Castle Dimitrescu – February 8th, 2021
Alone in the armory, Cassandra sat atop one of the stacks of wooden crates that had collected in the center of the torchlit room. It was mid-day, though the thoughts that infested her mind removed any awareness of the hour. Her eyes occasionally glanced toward the dresser that shielded the compromised wall, seeing the rays of light that poked through its cracks. That was the only indicator of how much time had passed. Sunset always came early this time of year.
It would be a few months before that orb in the sky would stick around for an extended stay. That would be the time when the outdoor air wasn't life-threatening. She could move the dresser and enjoy a view of the world away from her – even if she was still inside the castle.
At the moment, she did not care to think ahead to the far future. She couldn't even guess where the next twenty-four hours would take her.
The scolding that she had received yesterday from her mother managed to plunge its cold hand through her chest, compressing her heart with all its might. She could not stop thinking about how much she had failed her family. She saw herself as nothing but a coward – too afraid to admit what she had done wrong.
The sting of the comparison that Alcina had made between her and Bela sky-rocketed her feelings of insignificance. Their mother prided herself on having what she called, "Three wonderful daughters," but, if she could go on such a tirade about how Cassandra had fallen short of her expectations; were her statements about her love for her true?
She shuddered to think that Bela or Daniela were held in higher regard, but with everything that had transpired, she could see why it would be so. Cassandra often resorted to pure anger whenever the feelings of inadequacy in the face of her sisters came into play. She'd yell at them; reminding them that she was the best hunter and the most violent of the trio.
It was always a show and whether they believed it or not – it kept them away when she wanted to be alone.
Now, there was no one to yell at. There was no escape through torturing the servants; watching someone else wither in agony as if she could trade places with another person…for just a short while.
She could only sit down and think about everything that she had done. The reoccurring playbacks of every word her mother brought down upon her froze her body. Cassandra's face was as lifeless as any of the portraits that adorned the walls of their home. Not a single smile, nor a direction in her eyes.
Just neutral loneliness. The cold expression of someone without a soul.
A husk of a corpse – without her mind to occupy it as such consciousness was already wrought with sorrow. She'd battle herself in her thoughts, so preoccupied with them that she couldn't move.
What am I worth? I just want to be happy. It's been like this for so many years and I thought I could take it. "Why can't you be more like her?" I don't know, mother, why can't I? Why am I never good enough for you? I've tried so many times to impress you and make you smile, but it always goes away whenever I do something wrong.
Cassandra broke her still posture only momentarily as she pulled in a slow breath.
Is that what love is? Something that must be kept alive constantly? My love for you is eternal, mother. Why does it seem that yours is dependent?
A tear formed around her eye. With no one around to witness her, she'd let it fall. This was the time to be weak, in her view. She could let some of the pain out, though she knew if all of it were to find its way from her head, she'd never leave this room.
There was just too much to hold on to, but she kept her arms tight. She was too scared to succumb to it.
Daniela…I wish I had stopped. Why did I do that to my own sister? I was so cruel to her. Is that what life was going to be like? Would I just hit her every time I got angry? If mother ever hit me, I'd just…
Cassandra's eyes pressed shut; the skin around her nose crinkling as it bounded together. The streams along her eyes grew in volume before they flowed down her pale cheeks. A soft cry that soon turned into a gasp. She had to breathe.
As soon as her lungs collected their fair due, she heaved out a low wail, bobbing her head as her chest buckled.
She didn't deserve it! Argh! I can still see the fear in her eyes. What kind of sister does that to another? She just wanted to get closer to me and I…
Her hands rose to her face; cupping her mouth and leaving only the tip of her nose to protrude from the top. She leaned forward, burying her scream into her palms.
I can never take that back, no matter how hard I try. She's always going to remember what I did to her. I should have just said something! I should have accepted her apology but…
The backside of her heels kicked the wooden crate as she grunted. Cassandra withdrew her arms from her face and dispersed into a horde of flies, flying around the room at breakneck speed. She only stopped as soon as her cloud of insects manifested in front of one of the armored dummies that she had set up along the wall. As soon as she re-formed, Cassandra swung her fist and struck the makeshift knight to the ground.
She suddenly realized that she had done it yet again – letting her pain turn into violence.
What is wrong with me? Something is wrong with me!
Sobbing, Cassandra stumbled back until she bumped into the crates again. She lowered herself down, sinking against them as she sat on the ground.
The deer heads that lined the walls stared down at her. She could help but think that there was pure irony in the things that she had killed being able to witness her in such a state. Even though these animals were never a threat to her, she had ended their lives without a second thought. Her only concern was how much glee the act brought her. She could only imagine would it would feel like if the corpses of the many fallen humans she was responsible for had been in the same room.
She glanced at the empty spot along the rows of deer heads, knowing that it used to be home to the one that Daniela had mistakenly dropped and broken. The catalyst for every terrible thing that was to follow, and in the wake of all the damage she had done – it was gone.
Cassandra had felt such fire in its destruction that she had brutalized her younger sibling and, in the end, – she threw it out anyway.
That was when she realized that she had punished Daniela for something that she had done herself and that she had come full circle. The deer head never mattered at all if she was unwilling to try and salvaged it; as redhead had even offered – only to receive Cassandra's wrath.
Through teary, pink eyes; Cassandra reared her head up at the taxidermized trophies, seeing them as figures of her worst traits. The empty space would stay a reminder of the break in her chain. Her crucial flaw that managed to take over and destroy everything that she once held close.
It could not remain, and so – neither could the rest.
I must get rid of them all! No more!
After an hour of moving around with the deer heads, Cassandra had finished her work. The collection of her once proud achievements would find a home in an empty room for the time being. She could not bear to look at them anymore if it meant they would remind her of what had happened.
In a way; she felt a small sense of relief, knowing that never again would they cause her such fury that she would dare hit her sister. The armory would stay the way it was for now. Maybe, though, there would come a day in the future when she could display them again.
However, there would always be the reminder of the one that sparked all this ruin – and Cassandra still wasn't sure if she could coexist with such recollections. She'd wait for the day to come when the answer to that question could be decided. For now, it was best to live away from such memories.
She was too afraid to leave the area. Too afraid to face her mother. The verbal lashing was not one that would subside as soon as she could put a smile on Alcina's face. The lingering feeling of hopelessness would stay. She felt like such a failure as a daughter and events that were supposed to follow removed any excitement about the foreseeable future.
Hunting was Cassandra's favorite pastime, and the way her mother had integrated it into her punishment ripped any form of escape that she could find in the sport. The brunette feared what would happen if she ever failed to return to the castle with a deer; once again failing her mother.
There were only so many animals that roamed the lands. Cassandra had seen multiple fruitless days, but the exploration and freedom of the wilderness took the edge off the countless days of isolation that she was forced to contend with during the winter months. Now, she'd have to worry about tracking and finding the next animal.
There was no time to bask in the joy of the outdoors. No moment she could spare to break away from the stress at home. It was an ingenious punishment – and a cruel one.
It turned the idea of freedom into an illusion. A change of scenery only to be another form of the prison she resided in.
As Cassandra stood beside her crafting table, her eyes drifted upwards toward the animal skull that she had left on the wall. It held the key to unlocking the set of statues that were to be found just outside of the small crawlspace leading to her domain. The idea of puzzles and traps that lined the castle was a peculiar factor of its build. Alcina loved to toy with its visitors, and in better days, the setup provided a maze in which the daughters could govern as they followed their prey. Watching them run around frantically while trying to figure out the next piece they needed and where it had to go was always worth a good laugh.
Such fun, and now she felt like one of those worthless villagers or outsiders.
At the very least – they got to see an end to their torment.
Bela had paid a visit to the armory during the evening hours after the sun had set and the night sky began to play its run. The blonde knew where her sister would have sought refuge. The armory was closed off from someone of Alcina's stature. While the tall lady would have been able to call Cassandra out on a whim; she would not have been able to sneak up on her there.
For someone like Bela, entering the area was simple.
Getting her sister to work with her – on the other hand – was not.
Cassandra had been evasive when it came to her calls, though she knew her sister could sense her presence. Bela had stated that she would enter the armory herself if the brunette did not leave on her own accord. Not wanting the armory to be inhabited by anyone else other than herself – the middle child did just that.
As Bela stood by the entrance to the stairs leading to the armory, a horde of insects trickled into the Hall of Pleasure. The dark cloud of bugs slowly took shape into the depressed woman, who bore a neutral expression – minus her pink eyes and frowning curve to the edges of her mouth.
Cassandra gazed at her sister with a blank stare as her point of sight floated up toward her. "What is it, Bela?" She spoke with a softened voice, exhausted from an entire day of mental anguish.
Bela could see how badly the scolding by Alcina had affected her sister. She hated herself for having told their mother about Luana's death. She had already run through the reasons why she did it in her head, over and over. It could not mask the truth that she felt like she had betrayed her own sister, much like Cassandra had betrayed Daniela's trust in their bond.
The blonde's amber eyes studied Cassandra with a bewildered appearance, having never before seen the brunette in such a state. She sought to reassure her of her love, hoping that she could wash some of this mess away. "I wanted to check up on you. See how you were doing."
"I'm fine," Cassandra's heated voice returned out of nowhere, diminishing the image of a broken soul and replacing it with a tempered fire. After what she had just gone through earlier; such a reaction was to be expected.
Bela straightened her posture in the face of the possible scorn she may receive. Cassandra was never one to let go of her anger, even more so to show sadness. The brief moment of sorrow that she had displayed was bound to be replaced with the common projection of a fierce being who never opened up to anyone.
The eldest daughter did not come here for an argument, and she would make that perfectly clear. "Look, I did what I had –"
Cassandra had already begun to dissipate into a cloud; her right side fading away into various flies before Bela jumped in.
"No! Stop! I need to tell you this."
Cassandra halted her fragmentation, yet, she did not return the flies to her body.
Bela shifted her hood around as she prepared to speak again. She could see how this conversation bordered on another episode of chaos, and she did not want anything like that. There had been too much drama between everyone lately, and that had to come to an end.
"I need my sister right now. I need to know that she's alright."
"She's fine," Cassandra once again affirmed. Her words left Bela with a hint that she was referring to someone else and not herself; as if the person she was speaking to wasn't her sister at all.
"Mother is out for the next few hours," Bela stated. "She is meeting with the other lords for something. I have no idea. All she told me was that Mother Miranda is away and that something big is coming."
"Great…" Cassandra would not budge.
"What I am asking is: could you please take a walk with me? I want to talk, that's all."
The request – and Bela's soft tone of voice – caught Cassandra completely by surprise. She parted her lips; eyes moving around in all directions as she jumbled her response in her throat. The blonde stood patient while she waited for her sister's judgment.
"Okay."
Bela and Cassandra walked side by side as they passed through the Dining Room and into the hall that led to the kitchen. Dinner was two hours away, but Alcina was still not home. It was an unusual occurrence, but business sometimes demanded such things – as the eldest daughter mentioned.
As they turned along the corner of the table, Bela came to a stop as she graced the edge of Daniela's chair with her fingers. Cassandra's face adopted an obvious frown as she watched her sister hover around their youngest sibling's place. The brunette knew where this was going, but she was too tired to look for a fight.
Bela remained upfront, but subtle, "What happened that night?" Her eyes rose to match Cassandra's. "I'm not looking to scold you. I just need to know."
Cassandra's shoulders lifted as she inhaled; locking for a second or two before they collapsed with her breath. She curled her lip and squinted her eyes. A quick shake of her head withheld a response for the moment. She could feel the distress building up inside. In her heart, she wasn't ready to confess the truth.
Bela tried to remain understanding, hoping to lift some of the burdens off of her sister's soul. "Have I been too harsh on you, lately?"
The question threw Cassandra's eyes open and caused her to tilt her head in confusion. "What?"
"You know what I mean," Bela affirmed. "I know I'm always complaining, but I just want things to get done around here. Unfortunately, I feel that it comes at a cost of how we are toward one another. You've been so mad lately and I want to know if there was anything that I could have done about it?"
The brunette's eyes floated down to the ground before she shook off the sting of common ground. "No," she replied. "I just had a couple of bad days. It's no big deal."
Bela's dark lips pressed together while her fingers wrapped around the top of Daniela's chair. Cassandra's eyes fixated on the piece of furniture; aware that her sister was indirectly trying to disagree with that last statement of hers.
"What do you want from me, Bela?"
Instead of talking about Daniela any further, Bela let go of the chair and motioned toward the kitchen. "I want you to come with me."
After kicking Sorina out of the room, Bela took her place at the edge of the table, the racks of meat dangling around her head. Cassandra sheepishly entered the space, remembering how poorly her last encounter here had gone.
Bela pulled off a small strip of meat from one of the massive hunks that swayed slowly over the large, wooden table. She brought it to her mouth, biting down on the raw peel and allowing the blood inside to spread around her teeth. As she enjoyed the small snack, she ripped a second serving off and held it out to her sister.
It was so uncommon to see Bela do such things. The woman was often so strict that she held onto her rules as if they were scripture. One of the biggest rules in the kitchen was that every ounce of food was to be served at scheduled times during the cold season. Seeing her break that very rule was so unexpected.
Cassandra could only view it as Bela's way of trying to reach her level.
"Thanks." Cassandra accepted the offer; taking the strip and devouring it in quick succession.
The blonde picked up a bottle of Sanguinis Virginis that stood on a nearby shelf and cradled it in her arms. "I remember the first time we tried mother's wine. Do you?"
"It was so long ago…"
"Hmm." Bela's thumbs ran along the intricate brass toppings that signified the premium quality that such a product demanded. Her amber eyes were enamored by its beauty – a mere extension of Alcina's. "When we were born, mother opened up one of these bottles and fed us each a sip of its contents. I was first, as I was the oldest. Then you. Then Daniela. We all sat in that bed together, resting our heads after she put it down. I could feel the taste lingering in the back of my throat. It was so sweet. I wanted to close my eyes and drift off, even though I didn't know where I could go."
Cassandra rested her arms against the table beside the window. Her sister's sudden sense of nostalgia coupled with her breaking her strict habits made for a bizarre spectacle. Bela had not been this lively in a long time.
Still, the comfort of having a sister who she could communicate with could not be ignored.
"I remember looking to my right and seeing you," Cassandra told her. "When you turned your head and saw me for the first time, you smiled. I remember it so well, in fact. I wondered if my smile would be as long as yours."
"Your face," Bela chuckled, "it was so perplexed."
"You were only inches away from me and I didn't know who you were at that moment. I didn't know where I was."
"Same, but I knew I was where I belonged. I felt at home."
Cassandra's face held a natural pause as she turned her eyes toward her sister. They gleamed with sincerity, as her statement doubled as a hidden question, "I didn't feel like I was home until mother explained everything to us."
"What did you feel?" Bela asked.
"Just there. I felt like I was just sitting in a bed with two other women who I did not know. I did not know the other two women who stood around us. I was just there.
Bela's content expression took a noticeable downshift as she processed her sister's words. "Huh…" She took the bottle of blood and wine and placed it inside a large bowl, filled with more crimson. "That feeling, does it ever come back?"
Cassandra pushed herself off the table and paced around the room. She was starting to grow anxious. The thought of talking about how distant she felt from her family at the beginning of her life did not sit well with her. She knew that Bela only wanted to understand her more, but for her own reasons, talking about the subject was not one that she preferred.
However, against everything that she felt, the desire to come forward with her troubles slipped out from her lips – if only for a spare moment.
"More than I'd like…"
Bela straightened her posture. She sighed, giving a small nod to acknowledge something she had long suspected. "I think you've always felt like you were separate from Daniela and me. I know we're not all the same. You have your ways of going about things and I have mine. Daniela is no different. She has –"
Cassandra's voice suddenly rose, "Could we stop?"
Bela halted her speech and raised her brow toward her sister's unforeseen agitation. "Uhm…what?"
Cassandra groaned as she shook her head, hoping to avoid the matter from devolving any more than it already had.
The blonde sighed again – much greater this time. She tapped her fingers against the wooden table as she stared down at the stone floor where Luana had spent her final moments. "I remember the first time you ever raised your voice at me. Do you?"
"No." Cassandra had turned her eyes away from her. "I don't."
"We were playing a game, decades ago. All of us. One person had to touch the other, and then that one had to chase the others around until they got someone. The cycle would repeat so on and so forth. I remember I managed to finally get you." A small grin rose up on the corner of her mouth, only to fade away soon after. "You were fast, but I managed. You just snapped at me, telling me that I 'cheated.' It was just a game, but I had never heard you yell at me before. It kind of scared me because I didn't expect that from you."
"Ugh…it was just a stupid game. I shouldn't have yelled, happy?"
"Yeah, it was a stupid game, but then you yelled again after mother praised me for cleaning up the dining room one night. You yelled at me for asking you to pick up after yourself. This all was a few years after we were born. I never figured out exactly why it started. But lately, I've been thinking that it wasn't from one cause, but a culmination of frustration over those years." Bela crossed her arms and dug her heel into the floor softly. "Would I be right?"
Cassandra stayed silent, shutting her eyes to close herself off from the interaction. Bela quietly moved away from the table and approached her sister, hoping that this was the opportunity to finally reach her.
"I just want to know…"
"Get away from me, Bela." Cassandra opened up her eyes and shook her head. There was a fire on her tongue that lashed out like a whip. Bela paused her movement, pressing her lips as she stared at her. The disappointment in her look was unmistakable.
"Ugh…when are you ever going to talk to me?" Bela narrowed her eyes as she battled her own irritation. All the effort going nowhere was beginning to get to her.
"When are you ever going to shut up and leave me alone for once?" Cassandra went on the offensive, desperate to push her away. "You never stop trying to put yourself in everyone's business. Maybe I don't want to talk, but Bela doesn't get that. No. Bela thinks when she speaks, someone has to answer. Every time."
The brunette evaluated her sibling's entire body with her gaze. "You want to be like mother so badly. You do everything you can to make yourself look great. Just drop it."
Bela's friendly demeanor broke away. Her face adopted a sharp scowl and her brows shifted downward. She'd withhold any yelling on her part. She knew a fight was what Cassandra wanted – and she would not get it.
They had been through this too many times in the last couple of days. There was hope that during this walk, they could look past everything and get to the problems at hand. There was even a chance for forgiveness.
To start anew and move on past all the mistakes.
But Cassandra wouldn't allow such a thing. The pain of re-living her actions was too great and she would not dip her toes into the cold ocean where her tendencies resided in. It was easier to yell and insult Bela than it was to open up to her.
"I'm not going to have this conversation if you are not ready," the level-headed sibling said.
"Is that what you brought me down here for? To talk about my problems?" Cassandra waved her hands around in a test of Bela's composure. Her sister stood so calmly – she had to break it.
She couldn't be the only ugly one.
Bela wouldn't give in. She simply breathed a small sigh and shook her head, a click to her tongue and she turned around and began to vacate the area. "I wanted to. I'll just wait until the day comes that you decide to. Until then…I'm done with the arguments. I just wish you'd see the bigger picture."
"You think you're so much smarter than me."
"I don't. In fact, there are a lot of things that I can learn from you." Bela stepped out of the kitchen and into the storage room that connected to the dungeon staircase. Her eyes met with the planks of wood that boarded up the large hole in the wall; keeping the Moroaice out of the upper levels. She wanted to continue this walk into the dungeons, where they could find some comfort in the dark.
"I'm just going to leave," Cassandra mentioned. "I'm not going to listen to your damn comments anymore."
"You know…" Bela turned around to face Cassandra with one final thing left to say. "You can hide behind this façade all you want. One day, someday; it's not going to work. You're going to have to address it. As your sister; I was hoping I could be the one."
"I'll let you know when that day comes…" Cassandra nearly spat on the ground. Her voice was ruthless – fighting her sister's attempts of reconciliation at every turn.
"And I'll wait." Bela began to step toward the hole when she suddenly felt the urge to stop. Cassandra could see her briefly turn and glance at the window to her right. The blonde squinted her eyes at a strange, fleeting feeling that came over her. She had passed through this room many times in the past. Too many to count.
Maybe it was the unusually cold night that frosted the glass. Perhaps it was the way the breeze whistled through the minuscule cracks in the wood.
Or, it may have been the change of atmosphere to come. The small shift in the day-to-day routine of the castle that would spell the unraveling of everything they had built. For someone like Bela; one who had conformed to her perception of immortality within the castle's confines, the thought of what comes after never crossed her mind.
All she knew was that the cold would spell the end of her life. The end of her world.
She never put her mind toward whatever life – or worlds – awaited her.
Bela's body dissipated as soon as she broke her focus on the strange sensation, drifting away through the openings of the boards as she departed yet again. Cassandra was left by herself, disheartened that she had squandered the chance to open up to her sister. Still – her anger was flaring and she could not ignore it.
Okay, just relax. She's gone. Why am I feeling like this? All she wanted to do was talk. I know I'm not ready, but this…this anger…where is it coming from? I just need to stay away from everyone for a while and see where I am after that.
As her own body began to break apart, Cassandra could not take her eyes off where Bela had stood.
Maybe the best thing to do is wait…
Locwitary
A loud shout tore Cassandra out from the depths of her slumber and into the world of the awake.
"What is this?!" Lia's voice pierced the air as she stood near the closed door.
Cassandra's head lifted from her pillow; vision still blurry. She could make out the shape of Leta scrambling to get up and out of the bed. The child's stature only shrunk further as her older sister leaned over her once she got her feet on the floor.
Before the brunette could even get her first words out, Lia was already in the process of scolding her younger sibling. "I told you not to associate with this woman and what do you do? You do it anyway!"
Leta tried to plead her case, "I had a bad dream and I was scared!" The girl's voice spoke like the worried child she was. She couldn't help but fear how her sister was going to react now.
"Then you come to me," Lia stated before her eyes moved to Cassandra, beaming with disdain. "You don't go to her."
What is it with this woman?
Cassandra ensured that the hood she still had wrapped around her head would not come loose before she stood up and faced the fawn. She'd had enough of Lia's constant chiding and demeaning attitude. The two had argued plenty of times before, and seeing Leta being berated by her ignited an additional flame that would not die easily. She was willing to risk an inferno by this point.
"Are you really going to have this massive tantrum over her coming to my room? How old are you, Lia?" Cassandra said as she walked closer to the duo. "Why are you always looking for problems?"
In an instant; Lia's eyes widened and she regained that same, rageful expression she had held during their last couple of fights. Being talked down to in front of Leta in such a manner was a clear path to sparking the wrath within her. She squared herself off to Cassandra – ready to trade words.
"Who do you think you are talking to me like that?" She bared her teeth; her boney knuckles flaring to a pale white as she clenched her fists. "You think you can just come into my castle – into my world – and act the way you do? Do you think my decisions aren't warranted? You are so ignorant of what you are."
Leta turned her head just as she anticipated Cassandra returning fire. The loudness of Lia's voice alone was enough to inspire the fears that this conversation was about to get ugly very quickly. She knew how agitated her sister could get. Milo often sought to settle on understanding and compromise.
But Cassandra wasn't Milo. She was going to challenge Lia every step of the way and there was no telling what would happen.
"Do you honestly believe that I chose to come here?" Cassandra's eyes locked with the fawn's. "I didn't. Don't play that card with me, Lia. Besides, you like to act like you're so much above everything and everyone around you when you are so much worse."
Lia took a step closer to Cassandra; nudging Leta to the side as she did so. She kept the intensity on her face; supported by the tightening of her brow and nostrils. "What does that mean?"
"You pretend that you're this wise adult…" Cassandra advanced, putting their faces a foot apart from one another. "All you've been doing is pouting the moment I walk into the room. You carry on like a child who didn't get their toy. Your little sister is much more mature than you are."
Lia suddenly grabbed Cassandra's shirt by the shoulders and pulled her in. All the brunette could see were the green eyes of a woman with nothing but pure hate hiding behind them. "Don't you ever bring her into this conversation like that!"
"Get off of me!" She shoved Lia, breaking her grip and causing the fawn's thin body to stumble back. However, as soon as she caught her footing; she vanished from view and instantly reappeared in front of Cassandra – angrier than before.
"I promise that will be the last time you do that!" Lia threatened her; fingers twitching at her side.
Cassandra stood her ground, shifting her eyes briefly toward Leta. The girl stared at Cassandra, hoping to see her put an end to this conflict. The brunette down a small gulp of realization, not wanting her to witness something like this. The fight wouldn't be worth it if it meant the child would see her as someone she no longer wanted to be.
Lia saw Cassandra glance at her sister and immediately stepped in. "Leta, leave this room, now!"
"Don't yell at her like that!" Cassandra could not contain her anger when she saw Leta's face twitch from the loud voice of her sibling. Lia turned her eyes back to Cassandra; squinting her brows and scrutinizing her to the very last atom.
"That is not yelling. I can show you yelling!" She flared her nostrils some more, moving so close that the two of them nearly butted foreheads.
"This isn't about you," Cassandra advised her, hoping she'd stop.
"No…it's about you." Lia's hot breath blew across her face. "You've destroyed so much. I'm not going to let you destroy what I have. This isn't a world where someone will be forced to treat you with the respect that you do not deserve. Don't you ever think for a second that I am going to let my sister be harmed by someone like you."
Cassandra curled her lip. Her nose glided past Lia's as she tilted her head in defiance of the woman's wrath. "I would never harm your sister. You're the one who is doing all the harm."
Lia's voice grew low, audible only to the woman in front of her. She spoke with a sharpness that could rival any blade in existence. "You will. I know you're a killer, Cassandra."
"You don't know anything about me…"
"I know everything that I need to know." Lia's green irises briefly flashed to a clear blue, showcasing the immense powers that she held inside her. She wanted Cassandra to know that she could end her life in seconds if she wanted to. It fell short of using her abilities on the brunette – but she still wanted the message to remain clear as day.
She would not be trifled with.
Still, Cassandra would not back down from this. Lia may have held strength far greater than she herself could have ever known, but that didn't change the principle of it all. She was still a young woman – not a demigod or any other cosmic entity. She had emotions and weaknesses.
"I'm trying to better myself," Cassandra stated. "I'm not the same woman I was when I arrived here, and neither are you. I am sick of fighting with you. If you want to hold onto all that anger, then it's all yours. Keep it. But, keep it away from Leta."
"She is safe with me," Lia growled, visibly frustrated by everything that she had just been told. The fawn looked like she was backed into a corner and had to deflect all that was in her path if she was to move forward again. "I don't believe any of your lies."
She then huffed a heavy breath; each sentence louder than the previous one. "You are a liar! You're a monster! You may look like a normal person but you are not! Stay away from my sister!"
Leta's high-pitched cry broke the fire between the two of them – if only for a second. "Please! Stop fighting!"
Lia cut her stare from Cassandra and turned her neck to fixate on the child. "Leta, I told you to leave!"
Cassandra's face softened as soon as she witnessed the exchange; Leta's sadness in particular. She had to move and put an end to all of this – now.
"Leta," she said with a look of sincerity, "I'm done. This is over. I'm not going to escalate this."
Before the girl could respond, Lia once again interrupted any chance for this event to take a better turn. "Don't listen to her, Leta! She's trying to turn you against me." The fawn broke her stance and walked over to her sister, taking her by the shoulders. "Just go down to your room. I'll be there in a moment."
Leta extended her arm out to Cassandra. "No! I want to stay with her!"
Lia's ire grew. "She's not good for you."
Cassandra couldn't stand by and watch this happen. She moved in, reaching for Leta and taking her by the hand. "Let her make her own decisions for once!"
"You let go of her…" Lia screamed, "now!"
A shrill cry from Leta suddenly erupted. The child's shouts of agony were unlike anything either of the women had ever heard from her before. Lia glanced down, witnessing her sister's body twitch and convulse. Her eyes were tight with pain as she gritted her teeth. As inflicted as she was with torment, her body could barely budge.
Cassandra looked on in panic, fearing that the girl had gotten injured during the exchange. It was only then that she realized the source of the pain. The heat in Leta's palm could be felt as their hands remained locked – just like Lia's was when they first met.
The older fawn also picked up on it and quickly flared her fiery-blue fingers across them. There was such drive in Lia's action that meant she had to have already known exactly what was going down. "Let go of her hand!"
Cassandra felt an unseen force rip away her grasp on Leta; throwing the brunette's arm to the side and sending her to her rear as she hit the ground. Leta's hand recoiled back against her small body, while her sister held her tight.
She pushed herself up from the ground and crawled over to check on the child. "Leta, I –"
The girl's eyes opened with a terrified scream. She kicked around in Lia's arms – her sights not leaving the woman in front of her. "Cassandra, tell me that wasn't you!"
"What?" She was so confused. How could Leta have become so frightened of her?
What is happening? What did I do?
Lia was worried beyond all measure. She frantically inspected her sibling's hand, feeling the intense rise in temperature. "Leta, what happened?!"
The girl kept her attention strictly on Cassandra. "You didn't kill those people! Please, tell me you didn't!" Tears began to pour down her face as the visions that she had been bombarded with played out freshly in her mind. Scenes upon scenes of gore and bloodshed rattled her to her core, shaking the very foundation of everything she knew about the world.
"I…I…" Cassandra stammered on her words as she realized that Leta had somehow bore witness to her most horrible acts. There was no way that she could weasel her way out of this. No chance of sailing back into a sea of soft winds. There was a storm coming and the eye of it was long past.
She had to face it now.
As the girl cried in her sister's hold, Lia's breathing picked up and she began to panic as well. However – she could not withhold her anger at the same time.
"What…what did you do?!" She roared at Cassandra. Lia's voice echoed around the large room as her most heightened of emotions came out in full swing. "Do you know what she's seen?!"
Cassandra shook her head; eyes still firmly affixed on the hysterical young child who she saw as a friend. A friend – who was now terrified of her.
Lia's hands wrapped around Leta's body as she shielded her from the murderer in front of them. "She's seen every vile thing you have done! Everyone whose life you have barbarically ended!" Her vicious glare only subsided once a new truth dawned on her. "Oh no…no, no, no!"
"What?!" Cassandra pleaded for answers.
"She's a surge!" Lia pressed her hands against Leta's head; a blue glow emanating from under her palms. "How is this possible? She's past the point when it would have revealed itself! I can feel it now!" She broke her hold with a loud breath of rage.
"Argh! You did this to her! Now, she's at risk! None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you!"
Tears streamed down Cassandra's cheeks as she tried to comfort the girl. "Leta, please, understand –" As soon as she extended her hand, the girl backed away.
"Don't hurt me!" Leta cried.
"Get away from my sister!" Lia shouted. "You've done enough damage!" She cradled Leta in her arms, holding her away from the woman the child once called a friend. Cassandra could only look on with sorrow as she witnessed the girl's eyes stare at her in pure horror.
It was the same kind of horror that all of her victims held as she butchered them to pieces. Cassandra used to revel in the images that they displayed to her. The utter terror one could show as they feared their lives were about to come to a violent end. They saw her as nothing but Death herself.
A force of murder that could not be reasoned with, whose only purpose of existence was to slaughter.
That was the same look that Leta was giving to her now – and Cassandra found no joy in its ownership.
I would never hurt you. Please…stop looking at me like that. Leta…
Cassandra curled her fingers as she brought her arm back to her body. A parting to her lips fell along with a single tear that trailed down her cheek. She saw Lia's infuriated face; staring her down as if she had purposefully harmed her little sister.
It was a horrible scene – one that came up completely by surprise. She wished she could have taken it all back, but it was too late.
Cassandra now knew that her past actions had long been known by Lia ever since the fawn was sent into a state of unconsciousness. It explained the hatred that the woman felt towards her. Now, Leta – the sole person she hoped to spare from the truth – had just received a front-row seat to it.
There was no hiding the monster anymore. As much as she had tried to change, there would always be the dark past that she had cultivated throughout all her years inside that castle. All the blood and death she had wrought – it was now coming back to collect its due.
She could only run away from her sins for so long. Now, they finally caught up with her.
NOTES:
Hope this chapter was worth the wait! Looks like the cat is out of the bag for Cassandra. Unfortunately, it has come at the cost of how Leta sees her. This is not a win for Lia, either, as being a surge means that Leta is a great risk of her powers growing to the point of instability.
If the fawn wasn't out for blood before – she is now.
Where is the story going to go from here? Well, in many places. Firstly, expect the next chapter to return to Castle Dimitrescu for most of its entirety as it begins to sync with the events of the game. I'm sure we all know what went down before Ethan paid that place a visit…
The next few chapters are going to be intense as hell as everything we've built up to so far comes to a peak. These are the moments you've all been waiting for!
Expect the next chapter to arrive on the 21st.
Follow this story on Archive of Our Own to check out the latest artwork! Every chapter gets at least one!
Be sure to check out the newest chapter of Fragmented Fears if you want some Bela/Ethan in your lives and some pure horror to go along with it! Also, as I have answered in that story's comment section: expect the Fragmented stories to become a trilogy!
There are plans for a third starring Daniela. It will be different in its own way, but it will be the biggest story in the series. However, it will not be able to release until these two have been completed 😉
Until then, enjoy the journey!
Life has been quite busy for me lately as my working hours have gone up, but I am still finding the time to get these chapters and art out to you all. Things are quite manageable, in all honesty. I hope every one of you have been enjoying life alongside the new year! You have been so great to me ever since I started, and I want to wish you all safety and happiness in the times to come. I wouldn't trade a single one of you for anything 😊
Can't wait to publish that next chapter! Leave a comment or a kudos in the meanwhile if you wish! If you have any questions or concerns, please send them my way! Have a great week and stay safe!