You woke up feeling dazed, an intense pain in the back of your neck causing you to wince, instinctively bringing your hand to the affected area and wincing in pain again when touching the inflamed area. Grunting in discomfort you sat up slowly, closing your eyes tightly as you felt the dizziness still present, cursing your luck while trying to appease the feeling before opening your eyes.
Once you managed to do it, you scanned your surroundings, observing that you were not alone, but still no one seemed to be aware of your presence, or at least they didn't seem interested in it.
Taking a closer look at those present, the first person who caught your attention was an incredibly tall woman who wore a tight white dress that perfectly defined her curves while maintaining a superb elegance, she also wore a large very refined black hat that hid part of her face from your view, but still you could see her pale porcelain-like complexion and her intense red lips that outlined small grimaces as she chatted with another of those present. You turned your gaze in the other direction, where the other person was speaking, his voice deep and with notes of hostility present in it and immediately you recognized the subject, how to forget his airs of arrogance,his over-exaggerated gestures and his appearance of a ragged tramp, all together with his apparently permanent grin plastered to his face.
Your head seemed to be about to explode, the pain of the blow and the anger you felt towards that man radiating from you wishing you could give the favour back to him but staying in your position since you didn't think you could reach him in your current state. There were two more people in the room, but both seemed to stay in the shadows, keeping their identities a secret while murmuring something too low for you to hear at all. Unlike them, the first two seemed to be competing to see who could raise their voices the most. They seemed to argue heatedly, the only thing you seemed to understand from the conversation was that neither of them had great appreciation for the other, and both expressed it with an immense variety of insults.
They seemed distracted so despite wanting to know why he had taken you there, you tried to look for a way to sneak away from them. Looking around, you found that you were in a building similar to a church, if it was not. The building had seen better days but it seemed to be resistant, you wondered if those beings would still be outside, if so, should you really risk going out? clearly you couldn't trust those people, there was something about them that made your blood run cold and you had seen what one of them could do with a simple gesture of his hand or at least you thought you had seen it, you did not find meaning in your memories, but you could not completely rule out what you thought you had seen, the blow to the back of your neck served as proof that his intentions were not good either way.
Your entire body screamed for a break and your head ached horribly, but even so your desire to survive did not allow you to fall into the tempting emptiness of unconsciousness again, urging you to act quickly if you wished to stay alive.
You painstakingly scrambled to your feet, cautiously taking a few steps back to keep being unnoticed when suddenly a doll-like creature appeared in front of you, causing your heart to pop out of your chest, almost making you fall back to the ground.
"She's awaakeeee!"
The delicate-looking but terrifying creature screeched, drawing the attention of those present, who turned to observe you with interest. Somehow it seemed like they wanted to devour you with their eyes, the feeling of being the center of attention making you tremble uncomfortable.
"Oh poor child, you must be the poor unfortunate soul who had the misfortune to come across my discourteous brother, if only I had found you before…."
The tall woman leaned down slightly to get a better look at you, her piercing eyes watching you intently, something dark hidden behind her golden gaze that instilled terror in you.
"You would have probably sucked her ass dry you giant leech"
The arrogant man spoke, his offensive attitude toward the woman, whose expression changed from one of tenderness and interest to one of hatred and revulsion as she turned to face him, outlining a grimace before opening her mouth clearly ready to answer him, but being stopped when another person entered the room.
"Enough"
The imposing voice belonged to a masked woman who walked towards you calmly, ignoring the palpable hostility in the environment.
"Children you must show manners with our guest"
None of those present argued with her words, simply looking away from her or nodding as a response, the man from before remaining silent too, grunting slightly as he took his place again on a nearby bench, looking away, seemingly disinterested in the current conversation.
"Let me welcome you to our humble home, im Miranda, but you everyone here calls me mother, do so if you wish"
The woman caught your attention again, taking your gaze away from the man and focusing on her. She was wearing an attire similar to a religious one,detailed and demure, her face covered with a golden mask that revealed her pale eyes underneath it. You could deduce that she was a beautiful woman but like the rest, you could notice something imposing in her presence that kept feeling uneasy around her.
Her words seemed not to hide malice in them, but even so, you could not take anything for granted in the situation you were in, so you simply nodded as a response, hoping it was enough for the moment, not daring to speak since you still couldn't deduce their intentions.
"I understand that you are confused my dear but my intention is to clear all your doubts and provide you with whatever is it you need, trust me, I would not do anything bad towards you, just like my dear children"
She looked at each of the presents with clear affection in her eyes, outlining a warm smile and momentarily caressing your cheek with tenderness as a calming action.
"Allow me to introduce you to them, the lords of these lands, who watch over them and their people and watch over their future"
She approached the beautiful woman of tall statue, stopping beside her and looking at you once more, her soft smile still present.
"Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, my eldest child. She and her daughters occupy the nearby castle, where they provide us with exquisite wine harvests providing work for many of our inhabitants,after all she is one of our most popular lords among the townspeople, surely because of her generosity and kindness"
Dimitrescu seemed incredibly proud to hear her mother's words, giving a big smile of satisfaction and bowing slightly at them.
"You are very kind with your words mother but I can't even come close to your level of kindness"
From across the room you could hear a certain man snort and you were sure he was rolling his eyes under his sunglasses. Dimitrescu shot him a murderous look again, the other woman seemingly uninterested in their personal arguments.
One of the hidden persons whispered something then, drawing the attention of the doll that giggled while skipping up to her, sitting on her lap happily, an opportunity that Miranda took to introduce her.
"Our dear Donna, from the noble house Beneviento, her family has been with us for generations and is very well known in the town oh, and you've already met Angie, her companion"
The woman wore black clothes that covered her completely, you could not even intuit anything that could be under the fabrics which hid her identity perfectly.
There was no response from her, but you could see a slight gesture like a bow as a greeting. On the contrary, the doll kept laughing and suffering occasional tremors, making your hair stand on end. You did not understand how that being could act on its own, but in the situation you were in, you began to doubt if you really understood something at all or if you had lost your mind.
Miranda seemed to watch your reactions carefully, her gaze piercing you as she remained silent for a few moments. You really didn't feel the need to meet any of the present, but something in you told you that you shouldn't provoke Miranda, what's more, your instinct asked you to get away from there, and that's when you remembered your intention of escaping. With everyone's attention on you this would be complicated, but you couldn't just sit still and wait for them to tell you what they intended to do with you, after all they had taken you there by force, you couldn't expect anything good.
Thinking for a few moments and trying to ignore the various dangers that each option posed for you, you decided to try to take advantage of the calm state in which they were to take them by surprise and flee quickly through the door through which Miranda had entered. Honestly, the plan was not a big deal and you had a disadvantage when it came to running in your current state, but you were confident that you could get a minimum advantage of them that would allow you to hide before they reached you. In the end you were between the sword and the wall, if you stayed there your luck was uncertain and from what the hairs on the back of your neck told you, nothing good would come out from them. On the other hand, you could not forget the terrifying creatures that you had seen outside, those beasts were capable of taking lives in mere seconds, their brutality unmatched, you wouldn't stand a chance if they caught you, but even so, those creatures had proven to be beasts dominated by something similar to an animal instinct, they were hunters and those people were their preys and even if they could kill easily, you doubted that they intended to reduce the town at once, considering how the couple you had met seemed prepared as well as the rest of the houses with planks on the windows and locked doors, that although they had not provided a great result, they must have been prepared in advance.
You checked to see if Miranda was still watching you, pleased to see that she seemed to have looked away momentarily, apparently looking around the room for someone, probably one of the Lords, and you took advantage of the moment to turn on your heels, ready to sprint towards the exit but surprising yourself when you collided against something hard that stopped you on your tracks. Looking up, you cursed yourself when you came face to face with that irritating man, you were so aware of Miranda that you had assumed no one else would do anything to prevent you from escaping, but you had not noticed him moving out of his seat.
"Are you in a hurry or something?"
You immediately tried to put space between you and the man, but were caught off guard again when he stretched his foot far enough to trip you, causing you to stumble dangerously, clinging to a bench to avoid falling, lifting your gaze to look up at him, getting incredibly angry when you noticed his mocking smile.
"Be careful where you walk sweetheart"
He took a few steps towards you, but this time you would not fall for his games, you placed yourself behind the bench and waited patiently, without taking your gaze from him.
"Do you think that that bench makes a difference to how you were before? Are you really that naive?"
You did not let him continue, since when he was close enough you pushed the bench with a kick, hitting him on the shins and causing him to bend over in pain, the moment that you took the opportunity to run once more towards the door.
"You fucking bitch! You'll pay for this, you hear me!?"
You were about to reach the door when it suddenly slammed shut, trapping you with an incredibly angry man striding towards you threateningly.
"You're going to regret every second of your existence when i-..."
"Enough!"
Miranda suddenly snapped, unfurling a huge pair of black wings that gave her an even more imposing aura while approaching you with an unflappable expression, the smile from before completely gone.
"Our guest seems to be exhausted, I'm afraid we have to postpone our conversation until she is feeling better, moment when I will call her into my presence again"
Heisenberg was shaking with anger, clenching his fists tightly, trying to contain his visible anger, this did not go unnoticed by Miranda, who shot him a disapproving look before folding her wings once more, regaining her calm before speaking again.
"Heisenberg, you will scort our guest to the town, where you will see that they provide her with food and care until her condition improves. You will report to me later, do you understand?"
Although her tone was calmed, you could see the warning in it. Miranda expected to see Heisenberg's react somehow to her provocation, waiting to see if he was going to rebel against her decision.
Growling and visibly more annoyed if possible, you noticed his knuckles turn white, but suddenly they stopped, relaxing lightly.
"As you wish mother Miranda"
Satisfied with the result, Miranda turned her attention to you, on her face no trace of reproach or resentment for what happened moments before.
"My dear child, Lord Heisenberg will take you to a place to rest, I hope that once you repose you will find our company more enjoyable and join us again to continue where we left off. We will look forward to your return"
And with these words she turned her back on you, clearly her interest in you ended for the moment. Heisenberg roughly grabbed you by the arm and dragged you towards the door with little gentleness.
"Let go of me, bastard!"
Ignoring your complaints he did not stop, opening the doors with a gesture and leading you out of the room, not even looking at you.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep that fucking mouth shut"