Bela lazily pushes a piece of gravied chicken around on her plate. She'd stomach what she could – eating enough of what would be considered normal among humans. Despite sitting at a table of people that aren't normal.
Mother Miranda sits at the head of the table, normally reserved for her mother, of whom sits just to the priestess's right. On her left is Bela and her sisters. She hardly acknowledged her sisters when walking into the dining room, less so when Bela took the very last seat, furthest away from the priestess.
Her control has been on a tight leash the entire dinner from the moment she stepped through the dining room doors and walked past the priestess.
Bela had caught a whiff of Miranda's scent – and it took everything she had not to strangle the woman.
That scent – it had matched the perfumed oil that had been scent to Erika.
Of which, Bela still hasn't been able to find that mysterious servant who delivered it. Her mother, it seems, hasn't been successful either, if the feathering of her jaw is any indication. Bela caught it a few times while the priestess was leading some conversations – evidence her mother saw this dinner as more of an inconvenience.
But perhaps they could still weave their way through this event and get the priestess to show her hand. But, would it even be enough for her mother to stand against her?
If the priestess really did send some spy into Castle Dimitrescu, what would she want with Erika? More importantly, would there be any repercussions to the woman for trespassing on their property?
Leader or not, she should be held to her standards.
Bela hovers her hand over her goblet as a trembling servant girl – no one she recognized from the kitchen – is about to pour her more water.
The dinner has been less than eventful, and Bela didn't stop her thoughts from drifting up towards where Erika is probably sitting three levels above, enjoying the reads Bela had provided her. Bela can't stop her ghost of a smile.
She briefly snaps to attention when she hears her mother laugh – if polished and polite. But quickly lowers her head when it leads to nothing. She scoops anther forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, despite her stomach tightening with anticipation.
She's kept quiet most of the dinner, the conversations led and guided mostly by their mother and the priestess. Daniela and Cassandra would occasionally chime in, listing off things they did for their day, including mentions of kills in the dungeon. As if it were impressive.
Mother Miranda seemed indifferent – of course that could be her bird mask hiding her features. All Bela could see was those eyes of quicksilver flame. As cold as concrete.
Bela adjusts the sleeve of her red dress, still remembering Erika's simple but genuine compliment. It was so silly – for beauty to mean something to her. But then again, she's never really heard it from anyone other than her mother. And for it to be a genuine compliment –
Miranda's words cut through her thoughts when the priestess mentions them. "I see your, daughters, are acclimating well."
"Of course, Mother Miranda. They have settled very well; but now colder months are upon us so we're going to have to find something to do." Her mother gives a fabulous smile around the table.
Bela recognizes the deadly purr in her mother's voice. It is one that she usually reserves for those who are about to die. In this case, she's referring to the future servants that will fall victim to her, or Bela and her sisters.
Colder seasons did make the castle feel lonely; resulting in a lot of killings since Bela and her sisters had very little to do. at least, very little fun things to do. The servants could sense it too, an cresting storm of pain and suffering following the approach of the colder seasons. One winter ago, she had clocked some servants skittering away from her quicker than normal after the first snowfall.
Bela does wonder what will happen to Erika once winter sets in. She had mentioned she'd hunted in the snow before, but if Bela can't escort her, she doesn't want her out there alone.
Especially not with the lycans out there. Not to mention Erika's extended list of duties now that she's become her mother's personal servant too.
Bela's ears perk when she hears Miranda mention experiments. Of course, Cassandra immediately jumps in with her own experiments she's doing in the dungeons, of which their mother presses her lips into a tight line at her middle daughter for interrupting the priestess. Mother Miranda, however, appears to be bored.
Bela is about to step into the conversation when the doors to the dining room burst open.
All heads turn, and Bela nearly drops her fork.
Not because of Lord Karl Heisenberg dressed in finery, as though he were attending the dinner too.
But because of the terrified young woman standing next to him.
Red begins to crest into Bela's vision as she sees Erika trembling – trembling – next to the lord, her hand crushed in the crevice of his inner elbow.
That, and she looked beat to shit.
Bela's nostrils flare, and a deadly growl emanates from the back of her throat. She could tell the bandages that wrap around Erika's shoulder were not done by a skilled healer. More like he chucked them at her and told her to make do.
Erika's teal eyes immediately find Bela, and the eldest daughter digs her nails into the table at their agony and despair.
She wears a silk rose-pink nightgown with thin straps and a little lace along the low-dipping neckline. The thin material emphasizes her pebbled nipples. She must be freezing.
Not only that, but the wrinkles on it indicate it was freshly pulled from the drawer.
Whatever happened to her, she had bled . . . a lot.
A gathering of Erika's corn-silk hair slides over her shoulder, and she sees the red-tainted tips, as though they had been dipped in her own blood.
Bela grits her teeth. Utterly terrified and infuriated.
The table and its contents rattle as her mother slams her fists down, nearly tipping it over. "Heisenberg, you unsufferable ingrate! What is the meaning of this intrusion?!"
"Oh, calm down you overgrown bitch. I'm just coming to enjoy the dinner!"
"Relax, Alcina." Mother Miranda croons from her seat at the table. She sips from her glass of wine. "I invited him here."
"What?!"
Heisenberg's smile is nothing short of vulpine. He yanks Erika along, and Bela flinches for her steak knife when she sees the woman wince.
It is then that Bela sees the limp in her walk. It is obscured beneath the skirt of nightgown, but Bela can smell it – that honeyed smell mingling with the usual coopery tang.
"What are you doing with my personal servant?" Bela's mother snarls, a deadly tone laced with ice and promised death.
"Oh? Oh, she was yours?" his tone has nothing but sarcasm. "I had no idea. I had just been looking for some company to bring to this gathering –"
Her mother takes one step towards the lord. "Are you insane?" she sneers.
Bela rises from her seat, stomping around the table and right up to Heisenberg.
The crack sounds across the room, pain bristling down her hand as it connects with the side of Heisenberg's face.
"How dare you." Bela snaps in a voice not entirely human.
The Lord's head snaps to the side, loosening his hold on Erika's. The young woman has enough sense not to run. Or she refuses to give him the satisfaction.
"You'll suffer for this you fucking bastard!" Bela drives her fist into his gut before ramming her foot into his groin. The lord staggers back with a grunt as Bela practically shoves Erika behind her, careful of that injured ankle.
"Alcina, control your daughter, at once." Mother Miranda commands, her face calm with lethal wrath.
Her mother whips her head towards the priestess, hate flickering in those golden eyes. "Mother Miranda, this is such an insult! Why would not advise me that Heisenberg was coming? Let alone that he assaulted one of my employees!"
Heisenberg grunts as he gets to his feet, but Bela knew deep in her bones that he is exaggerating it. "Oh, because you're so innocent when it comes to hurting civilians."
Her mother whirls towards the other lord. "Have I ever come into your pathetic factory and ruined any of your experiments?"
"You've never bothered to come at all." Heisenberg chuckles.
"Because I know my place. You need to learn yours." Her mother growls, and with a flick of her wrist, those long, steel nails emerge from her fingertips.
Bela prays to the Black God that her mother just slices the lord's head off as she guides Erika towards the other side of the table. Still away from Mother Miranda, but also away from Heisenberg.
To Bela's surprise, Cassandra stands from her seat and flanks Erika, as if ready to leap into battle should Heisenberg be stupid enough to try and take her. In her periphery, she can see Erika flinch, but her focus quickly returns to the two lords.
"Enough!" Mother Miranda commands, rising from her seat. "Lord Heisenberg is here by my invitation. He will be allowed to dine."
Her mother whirls towards the priestess. "Not in my castle. My domain. My home."
"A home that I granted to you, Alcina." she drawls, as if such a gift was a casual as offering a cookie. "Remember from whence you came."
"Thank you," Heisenberg says with a mock bow, pulling out the chair her mother had been sitting in. He helps himself to her plate, unbothered.
Prick.
Mother Miranda's head slowly turns to Bela, to Erika shielded behind her. With a casual grace, she begins to saunter towards them.
Bela growls, materializing her sickle in her hand. Whether or not Erika clocked it, she doesn't really care. Cassandra takes a single step to her left, intercepting the priestess.
And Bela has to bite back her tears, her gratefulness, as Daniela stands from her seat too, competing the triangle of protection around Erika.
"I don't think I've ever met you before, my dear." The priestess croons. The clicking of her metal fingers thunders in Bela's ears.
Erika doesn't say anything. But Bela clocks her shifting her feet, the slight bend in her knees. A fighting stance.
"Did Heisenberg do that to you?" she asks, angling her head. A predatory stare.
That tone . . . the body language . . .
Bitch. Fucking raven-clad bitch.
They planned this – the two of them. They'd planned this together. To bring Erika here by force, if not by will. Give her a reason to speak Erika, to belittle her mother, to taunt and anger and humiliate her mother –
It can't all just be for Erika. The priestess must have something else in mind . . .
Miranda continues, "You poor thing. Had I'd known he would be such a brute, I never would've considered having his company."
Heisenberg pauses his eating.
Hatred shines in Erika's eyes. Pure hatred.
She takes a step closer, and Daniela and Cassandra close the gap between them, blocking the path to Erika.
Bela grips her sickle. "Back up."
Miranda looks to Bela, looking down her nose at the eldest daughter. "You don't order me, girl."
She looks past Cassandra, past Daniela, past Bela.
"Come here child. Let me see what damage has been done so that I might properly punish Heisenberg."
The Lord blinks. His blue-grey eyes rippling with . . . something. Bela can feel the entire room vibrate; feel her own sickle hum in her hand, as though his power is trying to collect everything.
"She is none of your concern," Bela snarls, her voice gruff.
Bela can see a hint of a viper's smile beneath that golden mask. "I understand if she is your property, but I simply cannot let a Lord's abuse go unpunished."
"Then discuss it with my mother."
"Why not let the girl speak for herself? Unless Heisenberg has already cut out her tongue."
The words pierce through the primal rage clouding her mind, and Bela abandons Miranda to turn and look to Erika. Those teal eyes look into hers. And she gives an inconspicuous shake of her head.
Still, Mother Miranda asks, "What is your name, dear?"
Lie. Lie. Bela scream through her stare.
As Miranda steps closer, Bela whirls around and roots herself in place. She can feel Erika peek out from behind her shoulder. "Rachel, My Lady. Rachel Matthews."
Bela wouldn't have been able to stop herself from whipping her head at Erika in surprise, and hurt. But perhaps that's just what was needed, because Miranda hums with satisfaction.
"A pleasure dear. Not that I know Heisenberg hasn't cut out your tongue, perhaps you can tell me what he'd done to you, so that I might punish him properly."
Bela further sets Erika behind her, uncaring of the watching eyes. "How about I do the punishing. She is mine after all."
"Oh? Was she not your mother's as well?"
Bela gives a terrifyingly innocent smile. "She's special, as I'm sure you've gauged well."
The bruising on Heisenberg didn't escape the eldest daughter. It would seem Erika put up one hell of a fight.
"Daughters," their mother suddenly chimes, her teeth grit, but her voice still laced with that pristine regal and deadly calm.
Bela knew that tone. Had heard it before. Never directed at her, and there's a reason for that.
"I think that's enough excitement for tonight's dinner. You're all excused."
The three of them look to their mother, whose focus is on the lord sitting in her chair, and on the priestess who is still eyeing Erika as if she were carrion.
Surprisingly, Cassandra asks, "Mother?"
"I said go." Their mother snaps.
And there's enough venom in it for Bela to move to pick up Erika, but the woman takes a step back. Bela looks to her, confused, almost hurt – were it not for the burning fire swirling around in those teal eyes.
Erika is staring directly at Heisenberg, who seems to still be processing Mother Miranda's comment. Their eyes meet, and the lord has the good sense to look somewhat unnerved.
Pure rage emits from Erika's teal eyes, turning them into something that would have anyone groveling at her feet. Every inch a conquering empress.
Her eyes flick towards a steak knife. Bela takes a half-step forward, ever-so-slightly nudging Erika with her hip, away from the table.
"What a mighty soul you are," Miranda breathes.
And Erika backs away. Step by step.
"What a prize," the priestess says, that quicksilver gaze devouring her.
Bela then guides Erika towards the dining room doors, practically shoving her with as much strength as she could give, without straining that injured ankle. Bela glares, eyes full of rage as she snarls at the priestess, "Don't you touch her."
Cassandra and Daniela move to flank Erika as she opens the doors.
Bela then gives a feline smile. "By the way, thanks for the oil. My skin was quite dry – winter seasons and all."
Erika and her sisters pause before the door, looking back with controlled features.
Mother Miranda balks at her.
Bela gives a coy lift of her shoulder before aiming for the doors. Erika scampers ahead, out of her way, ever the obedient servant.
And her sisters close the doors behind them.
The four of them had enough sense and control to make their walk up the stairs known – a confirmation to their mother that they were indeed leaving.
Erika did her best, gripping the railing and hopping up the steps with surprising control despite her injured shoulder. Then once they got to the top, Bela scooped her up without hesitation. This time, she didn't protest.
Bela immediately begins to walk down the hall with quickened feet – as fast of a pace she can without running.
Erika sits curled and stiff in her arms, resting her head at the nape of Bela's neck. "Don't go to my room." She mumbles.
It puts a skip in Bela's steps, but her mind quickly reroutes towards her personal bedroom. What the hell happened in there?
"What the hell is going on?" Cassandra asks, trailing behind with Daniela.
She didn't expect them to follow. But right now, she doesn't care.
"How the fuck would I know?" Bela snarls.
Cassandra curls her own lip in retort. The lights of the sconces make her citrine-colored gown glow like rum. "I wasn't talking to you."
"You don't get to talk to her."
"Heisenberg came to my room." Erika then interjects.
Cassandra stops dead in her tracks, only for a brief second, but it was enough to make Daniela nearly crash into her.
After a hiss of annoyance, the youngest Dimitrescu daughter quickens her pace to match Bela's as they turn right, and then left. "How the hell did he know where you were? Who you were?"
"Like hell I would know." Erika growls. "Ask that damn priestess."
Daniela's eyes widen, a section of her coppery hair slips over her shoulder – a stark contrast to her indigo gown. "So you actually went up against Uncle Heisenberg?"
Bela cringes at that title. Daniela had given it to the lord to play with the illusion of the family Mother Miranda had created. She was the only one who ever used it, and while Bela did like how it bristled the man's skin, she too hated the idea of having to consider that man part of their family. Their true family.
Erika nods in answer to Daniela's question.
The tip of Daniela's tongue curls and licks the corner of her mouth as she grins. "Badass. What was it like?"
"Dani," Bela snaps.
Her sister withdrawals, and a sprite of happiness lights her golden eyes at hearing the sisterly nickname. It's enough to draw a small yet genuine smile from her youngest sister. Daniela skips ahead towards the door Bela is aiming for and holds it open.
Cassandra catches up to them, peering down at Erika's shoulder. "We need to get that shoulder properly fixed."
Bela's look is nothing short of icy. "We?"
Cassandra rolls her eyes. "Yes, we. We'll keep watch while you tend to her wounds."
"I don't see why you even need to be there at all."
"Mother Miranda is still in this castle."
"And Mother will deal with her."
"Or she might just let her walk right up and take her." Daniela chirps, closing the door behind them. "You'll need our help –"
"Why should I allow any of you"—the last word is shot at Cassandra with as much venom as a pit viper— "to get near her? It is no one's business but our own."
"Just stop." Erika mutters from Bela's arms.
And it wasn't the waver itself in her voice that makes Bela slow.
It was the exhaustion. A voice – a glimpse – of a defeated warrior.
Her skin is so pale it looks like fresh snow in harsh sunlight.
Now is not the time for this. If Erika doesn't mind, then fine.
Bela straightens herself, shaking herself of her territorial impulse. "Okay, we need to get her some food. Cassandra, go and get some bandages, or drag the nearest healer to my room if you have to."
Obediently, her sister nods, and Cassandra makes an abrupt left down an adjacent hallway. Daniela already seems to have given herself an assignment, as she keeps opening and closing doors, taking the lead as they finally make it to Bela's bedroom.
It's not as big as Erika's spacious suite, but it's not like she spends much time in here anyway. Daniela strides over towards the fire, throwing more logs on it and breathing life into the flames with the bellows.
Bela sets Erika down on the couch poised before the fire before briskly walking towards her bed and snatching a blanket from the lumpy mass of down comforters and pillows. She returns and Daniela is still tending to the fire, Erika curled into the corner of the couch.
So small, not just in size, but the space that she would normally take up, has been shriveled. The room feeling emptier without her swaggering hips and shit-eating grins.
A hollowing silence.
It makes Bela's knees give a little.
She steps around the rolled arm of the couch – if only to avoid startling Erika – and carefully sits beside her, posted at the edge of the bed. Erika uncurls a little bit from familiarity, and Bela does her best to wrap the blanket around the woman, avoiding the shoulder and resting the ankle.
Daniela finishes tending to the fire, but she remains close to it. Keeping her distance. And it's very – for once – un-Daniela-like. Bela was prepared for her to pounce on Erika with questions, of it to try and take another bite out of her neck – because her sister is just that inconsiderate, even to her own siblings.
Once the blanket is settled, Bela scoots herself just an inch closer to Erika. The woman notices, her eyes flicking to Bela's. A silent request.
Erika nods her head, unfolding and tucking her good ankle beneath her thigh. Bela stands and rounds towards the back of the couch, if only for a better angle to access Erika's poorly bandaged shoulder.
It doesn't take much effort to unwrap the gauze. It practically falls off once Bela releases the already-loosening knot, enough so that she has to hold it against Erika in case the wound isn't fully clotted yet. Erika hisses, and Bela peeks in between to see her skin still smeared with red.
She tries to ignore the honey-laced smell, twining with mist-veiled pines. Near heavenly. Peering over towards Daniela, it would seem she's trying to fight the urge as well.
"I wouldn't mess with it until a healer can come. If, she can come." Erika says.
"Not to mention Bela might just make things worse." Cassandra's voice croons from the entrance.
Bela gives an animalistic snarl, despite seeing the older, trembling woman behind her sister. She's seen her before, having witnessed her visiting the rooms of servants who'd gotten sick, or who'd suffered at the hands of one of the three daughters. She likely kept many of the servants from outright dying – she's skilled. This should be child's play for her.
"Come in," Bela orders. Erika looks over towards the woman, sparing an apologetic wince.
The woman acknowledges Erika, but she is second priority when in a room with all three Dimitrescu daughters.
Bela resists the urge to roll her eyes as she ushers the healer over with an urgent wave of her hand. The woman approaches with quickened, slippered feet, an overstuffed satchel draped along her hip. Bela can hear clinks and clacks from within it – she might as well have brought her whole workstation with her.
"Might I ask what happened, My Lady?" she says with a patchy, yet silken voice.
"It's a stab wound," Erika immediately answers. "And my ankle got sliced, but I don't think it hit a tendon."
The healer pays Erika a friendly and assuring smile. "You wouldn't be able to walk, if that were the case. We'll have you patched in no time."
Despite Bela's instincts humming with defiance, she gives her seat over to the healer. Erika adjusts herself to allow the woman better access to her wound, and Bela can already see the healer's fear instantly melt into a warm yet focused expression as she sinks into a stoic being that has likely given hope to many patients before Erika.
Cassandra gives a quick hiss, enough that Bela turns her head and finds her sister motioning her over. Bela then turns to Daniela and delivers the same sound. She walks over without question.
As the three sisters converge over towards Bela's bedroom, both Erika and the healer seems to relax – if their slouching shoulders are any indication. Bela looks back and sees Erika spare the older woman another apologetic smile, of which the healer brushes off and says something that makes Erika smile – truly smile.
"So, what the hell is going on?" Cassandra asks as she closes the bedroom doors. "Mother Miranda was practically drooling at the mouth when Erika walked in. Despite looking like, that. And I stopped by her rooms, and it's nearly destroyed. One of the windows had even been blown out."
Bela folds her arms, ignoring the living, writhing rage brewing beneath her stomach. "Again, I don't see how it's any of your business."
"So you'll let us help you with Miranda, but after that we're scrap?"
"Why do you even care?!" Bela is careful of her voice, seething through grit teeth. "You have done nothing but make her life a living hell in this castle. Had it not been for Mother or me, she would already be dead at your hands."
Daniela steps up to Bela's right. "What goes on between us is one thing, but if this involves Miranda, it's something bigger. Bigger than Erika. And you two might be in for something far worse than a sickle to the cheekbone."
Bela stares daggers at her youngest sister, and the silence is palpable. Cassandra folds her arms, peering down at her toes of her shoes before saying, "Look, I get it. Okay?"
"What?"
"I get why she's important to you, and why you want to protect her so badly –"
"You don't know jack shit." Bela interjects, lips pulling back in an animalistic snarl. "What do you know about what she does for me?"
"I know enough from that party in the opera hall. She's special to you, and yeah, maybe I was jealous of you having her because maybe I wanted some of that. Happiness." Cassandra adds with a choke.
"And you were wrong, you know." Daniela says, picking at the dirt beneath her nails. Bela looks to her. "We don't enjoy seeing you miserable. Even before Erika came along, whenever you would have a bad day, we all felt it. We all cared, you just wanted your space."
Cassandra steps closer to Bela, redirecting her attention. "Look, I might not know everything about what's going on between you and Erika, but it's obvious she's become important to you. In a way that's more than just a toy, or a plaything. So if she means that much to you, when we'll help. Even if you don't want it, or think you don't need it."
"I don't –"
"Get off your high horse, Bela. We might be one thing in the walls of this castle, but the reality is, we're nothing compared to Mother Miranda. We can't even leave the castle for half of the seasons."
Bela sighs in aggravation, turning and beginning to pace at the side of her bed. Daniela hops at the foot, plopping herself among the lump of sheets and down comforters. Cassandra leans against one of the posts, letting Bela pace back and forth.
"You've given me no reasons to trust either of you, except for tonight. And even that became a bit of a shocker." Says Bela.
Cassandra rolls her eyes. Daniela rolls onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow.
After a minute, Bela runs her fingers through her hair. Another heavy sigh. "When I first heard Erika sing, in the laundry room, it awakened something in me. Something that I haven't felt since the moment we all woke up in that room together. I felt . . . alive." The confession lines Bela's eyes with silver as she gazes down at her hands. "I saw memories from dreams, I was transported to a place where I wasn't . . . this. Where I felt like I belonged, and that I was, free."
Bela holds a hand to her chest, feeling the increasing beating of her hollow heart.
"I felt light and heavy all at once. And when she had stopped, I wanted to scream because I didn't want to leave that place. I wanted to stay there forever, in an eternal bliss. I originally wanted her so she could sing for me, and I could drift away into that place, and other places, for the rest of my miserable existence." Bela stops, her hand still on her chest. "But then, I started seeing more of who she is, the things she's been through, what she endured. And I realize that . . . she's just as much of a jagged puzzle as I am. Being around her, it wasn't just her songs that were making me feel alive again. It was her." Bela draws a trembling breath. "That evening when she had screamed, and those lycans were chasing her, I felt a fear that I've never felt before. It was crumbling. Terrifying. I felt hopeless but so driven with a primal determination I almost felt foreign in my own body. I didn't want to lose her. I couldn't lose her. Otherwise I'd be dying all over again. I'd be losing the one thing that was able to steal what was left of my heart."
She pauses, swallowing. A few tears slip from her eyes, and Bela quickly wipes them away with her hands before clasping them together to ease her trembling.
The room is as quiet as a graveyard, cushioned by the gentle flitting of Erika's breathy giggle from the other room. Bela allows herself to look in that direction, at the doors dividing them.
"Do you, love her?" Daniela finally asks, in a whisper that even the dead couldn't hear.
Cassandra stiffens, her face an impenetrable mask of indifference. Bela loosens a long breath.
"I don't know." Bela starts. "I don't, think so."
Upon first instinct, her first initial response, the answer was no. She didn't love Erika, she loved her singing. At least, that's how it started.
But now . . .
Her protectiveness, her behavior, she all admitted that to not wanting to lose Erika because she was merely a means to her own personal happiness. She was just using Erika for her voice, in the beginning, and Erika seemed to know that too.
They were on a mutual ground – and all Erika cared about was that it kept her alive.
A mutual agreement. That's all it is.
All it was.
That was their connection. She honestly has no idea how Erika feels about her, and she forbid herself from finding out because it only meant trouble.
Besides, Bela doesn't even know what love really is. At least, outside of a familiar sense. How could she possibly understand her feelings? Let alone understand when she wants something more than a mutual agreement.
"I don't know." Bela repeats. Finalizes.
After a moment, Cassandra fidgets. "So what does Mother Miranda want with her?"
The knee-wobbling relief forces Bela to prop herself against the wall. "I don't know. And I don't like it."
"What started this?" Daniela asks. "Because you did seem a little more tense than usual at dinner."
Bela looks to her sisters; looks to the golden eyes they all share with their mother – and yet have grown to form their own individual shades. Cassandra's always seemed more cold to Bela. Dulled, perhaps, yet gleaming with a cruelty that could cut convince. Daniela's always gleamed with a mischievous aura – a near wildfire with her impulsiveness and the volatile temper they all shared.
"I don't know what Mother Miranda wants with Erika, but I'm certain she wants her. There was this servant that I'd never seen before" – Bela notes the confusion and concern on her sisters' faces – "she looked, new. No evidence that she'd been here, no signs that she'd been down in the dungeons, and I'd just hadn't been down there in a while. She looked as fresh as a new doll. She dropped off this perfumed skin oil, claiming that Mother had asked it to be delivered to Erika. I instantly didn't trust it." Bela tucks her hands behind her hips, cushioning herself against the wall. "There was something, off, about her. Her scent, her body language, her presentation. Just everything was off. And then, when I went to Mother about it, she said she didn't send anything to Erika."
Her sisters grow as still as death.
"To add further, when I passed by Mother Miranda, her scent matched the oil. She wanted to use it to try and track her, to find her. And when she didn't show up at the dinner, she sent Heisenberg to try and find her while Mother was distracted."
To think that Erika might've rubbed that oil all over her body – her breasts, her inner thighs, her neck . . .
"That didn't turn out well for him." Daniela grins.
Cassandra then mirrors it, "He did seem pretty, dented, I'll say."
Bela clamps her lips to hide her own smile. "Well, he didn't know he'd be walking into a lion's den." She runs her fingers through her hair. "But you're right. It's one thing for me to protect Erika from you two – because I can. It's different with Mother Miranda. Because I don't think I can; even with Mother's help."
Cassandra blinks. "You don't think Mother will try to help?"
Bela bits her lip. "Mother Miranda is the leader of this village. That priestess's word is law around here. Mother serves under her."
"But you're her daughter – we are her daughters."
"Doesn't mean she'll stand against Miranda."
Daniela shifts so she's sitting on the edge of the bed. "You don't think so?"
A heartbeat of silence.
"No. No, I don't."
A painful confession, but a truthful one.
"Well," says Daniela, "it's a good thing we're working together now. Aren't we?"
Bela looks to her sisters.
Cassandra smirks, "The question is: will you be willing to share?"
Bela flattens her lips into a tight line. "I, don't know."
A coy shrug of her sister's shoulder. "Well, we'll let you think about it."
"What do you mean–?"
Cassandra is already moving towards the doors. Daniela hopping off the bed and skipping to follow the middle sister.
Bela didn't want to chase after them to continue the conversation. And she knew she'd likely regret it later.
But perhaps that was enough said between the three of them.
It was no longer her personal secret – no longer her, hidden treasure of sorts. But she does feel lighter . . . and more secure. And not so, alone.
The only problem would be having Erika lower her guard, but Bela isn't sure she wants her too, either.
Bela follows her sisters, finding the healer has made a small cup of tea for Erika – who now looks properly bandaged and wrapped.
The two women look in the direction of the sisters, the older woman furling into herself upon their approach. Cassandra and Daniela hang back a couple of feet, leaving Bela to approach. Erika looks unbothered if a bit lighter with some color pouring back into her skin.
Bela does examine the bandages, running the tips of her fingers along the strips of white. She blinks when she feels a small knob beneath.
"I had to stitch the wound shut, since it went completely through her shoulder." The healer quickly states, as if afraid her protocol would send her head rolling.
Bela blinks, looking to Erika. "How did you –?"
The healers says, "I told her I could give her a quick shot of anesthetic, but she refused and insisted I just get it done and over with."
It is then that Bela notices the shotgun shell – cleaned and slightly dented – sitting on the table.
Bela is stunned – truly stunned, and at a loss for words.
While they were talking, Erika had been getting her shoulder stitched up – without a numbing agent. She felt every poke of the needle, felt the string slithering beneath her skin as it was pulled through, felt each little tug when it had to be tightened.
Erika shrugs. Unbothered.
Bela gathers herself. "How bad was it?" She notes Erika's eyes upon her sisters behind her.
The woman slowly begins to pack her things back into her satchel. "No major arteries or tendons were severed in either area, luckily."
Or by choice
"Both are now clean with some ointment and fresh bandages. If she takes things easy, and there are no other surprises, she will be fine within a couple of weeks. Thankfully only her shoulder needed stitches, but still, I don't want her putting much weight on that ankle. And after the two weeks, I'll check on the stitches and see if it'll be safe to remove them." She looks to Erika, "Which, your shoulder will scar."
Another nonchalant shrug. "No one's going to see it."
Bela fists her hands as she looks at the scar next to Erika's eye. Given to her by Cassandra.
She avoids looking at her sister.
"Other than that, everything will be fine. The tea is to help with the cramps."
"Cramps?" asks Bela.
That's when Erika turns a shade of red. She clears her throat. "Yeah, um, my monthly cycles have returned. Amongst everything else."
Behind Bela, her sisters snort.
"Well, thank you for your help. You can go now." A blatant dismissal.
The healer stands, a wobbling rise that has Erika reaching out a hand to help. The older woman politely disregards her, but adds, "Drink that three times a day – I always recommend with meals – and it'll help with the pain."
"Thank you," Erika whispers.
The woman shows herself out, Daniela following after her to close the door behind. It also made the woman quicken her pace, of which Bela almost felt sorry for her.
After a heartbeat of silence, Bela taking her seat next to Erika, the young woman asks to no one in particular, "Now what?"
Bela watches those ever-vigilant teal eyes look towards her sisters, standing close to the fireplace. Erika folds herself into the blanket, gently draping it around her shoulders while being careful of the cup of tea.
"Now, you tell us everything that happened."
Erika lifts a brow as she sips from her cup. "Us?" she asks.
"Yes. Us."
Erika blinks. Her hair has been loosened, draping along her shoulders and back. The tips seemed to have been cleaned – probably a courtesy of the healer – and now sits deflated, but still pretty in relaxation. "What's happening?" she asks with blatant caution.
Bela looks to her sisters, who give her the position of explanation. The eldest daughter sighs, "We've decided that if Mother Miranda is after you, for whatever reason, we need to set aside our differences and work together to keep you safe."
A low, bitter laugh. But she turns to Cassandra, looks over her sister as if Erika were a queen on a throne, and then declares to all of them, "After everything that's been done to me, you expect me to believe that they're willing to just drop everything, forget everything, and put my safety first because they actually care?"
"Even if they're not doing it for you, they're doing it for me. Isn't that enough?"
Erika snorts. "Yeah, because your word meant so much to them before when Cassandra sliced at me with a sickle, and Daniela biting a chunk out of my neck." Hate ripples over her features — enough hate that Bela feels sick. "Just because they now magically agreed to help doesn't mean I like it, or that I forgive them."
"I never said you had to." Bela states.
"Think of this as a way for us to properly get to know each other." Chimes Cassandra with a taunting smile. Bela closes her eyes and sighs.
Wrong thing to say, as Erika nearly whitens with rage. "You are going to stay the hell away from me, you fucking sadistic bitch. If you come anywhere near me, I'll –"
Bela cuts in, holding out her arm as if it would stop Erika from launching at her sister. Mostly because she doesn't want Erika to get hurt since she'll only collide with a swarm of flies. "Just because they're going to be watching you doesn't mean you'll have to be around them. You're still my servant, and Mother's. They're more like, extra security now.
Erika's nostrils flare. Cassandra only gives her a crooked grin.
"Still better than what Mother Miranda probably wants to do with you."
Erika only shakes her head, giving a sharp wave of her hand. "I don't care. Do what you want."
A stinging dismissal, if not admission that she trusts Bela's words to hold true. The eldest daughter jerks her chin at sisters in a silent order to leave, and as Daniela follows Cassandra, she says softly, "I'm sorry, Erika."
She doesn't answer as she sits stiffly on the couch, sips her tea, and dutifully ignores them.
Bela flattens her lips, selfishly glad she's not on the receiving end of such hate. Daniela leaves with an uncharacteristically timid bow of her head.
When Bela looks back, she finds Cassandra staring back at Erika as well.
Her stomach sinks, and her skin bristles at what now shines in Cassandra's eyes as she gazes at Erika.
Sorrow. And longing.