The bridge was not burned, but it is not one that she is comfortable standing on, either. As the chapter said: it will take time to heal.
Speaking of relationships; Vasan has entered the chat. Sounds like his violent encounter with our favorite brunette chapters ago has put more in his mind besides fear. Since she reluctantly agreed to take him up on his offer, you can expect the next chapter to take us out of the castle once again.
Oh, and if you enjoyed our protagonist's attitude in the earliest chapters, you're in luck. Given that she's less than enthusiastic about this 'date,' expect some good old classic Cassandra to make an extended appearance.
Without posting spoilers: don't expect Vasan to steal the spotlight. This is still Lia's arc and tensions are rising. She and Cassandra are heading toward an inevitable showdown. At the same time, the flashbacks are close to merging with the game too. Some really big stuff is looming on the horizon.
Follow this story on Archive of Our Own to check out the latest artwork depicting Cassandra and Lia. Every chapter gets at least one drawing to go with it!
The next chapter will release on November 15th.
Thanks for all your support in this story! It's great to have such amazing followers and I'm glad that writing has introduced me to you! Thank you for giving this work a chance when it first started and inspiring me to take it to where it is now. I can't wait to get the next chapter soon for you all! Hope you have a great week and enjoy yourselves! Stay safe and happy and I look forward to seeing you again!