"Look at all those scarecrows! And all of those flowers! And look, there's the village! And…" Seline was staring out the window of the carriage, narrating everything that passed. Alcina found herself glancing outside as well. The sights that she had seen hundreds of times before somehow seemed new, just by the addition of another person. "So, I suppose I should tell you a bit about my siblings. Donna Beneviento is pretty shy and carries her doll Angie everywhere. Salvatore Moreau is heavily mutated, and very self-conscious. Don't make fun of him." Seline looked mortified at the very idea. "I would never make fun of him! I bet he's really handsome." Alcina smiled, somehow knowing she would say something like that. "And finally, Karl Heisenberg." Just saying his name made Alcina's smile turn into a frown. "He's an arrogant, gauche, self-centered pri-" She quickly cut herself off. Even the thought of Seline cursing was so unimaginable that she held her tongue. "He's very annoying, that's all you need to know." Seline nodded and looked out the window again. "Oooo! Look at those cute sheep!" Already distracted with something else. Alcina quietly listened while Seline jabbered on, occasionally nodding or shaking her head. Most of her attention was focused on thinking about everything that could go wrong. What if Mother Miranda takes an interest in her? What if Moreau scares her? What if that IDIOT Heisenberg makes a scene? Maybe it was a mistake to bring her along. "Miss Dimitrescu, the carriage stopped!" Seline said, and Alcina startled herself out of her thoughts. "Alright, stay behind me." The two exited the carriage, with Seline behind Alcina as instructed. Alcina felt something strange, and she looked down to see that Seline had grabbed her hand. "What if they don't like me?" She whispered, and Alcina gave her a reassuring smile. "Everybody likes you, little one. Just be yourself." Seline took a deep breath and tried to look brave. I don't wanna disappoint Miss Dimitrescu! The unlikely pair entered the meeting place, and instantly, Seline knew that this was a safe place. "Allie!" A man walked up to Alcina. Even though Heisenberg was tall, he only came up to Alcina's chest. "Karl, how many times do I have to tell you, my name is Alcina. Not Allie, not any other nickname, just Alcina." Seline gasped, alerting Karl to her presence. "Wooooah, Miss Dimitrescu, your real name is Alcina? That's so pretty!" Karl looked down at the outsider. "You brought someone with you?" Seline, as per usual, stood on her tiptoes and extended her hand. "Hello! My name is Seline Floarea! Nice to meet you!" Karl shot a glance at Alcina, but took the girl's hand. "The name's Karl Heisenberg. Do you work for my sister or something?" Seline nodded happily. "Yup! I get to work at the castle! Everyone there is super nice!" Alcina cleared her throat. "Seline, why don't you go say hi to my sister?" The little girl did as she was asked and went to meet Donna Beneviento. Now that they were finally alone, Alcina allowed herself to answer Karl's questions. "You've never brought along a maid before." He commented, as expected. "She's… Different. Just look over there, and tell me what you see." Karl was shocked to see Donna actually talking with someone other than that doll. In fact, she even sounded happy about it. Seline appeared to be talking about Angie, and Donna was more than thrilled to find someone who didn't judge her. "Sure, she got Donna to speak. You and I both know that's not enough. C'mon, Allie, what is it that really drew you to this girl?" Alcina should've known that she wouldn't have been able to get past Karl. "She… How can I explain this? She's a breath of fresh air. No matter what, she always makes you feel cared for, and she does her best to make you happy, even though she might be sad on the inside." Karl raised an eyebrow. "You're going to explain yourself later." Before he could say more, Seline came rushing up to the siblings. "Mister Heisenberg, your hammer is so cool! Did you make it all by yourself?" A bit shocked, Karl nodded. "Yeah, I made it in my factory." Seline looked absolutely amazed. "You've got a factory? Wow! I bet you make the coolest stuff!" Remembering all the experiments he had done, and all the lycans he had made, Karl looked away for a second. "Not exactly." Wanting to stop the girl from asking more, Alcina began approaching Moreau. "Come on, Seline. Let's go introduce you to my other brother."
Salvatore looked up to see a little girl approaching him. Alcina brought someone here to make fun of me. Of course. However, her reaction was not as expected. "Hello! I'm Seline Floarea!" He looked around him to make sure she wasn't talking to anyone else. "Y-you're not scared of me?" Seline tilted her head, confused. "Why would I be scared of you? You're Miss Dimitrescu's brother, so of course you're amazing!" Salvatore was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it was revealed that this was all a joke, and she would start laughing at him. "You're not going to say anything about how I look?" She shook her head, then nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry! I should've told you that you're very handsome!" He looked at Alcina, and she slightly lifted her chin. "T-thank you! My name is Salvatore Moreau." He greeted, and Seline smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mister Moreau!" From the corner of his eye, Salvatore noticed Alcina and Karl sneak off to the side. He could never tell if they hated each other or were secretly best friends. Honestly, it could be both. He would've followed them, but Seline had something for him. "Here you go, Mister Moreau! Just for you!" From a pocket on her dress, she pulled out a beautiful (if slightly crinkled) blue wildflower. Salvatore noticed that Angie and Donna were both holding pink ones, and from the way her pocket still wasn't flat, Alcina and Karl would be receiving one too. Still, it felt special. My first ever present! "It's so pretty! Thank you!" Seline smiled, and Salvatore could already feel something inside of him changing. They all could. Angie waddled over on her tiny doll legs. "Come play with Donna and I!" However, Seline still had something to do. "In a second, ok?" She headed over to Alcina and Karl were, and they stopped their conversation. Not soon enough, though. Seline was able to catch just a few words. "You can't have her. Miranda will kill her." Were they talking about me? And who's Miranda? Does she not like me? Oh well. Pretending she hadn't heard anything, Seline pulled out her other two flowers, making sure to leave the special one hidden. "These are for you, Miss Dimitrescu and Mister Heisenberg!" Alcina smiled and took her yellow flower, ready to add it to her ever-growing collection. However, Karl hesitated before accepting it. After looking it over and making sure it wasn't a trick, he hesitantly took his purple flower as well. "Are you sure this is for me?" He asked, and she nodded happily. "Of course! It's an I-can't-wait-to-be-friends present!" Karl sucked in a quick breath, recalling his conversation with Alcina.
"Allie, you know it's not safe for her."
"I know, I know! Trust me, I would fire her at the first instant to protect her if I could. But she needs this job."
"You're letting your heart cloud your judgement."
"So what if I am?! I can't put her back on the streets, knowing what she's been through. Someone will take advantage of her, I'm sure of it."
"Allie…"
"You'd be lying if you told me that you didn't want her to stay too!"
"Maybe you're right! But even though I just met her, I still care about her enough not to send her to her death!"
"I'm sure there's a way that she can stay. Look at what she's done to Donna and Salvatore, just in a few minutes!"
"You can't have her. Miranda will kill her."
"She's coming!"
There were times when Karl wished Miranda had never given him these powers. Better alone and dead then alive with a broken heart. "Miranda's calling us." Donna said quietly, and the meeting began.
