~O~

Wild Curiosity

The bird was out of reach.

Hilda sighed, watching as Sofia struggled to reach the little creature while standing on a ladder. The older woman sighed, shaking her head as Sofia continued to stretch as far as she could before the animal took to the air; its tiny wings flapped wildly.

"Window! Open the window!" Hilda grumbled, to a passing maid.

The window was immediately opened and the small bird found its way outside. Sofia looked relieved until the bird was promptly snatched out of the air by one of the winged creatures that perched around the castle rooftops. Her smile disappeared and she sighed through her nose, watching as they fought for the small morsel of blood, screeching wildly and flapping their wings.

"Ugh, let the little Samcă have their snack, whatever keeps them out of my kitchen." Hilda grumbled, annoyed.

She dusted her hands off on her dress. She snapped her fingers toward Irina as she passed through the great hall.

"Come here," she ordered. "I need the two of you to gather the wood outside for Mistress' chambers. One of the girls who had done it broke her leg."

Irina looked troubled. "Is she okay?"

Hilda raised an eyebrow and made a face that certainly told them she wasn't. She smiled now, gesturing with two hands to them.

"Get your coats and hurry," she ordered. "Don't ask questions."

The two women hurried to gather two ratty coats hanging on the kitchen wall; simple things from other maids who'd served before. Sofia's was far too small for her and Irina's was far too big. It ended with the two looking at each other and switching their coats.

Sofia smiled and let out a little laugh. Irina laughed with her.

The two women went out into the biting cold to gather the wood; some of it had been discarded all over the path that had been shoveled out. Irina had noticed a splatter of blood in the stone and cleared her throat before looking up at Sofia.

She'd carried as much as she was capable of and Irina smiled, walking with her back toward the castle.

"So, where are you from?" she asked. "The village or outside of it?"

Sofia didn't respond. She just looked at her and shook her head.

"Oh." Irina looked confused. "Uh, well, did you live here most of your life?"

A nod from Sofia.

Irina looked down at the hands that held the wood. She noticed scars now; little white marks from either cuts or pricks. She took a long inhale before forcing a smile on her face.

"Well, farm life," she continued, "The others were talking about it. You were a goat farmer. That's why Hilda calls you 'Little Goat'."

Sofia nodded again. She made a face now and Irina tilted her head at that.

"What?" she asked.

No response. Sofia sighed and looked away.

The two women entered the castle to take the wood to their Mistress' chambers upon request. They piled them into a corner where a few pieces of wood remained. Irina noticed something and spotted a bloodied cloth lying on the floor nearby. As well as shackles where skin had been rubbed too much on the inside of them.

They looked fresh, too.

Sofia seemed to notice it as well, but her features betrayed nothing.

How was she so calm?

O

Nothing quite like a bloodbath.

Alcina was soaking in warm, fresh blood that morning, surrounded in lavished statues and a few maids. The smell of it was heaviest here than it had ever been; she was languid, a vast predator watching them in the pool of crimson with eyes nearly glowing yellow.

This was what life meant to her. Her body was healed by them, nourished and maintained by them. They surely understood what it meant. The thing twisting within her had to be leashed and she did so enjoy the thrill of it; consuming them, watching their fear glittering in their eyes as they always seemed to wonder.

"Will I be next?"

She caught movement passed the doors and wrinkled her brow somewhat. It took a moment before Sofia entered the room.

She expected the same horror and fear on her face; but she only looked away as she made her way around the pool to present her with a series of papers in hand.

"Hm? What's this?" Alcina questioned, "Hold them up. I won't have them ruined."

Sofia did as she said and held up one of the papers. "A formula for the next one. Ah! Of course. Mother Miranda has the notes for my new work! Well, you can wait there until I'm finished."

Sofia nodded and stood by the wall.

Alcina shut her eyes for a moment, leaned back in the pool. She opened them after a moment and noticed that Sofia hadn't looked away from the pool of crimson, almost curious by the way the blood ran down her thigh. Rivers of it trickled down her breasts and shoulders, giving her the appearance of a primordial goddess.

She didn't scream. She didn't seem terrified.

Only curious.

Alcina smiled a little, perplexed by the woman's dull reaction, but only for a few moments. It was a fleeting thing and one she rarely, if at all, witnessed in her servants.

It made her lift her leg a little more, letting the blood run down it. Sofia had been watching the sight, lips parting somewhat. The dark curiosity that came and went like lightning was an intriguing sight on the little thing.

What a curious girl.

Alcina chuckled, the sound vibrating in her throat. She leaned back, soaking her head in the pool of blood. Her skin felt warm, the very core of her being alight with life again; the creature had rested back in the shadows once more.

The dragon curled itself up to sleep; twisting into a ball as it grew nourished by the meal and bath provided by Alcina.

There would be no sight of it tonight.

And Sofia continued to watch her.

O

The wind was howling that early morning.

It was going to be a cold winter, that was certain.

Alcina watched the snow and wind from her window before making her way into the kitchen. She found Sofia there, working on cleaning several glasses. When she sensed her, she immediately looked up, set the paper down and waited for her orders, which she assumed she was there for.

She waved one hand and Sofia nodded, resuming her work. But Alcina didn't leave just yet. She just stalked around her like a dangerous predator curious of the little mouse who'd poked its nose into her den to get a glimpse of the creature.

She noticed Sofia glanced back somewhat, brow wrinkling when Alcina leaned in closer to her, hands resting on the table on either side. She could hear her heart beginning to race, but her face never betrayed a single shred of fear.

Alcina brought her lips close to the soft shell of an ear and hissed out. "I know you were watching me last night."

A small tremble in the woman's frame. A mild glossy look came to her eyes and her lips parted. That same, curious look returned; like a thing wanting to understand something, but not quite sure how to ask about it. What sort of woman was she?

Sofia didn't react. She simply stood there, stopping her cleaning as Alcina took a small inhale of the air around her, scenting a variety of feelings that had no true name. Alcina hadn't seen her expression that came next, but Hilda stepped into the kitchen and raised her eyebrows at the sight of her leaned over Sofia.

"Oh." she said, tone even, though a little surprised. "Do I need to come back later?"

Alcina huffed, straightening where she stood. She looked annoyed by the interruption, but less so with Hilda than she would most others.

"I'm just here to help with the surgeries as scheduled." Hilda told her, glancing over at Sofia briefly to read her blank expression. "I assumed you'd be ready for them."

"Of course. Yes," Alcina nodded and followed Hilda toward the cellar door. "Thank you, Hilda."

A nod from the old woman. She only looked back at Sofia, who seemed calm considering what had nearly happened; she had resumed her work as usual.

Strange.

Perhaps she was just not reading the woman right.

When Alcina descended into the cellar, she could immediately hear the sounds of soft crying from the women behind the cells. Hilda was emotionless to it; having seen so much under her command had dulled the old woman to the violence. She was accustomed to the blood, the gore and the death that came with serving House Dimitrescu.

"Please..." one of the girls moaned.

"Quiet." Hilda ordered, glaring at her.

The woman merely whimpered, unable to stop the tears from falling again. Hilda sighed, shaking her head with disgust before looking up at Alcina.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Hmm..." Alcina gestured to one of the cells. "That one."

Hilda nodded, took the ring of keys and unlocked the cell. One of the girls backed away as far as she could and Alcina stepped inside, taking her by the arm. The girl began to cry, tugging uselessly at the long, dangerous fingers that held her tightly. She was covered in sores; a poor reaction to her treatments, of course.

"No, no!" she begged, "Not again, please!"

Alcina ignored her, taking the girl to one of the many racks made up of leather straps and iron shackles. A fun little toy in the past, but used now for research and testing. Several other subjects lingered in the cells to watch; slobbering, drooling things.

"Please!"

"Hush. No more tears, girl."

"I -"

Alcina leaned in close, hissing out; the smoothness in her voice vanished, replaced with harsh notes. "Shut your mouth, you mewling little rat or I'll rip your lungs out and feed them to you."

That certainly silenced the girl. She bit her lip with a small whimper, watching the taller woman apprehensively. Alcina smiled now, clearing her throat as she leaned back to watch Hilda strap the girl into the harness.

"After all, you have nothing to whine about! You're given a rare privilege!" she continued, "You get to be something new! It pales in comparison to your old life which, let's be honest, wasn't amounting to much anyway."

Hilda looked down at the nearby papers on a table. She studied them for a moment, then looked up at Alcina.

"She may not survive the next tests." she told her.

Alcina shrugged with a thoughtful note. "Mm, well, we have plenty more."

That was true.

More women in their cells. Some were mutated beyond recognition; skin pasty, nails long and sharp. Teeth broken and rotted away.

The sounds of their soft groans filled the air.

Alcina decided to play a little music on her gramophone to silence them - Danse Macabre. Such a quaint little song of choice.

O

Sofia awoke from her dream with a start.

She saw herself lying in the snow, looking up at a large, white bat that crouched over her with yellow eyes and blood dripping from its muzzle. When she'd looked down, she'd seen an enormous hole where her heard was meant to be.

The bat had eaten it right out of her chest. It had chewed up her heart, swallowed and grinned at her; showing its long rows of sharp, dangerous teeth.

She made her way down the dark hallways, to soothe herself somewhat; sleep had eluded her as she sought Hilda out for some work, perhaps.

The wind howled outside, the windows rattled. The flames on the candles occasionally flickered as she found herself drawn to music.

Curious, she peered into the door of the opera hall and found Alcina sitting at the piano, playing a song she didn't recognize. It was lovely and seeing her Mistress smiling brought a smile on her face. It wasn't her usual smiles. Something about it was peaceful, content. It was rare to see such genuine feelings there that she was enchanted by it, standing there to listen.

Alcina chuckled, seemingly lost in thought as her fingers worked at the piano keys. A warmth came to her eyes; a soft, gentle look.

Sofia heard the sounds of footsteps and looked up to find Hilda at the top of the stairs nearby. The old woman stared at her quizzically before gesturing for her to follow. Sofia looked abashed, but did just that. Hilda was dressed for working, as up as early as she was, it seemed.

"It's too early for you to be awake." Hilda chided. "But since you are, you may help me upstairs."

Sofia looked embarrassed, looking down at her feet.

They walked into a room filled with storage; old boxes, crates and portraits covered with blankets and various other statues.

"I was looking for a necklace." Hilda explained, "Mistress wanted it back and she believed that the one who'd taken it might have brought it here."

Sofia nodded.

She found an old chest and opened it, searching through it. She found a few photos and wrinkled her brow, holding them up for study.

One was of a young, brown-haired woman standing next to a younger one. Hilda looked over, took them from her and let out a laugh.

"Hm, that was me, little goat." she said. "Wasn't I such a dish?"

Sofia smiled at that, trying not to laugh.

Hilda reached in and found an old hand mirror made up of old metal and cracked glass. She studied herself in the reflection, touched her hand to the wrinkles around her cheeks and let out a small sigh, setting it back into the trunk.

"Yes, reflection has changed a bit."

Sofia frowned sympathetically before reaching into the trunk, searching through it for the necklace in question. It shouldn't have been hard to find one, really; a necklace in this place would stand out.

Hilda looked down at Sofia's hands as she set them on the edge of the trunk. She saw little white marks that looked like cuts.

She sighed, searching a box nearby. "So, you like to wrap barbed wire with your bare hands, do you?" she quipped.

Sofia looked sharply up at her, then down at her hands. She clenched and unclenched them for a moment before shaking her head.

"Mm, well, I know barbed wire cuts when I see them," Hilda continued.

Sofia's expression was unreadable again.

What a dull creature.

But Hilda knew, even suspected where the bruises had come from, too.

During the hours of searching, neither one of them had come up with the necklace in question. Hilda had grown annoyed by the lack of progress.

"That filthy little thief!" she growled, pacing around the room, "If Mistress hadn't already gutted him, I would have done so myself!"

Sofia peered out of the window and looked toward the village, pointing out at it. Hilda sighed, followed the direction of her finger before nodding.

"It could be there, surely." she agreed, "But I doubt you'll find it."

A bell was rung from the castle, signaling the start of breakfast. Hilda and Sofia looked up toward the noise and the old woman sighed with dismay, beckoning with one hand.

"Come along. We'll continue our search some other time."

Once below, Hilda prepared breakfast for her Mistress while Alcina spent time studying her face in the mirror.

A light application of lipstick. Powder to hide the scar where that thing twisted and gnarled up in her head dwelled. She didn't like the grey it had made her flesh, the way her yellow eyes looked back at her from the mirror when she was truly enraged.

Sometimes, she felt it move.

Maybe that wasn't real.

The memories of when it had happened were real; still fresh, still raw in her head.

As well as her awakening.

Red agony.

Alcina could barely see as she awoke to the haze of pain in her head; pulsing, throbbing in her brain. Hundreds of knives going into her at once.

She saw the shapes and shadows of maids, but without faces.

Miranda spoke somewhere. Where was she?

Why did she leave her alone?

(Don't leave me alone.)

Infantile pleas whispering through layers of red blood and hunger. She was hungry. She had to eat something.

(Eat.)

(Tear it apart.)

(Make the pain stop.)

She saw the shape of someone in her path. Someone crying.

Alcina squinted, reached out to take hold of the thing. Her mouth felt wetter, her jaw ached and her head hummed louder. Her fingers crushed bone as she grabbed the unfortunate maid in her path and shoved her against the wall, taking her by the hair and forcing her head back.

Her teeth sank deep into the soft, delicate flesh of her throat and the scream that burst from her died into a low, wet gurgle as Alcina took from her.

Warm wet blood filled her mouth, soothing the agonizing dry sensation in her throat. Her eyes were bright yellow, violent animal sounds were rolling from her throat that she didn't recognize. The wetness of her face had been her own tears.

This little bag of blood in her arms had long since stopped moving as she drank every single last drop.

O

Note - The ending is inspired by the song "Earth Angel" by The Penguins.