Hello everyone! Thank you all for reading, following, and viewing my story. And I completely agree with Agent Banana that the tender moments between Alcina and her three daughters are my favorites, too. Again, thank you all so much, and I hope you all have a great New Year!

Alcina woke the next morning and was not surprised to find Josie snuggled up next to her.

She really needed to start locking her door, but sadly she could never bring herself to do it. Alcina had come close one night; however, in the end she set the key down on her vanity and went to bed.

"Jos," she hummed, raking her long digits through her daughter's curly mane. "Josie…"

The eight year old groaned, fluttering her eyelids open, drowsily.

"Did Helena scare you again?"

Josie yawned, starting to fall back asleep again.

"Josie," Alcina said, shaking her youngest gently and then tickling her.

"No!" Josie yelped, fully awake now. "Mama!"

Alcina tittered, continuing to tickle her daughter, who was helplessly trying to fight back her mother's attack.

"Fight back, my pretty girl."

"I-I can't!" Josie gasped, tears rolling down her face due to her laughing.

"Of course you can," Alcina said.

"No, i-it is impossible. You're bigger and stronger than I."

Alcina slowly stopped tickling her daughter, grabbing hold of her wrists and looking at her with a serious countenance.

"Nothing is impossible for you, my pretty girl. Do you understand me?"

Josie stared up at her mother, downheartedly.

"But, Mother."

"No, buts. True I may be stronger than you, outweigh you and stand an impressive 6 feet tall, but that means nothing. As long as you have a heart of determination and courage. After all, my love, there are people in this world bigger and stronger than I, but I do not allow that to swallow me up in gloom."

Josie rubbed at her eyes, sniffling.

"But I don't have a heart of courage either. I get scared so easily."

Alcina leaned forward to look straight into Josie's green eyes.

"So did I," she whispered. "And I learned to take that energy and put it into better use. My passion has always been owning a vineyard and procuring the best wine in all of Romania. And I do, do I not?"

"I suppose," Josie said.

"You suppose?" Alcina said. "I am certain my wine is the best, but that is not the point. The point I am making is this, you can sit and live your life in constant fear, or you can rise and overcome. And as my daughter, I already know which route you will take."

"You do?" Josie said.

"Yes, and one day you will know, too. For now, though all I want you to do is practice. Find something you enjoy and put your heart and soul into it. Horseback riding, for example. You love that."

Josie's eyes lit right up.

"That's true. I do love horses."

"You see," Alcina said, starting to tickle her again. "Never give up."

"Mama!" Josie started to laugh again, almost rolling off the bed if Alcina hadn't managed to grab her in the nick of time.

"Off with you now, my pretty girl," Alcina said after five minutes, patting Josie on the bottom. "I must get prepared for the day."

Josie hopped off the bed, pausing at the sound of Alcina clicking her tongue and pointing to her cheek. Josie scooted right back over and pecked a kiss to her mother's cheek.

Alcina watched her scurry off. Pleased to see her in better spirits.

"Now," she rose out of the bed and got dressed. "I need to get the wine barrels ready to be shipped. The men are coming at…" she clicked her tongue again, flipping through her journal where she wrote down all her notes. "10 this morning. Excellent."

Normally Fredric would deal with this part of the transaction while Alcina took care of the money portion; however, due to his absence she was forced to do both. Of course she had no trouble juggling all of it. She took great pride in her saleswoman capabilities. And even more pride in Helena, who she was grooming to take over the family business. Despite only being twelve years of age, Helena was a mathematician. The child could masterfully prepare and solve all sorts of finances, and had more skill than Alcina herself when it came to keeping records.

'Are you seeing this child?'

She had pointed this out to her husband, who was not at all surprised by this discovery.

'Yes, she has been assisting me.'

'She's only seven.'

'And?'

Alcina was speechless.

'I think we both know where she gets her mathematical brain from.'

'Oh do we now?'

Fredric had just laughed, beaming proudly at his first born. Never had Alcina seen him so happy. The war had taken so much out of him. Rarely did he smile. Always business. No down time.

The reason why that moment always filled Alcina with joy. To have seen the old Fredric in that instant. His boyish self returned. Yet the happiness had been cut short when Fredric's brother, Roderick, had paid them a visit. The bastard who sold his own wine, but was quickly watching it sink. He was spending the money he received faster than he was earning it.

'The only time he calls is because he needs money. Stupid bastard," Alcina always said. 'Now he is hoping he can merge our vineyards. Why? So he can sink us alongside him? Take our money as well? Ha! He is just like how your father ran the damn business!'

Fredric did not like hearing this harsh criticism from Alcina, and always tried to give his brother the benefit of the doubt, but he had surprised Alcina one day when he said:

'Listen to me, Alcina, if anything should happen to me, I have already made the preparations for you and the girls to take it over. My brother will not get a cent from us. Not a single drop. It belongs to you three and you three alone.'

She had not anticipated that declaration and was at first apprehensive, but since his departures to the front, she had to learn and accept it. And with Helena by her side, Alcina quickly grew to love the trade.

That being said, she kept her eyes peeled for Roderick. Her brother in law would come around occasionally. Snooping around and inquiring about the business. He had yet to learn nothing was left for him if Fredric were to die in battle.

She shuddered at the thought of him. He was completely different than Fredric. Irresponsible. Greedy. Unsophisticated. Everything Alcina despised in a man. And the way he was always eyeing her. Hoping he still had a chance to be with her.

Alcina laughed at the thought. To think she'd stoop so low. The very idea of leaving her beloved Fredric for him. What a ridiculous notion.

'You could have done so much better than him.' Roderick had said at a gathering. He had been drunk off his horse and was spitting nonsense to whomever was in ear shot. 'She was mine until my brother stole her from me.'

Alcina finding Fredric and ordering him to remove his brother from the premises, noted the predatory glint in his eyes as he staggered by. The hunger to have everything. To possess her.

After that she didn't want him anywhere near their home or the girls. Fredric, of course, claimed he was acting like an ass due to the alcohol, but Alcina knew better.

'He is acting like an ass, because he is an ass!'

Not only that, but she understood the ways of men. And being a woman, she had to make an extra effort to keep herself and the children safe. She was already teaching her daughters to be aware of men like their uncle.

'Trust your instincts. Always trust what your gut is telling you.'

'So, marry someone like Daddy?' Josie had said, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

Helena had begun to giggle.

'Not necessarily,' Alcina said with a faint smile. 'Someone with his qualities, perhaps. Find a man who /you/ can treat as your equal.'

The girls were so young at the time she said this. All they did was giggle and giggle about the idea. Alcina did not mind it too much, but eventually they would see and understand. One day boys would be on their radar, and that is when Alcina could truly mold their minds.

{…}

"Mama?"

"Hmm?" Alcina was seated behind her desk and going through paperwork. The men had come at ten and picked up the barrels, leaving Alcina to figure out the next shipment with the help of her ever watchful Helena standing next to her, while Josie was playing in front of her desk with her dolls.

"Mama," Josie said again.

"What darling?" Alcina said in a clipped tone.

"Can we go outside for a walk? I'm so very bored."

"Later, Mother has work to do," Alcina said.

Josie fell silent again, pouting.

"Mother?" Helena said. "How exactly do the shipments get to these other countries?"

"By ship. You see, with the presence of a navigable waterway, like where we are—is why we have found not just domestic prominence in our shipments, but international, too. The shipment we just sent out is headed to the United States."

"United States?"

"Yes, that is in North America. Quite a long distance from Romania," Alcina said, pulling open one of her desk drawers to reveal a map. "You see Europe? We are here and the ship will sail across the North Atlantic Ocean."

"I want to see!" Josie jumped up and stood to her mother's left.

Alcina sat back and watched her girls pointing out the different countries and oceans. Answering questions for a short time before having to stop them.

"Go ahead and take that to your room, Josie, both of you can look at it there."

"Can we look at it outside instead?" Josie said.

"Yes," Alcina said, hoping that would get them out of her hair long enough to finish her work. "And when you are finished with it!" she called after them. "Make sure you return it where it belongs, yes?"

"Yes, Mother!" Josie said, the two disappearing out the door without a backwards glance.

The hours slipped by without much notice to Alcina. Phoebe would come in with a tray of tea and leave without a word. Finally she released a sigh, standing up to stretch her tired limbs and walk over to the window.

"Is it this lovely where you are, Fredric?" she murmured, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face.

"My lady?"

She opened her eyes at the sound of Phoebe.

"What is it?" her tone sour, thinking her daughters had done something impish yet again.

"I have brought you the mail and there is a letter here that requires your immediate attention."

All the air seemed to have been sucked right out of Alcina's lungs. Her attention fully on Phoebe now and measuring the old woman. Trying to pick up a sign that would indicate if it was from Fredric, or someone in the army.

Phoebe's countenance remained stone. Holding out the letter for Alcina to take. Slowly she approached the old woman, fingers trembling to the point she nearly dropped the letter upon taking it.

Indeed the writing on the letter was from his regiment, and inside was a well typed letter. Back and forth her eyes swept over the letter and when she finished, Alcina took a seat in her chair.

Phoebe went straight to pouring Alcina a glass of whiskey and setting it on her desk.

Alcina having covered her face with her hands, lowered them and took the glass—gulping it down in one shot—

"He is coming home…" she pushed the glass forward, indicating for Phoebe to pour her another.

"That is good news, is it not?"

"Yes…," she said, distantly. "He is returning home due to an injury he sustained."

"What sort of injury?"

"The letter did not state that. All it said was he was expected to arrive in a week. The girls will be overjoyed to hear the news…"

"Of course they will," Phoebe said, setting the glass down in front of her mistress, who stared straight ahead, lost in her thoughts. "Will there be anything else, my lady?"

Alcina gave a faint shake of her head, waving Phoebe away.

The maid bowed her head and left the room.

Alcina waited for the door to be closed before she allowed the tears to fall. All the stress and fearing for his safety every day; now he was to come home, permanently. But would he be changed? She hadn't any idea what kind of injury he had sustained; what he had seen. Would he still be her Fredric? Or would he be someone completely different?

She was afraid for him. Afraid for Josie and Helena.

"Please God. I beg of you. Bring him home. Bring back /my/ Fredric…"