Alcina looked around her wreck of a kitchen and sighed. The cookies had come out horribly misshapen and burnt, and not even Seline's skills with frosting could save them. "Well, that didn't work." Cassandra said what they were all thinking. "We really should stop trying to bake things." Daniela huffed, and Bela nodded. "Hey, I can bake things! You all just kept spilling flour!" That was very true. Seline was the only one who actually knew what to do, but her sister's attempts at helping were the reason why the cookies ended up like they did. "Well, Daniela spilled twice as much flour as I did!" Bela complained, and of course, they began bickering. While they were arguing, Alcina began straightening up the kitchen. Cassandra was the first one to notice, and helped her mother. The rest of the girls followed, and the kitchen was cleaned very quickly. "Maybe next time, just Seline and I should bake." Everyone laughed, but Daniela couldn't help feeling like something wasn't right. Like something was… Watching them. She had always been the most perceptive Dimitrescu, but even she didn't know what was out there. All she knew was that it didn't feel good. Oh well, it's probably nothing. There's nothing to worry about. "Dani, are you okay?" Daniela shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yup, I'm fine!" Bela looked at her, a bit concerned. "Alright… Do you want to go outside?" Daniela put on a big smile to convince her sister that she was really alright. "Sure! We don't even need to put on our coats, since it's practically Spring!" Alcina let them go play, and decided that she would bake Salvatore some actual cookies. Meanwhile, the girls all rushed outside. Cassandra and Seline instantly rushed towards their favorite tree, where they were attempting to build a treehouse. (It wasn't working very well.) Daniela stuck with Bela, both of them wanting to say something, but neither of them willing. "...You know, I can see you looking over to that secret spot you have. I don't think she's outside." Bela looked at her sister, shocked that she knew about her and Ana. "You… How?" Daniela winked and turned the tip of her finger into a fly. "You really thought I wouldn't notice you sneaking off? Give me some more credit, Bels." Bela wasn't sure to be angry or relieved. "You won't tell Mother, will you? I don't think she'd approve." Daniela gave her sister a hug. "Of course I won't tell. And I think you're wrong about Mother. No matter what, she'd support you no matter who you loved. I thought you knew that! You're supposed to be the smart one, Bels!" Bela laughed, and considered what Daniela had said. She'd support me… "Thanks, Dani. But please refrain from spying on me in the future." Daniela laughed. "I've got the swarm, might as well use it." With that, she swarmed away, and Bela sighed. "That's my sister…" Daniela joined the other two in the tree, really hoping she wouldn't get stuck again. "How's the treehouse going?" The two were sitting on branches they had put sticks across. It was nowhere near stable enough to stand, but it at least was a foundation. "This is my branch, and that branch is Cass's branch!" Cassandra pointed to a branch directly across from her. "You can have that one, if you want." Daniela instead opted to sit on a bit more stable branch. "Maybe when Uncle Karl comes over, we can ask him to bring some wood." Cassandra said, and Daniela shook her head. "He'd probably just bring metal, and that's not good for a treehouse." Seline sighed. "Yup, you're right. It would become a factoryhouse, not a treehouse."

Cassandra grabs one branch and hoists herself up. While she could always just swarm up to the top, there's a certain satisfaction in reaching the peak of the tallest tree in the courtyard. Her sisters know not to follow her up, and head off with Seline to presumably cause some mischief. Normally she'd be the main person causing shenanigans, but she needed some time to be by herself. Taking care to avoid a dead branch, Cassandra finally reaches the tallest branch that can support her weight, and sits down. Taking only a moment to catch her breath, Cassandra admires the view. While the castle wall obscured most of it, she was able to catch a small sight of the village. Those little humans with their insignificant lives… I wish I could be one of them. But even if I was able to sneak past Mother, I'd never be able to hide how pale I am. Everyone in that village knows who I am. I can't disguise myself. Cassandra Dimitrescu. Where she goes, death follows. The beautiful demon. I will never be anything more. I will never be free. Quickly altering her position on the branch so she didn't fall off, Cassandra resumed her thinking. Or, attempt at thinking. No matter how hard she tried, Cassandra wasn't able to imagine what freedom would be like. Real freedom. Walking around humans without thinking about the taste of their flesh. Interacting with humans without thinking of the hundred ways she could kill them. Being a human. Yes, while it would be a bit boring not to be able to swarm around, her life would be so much simpler. In fact, everybody's life would be simpler! They could do whatever they wanted without fearing silly old Mother Miranda, Bela could be with her girlfriend, Daniela could go to the art school of her dreams, and her mother… Okay, Mother would be the exact same. Still, it would be so much better if they were just normal. But normal was a thing that would forever be out of their reach. No point in dwelling on it. Slowly, Cassandra started making her way down the tree, the small moment of happiness over. Happiness was as far out of her reach as humanity was. That's just the life of a Dimitrescu. That's just the life of a daughter.

(A/N: Yes, I said the name of the fanfiction. I'm so very clever.)