AN:
I cannot begin to tell you how fucking psyched I am for this chapter, and though it may never live up to the complicated operas playing in my head, I hope that it at least mirrors them a bit.
Either way, I hope you enjoy and be warned, this chapter has some Triggers.
TW: Suicidal Ideations, Disassociation
Yay, good ol, normal stuff. Have fun!
Summary:
'And when I take your hand
Like the world has never held a man
I know I cannot heal the hurt
But I will hold you here forever
If I can' - Aurora-Exist for Love
Once upon a time, in a dreary castle, there was light. An old song that matched the weathered brick in the fortress, twirled out of a special room. Within the room, a duet was almost completed; a piano complemented the trills bouncing off a bow resin.
Daniela pinched the violin bow in her fingers, sawing through the nocturne with unconventional grace as her other hand tapped notes with dextrous speed. By her side, her mother gently played the piano, watching her daughter in small spates before returning to the notes played.
They both weaved the song beautifully; a pair of musicians, honed by years of practice.
Sunlight filtered through the window by the piano, unencumbered by the heavy curtains flung wide open to display the hostile land they lived in.
Nocturne Opus 9 No. 2, a personal favourite that Daniela persuaded her mother to play; a plea that worked with great success.
For Lady Alcina Dimitrescu was weak to her wiles, to her littlest princess born years ago from the womb of the Cadou.
Relenting to her accompaniment, Lady Dimitrescu allowed her daughter to finish the song as the youngest ad-libbed a series of quick notes. Daniela's eyes closed as she sunk into the flow of music, swaying and slowly moving to contradict the rapid succession of violin melodies. Wizened grey eyes softened greatly at the sight as Lady Dimitrescu pressed down the last parts of the nocturne on the piano, ending the song to the long pull of the violin bow.
Grey met grey and stole the Lady's breath away.
Daniela smiled widely, her lips bare from her sister's signature lipstick; painted with nothing but blood.
Allowing her hands to fall, Daniela stayed in place, watching her mother closely with barely contained excitement.
"How did I do?" she asked, lighting her expression with a desire for approval.
Lady Dimitrescu tilted her head, bathing her face in the sunlight to nullify the shadows her large hat cast.
"You were excellent, my princess," the matriarch said sweetly, shifting in her chair to better see her daughter, "With every passing day, your talent grows."
Unable to contain herself any longer, Daniela squeals as she runs to her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck while taking care not to smack her with the violin. Lady Dimitrescu sighs at the display, not from irritation, but from love. Returning the hug, she coils her long arms around her youngest, holding her with little force.
The Cadou created a dragoness with excess strength and a fragile bug with emotional potential. Such power was always restrained in moments like this, despite the indestructible nature of the youngest Dimitrescu.
Resting her head on Daniela's shoulder, Lady Dimitrescu absorbed the affection willingly, before speaking in a low voice, "I'm proud of you, Daniela."
Tightening her grip, Daniela accepted the praise all too willingly, giggling as she looked out the window and towards the sun. It lit up her grey eyes like fire on cobblestone; feeding an ego like Icarus pelting towards the sky.
Five heartbeats passed before the moment ended.
Daniela felt her mother's arms snake away, signalling the end of the hug and she stepped back with her violin bow hanging limply at her side.
"Now," Lady Dimitrescu started as she lifted herself from the piano bench to bend to her daughter's height, "I must warn you that the glassmaker is still working on the windows so you'll need to stay clear of the east hallway," she pauses, raising her gloved hand to stroke Daniela's cheek, "remember, the cold is not kind to you and your sisters so for your protection, be careful."
Daniela nods, pinching her face into a little smile as she replies, "Yes, mother."
Patting her daughter's cheek, Lady Dimitrescu lowers her arm, "Good girl. You may take your leave."
Nodding once more, Daniela watches her mother raise to her full height before the click of her heels heads towards the door. She bends below the doorframe, holding her hat brim and disappears into the hall, leaving Daniela to sort herself out.
Exhaling deeply, the youngest Dimitrescu swung her arms slightly in thought as she peered around the room, spotting her violin case on top of the piano. With surety, she approached the item, unclipping the latches to place her instrument within its velvet-lined home. As she fiddled with the buckles, Daniela allowed a mischievous smirk to play on her face; her mother said to stay away from the east hall.
It was a loving warning, but also an invitation to one so drawn to adventure.
Daniela lacked Bela's self-control and Cassandra's obedience but what she had was curiosity; a trait she possessed in spades. Grey eyes met the sun again as it touched her through the window's thick glass, encouraging her; a sign.
With one last smile, Daniela patted her violin case before she headed towards the hallway, seeking out the direction where the sun always rose.
Castle Dimitrescu was as grand as it was complicated. Though it was her home, Daniela was still unfamiliar with the layout, even after so many years, and found herself lost more often than she liked. Bela and Cassandra tried their best to help her when they could but with every lesson, Daniela forgot more and more. It was up to her to learn her own way through the castle, through landmarks and subtle hints.
Following the paintings, Daniela recognized a clump of art; the canvases of Renoir's beautiful ladies hung with oil-stippled eyes to guide the youngest Dimitrescu to her destination.
A door was beyond the landmarks, and with glee, Daniela approached, kneeling to the gap below the wood before plucking off her leather glove. Passing her fingers along the space, she waited for a sharp sting that never came. There was no village breeze filtering through the door, no change in temperature to the warmth of the candles.
Perfect.
Putting her glove back on, Daniela raised herself to the brass handle, opening the door to peer into the room.
On top of a tall scaffold was a young man admiring his work. He tended to have his back turned to her but she could always make out his black, wavy hair that contrasted the pale, transparent glass.
Daniela had seen this man a few times in passing; each encounter made her bolder.
It all started with a smile when he caught her eye from atop his scaffold, but Daniela didn't smile back, instead, she hurried out of the room, leaving him to his craft.
The second time, he saw her again, with the same smile and mimicking his energy, she finally smiled back.
The meetings continued that way for a while, despite Bela's lectures to stay away from the workspaces lest she be caught in a cold wind.
But Daniela never listened, continuing to lose herself around the castle only to find herself in places she shouldn't be.
Gulping, the youngest Dimitrescu stepped through the door, following a set path towards the fate she built herself. The wooden floor creaked beneath her as she treads the long rug, lifting her eyes to spot the glassmaker as a cat would track a mouse.
Hearing the noise, the glassmaker turned carefully on his scaffold, peering down to see his usual guest. Once more, the young man smiled, brightening his tawny skin with pearly teeth; a greeting to the oft-disappearing red-haired stranger.
Daniela continued walking before she summoned her strength, raising a hand to curtly wave at the glassmaker, extending her time with him for just a moment longer. She didn't know if it was the right thing to do; social graces were still somewhat lost on her, but within the fairytales, her mother read to her, courtesy was a lesson Daniela studied well.
With the social invitation offered, the glassmaker waved back, stepping forward on his scaffold to get a better look at Daniela before she would make her eventual exit.
But Castle Dimitrescu was not a place where mercy nor normal people thrived.
One misstep from a simple interaction led to the dominos toppling one by one.
The glassmaker gasped as his footing wavered from the quick movement, sending him tumbling off his lofty perch, rocketing towards the ground.
Humans were fragile.
Daniela knew this well from the bodies she reaped within the castle. They were easy to kill, easy to break. Another human would die today, but would it be by her choosing?
Summoning her bugs swiftly, the youngest child disagreed, flitting towards the falling man before catching him in her arms. He landed with a thud into her grip, grunting as the fear of death slowly left him. Turning his head to the mysterious saviour, the man panted; his dark brown eyes were wide with fright before he began to calm himself.
"That was too close!" he breathed out, staring at Daniela, "Thanks for catching me," he smiled again, bleeding out the adrenaline that coursed through his body.
Still hovering, Daniela didn't speak at first, for once. It was unheard of for a predator to save their prey unless they planned to devour them later. A rule within the Dimitrescu household; every human is cattle to be slaughtered.
Especially the ones that served the castle.
But Daniela wasn't an ordinary member of the family and this act proved her distance to the noble name.
It had been a few seconds since the man spoke and Daniela still had yet to reply, unable to formulate words or thoughts to combat this unknown situation. Interacting from afar for so short a time was easy for Daniela; no connections to keep her tethered. Now, she had to face him, speak to him, do more than just coyly slink in and out of a room. Now, she was plunged into socializing without properly knowing how; a fate she chose without heeding the consequences.
Still no words. Still, nothing trampled in her thoughts. Not a single line of speech.
That is, however, till a phrase came bubbling up, something said to her not long ago in the music room.
With newfound confidence, Daniela repeated what went on in her mind, placing her own spin on the sentence.
"You should be more careful, man-thing."
She said it with faltering venom; he was food after all, but Daniela lacked Cassandra's brash hostility. Raising her chin, she attempted to seem more intimidating, showing off the dried rivulets of blood to command respect but the gesture failed to resonate any cruelty.
Instead, the man tried to hide a smirk; she saw no fear in his eyes, no quivering or trembling in her grasp. Even with the sickle dangling from her levitating form and the blood still staining her apparel, the glassmaker looked upon this bringer of death with a neutral gaze.
"I'll definitely try to be less clumsy," he says quietly, rippling his words in an accented tongue, "Can you put me down, please, my Lady?"
Finally, the smirk breaks free from his face, softening Daniela's attempt to be strong and with whimsical consistency, she grins, floating down with buzzing wings to touch the floor. Releasing the man, she watches him stand at his full height, rolling his shoulders before checking his toolbelt for any missing items.
Quiet rains upon the hallway, encompassing the pair save for the clinking of metal in a leather holster. Daniela breathes slowly, shrinking her grin into a little smile before looking to the window. The finished work was excellently crafted and sure to keep out the winter chill from touching the castle's innards. A form of protection, ordered by her mother and built by this strange man; a process that was years in the making.
And strange he was indeed, for he showed no terror at the sight of blood nor at the weapon by Daniela's side still bearing the remnants of her former victims.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Daniela asks, losing her smile to rare seriousness, "You should be afraid of me."
Glancing up from his belt, the young man can't help but look delighted despite his near-death, "It's because you smiled back. And you caught me too. How can I be afraid of you now?"
A short answer that spoke of great ignorance to the glassmaker's surroundings, but it made the fairytales in Daniela's heart rise, discarding the pursuit to be more like her mother and sisters.
It forced her to be herself.
"Well," Daniela drawled, fiddling with her fingers, "You should still be afraid of my family. They eat little man-things like you without a second thought, y'know," she lowers her voice a few octaves into a whisper, "However, it's weird…that you don't fear me."
Like a flurry of trumpet notes, the man laughs, gracing the fearful corridors with a song never uttered by humans. For a moment, Daniela thought he was mocking her but the glassmaker's laugh turns into a chuckle; genuine without a mask to hide his expression.
However, he halts his chuckling, taking note of Daniela's anxiousness, calming himself from his sudden outburst.
"Sorry for laughing, I'm not making fun of you, I promise," he doesn't relent with his tapered joy, "It's just that I know about this place really well; my uncle was the windowmaker before me so I learned everything from him, including the darker parts of the castle. You gotta have a strong stomach to work here, to be honest," his eyes hold no lies as he continues, "but you're so nice; nothing like the stories I've heard about the Dimitrescus," cutting off his rambling, the glassmaker extends his hand in greeting, "I'm Lucero, by the way."
Taking in the flurry of words, Daniela looks at Lucero's hand before looking back at him. Tales of her family were widespread in this land, scaring the populace into submission. But this human didn't submit and neither was he a local, instead, he flocked towards the danger out of duty without relenting to the warnings.
Just like her. An adventurous spirit.
The thought made her feel less alone.
"What's that?" Daniela said cautiously, staring at Lucero's outstretched hand with confusion.
Lucero never stopped smiling and surprisingly, he didn't chide her for not knowing what to do; the opposite of Bela.
"It's called a handshake," he says gently, "people use it to say hello. All you have to do is take my hand and move it up and down, if you're ok with it, of course. Then you say your name."
With the steps laid out for her, Daniela reached her hand out hesitantly, clasping her fingers around Lucero's hand as she awkwardly lifts it up and down.
"Daniela Dimitrescu."
With another laugh, brassy and alive, the young man accepts the greeting before letting go, unlacing his fingers from Daniela's gloved hand.
The woman in question allows her arm to hang limply once more as they're once again plunged into silence. The castle drank away Lucero's laughter quickly, unaccustomed to the elated sounds of a man-thing. Clinking tools in Lucero's belt fill the conversation with artless shuffling, signalling the end of a moment gone too soon.
"I should…probably get back to work," Lucero says again, looking away from the blood-soaked woman's piercing yet curious stare, "Thanks for catching me, Daniela. Hopefully, I'll see you soon, yea?"
The human used her first name without any sense of formality, something that a regular Dimitrescu would have his head for. But Daniela let it slide easily; her first name was only ever spoken by her family and it was nice to hear it from a different voice for once.
A change of pace.
"You're welcome, Lucero," Daniela remarks, accessing the social graces taught to her, smirking at the glassmaker "and maybe you will."
With a lazy nod, Lucero turns back to his scaffold but not before he gives Daniela a parting wave, saying goodbye to the odd member of such a macabre household.
And Daniela, against the swarming lectures in her mind, held her hand up to give the smallest of waves. Groaning, the scaffold ladder bore Lucero's weight as he scaled his way towards his work; upwards into the choked light of the window.
It was Daniela's turn to leave.
With the situation diffused and her emotions in a tangle, she had to. Blowflies vaporised her body quickly as Daniela fled through the door, neglecting to close the door as she attempted to outrun the awkwardness plaguing her mind.
This was nothing like the fairytales, there was no structure or magical resolution to guide her to the right actions. Buzzing past the paintings and through the corridors, she sped up in an attempt to escape the nervous feelings prickling her skin.
An obstacle yanked her out of her thoughts as she collided with a wall, falling gracelessly to the floor with a sharp thud.
Immortal to a fault, there was no physical pain, but mortal to the bone, there was emotional turmoil that seeped into her body to mimic the sensation. Lying on the ground, Daniela watched the paintings above her tremble from the impact as if they shook along to her inner conflict.
She sighed harshly, blowing away several strands of reddish hair plastered to her face. Even after so many years, her ability to fly was her weakest skill; smashing into decorations, getting caught on chandeliers, never keeping up with the speed her sisters shot around with.
And now this. The glassmaker. Lucero.
Sitting upright, Daniela observed the wallpaper, trying to seek counsel from the ornate patterns. Always the last to show progress, the youngest Dimitrescu knew her failings well, only ever excelling at the violin.
Something that wasn't useful in hunting man-things, despite her ability to kill just like her sisters.
You must keep trying, Daniela, or else you're setting yourself up to fail before you even start.
Appearing like a ghost, the sentence swam in Daniela's head; words she knew well, spoken from her mother's lips in her earliest days.
And so she pulled herself together, biting the blood drying on her lip to settle back into reality. Those same lips tugged into a smile, encouraging the need to try again, even at the risk of embarrassment.
Lucero would still be there tomorrow; another chance to rectify her stupid first impression.
Picking herself off the floor, Daniela held that smile in place as she walked down the hall, holding herself high even in the face of adversity. She didn't feel very energetic, not as much as Lucero, but she took a page from his book; copying his delight into her body language.
Fake it till you make it.
Humans needed to eat human food.
Lucero took another bite of his sandwich; occupying his time by staring at one of the castle's many decorations. Sitting with his back against the wall, the glassmaker enjoyed his lunch break silently only a few paces away from the scaffolding.
Continuing to peer from the slightly open door, Daniela watched Lucero do mortal things to keep his fragile body running. Though she sustained herself with blood and flesh, there were a few times when curiosity got the better of her when it came to mortal cuisine. Fruits, meats, vegetables; she'd tried them all and loved each flavour dancing on her tongue. Nothing could ever compare to the ambrosial taste of warm blood, but the variety each foodstuff possessed was a very welcome change to her normal meals. Cassandra and Bela tended to recoil from human cooking, complaining about their unappetizing scents, but Daniela never shied away, only adding to their nausea.
Flicking his gaze to the ceiling, Lucero happily ate his sandwich, seemingly unaware of the presence stalking his break. Daniela leaned her head just a little more to get a better look at him as she thought over what she was going to say. Unfortunately, she hadn't really thought of anything yet and what was supposed to be just a few seconds of looking, turned into a few minutes of staring.
It was a good thing she was a Dimitrescu huntress or else he'd see-
"So, are you gonna come in or…?" Lucero says with a bright smile to match his loud voice as he leveled his gaze at the doorway.
The words shook Daniela out of her reverie as she jumped, accidentally forcing the door open as she swung forward on its handle. So much for being a huntress. That was always Cassandra's stomping ground and no matter how many tips her sister dispensed, Daniela still remained the easiest to spot while hunting intruders.
Spiralling flies immediately brought Daniela to stand straight in an attempt to save face but the damage was already done. The shame was creeping up her neck and without a doubt, the emotions were plain to see on her features. It was only a matter of time till the human laughed again, this time, at her inability to be a proper huntress.
But when her despondent grey eyes met Lucero's, he only smiled sympathetically, regardless of the foolish entry she made. This man-thing was different from all the others; the thought frightened yet intrigued her.
"I'm having lunch. It's just a sandwich but I have other things too. Come and see!" he announces as he holds up the bread to catch the embarrassed woman's eye.
What a weird man…
Decisions were hard for her. They were either made without thinking or never chosen from sheer paralysis of choice. Even in the dim candlelight, she could see Lucero raising an eyebrow at her, waiting for a response of any kind. Taking a deep breath, she let impulse take control as she walked across the hall; a handful of blowflies fluttered off her shoulder as if pieces of her were trying to escape the nerves zipping around her head. Echos of her bootheels clicked against the wooden floor as she approached Lucero, stopping a few feet away. Though she was taught to kill, she was also informed by the books she read and the tales her mother often regaled her with.
Plus, this human was inoffensive. Maybe she could give him a chance.
Lucero was an entertaining man-thing that brought levity to the halls instead of plain death.
One of her bugs fluttered off her cloak as if pulled by gravity, zooming in circles before resting on Lucero's arm. Bela said to challenge the world around her to see if it could be trusted. With the test deployed, Daniela held her breath, waiting to feel a piece of her die due to her stupid plan. A possible sacrifice; a vulnerability waiting to be struck.
Holding up his forearm, Lucero watched the bug crawl around his skin with rapt attention; those dark eyes glanced away from the fly to look at Daniela, "Is this you?" he gives his trademark smile as he lowers his arm into his lap, "To be quite honest, that's pretty cool!"
Unable to stop the grin from spreading, Daniela beamed as her fly shot towards her, reforming a molecule in her body. Unperturbed, he complimented her instead of showing horrid disgust like some of the maids did in private. Not a single hand raised to smite a shard of her soul. The thought made her even happier.
"They're a part of me," Daniela replied, opening her hand to let a thin pillar of bugs float in her palm, "like fingers and eyes, they're like senses that do stuff."
Lucero takes another bite of his sandwich, finishing the meal before swallowing heavily so as not to cut into her explanation. But Daniela doesn't say anything more as she shuffles awkwardly in front of the young man, closing her fist to let her insects melt back into her glove.
Clucking his tongue, Lucero continues where the youngest Dimitrescu left off, "Would you like to sit with me, Daniela? You don't have to if you don't want to, really…"
A cloud of black erupted at the question as hundreds of blowflies obscured Lucero's vision, bathing the world in black before disappearing into nothing. Thoroughly confused, the glassmaker scratched his head, looking around for Daniela.
"Over here." came a voice next to him.
The woman in question sat with her back against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest but a delighted smile graced her features, "My bug let me do all sorts of things. Surprising man-things is one of them."
Daniela waited and was rewarded with the brassy laugh she'd come to enjoy in such a short space of time. Lucero wasn't the only one with the ability to entertain; a skill Daniela honed from playing silly pranks on her sisters and the maids.
And so, a comfortable silence settled over the two strange people, supplementing conversation for a brief minute of peace.
But the silence broke when Lucero began to dig in a satchel by his side, fighting the sound of ticking clocks and flickering wicks. Knowing where his supplies were, he retrieved a thick slice of bread, a butter knife and a small, unlabeled jar with a red, viscous gel solidifying inside.
"Care for some bread and jam?" he offers, setting the bread down on his lap before twisting the jar lid open.
Blood was what built the Dimitrescu line, it was their life and their sustenance.
But Daniela nods with a small smile, discarding her nature to delve into Lucero's world.
Roughened hands, puckered by small scars, smoothly manoeuvred the knife with the same precision Daniela did with her sickle. Dollops of sweet jam, dotted with minuscule seeds, were spread on the slice of bread before being offered to the youngest Dimitrescu on a tawny hand. With little hesitation, Daniela took the bread, feeling her fingers brush over Lucero's own for a single moment before she pulled away. Human skin was a delicious snack but she never truly felt its texture without her gloves on.
Mumbling a small thanks , Daniela stared at the bread, wondering in her own world, what would happen if her hands were bare when she felt Lucero's flesh. She expected the thought to make her hungry for his blood.
Instead, it only served to make her introspective.
Glancing to the side, Daniela spotted Lucero buttering another bread slice with jam before he took a bite, raising a black eyebrow at her hesitance. Though he lacked formality, he didn't seem to lack manners as he chewed, refusing to speak with his mouth full but allowing a question to hang on his expression.
"I like the taste of human food a lot but it doesn't do anything to me." Daniela says wistfully, pressing her lips together before she offered a crucial piece of information that threatened to disrupt her blissful moment, "I need to drink blood to keep me alive."
Shutting her eyes, the youngest Dimitrescu waited for Lucero to push her away; if it happened, she didn't want to bear witness. That or she'd evaporate into a cloud, leaving the trembling mortal to rip away their time together.
With her eyes still closed, Daniela prepared herself, listening to the candlelight and the footsteps of maids. Lucero's belt jingled with tools and with a sinking heart, Daniela braced herself for the inevitable knife to stab its way into her invulnerable body.
Man blood.
Perforating the air, the godly scent rose, forcing Daniela's eyes open as Lucero held his forearm out, dripping a shallow wound to garnish the bread held in gloved hands. Fighting her inner demons, Daniela's hunger rose to incredible heights as she forced her appetite to wane from the delights of human flesh. With no warning, the youngest Dimitrescu grabbed Lucero's arm, stemming the flow of blood beneath the leather with an iron grip.
It was the first time fear shone in those night-black eyes and the guilt of Daniela's actions grew as large as her hunger.
"You can't…" she trails off, straining against her words with a worried face, "You can't bleed here. I told you before, my family would kill you."
He doesn't respond, still frozen in fear as Daniela sifts through the crossroads in her mind, for once, unparalyzed by the branching choices in front of her.
A blowfly darts off her finger and biting her lip, the most foolish of the Dimitrescu line crushes the bug against his wound, releasing a pained breath as a small part of her died. Unlike her sisters, Daniela had yet to steel herself from the rancid emotional sting of her dead flies. Each one vibrated in harmony with her, as it was her and she was unwilling to neglect the very thing that comprised her DNA.
Even at the risk of the Dimitrescu reputation.
"It's nasty but I had to do it," Daniela says with a shaking breath, placing the bread slice in her lap to wipe away a tear, "Man blood attracts my sisters. My…my bug should hide the scent till the bleeding stops."
From fright to solemnity, Lucero's expression melts, watching Daniela's pain as if it were his own.
"I'm so sorry," he says quietly, staring at the blackish tint dripping through the woman's fingers, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to give you something you could actually eat."
A short nod is Daniela's only answer as she regains herself, inhaling her tears back to stability. She gives a sad smile as she releases his arm, turning her attention back to the bread and jam. Blood pooled on the bread, mixing with the berry spread and with a deep breath, Daniela picked it up, taking a large bite.
Immediately, her eyes lit up as the sugary tang of strawberry complimented the savoury blood, bringing a smile to her face as she ate. For once, there was no man-flesh gnashing in her jaws, but sweetness given to her by a gentle young man.
Looking over to Lucero, she sees him munching along with her, blessing her with silent companionship; a feeling she never knew arose within her heart.
Without a name for the sensation, Daniela pondered on it, confused by its warmth.
But every good moment had its bad, every action, a consequence.
Bursting open, the door swung on its hinges as another cloaked figure stared at the duo, twisting their expression to silent seething.
Bela.
Daniela stared her sister down, lashing her arm across Lucero to lay claim in gesture alone. Stoic ashen eyes met ebbing grey as Bela moved towards the pair, her hands clasped behind her back as she sniffed the air, sensing the muffled man-blood.
Turning her attention to Lucero, Bela observed the scene before her, analysing the pair, their stance, their emotions before she looked back to Daniela; still seething.
Painted only by blood, Daniela's lips moved, quietly mouthing a desperate please to her eldest sister, crinkling the tattoo on her forehead with sudden fear.
Bela loomed, losing the contained rage as it warped to begrudging compliance. Her eyes never lost their sharp glare, however. The noble house never fraternized with such disgusting animals but there was one crack in the armour within the bloodline that bent the rule without care.
Lady Alcina Dimitrescu and her two older daughters were weak to one within their fold; Daniela did as her heart commanded. So long as she remained unharmed, they would allow her behaviour.
They always did.
Raising her hand, Bela brought two fingers to her eyes before snapping the gesture to Lucero; a promise to watch him, to destroy him if anything should happen to the youngest child.
Gulping, Lucero understood the threat, shining a nervous smile through his subtle fear.
Swarming, a billow of blowflies blew Bela away into the corridor, leaving nothing but an intimidating aura behind.
Lowering her head, Daniela sighed in relief dropping her arm into her lap, breathing in the aroma of strawberries and man-blood -Lucero's blood-.
"Your sister is terrifying . I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes again !"
Joking through the tension, Lucero's small laugh cuts through the difficult moment, easing Daniela's mood back into fragile peace. He sees her smile briefly; obscured by her hood and a curtain of reddish hair.
But it's a smile all the same.
"Don't worry, Lucero," Daniela chuckles, turning to face the glassmaker with a glowing grin, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
An oath was made that day, as they ate together between the giggling chatter.
No matter the consequences, Daniela would safeguard the blistering light that shone through the unique man-thing.
Whispering in her head, seeping darkness spat out reality with twisted breath.
He's not a local and soon, he'll leave.
Lucero spills a drop of jam on his shirt, sucking his teeth at the mess before scrubbing the stain with his thumb.
She'd worry about the future when it came but for now, for just a moment longer, she could live in the present before it was stolen by time.
Days slipped away through the shadowy corridors, blending into weeks. The castle was a paragon of secrecy for within its walls, the truth could hide in plain sight. As time passed, Daniela continued meeting Lucero at lunchtime, sneaking through the rooms to avoid unnecessary attention. The last thing she needed was a maid spilling secrets to her mother, or worse, being caught by her.
And so, they bonded, talked, joked and laughed beneath glaring paintings and judgemental shadows, never once giving in to the crushing atmosphere. Confessing dreams of the future, Lucero spoke of his aspiration to start a brewery; holding grand admiration for the Dimitrescu vineyards. He even sneaked a portion of homemade wine in his bag, telling her the fermenting process with excited chatter. Those were things she already knew, however, seeing as she occasionally played a part in making Sanguis. A drop of his homebrewed wine touched her tongue and she recoiled; alcohol never sat well in her mouth, too pungent and sharp with a vicious burn to her throat.
That's when he had offered to prick the tip of his finger, just to mollify the flavour scouring her mouth.
But Daniela forbade Lucero from spilling any more blood, fearing that her sisters would lose control and rip his throat out.
But he was cattle after all, and the deepest fear truly, was Daniela succumbing to her hunger, rending him to shreds with her own teeth.
The taste of strawberries alone was pleasant, but without the savoury bite of Lucero's blood, the jam lost its appeal. It upset her greatly that she could no longer go back to the fleeting humanity of simple tastes. The forlorn look remained for a few days and Lucero, with his strange ways, offered her a metal hip flask. There had been mischief in his eyes and upon opening the container, the mouth-watering scent of his blood eked out of the canister, bearing the notes of a softer, sweeter strawberry wine.
After one sip, Lucero waited for a response only to be lunged at with a tight hug.
Daniela felt her soul stretch that day, morphing like wet clay under talented hands.
He had smelled of lavender and the same berry floating in the flask, a far cry from the encrusted man-stink on the bodies she slaughtered.
Lucero shone a light into her that day, warming her heart against the bitter cold of the outside world.
It blossomed into something only spoken in fairytales, read in the dark beneath a dying candlelight.
Love
Swiftly, bare fingers tapped and slid across the thin fretboard as Daniela practised her nocturne. The music room soaked up her song, amplifying the tune into an orchestra for one. As she skated another trill down the strings, she swayed, occasionally stepping forward and back in a focused dance as the music puppeteered her movements.
"Wow. You said you played the violin but I didn't know you were a professional!"
A familiar voice called out to Daniela as she stopped playing, snapping her attention to the man slowly approaching her. Closing the door behind him, Lucero walked with his usual pep, closing the distance between them to stand in front of Daniela. Without the equilibrium of sitting together, Lucero's height was far more prominent. Standing taller than Daniela, she had to crane her head up slightly to look him in the eye.
Were it not for her Cadou-given strength, she would have been unable to catch him on the fateful day he fell due to his size.
Biting her lip into a closed grin, Daniela turned to her violin case atop the piano, reverently setting the instrument in its shell before she gave Lucero her full attention.
"Mother's the professional, not me," Daniela scoffed playfully, lightly tapping him on the arm, "But she's a great teacher and really patient when it comes to music." she gives a nervous smile while rocking on the balls of her feet, "I'm rambling, but basically, I've been a violinist for as long as I can remember."
"Well, tell Lady Dimitrescu I said thanks for making such a talented musician," Lucero replied, crossing his arms loosely.
Sparking with anxiety, Daniela's eyes shot open wide as she held up both hands in small, frantic waves, "No, no wait, no, I can't tell mother you said that, I'm not even supposed to be near you, she'd k-"
"Hey, come back here," Lucero said softly, attempting to calm the woman's sudden spike of panic, "Everything's alright, I was just joking, Ella. Take some deep breaths, ok."
Nicknames were reserved for family, but Lucero wormed his way into her heart one day with the slip in syntax.
And since that day, they were Luci and Ella.
Hearing her name, Daniela began to breathe slowly, watching Lucero's chest rise and fall as he did the same in a show of support. The room seemed constrictive despite its spacious design but with Lucero's kind eyes following her own, she began to feel the world open up again.
Always the sensitive sister, the neurotic youngest, Daniela tried her best to follow in the monumental, controlled footsteps of House Dimitrescu.
But the beat she walked to was far too different a tempo.
You will never fill the Dimitrescu shoes, you fraud.
A wretched thought punctured through the hard-earned calm, something new, sinister and destructive.
Was this the price of finding Lucero?
Gentle as the shadows lapping against the wall, Lucero's eyes grounded her with kindness.
If so, it was worth it.
Steadying herself, Daniela forced a smile as she twirled away, spreading out a swath of insects to carry her towards a coffee table by the fireplace. Spellbound by her spontaneous flight, the young man watched Daniela fiddle with a record player, prodding the needle onto vinyl before a crackle of melodies lifted into the air.
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
Yet I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem
Mischief and orange light splashed colour on her pale face, highlighting the tender look she gave to Lucero and Lucero alone. A light blush stains his dusky cheeks that even the sticky shadows of the castle couldn't drain.
Daniela knew she was caught in his net and she hoped, even with her social follies, that he was tangled up in hers.
"Care to dance with me, glassman?" she chirps, speedily crossing the marble floors on buzzing legs to reform in front of her chosen human, offering her ungloved hand; an invitation.
"Sure," he responds, looking away in uncharacteristic shyness, "But I have to warn you. I'm not great at this so I might step on your toes. A lot."
Dreams of this day had poured into Daniela's mind since the moment they shared their first meal; the structure had been solidified, a storybook in the making.
All she needed to do was follow the steps laid out before her.
Pale fingers brushed against umber ones, feeling the raised scars and callouses from a life of producing glass. His skin was warm, pulsing with the very thing that sustained her; comfort was found where hunger could not thrive.
Lacing together, their palms met as Daniela assumed a pose Bela taught her; though unfeeling, her eldest sister was a phenomenal dancer and showed her true self in movement.
Out of timing, they waltzed slowly, falling in and out of the beat like a bird's wings flapping through the wind. Spinning, Lucero tried his best to keep up with Daniela, giggling with her as he stumbled, but he was caught once more by a supposedly sadistic man-eater, gleaming with unbridled joy.
Closer and closer, they moved towards each other till the floral embroidery of Daniela's cloak met Lucero's shirt. Short puffs of breath escaped Lucero's mouth and with enchanted realization, Daniela noticed his well-defined cupid's bow.
Not an ounce of hesitation skittered in her mind; fully present, fully there, a question slipped out.
"Can…" she started, halting her words as an enamoured grin broke the blood under her chin, "Can I kiss you, Luci?"
Leaning his head down, Lucero whispered sheepishly, "Of course, Ella."
A fairytale was born in the land of monsters as Daniela captured the glassmaker's mouth in her own, forgetting the flavour of blood entirely to daydream of strawberries. Giggling against his kiss, Daniela snaked her hand to cup his jaw before passing through his wavy hair, feeling the soft curls beneath her hands.
For the first time, she felt alive, electric and brimming with a new type of love.
Fitting together with her Luci.
Like she belonged.
"What in the fuck are you doing with my baby sister, man-thing?!"
It was only a matter of time till they got caught. All the sneaking around in the world couldn't save them from the gifted huntress of House Dimitrescu. At the top of the landing, just outside her room, the middle child waited, gripping the handle of her sickle still dangling at her side. Daniela and Lucero stopped their ascent, cresting the stairs with their hands clasped together; only feeding the chaotic blizzard rampaging in Cassandra's eyes.
Glaring at Lucero, Cassandra flared her nostrils in barely contained fury, glancing once at the duo's joined hands before settling back on the man-thing.
"Cassie, it's ok, he's harmless," Daniela said in an attempt to mollify her sister, "I'm just showing him my room."
The words only served to make Cassandra's mood worse as her face scrunched up, running her mind through the gutter with indescribable disgust. Pulling against Lucero's hand, Daniela knew her sister's expressions well and immediately reacted in shock.
"Don't be gross! That's not what we're gonna do! Why would you even-" she fumbles her words, elevated in pitch from the sheer boldness Cassandra cast, "No, just…no!"
Not for a single second did the man-hunter take her eyes off the prey, wary with suspicion of all men, just like she was raised to be. There was no fear in Lucero's eyes as Daniela squeezed his hand, pumping bravery into his veins. He matched Cassandra's stare, leaving it unbroken till he spoke.
"I would never hurt her and if I do, then I may as well be dead."
Silence sliced the end of his sentence, bearing nothing but the truth to the bloodthirsty protector of Daniela's safety. The man-thing's words were melodramatic but unfortunately, lacking a single lie.
There would be no blood today, much to Cassandra's chagrin.
"Alright," she hisses cautiously at Lucero, turning to attention to her sister which promptly softens her expression to tenderness, "Leave the door open, Dani. No funny business cause I'll be right down the stairs. Listening. The whole damn time."
Daniela gave her sister a look, pressing her lips together in a thin frown but there was no malice, only exasperation. Cassandra meant well went it came to her baby sister but her tone was always harsh when any form of danger lurked.
Overprotective to a fault, just like their mother.
With her lecture bestowed and her intimidation wrought, Cassandra walked towards the stairwell, stopping next to Lucero to give one last warning.
"Try anything and I will rip your man-dick off with my bare hands."
She emphasised each threat by jabbing a finger in his ribs, knowing that a bruise would form. Bearing the pain, he didn't flinch, sucking up the brutal stinging with each squeeze of Daniela's hand.
Huffing, Cassandra finally left, slamming her bootheels down in sharp echoes to bounce across the spiral stairwell.
Released from their momentary interrogation, both Lucero and Daniela let out a deep sigh. With the sparkle returned to her opal eyes, the youngest Dimitrescu held her paramour in her gaze, reassuring him with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Congratulations, you didn't get eaten!" she joked, tugging Lucero's hand to spur him on, "Sorry about your ribs though. Cassie loves to torture humans and, well, you were the closest one…"
As he was tugged forward, Lucero simply smiled as if this den of predators were a stable of sheep, "Older siblings. Can't live with them, can't live without them."
Humming a loud noise of agreement, Daniela proceeded to push open her bedroom door yanking the glassmaker forward before letting go of his hand. She spread her arms out wide, showcasing her sanctuary to the one person she held most dear.
Colourful rugs, storybook pages fluttering on the walls and a comfortable desk piled high with records and papers. However, the room seemed a little…dark. The window was cloudy, strangling any form of sunlight that dared touch the material. The same windows as the castle; they had no right to be in Daniela's room, a place where brightness should flourish.
Only a few candles burned, still choked by darkness. This wouldn't do at all.
"You don't like my room, do you…" Daniela mumbled, wiping away the elation with sorrow.
Realizing the weight of his silence, Lucero stepped forward quickly to close the distance between them. Soothing in intent, he ran his hands along Daniela's arms, rubbing small circles into the cloth.
"No, that's not the case at all, you've got a really cute room," he pauses to quickly press a kiss to the tattoo on her forehead, "I just think, in my honest opinion, that it could use more light," he catches a glimpse of a sunbeam struggling to exist, "Everywhere you go, everything you do, is touched by your kindness. I love the way you glow; leaving you to wither in the darkness hurts," he thinks carefully, smiling with adoration, "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, Ella."
If she could blush, Daniela would have, but her biological enhancements left her bereft of human capabilities.
Sighing with affection, Daniela relaxed, falling forward into Lucero's chest, listening to his heartbeat. More often than not, she held organs like that in her hand, biting through the tissue to feed her beast. But this heart belonged to her beloved, and as long as she was alive, she would protect it.
A deep rumble passes along Lucero's chest as he speaks again, wrapping his arms around Daniela's back.
"I have an idea."
And with her ear still pressed to Lucero's chest, Daniela listened to his voice coil between the metronome in his heart, singing a song of blood and promises.
Lulling and lovely.
A flurry of knuckles tapped against Daniela's bedroom door, greatly opposing the one heavy knock she gave as a usual greeting. She knew the sound well and leapt off her desk chair towards the continuous flutter of bones against her door.
Padding along the floor, Daniela walked with bare feet, adorned in her green nightdress as the fabric rippled with the movement.
"Come in, Luci!" Daniela announced, smoothing her hair down to tame its frizziness. Summertime was never easy on her hair, forcing the reddish strands up into frayed streams. It was impossible to look decent in this season.
Squealing on its hinges, Daniela's door flung open, as Lucero hobbled across the room, his hands laden with colourful lanterns which spoke of fragility and beauty.
Sweet surprise morphed Daniela's features as Lucero set each lantern down carefully; each treasure met the floor with love.
The gifts were not unexpected, but Daniela still regarded each with special ardour. Lucero had been working hard for days at a time, diminishing his time with his new-found love, but in the short spaces between his tasks, he always returned to shower her with affection; a promise to never be overlooked. In each kiss, she could taste the furnace smoke, in each hug, she could feel his body tremble from overuse. Every time she felt his strength waver, she would rest his head in her lap, combing through his dark hair to drain the tension from his soul.
And now, the project was finished and their time together could prosper once more.
Assimilated into bugs, Daniela rushed forward, barrelling into Lucero while wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. The glassmaker stumbled back slightly as he supported her weight, folding his arms beneath Daniela's legs to cradle her closely.
"Thank you, Luci," she purred, leaning in to kiss him, whispering against his lips, "The lanterns are gorgeous."
He smiles against her kiss as he attempts to talk, pulling away to scatter butterfly kisses over Daniela's face, "As much as I love to hold you, I left my ladder downstairs and I really need to go get it," he pressed one last peck to her nose, "I'll be back in a second."
The adorable pout Daniela wears almost forces Lucero to stay, but he wasn't nearly tall enough to reach the rafters. Dancing with firelight in the shadows, grey eyes flared with an idea, unknitting the prominent pout on Daniela's face. Lucero knew that look well which either meant an elaborate prank or a legitimate plan of action.
"Why use a ladder when you have me!" she sang, fracturing her body into insects as she pooled into a swarm, dripping away from Lucero's arms to half-solidify behind him. In innocent flirtation, Daniela rested her head on his shoulder, whispering in his ear, "Will you fly with me, Luci?"
Shivering from Daniela's breath against his ear, Lucerno leaned back into Daniela's arms, relinquishing himself to her, "My life is in your hands, my love. Always and forever."
Untamed, Daniela's joy became ecstasy as she flitted away, spinning circles in the air with humming wings, giggling through the pervasive darkness. Lucerno collects the first lantern, double-checking the chain on its clasp before nodding at the whirling woman. With dedicated precision, Daniela swooped down behind Lucerno, locking her arms against his back as she lifted him into the rafters with inhuman strength.
Gasping, the young man felt himself rocket towards the ceiling, pealing with bewildered laughter as a cluster of bugs helped secure his ascent. Stopping at the lowest support beam, Daniela allowed her head to fall along his spine, listening to his organs work in tandem to keep him alive. Rattling chains and expert tools drummed together with the vibration of his innards, pacifying Daniela while she held him even tighter, unwilling to let go, both out of safety and out of love.
One day, he'll have to leave. Smarten up and face reality already.
Poison, starting from her brain and burning down her toes. Poison, creeping through her system to break apart the fairytale she cherished. Poison, speaking a truth she refused all too often.
Sobering, Daniela knew that as a foreigner, Lucero would have to leave one day to his homeland as his place here was only temporary. Every window in the castle was close to completion; with each shard he forged, their time fell away to shatter on the ground.
Closing her eyes, Daniela listened to the music Lucero created; organic and artificial. A lone whisper of love escaped her lips as she hid her face in his shirt, bundled under her frizzy hair.
There was no God to grant her wish.
Three times.
Three times far too many.
Cassandra sat up in her bed, shaking her sister awake with tired frustration.
" .me" she growled quietly, removing the barbs in her voice so as not to puncture Daniela's self-esteem.
The glassmaker was labouring again in Daniela's room; yet another surprise that her little sister regaled her with.
A stained glass window, detailing a precious moment between them; music notes and wine wrapped in their preferred colours. All in an attempt to shed light on the tallest spire trapping a princess in her homespun comforts.
The thought almost made Cassandra nauseous as she shook Daniela again, not too hard but not too gently either.
That's when she heard the sniffling. A stifled crying parted the numerous stares of taxidermied animals. Immediately, Cassandra's annoyance changed to concern as she folded her arms around the youngest Dimitrescu, hoisting her up into an embrace.
"What's wrong, Dani?" she cooed, resting her head in the space between her shoulder, "It's ok, it's alright, tell me what's bothering you."
Daniela fought to catch her breath, struggling against her peaking emotions but the delicate circles rubbed on her back brought her firmly into reality.
"Lucero is going to leave me soon," she hiccups while unending salty streams of tears ran down her face, "He has to go back home one day and I don't know if I could handle it."
Humans.
Everything they did was a fucking mess. Now her sister was breaking like the very glass that man forged.
Nothing good ever came from those animals, no matter how happy it made her sister.
But this was a problem Cassandra couldn't hunt. She couldn't pin it down or stuff it or bleed out or even imprison it. None of her tactics worked in a situation like that. Killing the human meant killing Daniela; a thought Cassandra could barely stomach.
There was nothing she could do really. Telling her mother to keep the human would only open up an inquisition, and within those interrogations, an armageddon would fall upon the man, scorching the earth with the dragoness' claws.
And Daniela, without a doubt, would not leave her mother's wrath unscathed.
All she could muster, in the perilous moment of Daniela's sobbing, was a muffled apology.
Tears beaded in Cassandra's eyes as she strained to keep her emotions in but they spilt out to join her sister. Mumbling the apologies into Daniela's frigid skin, she wept bitterly, cursing her inability to protect her sister from the very thing she always fled towards.
Love.
Black as the river in the dead of night, the lipstick glided across Daniela's lips with a controlled hand. She never felt brave enough to wear the same warpaint as her sisters but tonight, she wanted to look good. She wanted to feel as strong as the women in her bloodline.
She needed to feel something other than agony.
The eyeshadow was first; applied in ample portions like Bela, the most unbreakable of her siblings.
The lipstick was next, a gift from Cassandra long ago, her favourite shade of inky gloom given to the youngest in an attempt to bond further.
Lastly, was perfume, plucked from the vanity in her room and sprayed along her collarbones. Strawberries and lavender, a piece of Lucero ordered by her in secrecy from the Duke.
She would be strong for this meeting, stronger than the day he told her his time in the castle was almost over. Stronger than the bitter, ugly tears that swept down her face at the sound of his voice cracking.
Stronger than the feeble hold she kept around his body as she shattered, like glass against the marble floor.
Her eyes wandered distractedly to the window; moonlight seeped through the stained glass, lending a lighter pigment to the sweet hues dancing on the rugs.
A teardrop threatened to smudge her eyeshadow as she looked into the mirror; a fully formed Dimitrescu, a true daughter of the noble house, finally altering her appearance to settle in her role.
A bottle of Sanguis Virginis glittered silver and blood red on the vanity's surface and with one last deep breath, Daniela grabbed the wine.
Subtly cloying and sharply metallic, tasting of a dying kiss, a parting gift to her sweet glassmaker.
Her precious Lucero waited downstairs.
She would not keep him idle for too long, even though Daniela would rather he stayed there forever.
Summertime brought hysterical joy to Cassandra, frizzy hair to Daniela and blooming plants to Bela.
It also brought with it, the absence of snow piles. Granted, the frigid mountainside would always bear snow, but in the warmer climes, the patches were sparse. Better weather also brought the temptation of the outside world. A place only Cassandra was allowed to roam while the other sisters remained inside, too inept in wilderness survival to follow the trail of the man-hunter.
Lucero however, was human and ventured into the outdoors often despite the threat of Lycans and beasts. He also knew, in a deep conversation of trust, that frosty climes were the only vulnerability the Dimitrescu sisters bore.
But he would see Daniela's wistful staring as she gazed at trees losing their leaves to winter, daydreaming of grass and comfortable breeze.
If the warm wind could be caught by human hands alone, he would have wrangled it into the castle just for her.
The courtyard door was open with no pain harming Daniela's body. Lucero stood by her as they both crossed the threshold, skittish from the weather in case a flurry of crystals fell from Daniela's arms.
Nothing happened.
The moon looked back at Daniela, unbarred by the glass, bare naked to the grey eyes watching in wonder. They take another step forward and slink into the courtyard, unseen by any eyes.
No one was around to catch them toying with death itself.
Lady Dimitrescu left the house to Bela's care and with her eldest sister bearing the incredible weight of her duties. Only Cassandra that knew of this fabled journey, choosing to grant the couple privacy to grieve for each other while she completed her own tasks within the castle.
No one was there to stop them.
Lucero is quiet but his smile is still there albeit burdened by the sorrow of his eventual departure. He takes her hand in his, feeling the leather brush against his skin, and tugs her towards a single tree in the yard, cordoned off by a short, wrought-iron fence.
Over the metal, they step onto the grass and Daniela immediately kicks off her boots, fighting her sadness with the first-time awe of the soft dew and earth tickling her feet. She follows the path set out before her, pulled by Lucero under the tree to collapse into his arms; two bottles and two cups sit by the tree roots, strawberry wine and maiden's blood.
A lingering kiss is pressed to Daniela's temple before he uncorks the bottles, pouring strawberry for her and Sanguis for him. As each red liquid pours, Daniela sees the seconds slip away, off into the distance where Lucero would soon be. But her attention is grabbed from the starlight and crickets to the wine glass offered in a scarred tawny hand.
The glasses clink together as each beloved holds their drink, looking wistfully at each other before taking a sip.
Heady berries and sweetened burn drains down Daniela's throat.
Musky metal and earthy grape bleeds down Lucero's.
In severed minutes, the glasses are empty, much like Daniela's eyes, mirroring the barren ash of Bela's cold stare.
And the silence sitting heavy in this land was broken by a soft, brassy voice, rippling out into the breeze with one last request.
"I want to fly with you, Ella."
A black teardrop streaks a line down Daniela's cheek as she nods, choked by her roiling emotions, only to be swiped away by a calloused thumb, smearing the salt and makeup off with devotion.
He reaches out a hand and she takes it, lifting off the ground with him as she paces along the grass; too detached to feel its splendour. Behind Lucero are buzzing flies, a sound he's come to enjoy, as Daniela latches onto his waist, gripping him tightly enough to take his breath away before the swarm clambers upwards towards the moon.
Reddish hair trickles along the starry sky as Daniela pelts upwards, soaring far higher than the castle could ever grant. Wind, true and honest wind, sears around both of them as she loops around the castle's atmosphere, spying the spined towers from high above. Like a sprawling stain in the landscape of snow and greenery, the village appears between the forests; a cavalcade of man-things slept soundly in their hovels, blissfully ignorant to the skyward death that embraced the love of a mortal.
Zipping back to the castle grounds, Daniela flies silently with Lucero, enjoying their time together for as long as it lasted, pelting up again above the courtyard with a knotted mind and turning stomach. One last flight, one last drink, one last night with the gentle glassmaker.
Daniela Dimitrescu, the spoiled, little princess. The failure of the household, the mistake of the Cadou.
Caustic thoughts spear Daniela's mind as she restrained each poison coursing through her veins. But the attempt was futile as her warring thoughts pulled her under, sinking her beneath the acid of every judgement, every anxiety and every failure she brought upon the house.
Shattering like glass, her mind splintered and much like a fragile human, she realized too late, the piercing scream echoing below her.
Lucero reached out from his plummeting descent, his dark eyes were wide with unbending horror as Daniela joined in his screaming, ripping through the wind with tears drying quickly from the blistering breeze.
She felt his fingers touch her own, barely grazing her gloved fingertips as yet another failure broke through her soul; the worst at flying, the worst at conversation, the worst at everything.
As Lucero hurtled away, Daniela sped up as much as she could but her flies were blowing backwards, fighting the wind's resistance with futility. Lucero never let his hands drop as he rocketed towards the ground, crying out for Daniela, screaming for her, begging for her to catch him as she did so long ago.
The courtyard kissed him goodbye instead of her.
Plunged into the grassy space, Lucero's screams tore away abruptly as the fence skewered his chest, stabbing through his ribs, his organs, his lungs, his heart, his life.
One scream began where Lucero's stopped.
"NOOOO!"
Daniela howled in psychotic grief, barreling towards the sickeningly slumped body still gushing fresh man-blood and viscera on a tattered shirt. Slamming into the ground, Daniela felt a tearing pain across her body as she kicked up the dirt, scrambling to stand, hauling herself forward on all fours before she sprinted towards Lucero.
The pain never relented and she realized, the emotional agony became physical from pure loss alone. Skidding to her glassmaker's side, Daniela whimpered clawing her hands over her face and hair in unleashed panic. Grey and bloodshot, her eyes were wild as she looked over Lucero's crumpled form. Blood gurgled in his throat as he tried to speak, his eyes stuttered with each slow movement to look at Daniela.
There was no more time.
She crashes her knees into the grass, holding his head up to listen to anything he had to say. Anything.
Salty tears mix with the Sanguis and man-blood pooling in his mouth, seeping away the tawny glow into a paling, necrotic sheen. Daniela's world blurs around her as her tears become too much for her eyes to hold.
A light touch of one calloused hand barely cups her jaw as Lucero uses the last of his energy to pull her head down towards his neck, guiding her lips to his fading pulse.
"No, please, I can't do this," she whispers bitterly into his skin, smearing the dark lipstick on his jugular, "I can't, Luci, please, I can't."
But his hand never moves, even so close to death; his last wish, his last promise.
Together forever.
Lifting her head, Daniela sobs uncontrollably as she takes his hand in her own, kissing between his knuckles before she lowers herself to take his lips in her own one last time.
Blood pours into her mouth with each breath he takes, and she lets the man-blood drip out her mouth, unable to swallow what her body so often craved. An imprint of black makeup is left smudged against Lucero's lips and with the last of his energy, he speaks silent words.
I will always love you.
Hiccupping to the point of madness, Daniela draws her sickle, holding it in her trembling hand as she forces herself to make a deep incision on his neck, screaming in pain as the lifeblood dribbles out.
Searing with woe, she jerks her body forward, feeling her movements fight against her torment. His last wish must be granted.
With a primal shriek, Daniela breaks loose of her unconscious restraints, pressing her lips to the flowing wound and drinking in Lucero's spirit. She gulps, sobbing as she devours his blood, filling the beast within her till it burst with noxious emotions. Pulling herself upwards, she pants, trying to catch her breath before she dips back down, draining her beloved dry of every last memory he bestowed her with.
When the artery finally collapsed, so did she, snapping out her hand in her tunnelling vision to grab Lucero's cold hand in her own, keeping a death grip on the corpse till her sight faded to black.
Black as the night sky, like Lucero's eyes, encompassed in a nightmare, never to let go.
Dragging towards nothing, with clumsy feet, always so clumsy, made worse by pins and needles stabbing her brain. Daniela shuffled her way through the courtyard doorway, ignoring the blood spatters painting the marble floor. Lucero's body feels heavy in her hands; impossible strength was not within her as the weight of his death bore down on her abilities.
"DANI!" Cassandra cries, rushing towards her sister with horror in her eyes.
Another swarm of flies twists through the hallway as Bela reforms, finally showing one emotion after years of careful suppression.
Pure, unfiltered dread.
Both sisters clamour around the youngest, examining Daniela, then the body she held.
Daniela didn't react as her eyes emptied the last strands of her soul, pouring out in silent teardrops, overwhelming to the point where she felt nothing.
She looks to Lucero's glazed over eyes, hearing the world die into a high-pitched ringing, drowning out her sisters' frantic confusion.
All she sees is his eyes, looking into the void.
All she sees is his eyes.
Time flows in segments. One moment, she's there, another moment, she's gone. Daniela doesn't heed the passage of seconds anymore. She glides through the hallways, only to find herself in another part of the castle, more lost than she ever was before.
Time slips away from her, falling away like glass, crushed to a fine powder.
Her travels lead her to a different segment of time, her mother's scarlet lips, Cassandra's terrified eyes, Bela's broken shell, weeping at the reprimands. Daniela feels nothing, sees nothing, even as they were gathered in a room, listening to Lady Dimitrescu's thundering roar.
Daniela's ears ring again and she's alone with her mother, who bends to her height, kneeling on the ground, still towering over her. A brush of fabric scrubs the blood from her cheeks and the tears drying on her eyes.
Teardrops fall but they didn't belong to her.
Alcina Dimitrescu chokes back a sob, pulling her daughter into a hug as she beholds the husk of her beloved littlest princess.
"I did this to you," Lady Dimitrescu bawls, "I gave you this cursed humanity," her cruel mask fractures fully, "I did this to you."
Time slips away again and the music room forms in front of her, like a ghost billowing from the beyond. Dust settles on the piano, on her violin, on her life. No more music could be heard from the blessed room any longer. Nothing lived in the gilded cavern of the darkened prison. The heavy curtain was closed and through her intense malaise, Daniela knew, they would never open again.
Time fades away. With her desk chair pulled towards the stained glass window, Daniela watches snow scrape against the green and pink craftsmanship. She's slumped in the pillows, her body, half sliding from the seat, splayed and unfeeling. A bottle of strawberry wine is in her hand and with a sluggish movement, Daniela drains the last taste of Lucero from her memory.
Though her ears ring, she could hear the pattering of bootheels approaching as a muffled voice calls her name. Cassandra.
A metal flask is placed in her lap, and through the swimming detachment, Daniela could smell Lucero on the material. A powdery grey substance rings around the screwed-on cap and she knows, oh, she knows, that his ashes were buried within its belly.
FUCK!
Sudden blaring anger pushes through the emptiness, filling Daniela with the first emotion she felt in…she didn't know how long. But it was overpowering, overwhelming; a sensory assault that rattled her cage till it broke.
Lifting her arm, she aims the wine bottle at the window, praying in screams that the winter takes her.
Cassandra flings herself onto her sister's trembling body, forcing back Daniela's hand from making a final decision about her life. Breaking down, Daniela screams into Cassandra's shoulder, sobbing violently as she drops the wine bottle.
Hearing it shatter as it was made of glass.
Waking up in the middle of her nightmares had become a norm for Daniela. Scratching her head, she sits up as though she were a puppet, severed of its strings. Cassandra slept fitfully next to her, bundled under a green quilt with her arm wrapped over her sister's lap. The flask was held tightly in Daniela's fist and with sharp action, she wriggled out of Cassandra's grasp, summoning her bugs to part the canopy curtains surrounding her bed. Soft, colourful lanterns met her gaze and the overwhelming feeling to shatter them all rose in spades, but the flask held her back, like a tugging hand pulling her towards something better.
Sighing, Daniela flitted in the middle of her lanterns, bathing in their glow with nary a light in her eyes. She swayed from side to side much like a ragdoll in a child's hand.
Never letting go of the flask, she fell into a robotic waltz, feeling her movements jerk as she held the item to her chest, feeling the apparition of a kindly young man press close against her skin.
Disgrace.
The thought rolled off her back; unable to deal with its bullshit at the moment. Spiralling down to the floor, Daniela padded her way to the record player, feeling her nightdress resist her movements.
"ELLA! HELP ME!"
Resurfacing like a virus, the memory cuts her heartstrings into ribbons, driving the breath from her chest.
"ELLA!"
A shaky hand plucks the record player's needle downwards, filling the grooves of the vinyl with pinprick scratches.
"ELLA!"
Time slips away again as Daniela stares at a page, sinking her sorrows into each line in an attempt to shed this barren feeling shredding every piece of her mind. The pen moves with haste, scribbling her penmanship from neat, round letters, to strange scratches that almost separate at every vowel.
Lilac wine is sweet and heady, where's my love?
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?
Music courses through the room, pumping sound into Daniela's heart to drive away the torture, blocking out violent screams and gargling blood still fresh on her tongue.
A part of you now, Daniela, I will always be a part of you.
The gentle, brassy voice whispers in head as the words flow easier onto the page.
You will always have me. And I'll help you, as the goodness in your heart. Follow my path and take my nature. It's all I have left to give you.
It's been a long time since she smiled and the feeling felt unnatural but it spread across her face easily. Lucero was guiding her and she would indeed heed his words. To keep his memory alive, Daniela allowed her mind to change, permanently copying Lucero's affable traits into her personality to forever hold what was now lost.
Always and forever, she would keep his light shining.
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?
Isn't that he, or am I goin' crazy, dear?
End Note:
Do you feel that pain? Bc i do and its intense. Baby girl really said imma cannibalise and regurgitate my boy's personality to keep him with me forever...
Originally, I had the summary song as Aurora-This Could Be a Dream bc the lyrics and the dreaminess. Plus the last bridge in the song makes me see the moment when Dani feels Lucero's fingertips and screams as he gets turned into a kebab
Fun fact: Lucero is Spanish for "light source, bright star, morning star"
The songs in this chapter are:
Chopin-Sarasate "Nocturne op 9 No 2" (violin+piano) (its on Youtube)
Sleeping Beauty OST- Once Upon A Dream
Nina Simone- Lilac Wine
I think that's all the songs? Im unsure at this point, there's so many dude.
Either way, thanks for reading, now go and sob. Ik that's what im going to go do
Alternate title: Dickarus flies too close to the sun aka Romeoh no and Julietu Brute