The next day was the first snowfall of the year, and Cassandra was extremely uncomfortable due to the cold that was affecting her body. Joseph had left earlier to go to the market as Thanksgiving was ten days away, so she couldn't snuggle up against him for warmth. Instead she had lit a fire in their fireplace and was currently warming herself up against it.
Man, I hate this time of the year. She thought. Why couldn't we have a castle in a warm place like the Bahamas?
She felt her irritation start to flare up so she decided it would be best to try and clear her mind.
Grabbing a blanket she made her way downstairs to the entertainment room. She was too tired from the cold to play any games, so she decided to put on a movie instead. As she made herself comfortable she began to scroll through the list of movies that were available. A lot of them she wasn't really interested in.
Eventually she came across one that grabbed her interest. It was called The Revenant, and apparently it was a survival film that took place in the great north.
Well, that's appropriate. Might as well watch it. She thought. So she put it on.
It turned out to be her cup of tea as it hit the ground running with a scene of a group of fur trappers escaping an attack from Arikara warriors. It was an intense scene too with many of the trappers being killed in the process of escaping and it didn't hold back in the violence. Cassandra didn't mind though. She preferred her films to me more exciting and gripping rather than being talkative.
That said, there were a lot of quiet moments as well, but the film made up for it with beautiful cinematography that made Cassandra's eyes widen in wonder. Every shot looked like they could be framed on a wall. Maybe she could ask her mother if they could do that in the future.
During one of these quiet moments, Leonardo Dicaprio's character was walking through the forest when he suddenly turned and aimed his gun rustling in the bush. But as he stood ready to defend himself, two small bear cubs came out of hiding and started to run away.
Heh. Cute little guys. Cassandra thought
But just as she was thinking that, there was more rustling behind Dicaprio. And before he could turn around, the cubs' mother came charging out of the brush and slammed into him, knocking him fifteen feet back. In a heartbeat, the bear was on top of him.
Cassandra froze. Her blood turned to ice, and it wasn't because of the cold. She stared at the scene in front of her as her eyes widened in sheer panic. Her heart was racing and she was beginning to hyperventilate.
"No…"
Suddenly she wasn't in the entertainment room anymore. She was back in the Romanian forest getting mauled by the bear, just as Dicaprio was getting mauled in front of her right now. The bear's growls and roars, the screams of pain and fear. The sound of ripping flesh, oh god that horrible sound. It was all something the brunette knew too well.
At one point the bear grabbed Dicaprio's leg, and that was it.
"No. No! NO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she sprinted out of the room. She was in full flight mode. She didn't know where she was going, but it didn't matter. She could hear it in her head, the growls and roars of the bear, as if it was right there chasing her again. She had to get away from it. She had to.
She made a mad dash through the dining room and into the kitchen, knocking Julia over in the process, but she didn't even notice. She was way too blinded by panic at this point.
She ran a little further and reached a set of stairs that led to an area she hadn't been in in a while, the dungeon. But in her terrified state, she didn't hesitate to sprint down the stairs and weave through the hallways before coming upon a gated door which led to a room she and her sisters used to hang out in.
It was locked, so she began to kick furiously at it, causing her foot to bleed as she wasn't wearing any shoes, until it finally swung open. She ran and hid behind the coffin in the room, all the while whimpering and gripping her arms so tightly, they bled as well.
It won't find me here. It won't find me here. It won't find me here.
….
Joseph was beginning to approach the entrance of the castle, pushing a cart with bags of food from the market. There were quite a lot of things to prepare for Thanksgiving. Alcina had suggested the idea of hosting a feast for the entire village, and Joseph loved it. He thought it was a great opportunity for everyone to get together and for the villagers to see how much the Dimitrescu family had changed.
Of course there would be some people who would be judgmental, but they had to start somewhere, and Joseph was already doing that in more ways than one.
Since Daniela's episode during her first training lesson, he had been meeting with the redhead for one on one sessions to teach her techniques on self control, just like he did with Cassandra. It was clear from the start however that Daniela's problem would be harder to fix than her sister's, as her feral side was much harder to control. It was visibly demoralizing for her, but Joseph was reassuring and told her that she could do it.
She just needs to keep practicing and stay positive. As long as she does, she can definitely do this. Joseph thought.
His thoughts were interrupted however when the front doors swung open with force to reveal Alcina standing there.
"Joseph!" She cried out.
Joseph immediately dropped the cart and ran up to her. It was obvious from the Countess' face that she was deeply distressed.
"Alcina, what's wrong?!" Joseph asked with worry.
"It's Cassandra! I don't know what happened, but she…she just began to panic all of the sudden and ran into the dungeon! I've never seen her like that before! She's refusing to come out and won't talk to anyone! I…I don't know what to do!" She screamed as she began to break down in tears.
Joseph walked up to her and hugged her.
"It's ok, Alcina. Calm down and take a few deep breaths. Do you know what she was doing when this happened?"
"No." Alcina cried as she shook her head.
"I think she was watching a movie."
Joseph looked behind Alcina and saw Bela standing there.
"Do you know which one?" He asked.
The blonde nodded.
"Yeah. I think it was called The Revenant."
Joseph's eyes widened in horror.
"Shit." He cursed out loud. He knew exactly what was happening.
"Take me to her right now."
….
Bela led Joseph down the stairs into the dungeon. He had never been down there before and The Dimitrescus wanted to move everything out of there before he did, but that didn't matter anymore. Cassandra was upset. More than upset. She was hysterical, and she needed Joseph's help.
It didn't take long for them to reach the gated door that was caved in.
Did she kick this open?! Good god. Joseph though.
He motioned for Bela to stay where she was as he slowly made his way to the coffin he heard whimpering and crying coming from. As he turned the corner, he saw the brunette curled in a ball on the floor. She looked absolutely terrified.
Cautiously, he reached out for her.
"Cassie?"
Her head sharply turned to face him. The panic in her eyes had not faded at all.
"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T HURT ME!" She screamed as she backed up. She didn't even recognize him.
Joseph rushed over and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Cassie, it's me. It's Joseph. I'm not going to hurt you. No one is."
"NO! PLEASE!" She shouted again.
Joseph was careful not to raise his voice. He knew that doing so could make the situation worse.
"Cassie, look at me. You're not in the forest. You're in your own home, and you're safe. Nothing can hurt you here, and I will make absolutely sure of that. It's okay."
This made the brunette stop. She sat frozen, looking at him until a look of recognition appeared in her eyes. She was finally snapping out of it.
At that moment, fear was replaced with anguish as tears started streaming from her eyes, and she embraced Joseph in a tight hug. She was bawling at this point, and Joseph himself started shedding tears as he held his girlfriend. He had seen her at her lowest physically, and now he was seeing her at her lowest emotionally. Bela was also shedding a few tears. She had never seen her sister in such a vulnerable state.
"Just let it all out, Cassie." Joseph said as he kissed her forehead. "I know it hurts, but I'm here for you."
"P-please, don't leave me. Don't let it hurt me…" Cassandra sobbed.
"I will never leave you, and I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Her boyfriend replied.
He slowly moved his arms and picked up Cassandra, just the way he did when he first saved her, and began to walk out of the dungeon, the brunette still clinging to him and sobbing uncontrollably.
….
Cassandra was so hysterical, it took two hours for her to finally start settling down. She even vomited from the sheer amount of stress and anxiety that was coursing through her body. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but Joseph never once left his girlfriend's side throughout the whole thing. He held her hair and rubbed her back as she retched into the toilet, before giving her a glass of water so she could rinse her mouth. Afterwards, he bandaged up her bleeding arms and foot.
His mind was racing as he did so. Cassandra's anxiety revolving around the bear attack was worse than he initially thought, and something urgently needed to be done to help her.
The couple were now sitting on their bed, with Cassandra still holding onto her boyfriend, still refusing to let go. The rest of the Dimitrescu family was present as well, standing at the foot of the bed, unsure of what to say. As the brunette continued quietly weeping, Joseph finally looked up and spoke.
"I think it's safe to say she had a severe panic attack triggered by PTSD. When she watched that scene, it brought all the memories from the attack back, and it completely overwhelmed her. She'll be okay, but she needs to rest for the rest of the day. I'll stay with her."
The rest of the family nodded.
"Of course. I'll have the maids bring in the food you bought and bring dinner up later as well." Alcina said.
Joseph nodded. His face then adopted a serious look.
"I know you don't want to hear this Alcina, but in order for Cassie to move past this, she needs to confront her fears. She needs to be taught how to hunt properly." He said.
"WHAT?!" Alcina gasped, slightly angry at what she had heard.
"I know it sounds crazy, but she needs to be exposed to the same kind of environment she was in when she was attacked. If she continues to avoid it, it will just make things worse. Teaching her to hunt is not just a perfect opportunity to do that, but it's also an opportunity to teach her how to properly take care of herself when she's out there to keep her safe. She has to do it, Alcina."
The Countess wanted to protest. She couldn't even fathom the idea of her daughter going back out to where she almost lost her life. But deep down, she knew Joseph was right. If Cassandra was to get better, this was the way she had to do it. She took a long, deep breath before responding.
"I think I know someone who can help us with that. I will visit him tomorrow morning. I can't say I'm fond of this idea, but you're right. Cassandra needs to get better. And if that is what needs to be done, then so be it. For now though, you both get some rest."
"Will do. Thank you, Alcina." Joseph said with a smile.
"Come on girls. Let's give them their space."
Bela and Daniela both nodded as they followed their mother out and shut the door.
After they left, Joseph began to lay Cassandra down and put the blankets on top of her. Once she was tucked in, he himself got in bed and wrapped his arms around her. In response, the brunette turned around and nuzzled her head against his chest.
"I'll say this now. This won't be easy to overcome, but you're a very strong and brave person, Cassie. I know you can do this." Joseph said quietly.
The brunette started quietly weeping again against his chest.
"This isn't fair. You've already done so much for me. And here you are doing it again, while I haven't done anything for you." She choked.
"That's not true." Joseph reassured her. "You helped me come to grips with the pain of what I did to my sister. It's been eating away inside me since the day the accident happened, but you accepted me despite knowing that. And when you were in that wheelchair, it felt like you gave me a chance to set things right, to really make peace with what happened and be happy again. You've helped me more than you realize, and I can't thank you enough for that."
Joseph felt his girlfriend smile against his chest. She then moved her head to look at him before softly kissing him, which he gladly returned. When they parted, her eyes were no longer sad, but happy and full of love.
"Joseph…I love you." She said.
Joseph felt his heart skip a beat. Cassandra loved him. She loved him. She said it directly to him without any hesitation. With those words, the brunette made the entire day worth it for both of them.
Joseph gave her the warmest smile he'd given her yet.
"I love you too Cassie."
Now it was her turn to smile. They both shared one more kiss before settling down. With how tired they were from the day's events, it didn't take long for the couple to fall asleep in each other's arms.
