Hello all! This chapter is the beginning of the end for Alcina's family. The transformation from Lady Alcina Stanislav to the Lady Alcina Dimitrescu we all know. As always thanks so much for reading and sticking with the story. I greatly appreciate everyone! Enjoy.

Chapter 9:

Once the two had finished with breakfast, Alcina got herself cleaned up and ready for whatever the day had in store for her. As soon as she was dressed, Josie and Helena guided her right down the stairs and to a carriage waiting for them along with Aresian.

"Aresian? Am I to understand you are to be our driver?"

"Yes, Lady Alcina. Lord Fredric felt it would be wise to have me go along with you just in case."

"I see," she said, placing her hand into his as he helped her in. "Thank you."

"Of course, my lady, and happy birthday."

He closed the door when all three were seated inside, Josie seated beside her mother and barely able to hide her excitement.

"Sit still, Josie," Alcina finally said. "And will you please tell me where it is we are going?"

"Into town. Father said we could take you anywhere you want," Josie burst out.

"Anywhere I want?" A wide Cheshire cat grin spread across her face that made Helena shudder.

Uh-oh…

{-}

Aresian pulled the carriage off the street, leaping down to open the door for his mistresses. Alcina was the first to get out, adjusting her hat and surveying the area. Surprisingly the town was bustling with people, though the amount of shops open had significantly decreased.

'If the town of Brasov is clearly being affected by the war things truly are bad.'

"Mother?"

She looked down at Josie with a smile.

"Come along, my girls," she said, taking Josie by the hand and leading them down the street.

It was a long morning for the girls.

Alcina more than splurged herself on her favorite shops to visit. From clothes to jewelry back to clothes to perfumes; soaps; shampoos; makeup. Her insatiable appetite to have all the finest things was endless. Josie and Helena not minding shopping with their mother, for they too were allowed to pick out a few things for themselves, were slowly tiring.

They had been walking and walking for hours taking occasional breaks to ensure Josie did not have another episode, Helena inquired a young gentleman on the time and was told it was almost noon.

"Mother we should be getting back home," Helena said, a stickler for time, especially being /on time/.

"Very well," Alcina said, having had her fill of shopping, and there was also the fact Josie was starting to grow pale; her breathing labored. "Are you feeling all right, pretty girl?"

"Yes, Mother," Josie said. "C-can we go h-home now?"

"Yes."

They had just crossed the street and placed their bags in the carriage when loud shouts could be heard. All three looked back at the sound of screaming; glass shattering and then gunfire.

"Get in!" Alcina lifted Josie in with ease and helped Helena inside.

Crack! Crack!

The gunfire drew closer. People continuing to scream and dashing in every which direction.

"Get us out of here, Aresian!" she commanded, feeling a bullet 'whoosh' past her head.

Aresian flicked the reins of the horses, turning them away from the chaos and spurring them into a full run. Roaring for people to move and get off the street, the sounds of the violence slowly faded until the only sounds were the horses hooves and the wind outside.

Josie was trembling against her mother. Her breathing having become ragged, Alcina held her child close.

"Breathe, pretty girl," she soothed, rubbing Josie's back. "You are safe. I am here and will not let anything happen to you. I will protect you, always…" She winked over at Helena, who gave her a faint smile, reaching out to Josie and touching her wrist.

The eight-year old sniffled, giving her older sister a thin-lipped smile.

"I wager that was not part of your elaborate scheme, hmm?" Alcina tittered.

Helena laughed lightly.

"Indeed not, Mother…"

{-}

"Wait, what happened?" Fredric said.

"I told you, Fredric, now enough," Alcina said, having just tucked Josie into bed and returned to see her husband.

"Was it more rioters? Rebels?" Fredric demanded.

"It makes no difference, does it?" she hissed. "Now stop asking me questions. Oh, Phoebe." She approached the old woman. "I need you to go to the kitchen and bring up a bowl of soup to Josie."

"Yes, my lady," she bowed her head, shuffling back in the direction she had just come.

Alcina turned back to her husband to see he was staring out the window. She started to approach him and stopped at the sight of his shoulders trembling.

"Damn it!" he snarled, beating his fists against the armrests. "DAMN IT!"

Alcina resumed her approach, gently resting her fingers on his shoulders and rubbing them.

"Those bastards out there! My men fight to keep their sorry asses safe." He paused, breathing hard. "Those towns we rode through… the bodies of men, women and children littering the streets. The towns themselves dilapidated and in ruin. Seeing that devastation motivated all of us to fight harder. Fight to protect our own families from such tragedy…, and now here I am. Unable to protect any of you from my very own home!"

"We all have parts to play, Fredric, and sometimes those parts must be shifted. Unfortunately these parts may not always fit who we are, but that is what allows us to grow and change. That is all part of survival, my love, and you have had to shift many, many times. Especially when it came to sealing your fate and marrying me."

Fredric cracked a smile at that.

"This is the part you must play for now, and when you no longer need this damn wheelchair, that part will be over. Then you will find a new part to play here; we shall pick up where we left off."

Fredric uncurled his fists, resting his hand on top of Alcina's. Knowing she was right. The damn woman was always right.

The remainder of the day had gone by quietly. Fredric deciding to withhold the tickets to the opera after the events of the morning, told Helena to play the piano and allow Alcina to sing, but before that Alcina received a grand lunch from the kitchen staff, and after the musical performance was given an even grander dinner with a smashing red velvet cake for dessert.

Josie making it downstairs for dinner and the cake, didn't want to miss out on the final part of her mother's birthday celebration. They all gathered in the front of the manor where all was still. The sound of peepers singing near the pond; crickets adding to the lively chatter.

"Well?" Alcina said.

"Hold your horses," Fredric said.

Alcina about to snap back at him, jumped as an explosion erupted before them and lighted the sky with a burst of colors.

Josie laughed, clapping with glee.

"You remembered," Alcina whispered.

"How could I ever forget?" Fredric replied.

Alcina had a few tears well in her eyes, keeping her attention fixed on the night sky. More fireworks colored the canvas of black and presented her with silver and golds.

"Wait, who is shooting off the fireworks?" Josie inquired.

"Aresian and another guard," Helena answered, wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder.

"Well done team," Fredric said to the girls. "Job well done…"

{…}

Three months later:

Alcina had been sitting behind the desk in the study and going through the paperwork, when the door burst open.

"Mother!"

"Helena?" she stood up in alarm, seeing the panic written all over her daughter's face.

"Come quick! It's Father."

Alcina ran after Helena who was frantically waving her along.

"Hurry!" Helena then disappeared into her parents' bedchamber.

Alcina expecting to see Fredric laying on the floor hurt, gasped upon seeing him standing on his own two feet by the window with a walking stick.

"Ta-da!" Helena smiled, sitting on the bed next to Josie.

"That was uncouth of you, Helena," Alcina scolded her. "Though I cannot blame you entirely, for am I certain your father put you up to this, did you not?" she fixed her gaze onto him.

Helena began to pout, turning her attention over to her father who motioned for them to leave. Hopping off the bed, they both exited the room and closed the door.

"Do not be too hard on me, dear," he said, as Alcina strode up to him. "It is very difficult to get your attention when you are working."

Alcina said nothing, her nose now just inches from his, she then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Happy tears sliding down her cheeks.

It took Fredric a second to register what was happening before he was returning his wife's affection, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. To finally hold her. To feel her against him. This is what all the pain of going through the therapy had been for. To be able to finally walk on his own and not have to be carried about like an invalid. The shame he had to endure being brought up and down the stairs by Aresian and a fellow guard.

'None of that matters now,' he thought to himself, kissing the top of Alcina's head as she rested her cheek against his broad shoulders. 'The worst is finally behind us…'

Oh, if only Fredric knew…