March 9th, 2025
Sunday; evening
Cassandra Dimitrescu took a sip from a silver chalice filled with her family's prized wine, but even that exquisite drink failed to bring her spirits up.
There was much that kept bringing them down, however.
It truly seemed to Cassandra that the universe was adamant about delivering retribution for their many wicked deeds over the decades. Over the last weeks, one misfortune after another would befall House Dimitrescu, and for all of their wealth and even supernatural powers, that were supposed to elevate them above the pathetic mortals, they were impotent to do anything about this string of adversity.
First, was a brazen attack on their castle by a band of looters, which was repelled just barely, with the ringleader escaping and Bela left badly wounded.
Then came Daniela's flight and the melancholy that followed.
Finally, the true scope of their helplessness was exposed when Alcina demanded the Duke to bring back their stray sibling.
He refused.
He refused!
Cassandra remembered that moment well.
Her mother, so noble and regal, clutching the laughably small telephone receiver in her oversized hands, frozen in shock as her mind likely struggled to process the disrespect to her authority and heritage alike, with her two horrified daughters standing by to witness her humiliation. For several seconds, the matriarch must have been unable to comprehend how it was possible for a mere merchant to defy her that easily.
Then came the screams, the insults, the threats. The Lady of the Castle was truly fearsome when in the throes of rage, with even the vicious middle sibling cowering before her wrath.
Yet the Duke responded with naught but merry laughter before reminding them of a simple, yet soul-crushing truth.
Theirs was not a mere mutually-beneficial business relationship. The Duke was Dimitrescu Family's sole remaining lifeline - the only one who was willing to deal with a malefic vampire clan or to brave the logistical challenges required to deliver goods to their forsaken valley, isolated from the larger world and frequented by nobody other than opportunistic scavengers down on their luck.
In soft words did he remind Alcina that without him their castle would fall into disrepair, their staff would never get replenished and they themselves would know nothing but destitute.
Maybe that was not the case years ago, but now the implications were clear: Dimitrescus needed the Duke far more than the other way around and they would do well to remember that. Without him, the only options left to them would be to become a band of vagabond vampires, wandering the countryside and preying on defenseless villagers or to wither with their decaying castle.
It was hardly surprising for Cassandra to see her mother explode into a destructive rage after that revelation. The telephone call was over as was the telephone itself - and a number of innocent desks were smashed into smithereens soon after.
Afterwards, there was little to be done.
Even if they knew where Daniela was - and they did not, traveling any meaningful distance was out of the question as long as the inhospitable weather around their castle persisted.
That feeling of despair and helplessness must have been too much for the matriarch to handle.
With Alcina drinking herself into unconsciousness, it was up to Bela to strike an inequitable bargain with the obese merchant - thankfully, they had more than one telephone in their stores. Even more fortuitously, the Duke proved amiable to make further deals - as long as they clearly favored him - and a week from now he promised to deliver them a means of travel that would take them all the way to Daniela's location. She did not dare to inquire just what Bela had promised for their end of the bargain.
After all that unpleasant business was concluded, a semblance of peace was restored to their household. Or, at least an illusion of peace, with all of them playing along.
The maids did what their kind always did - work in dutiful silence.
Alcina deigned to show her face only for dinners, spending the rest of her time locked in her study with her prized wine.
Bela became the de facto head of their castle, overseeing the many tasks that were needed for its maintenance.
Finally, Cassandra herself did little of note beyond stalking the hallways and unsettling the maids with her gloomy expression and disconcerting looks.
She so hated to rely on others, yet now she could do nothing else but play along to the whims of that accursed merchant - that apparently immutable fact agitated her to no end.
Curse him! And curse this weather!
She was very much looking to that day where they could finally get on Daniela's trail, but for now she found herself dejected; stewing in her own misery and helplessness - not so different from her mother, except that her mind was still largely free from the grip of alcohol.
Leaving her goblet half-empty and putting it on a small round table next to her chair, she felt her gloved fingers fidget erratically. How she longed to put them around that fat man's neck. To squeeze until life left his mortal shell entirely.
How dare he denigrate us such?!
Though it might have been nothing but day-dreaming, Cassandra vividly imagined murdering the Duke in a number of ways, each more grotesque and inhuman than the last. It was more than idle musing, too - she was fully capable of executing each and every one of them.
Nevertheless, even that violent imagery did little to soothe her frayed nerves or to bring any lasting comfort to her troubled soul.
Throughout her many decades, Cassandra would often find a measure of respite by taking out her anger at those seen beneath her, a fact which led to further development of her sadistic tendencies. Yet, lately, such relief proved short-lived and unfulfilling, leaving her feeling truly hollow inside, like an empty vessel with no purpose or goal in its existence.
This personal development caused her to ponder on the subject; on whether violence was really the answer to her problems or whether it ever brought her actual happiness instead of a mere illusion of it.
When was the last time violence helped us?
It was a peculiar thought for the sadistic brunette, one that rarely - if ever - visited her buggy brain before. Pensively, she stared ahead, musing on just what it would take for her family to know happiness once again. Beyond that and in an uncharacteristically philosophical pondering, she wondered if her family ever knew true happiness in the first place.
Such musings did little beyond darkening her already cloudy mood and the impulse to do something bloody reared its ugly head once again - a subconscious instinct that was developed over the decades of cruelty and sadism.
Staring to her right, Cassandra took a moment to observe a maid working on polishing some large cabinet on the other side of the room. It would've been so easy to make her scream. A vicious shudder echoed throughout Cassandra's body, but the cruel desire was suppressed in the next moment, nevertheless.
The maid herself - 'little Gabi', as other staff affectionately referred to her, was working hard on tidying the ungainly piece of furniture that was likely three times as old as she was.
Ever since that peculiar incident in which the brunette daughter appropriated this particular maid's shoes, Cassandra found herself inexplicably drawn to her.
As if feeling the intimidating woman's gaze burning holes in her back, Gabriela sneakily spared a glance behind her shoulder, though the immediate eye contact caused her to lightly yelp in barely-suppressed fright and get straight back to work.
For more than a week now, Cassandra would often find herself shadowing this maid, doing little more than quietly observing her. Naturally, Gabriela herself was likely unnerved by the brunette's overbearing presence, but she knew better than to voice her protests.
In turn, it took several days for Cassandra to comprehend the reason for her newfound obsession on a rational level.
Fiery red hair, skittish green eyes and submissive disposition.
It was hard to deny the resemblance this young woman had to Cassandra's lost sister; harder yet was to deny that it was that resemblance in particular that drew Cassandra in.
Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg. The majority of it remained deep underwater, hidden from Cassandra's conscious thoughts.
Why did she associate green eyes so strongly with Daniela? She could not explain it, yet she did.
What was she hoping to achieve by stalking this poor maid? Cassandra could not answer that question even to herself. Was it guilt from her failure or anger from her impotence that made her single out this particular maid? Her thoughts were lost in a maelstrom of uncertainty and her true feelings were buried deep underneath the raw emotions evoked by the recent events.
Disregarding all the many unknowns and surprisingly even to Cassandra herself, in Gabriela she found a stabilizing element that helped her to somewhat ground her chaotic mind a little.
Observing her from day to day allowed the brunette daughter to discover more peculiar similarities the maid shared with Daniela, such as her tendency to move with a carefree spring in her step or to hum a joyous melody under her breath - at least when she thought no one was watching her.
Further cementing the uncanny resemblance was one of the maid's hobbies. During her breaks, Gabriela often enjoyed the company of a worn out book - a romantic novel, as Cassandra subtly discovered.
All in all, though Cassandra could not explain it rationally, it was undeniable that watching this maid's daily activities brought a peculiar peace of mind to her otherwise unraveling mental state. Somehow, Daniela's absence or her own crushing guilt stung just a tiny bit less in the presence of this redheaded servant.
Of course, Cassandra knew that she was foolish if she was expecting this silly little maid to provide actual answers to her many questions or to resolve their conundrum in a definitive fashion. She also realized that even that measure of comfort she found in Gabriela's presence was a mere illusion, yet she could not deny herself even that tiny sliver of solace, regardless of how silly it was. So she clung to it.
In turn, Gabriela simply kept working, doing her best to ignore the oppressive presence looming behind her. Truthfully, as days dragged on, it was getting harder and harder to withstand the intensity of the middle Dimitrescu sibling, but naturally, the maid could not just tell Cassandra to get lost - she couldn't even find the nerve to politely ask the daughter to leave her alone.
Growing up in an abusive household where she was the youngest sibling on which everybody else picked on ensured her pliant and submissive behavior. It was all but ingrained into her being that she was not to speak out of turn - and her turn was dead last.
So she just kept on performing her duties, even if her composure and focus were being slowly eroded by Cassandra's nearly constant presence and unerring gaze. What truly got to her, however, was the fact that she had no idea just why the Lady's daughter was following her around the castle. A part of her wanted to get in Cassandra's face and to scream her lungs out into a singular query.
Just what do you want from me?!
Here and now, it was inevitable that Gabriela's inner strife would spill over to affect her motions as she performed her duties.
Experiencing a spike of anger and gritting her teeth in impotent fury, Gabriela pushed hard against the piece of furniture she was wiping with a wet cloth.
As the maid applied an improper amount of pressure to the venerable cabinet, which was already looking to be on its last legs, a piercing noise of splintering wood shattered the oppressive silence of the room.
Apparently the cabinet had been quite literally on its last legs, as it was one of its front legs that gave in from the additional pressure, with its second one giving in the instant the extra load was transferred to it.
Gabriela yelped in fright but, akin to a dear caught in the headlights, froze still as an enormous and indubiously heavy cabinet started to bear down on her petite frame. The grievous bodily harm or even death were likely outcomes if some outside force did not interfere and the young woman got struck by this oversized piece of furniture.
Except there happened to be an outside force observing the developing situation with her keen amber orbs.
Without giving it any thought whatsoever, Cassandra burst into motion like a coiled spring; the nearby small table with a silver cup on top of it was tossed away from the sheer force of her leap and the prized wine spilt freely with nobody paying it any attention.
Dashing with incredible speed that bordered on superhuman, the brunette vampire covered the distance between her and the maid in a blink of an eye, only to barrel into the young woman like a charging rhino.
Unsurprisingly, the weight of her body combined with the velocity of her movement proved more than sufficient to knock the mousy maid away like a ragdoll - fortunately for Gabriela - straight into the welcoming embrace of a soft sofa.
For Cassandra herself, however, no such luck was found as her lightning-fast maneuver was just barely enough to rescue the maid from the falling cabinet and now she had no time left to move out of its way herself.
With a sad creaking sound that somehow resembled a dying groan, the ungainly cabinet crashed straight on top of the brunette vampire.
For a split second, Cassandra attempted to resist the great weight that suddenly collided with her. However, though her physical strength was far greater than her slender appearance could suggest, it still proved insufficient to stop such a cumbersome object that was already in motion. Soon, they were both at the mercy of gravity, and as was well-known, it had none.
Sitting on the sofa and observing the unfolding chaos, Gabriela swiftly recovered from her fright, shrieking in horror as it appeared that one of her mistresses was crushed underneath the fallen cabinet that was meant for her.
Glass windows of the cabinet smashed to pieces and the ceramic dishes within tumbled forth, sharing that same fate. Warping wood, shattering glass and cracking ceramics melded into a cacophony of mayhem, which caused the maid's heart rate to soar to extreme levels.
Before the dust had settled or even the noise died down fully, however, a large number of black blowflies poured from under the fallen piece of furniture, causing the maid's horror to morph into a peculiar mix of terror and fascination. It was not the first time she had seen the mistresses' unique ability, but never before it was happening right next to her.
Unable to suppress a pitiful shriek of terror, Gabriela could only observe as the dark cloud of buzzing insects assembled into a familiar silhouette.
Coalescing from that army of flies was the intimidating figure of Cassandra Dimitrescu, a violent woman with a sadistic streak. As the maid had yet to properly process that it was, in fact, this very cruel Dimitrescu scion who had just saved her from an unenviable fate of being crushed under an ancient cabinet, she cowered in terror instead of expressing her gratitude or worry.
Few could blame her. Even disregarding Cassandra's unnatural power, her menacing robed dress, deathly pale skin and impressive height cut a fearsome figure. For a few tense moments, all the maid could think of was the likely imminent punishment for her clumsiness that resulted in such distress for one of the mistresses in addition to the noteworthy property damage.
The fact that Cassandra's full black lips reformed in a shape of a vicious scowl hardly helped matters; the maid felt hot tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. She swiftly stood up from the sofa, only to straighten up and face Cassandra properly, akin to a dutiful child who knew that she made a mistake and was now about to face the wrath of her unforgiving parent.
A barrage of dark thoughts assailed Gabriela's mind, conjured by her near-death experience combined with her knowledge of what awaited those who displeased the ladies of this castle.
Why, just days ago the staff was assembled in the grand hall to behold the lashing of a fellow maid named Lacrima, who happened to draw the ire of Lady Alcina by accidentally breaking a single ceramic plate. Five lashes was the appropriate punishment, as decreed by the Lady and delivered by the very woman that was now glaring daggers at her, that same woman who had been stalking her for the last week.
Looking up into her merciless golden eyes, Gabriela couldn't help but wonder if this was the end of her short and unfulfilling life. Surely Cassandra had been following her for the last week just so she could catch her in the act of making a mistake. Moreover, considering the magnitude of the said mistake, surely she was about to swiftly grab the sickle that was affixed to her robed dress and carve a bloody gash across her throat.
Such a grisly scenario went through Gabriela's mind, though instead of doing what the maid dreaded, Cassandra remained still as a statue, just staring down at her. It was beyond unnerving to be on the receiving end of her piercing gaze, yet as the brunette's admittedly beautiful facial features started to slowly relax, Gabriela dared to hope that no gory punishment was imminent, after all.
Seconds passed, and the maid felt her panic-induced fright losing its grip on her mind, allowing her to comprehend the situation properly. Her own green eyes widened in shock as she fully understood just what had occurred.
"Miss Cassandra… you've saved me!" she mumbled in disbelief, struggling to figure out just why this cruel woman, who had appropriated her shoes and then proceeded to stalk her unerringly, now decided to aid her in her moment of greatest need.
In turn, Cassandra looked at her strangely, with one of her eyes half-closed and another fully open. Her whole expression betrayed the notion that she was as confused as the maid.
"I did..?" the brunette muttered unsteadily, craning her head to the side.
"Yes…" Gabriela responded in a timid voice, far out of her comfort zone with all that's been happening. Cassandra's contemplative and confused expression somehow provided a measure of comfort to the frightening maid, however. Seeing the normally intimidating and unapproachable woman adopt a relatively vulnerable expression made her appear more relatable, more human.
"What was that unholy ruckus?!" Bela's shrill voice suddenly rang from the hallway some distance from their room. Seconds later, the noise of an approaching insect swarm started to grow in intensity, as did the stress levels of both of the room's occupants.
Cassandra's eyes widened in alarm and her body exploded into a flurry of motion. Driven by an impulse that she could not quite explain, her gloved hands placed themselves on the little maid's petite shoulders. With very little effort Cassandra was able to force the young woman out of the messy room and into the hallway.
"Go, now!" she hissed out in a hurry before shoving the maid into the opposite direction from which Bela's swarm was approaching.
Barely able to keep her footing after being pushed by Cassandra, the maid took a second to glance at the tall brunette. The urgency in her golden eyes transferred into Gabriela's own mind and without any further delay she did as instructed and hurriedly made a break for it.
"And if you know what's good for you, you'll mention this to no one." Cassandra spoke through gritted teeth after the departing figure of Gabriela. Before the little maid turned the corner, she spared a glance at the brunette daughter, with an unmistakable sight of gratefulness shining in her expressive green eyes.
Less than ten seconds later, a buzzing swarm of black-winged insects made its way from the corridor opposite to one in which Gabriela vanished, soon taking the shape of the blonde-haired woman in a dark robed dress.
"Sister," Cassandra greeted her older sibling, lightly nodding her head to signify her respect.
Bela did not immediately respond, instead taking a moment to inspect her sister with her clinical gaze, noting all the particles of dust and grime covering Cassandra's own dress, before looking down the corridor, "Who were you talking to?" she inquired, causing Cassandra's eye to twitch in annoyance. She had hoped that Bela wasn't able to catch that.
"Myself," she, nevertheless, did not miss a beat with her excuse.
Bela did not question it further, as Cassandra was known to occasionally talk with herself, yet the blonde was not able to keep the shock from her expression as she glanced into the room and saw the scene of mayhem within.
"Oh, my…" she moved into the room with soft steps, mindful of sharp pieces of glass, splintered wood and broken ceramics scattered about. "What happened here?" Bela inquired in a tone that quickly grew accusative as she turned to regard her sibling.
Staring into the inquisitive eyes of her older sister, Cassandra only took an instant of time to decide that the truth about this incident will remain unspoken. She knew her sister well - Bela might not have been excessively cruel, but she was rigid in her interpretation of justice. If damage has been done, then it was rightful to mete out an appropriate punishment, and as far as Bela was concerned, there was no ifs and buts to it. The damage has been done.
Though years ago Cassandra would have no qualms whatsoever about some lowly servant receiving her due punishment - in fact, the brunette vampire would've been eager to inflict the allotted suffering herself, now the pale woman realized that lashing Gabriela's bared back until blood would stain everything in immediate vicinity was about the last thing she wanted to do.
What changed?
A great deal.
Therefore, following that inner feeling rather than concrete logic, Cassandra allowed her wit to come up with an appropriately sardonic response that would conceal Gabriela's involvement in this mess.
"Oh, I was just imitating Mother. You know, I wanted to see how it would feel to indulge in mindless destruction for once." The brunette paused and smirked at the astonished expression that sprung up on Bela's face, rolling with her swiftly made up lie, "Felt really good, by the way. Maybe I'll do this more often from now on!"
Bela frowned and crossed arms across her chest. She was not amused, nor was she buying that explanation.
"Do you think you're being funny right now?" Cassandra opened her mouth to reaffirm that she was, in fact, being funny, but Bela gave her no chance to do that. Taking a quick step to close the distance between them, she glared straight into her sister's eyes; Bela's heels compensating for Cassandra's slightly taller build, with both siblings being at almost perfectly even eye level. "You're not." Bela exclaimed in a definitive way that precluded further arguments.
Not even the fierce brunette sister could deny the authority that Bela exuded in this moment, so she lowered her head slightly - displaying her deference for the older sibling's higher standing in their family's hierarchy. Moreover, there was a speck of guilt blooming in Cassandra's chest from the notion that she was adding to Bela's already full plate of problems.
Truthfully, though she would hardly say so out loud, Cassandra respected Bela a great deal and appreciated the hard work the elder sister put into maintaining their shared residence. Though she had yet to fully recover from the brigands' attack on their castle, the blonde woman was already running about and seeing to all the numerous tasks that naturally came with such a huge castle; surprisingly not even complaining that neither her mother nor her sibling were of much help lately.
In the face of Daniela's absence, Cassandra's depression and Alcina's breakdown, Bela shouldered the burden like a statue of Atlas, unyielding. One day, Cassandra was determined to show her just how much it all meant to her.
"So?" Unaware of Cassandra's private musings that painted her in such a positive light, Bela still expected a proper response, however.
Cassandra shuffled her foot in annoyance and bit her lip, yet her quick-witted mind provided the answer that her mouth relayed in a believably sheepish manner.
"I just leaned on it and the old piece of junk collapsed."
Though internally Cassandra's thoughts swiftly became a maelstrom of chaos as she wondered just what the hell she was saying or why was she bothering so hard to cover for that worthless maid, externally she did not even blink. She brushed some dust off her shoulder, just to drive the point home.
This had to be a good excuse, the brunette mused. With their abode being so old, it was to be expected that some stuff would naturally break down from time to time, occasionally in a violent manner.
Bela just stared at her for a while, her expression locked in that haughty, displeased grimace of hers. She then looked some more at the ruined cabinet, with Cassandra following her gaze. Privately, the brunette sister let out a sigh of peculiar relief once she noted that the maid's cleaning supplies were apparently buried under the wreck and therefore invisible to Bela's scrutinizing gaze. The bright blonde would've definitely found something amiss with Cassandra's story otherwise.
"Huh…" the elder daughter finally vocalized her annoyed mood. "Mother won't be happy about this. She rather fancied this set of china, if I recall correctly." She then turned around to regard her brunette sister, once more, adopting that authoritative expression that Cassandra couldn't help but roll her eyes at.
"You're cleaning this mess up yourself - our maids are stretched thin as it is," the blonde commanded while folding her arms, holding Cassandra's gaze and awaiting her acknowledgement.
Cassandra tried to downplay the unexpected giddiness that she suddenly felt, doing her best to revert to her typical grumpy persona, "Ugh… Fine." In truth, she was only too happy to bury the truth of Gabriela's involvement in this incident for good, while finally being of some use herself.
Apparently missing the sparks of joy that flashed across Cassandra's eyes, Bela just hummed in a peculiar mix of annoyance and satisfaction before moving to depart the room, presumably eager to resume her previously interrupted duties.
"Do be mindful of your surroundings better from now on, dear sister. I am afraid that we are no longer in a position to carelessly mistreat our belongings. Replacing them is not nearly as easy as it once was…"
Bela's parting lecture reminded Cassandra of their precarious situation, but did little to extinguish the feeling of pleasant warmth that spread across her chest. "I will, sister."
As the blonde departed, the middle sibling remained where she was, musing on this particular development.
By all accounts this should've been a purely negative situation, with the destruction of their property and an extra load of work being heaped upon her shoulders, yet Cassandra couldn't help but feel giddy inside. She softly placed a hand under her breast, where her black heart was beating with an elevated rhythm. A most peculiar sense of pleasant warmth was spreading from her moldy heart, filling her limbs with energy and her mind with a sense of fulfillment that had eluded her for so many decades.
It was that very sensation that she had fruitlessly chased through her long life, wrongly assuming that violence or cruelty could get her closer to it.
Now it was finally within her grasp.
Setting out in search of a suitable container in which she could dump all the broken shards of ruined china and shattered glass, Cassandra felt a joyous spring to her step, previously only appearing during an excitement of a bloody hunt.
It would likely be awhile before she will be able to properly process all that has transpired today, yet that ethereal feeling of inner warmth reaffirmed Cassandra's newfound purpose immediately.
To protect.
To protect those close to her - and especially her little sister, whom she wronged so unjustly. Daniela. That was her true purpose in this life, and she would not be forgetting it ever again.
Author's Note:
I apologize for such an underwhelming chapter after a rather large delay, once again. Truthfully, this was a part of a much larger chapter, but I've decided to post Cassandra's segment as its own little chapter and continue the story at some later date. Since the rest of chapter dealt with a much joyous and carefree tone I couldn't quite finish it because of what had occurred. I'll take some to process it all before returning to Hello Neighbor!
There is something important that I would like to say next.
My cousin Andrew, who is six years younger than me, recently passed away after being struck by a car. Though we live on opposite sides of the planet and, truthfully, were never particularly close to each other, he was still family and I loved him.
The news of this tragic accident were a tremendous shock that brought much grief to our families and friends. The suddenness of his passing made it that much harder to deal with what is already an unspeakable loss. Nobody could even imagine that he - the youngest member of our family who was also talented, bound for success and happiness, and filled to the brim with passion for life would be taken from us so quickly and brutally. He was always able to put a smile on people's faces and many were proud to call him their friend. Its still hard to me to believe that his journey through life was cut short so soon, putting a permanent stop to his hopes and dreams.
While I don't want to burden you with the passing of a stranger, I ask that you simply wish strength and resilience to Andrew's parents, who are devastated with the grief of losing their only child and now need to find a way to mend their shattered lives, as hard as that may be.
Thank you for your time. Make sure to take care of yourselves and your loved ones.