You guided Cassandra into the wine room, despite the lack of fire, you knew the blood wine would help her immensely. Once you laid her down in the chair, you got to work opening bottles of wine.
"You didn't have to save me." Cassandra said softly from the chair. You could tell that despite her hatred and suspicion of you, she was grateful that she wasn't dead.
"I did it for the Lady and your sisters. Despite your feelings towards me, I would have made a grave error in not trying to save you." You answered back plainly. After having opened six bottles, you brought them over to the armchair and held the bottle to Cassandra's mouth. "I know you'd rather do this yourself, but the lack of hands might make that a bit challenging. As soon as you regain some strength, we'll head towards the fireplace in the main hall." You offered, noting the anguish on Cassandra's face. You had no way of knowing the struggle of having to rely on someone else to help you, especially after having been used to being the strongest. Cassandra stared at you with a sour smile, but relented and started drinking the bottle as you tilted it for her.
"Don't think this is going to change my opinion of you." Casandra murmured bitterly as you reached for the second bottle. You resisted the urge to chuckle, but couldn't help the smile you gave her in response. After guzzling down another two bottles, Cassandra held up the mass of flies resembling her forming hand to stop you. "You know you should've killed him." She said softly. You sighed heavily and nodded. You had every opportunity to end that man's reign of terror, but you couldn't bring yourself to end your first human life.
"I know, call me sentimental for us mere mortals, but I couldn't just execute him." You said pitifully. "Regardless, I was able to prevent you from dying and that is enough for me." Before either of you could continue, the door slammed open as the Lady and her two recovering daughters entered.
"Cassandra!" The Lady exclaimed as she took in the state of her daughter. Bela and Daniela kept their distance, but relief was etched into their faces.
"Mother." Cassandra said as she was scooped into the Lady's arms.
"You stupid stupid girl. Do you have any idea what I would've done if I lost you?" Alcina asked as tears poured down her face. "Having almost lost your sisters was hard enough, but look at you! You know how dangerous this man is, the depths he would stoop to, and you still went after him?" Despite the harshness of her words, Alcina's tone was of love and relief.
"I'm sorry, Mother. I wanted to take revenge for him hurting my sisters." The shame on Cassandra's face was a peculiar sight, but you swiftly diverted your eyes to the ground. Being part of this private moment didn't feel right, yet you knew attempting to leave would draw attention to you. For some reason though, Alcina's golden eyes zeroed in on you.
You felt naked under those golden eyes, as if every detail of your life was being told to them. They seemed to glow even brighter as they scrutinized your disheveled state. The intensity felt akin to the time your mother stared at you one night after you were trying to sneak back into your room, though this time you didn't feel shame. You wanted to address Alcina properly, to explain that the man was still alive, but looking into her eyes for what felt like eons, though it was mere seconds, left you unable to speak. Without uttering a word, Alcina was in front of you and embraced you tightly. Electricity flowed through your body as you became acutely aware of every space you were being touched.
"Words cannot express how grateful I am to you, Y/N. Thank you for saving all of my daughters from sheer death." Alcina said, her voice thick with unshed tears. You nodded against her shoulder, the only movement you could bring your malfunctioning brain to do. You knew it was the most inappropriate of timing, but you couldn't help noticing the hidden musculature Alcina possessed.
"She's holding me. The Lady is holding me." You thought hazily. Cassandra made eye contact with you and quickly rolled hers with a knowing glint.
"Mother, I do believe you are breaking your new favorite maid." Cassandra said slyly. You could feel the heat of your blood rise up to your cheeks quickly. Alcina seemed to realize just how closely pressed you were to her chest and released her hold, straightening back to her full height.
"Please forgive my impropriety. I just wanted you to know how relieved I am to know that my daughter and you are safe. Tell me, did you kill him?" Alcina asked, schooling her features into an unreadable mask.
"I did not kill him, My Lady. I thought that honor should only go to you." You said thoughtfully. Alcina nodded and began to slowly pace around the room. "What would you like for me to do, My Lady?" You asked. The sight of Alcina clearly coming up with a plan to capture, torture, and then kill this man made you slightly uncomfortable, though not in conventional ways.
"I would like for you to rest and heal, however I have two tasks that you must complete for me. I'm entrusting you with these because you have proven that you are capable and that your loyalty knows no bounds." Alcina said in a measured, yet light tone. You cocked your head to the side slightly, but nodded in understanding and listened carefully to the instructions.
Ethan Winters panted as he slowly crept throughout the castle towards the four pillars with statues missing their faces. He cursed softly under his breath as he struggled to walk. The servant had known what she was doing in trying to cripple him, but the miracle medicinal liquid he found throughout this village and castle was quite literally a lifesaver. He thought back to the words you had chillingly said to him as he watched you carry that demented brunette witch out the doors. He couldn't hear the clicking of Dimitrescu's heels against the floor, so he assumed he was in the clear for now. He had to hurry before the witches regained their strength and could capture him for Dimitrescu to kill. Quickly sliding the missing faces into their corresponding statues, Ethan looked to the black stone tablet sliding into the ceiling and the doors slid open. He pours another bottle of the liquid over his knees and shoulders and then made a beeline through the door. The winds whipped harshly on the bridge, yet Ethan trudged on, hoping to find this poisoned dagger. He entered the churchlike tower and stared flabbergasted. There sitting atop a stone casket was you and a yellow container.
"What are you doing here?" He spat out harshly.
"I offer you a deal from Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, Mr. Winters." You said cautiously. "The Lady is offering you this flask and safe passage out of her castle. In exchange for this, you must swear to two things. First, you must swear to not step foot near the Beneviento Estate. Second, you must swear to focus your efforts on stopping Mother Miranda." Ethan stared at you as if this was a joke.
"All I want is my daughter, why would I take that stupid flask?" He questioned impetuously.
"The Lady informed me that your daughter is not in this castle, and said that The Duke would be able to explain the importance of the flask to you." You said with an exasperated sigh. "If you do not take this deal you will die a horribly painful death, that is just retribution for nearly killing The Lady's daughters."
Ethan stared at you incredulously and looked at the coffin you were sitting on. "I still fail to see how this deal benefits me, I know how to kill Dimitrescu." He said confidently. He knew it was a bluff, he didn't know if the damned dagger would have any effect on that monstrously sized woman, but you didn't know that. Then before he could even say anything else, your next words made his blood run cold.
"The Dagger of Death's Flowers is no longer here." You said with a smirk. The sight of hope dying in the man's eyes was sadistically satisfying to you. "The Lady had me throw it over the bridge before you had even left the castle. Perhaps you have changed your mind on taking this deal?" You asked. The flashes of anger and hopelessness that passed over Ethan's face were intriguing to say the least.
"You're lying." He said flatly, fidgeting as though he was going to run. You moved your hand to the edge of the casket to where you had hidden the pistol you used earlier.
"I would never lie about what The Lady has said, Mr. Winters. You want to save your daughter, or at least that's what you claim. A smart and caring father would take the deal." You said plainly. You knew it was a low blow, but Alcina had urged you to get him to take the offer. She claimed she didn't want you to see her second plan, or place you in harm's way longer than necessary. Ethan's eyes took on a sharp fury at the mention of his daughter and his jaw clenched to match it. "All you need to do is never take a step in the direction of the Beneviento Estate and work to stop Mother Miranda."
"How do I know this isn't some elaborate trap? Don't you and this whole village worship Miranda?" He asked cautiously. You cocked your head to the side in mock thought.
"My allegiance is to House Dimitrescu. Lady Dimitrescu has decided to offer a nonviolent option first, despite her personal grievances towards you. If this were a trap, you would be dead by now." You offered. There was some truth to that statement as Alcina was lurking in the shadows, observing the exchange quietly.
"And how do you know I will keep my word and not go to the location you specified?" Ethan asked. His posture was still that of a cat looking for an exit.
"Because of the simple fact that there are eyes and ears throughout the village tracking your every movement. The other lords have all placed different security measures to keep you away from the Beneviento Estate and from what I've heard, you're better off not going to look." The air of false confidence coming from you was quite believable. Ethan grimaced, but appeared to finally believe what you were telling him.
"Fine, but so help me god, if I don't get my daughter back, I will come back and kill Dimitrescu and her witches." He spat venomously. You felt your hand twitch and fought the urge to shoot the man for his insolence. "I have one more question, what happens if I kill Miranda?" You paused for a moment, you had no idea what Alcina and the other lords had planned. From the corner of your eye you could make out her golden glowing eyes and saw the slightest tilt of her head.
"The Lady has said that should you succeed in killing Mother Miranda, you and your daughter will be free to leave and never return." You said. It was hard to tell what Alcina was trying to convey to you, but she was kind enough to enter your field of vision properly and gave you an affirmative nod. "Come this way Mr. Winters, you will follow me to the exit you are allowed to take and I will give you the flask when we part ways. Make no mistake though, if you return to the castle, or set foot on any of the Beneviento lands, I will personally deliver you to Lady Dimitrescu." You said calmly and stared at him. Though you couldn't see her from the shadows she was embedded in, Alcina stared at you with an intrigued hunger.
"Fine, get me out of this damned castle." Ethan spat and gestured for you to move. You stood from the casket and led him to the rear doors and the rushing mountain winds that came out just to the west of the castle. For now the horror of the day was over, but the everpresent chill on your spine told you that the day was still far from bring done.