Thank you for reading! Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 1:
"Close your eyes."
"No, Alci," Beatrice said. "The last time you told me to do that, you poured water on my face."
"I assure you, Beatrice, I will not do that again. Besides we are nowhere near the stream! Where on earth would I fetch the water from?"
Beatrice eyed her over suspiciously before she finally complied.
"Now lay back," Alcina said softly, slowly guiding Beatrice down onto the picnic blanket.
Beatrice could not help but giggle.
"Now what?"
"Just relax," she said. "Relax… listen to the wind; the birds singing. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin."
Beatrice took in a deep breath, tranquil.
"There is one more thing," Alcina said after a moments silence.
"What is that?"
Alcina smiled down at Beatrice. Taking in her beauty. The light shining down upon her in an ethereal glow. She leaned forward and placed a kiss to her plump, red lips.
Beatrice opened her eyes, a little surprised by the action.
"Alcina…" her cheeks were beginning to redden. "I…" she then stood up and walked towards the big oak tree a few inches from them. The only source of shade they could find from the hot summer sun.
Alcina sat up and watched her, waiting patiently for her to turn around and speak.
"I am… confused," she went on, placing a hand on the bark and glancing back at her.
"You should not be," Alcina consoled her. "We are best friends. It is natural for best friends to love each other, yes?"
Beatrice stared over at Alcina with tears now glimmering in her brown eyes. Her blonde hair swaying beautifully in the wind.
"I know, but I—I do not think I feel /that/ way."
"Oh…" Alcina said, getting up and remaining away from her. The uncomfortable silence between them making it even more awkward. "I am sorry."
"Do not be. We have been together since we were children."
"I know, but it is difficult for me," Alcina said. "I still have another few years of school and you are off into the world. It is hard for me to bear the thought of you alone… and what we share has felt different than my normal relationships with the other girls."
"Shall we run away together, then?" Beatrice said beginning to smile. "Our own island. Perhaps a place near Greece."
"Why Greece?"
"I find it rather romantic. Not to mention the culture and the art. A land of wonder and mystery."
"You were always the romantic," Alcina said, beginning to laugh.
"You as well," Beatrice said, her gaze drifting away from Alcina once more. Her fingers combing through her blonde hair.
Silence.
"Beatrice!" the call of her mother grabbed both girls' attention.
"I must go, Alci… I will be gone the rest of the summer…"Her eyes glimmering with tears as she looked back in the direction of the abbey."I shall see you at my graduation party in July." She stepped up to Alcina and placed a kiss to her cheek, and without another word ran in the direction of the abbey.
{…}
Castle Dimitrescu: 1962
A stray tear slid down her pale cheek, waking her from her deep sleep. The room was drearily cold and dark. The fire dying out some time during the early part of the evening.
"Useless maids," she said, wincing as a sharp pain coursed through her head, Beatrice's face flashing before her eyes. She covered her face with her hands. "Leave me. Leave me. Leave me." Not even in her dreams could she hide from her. From any of them.
The unexpected sound of her door creaking open made her look up. At first she believed it to be a maid. Her teeth bared and her claws already coming out to play, she was poised for the kill.
"Mother?"
"Daniela," Lady Dimitrescu said, motioning for her child to come to her.
Her youngest walked to her awkwardly, she was still growing accustomed to the 'change' from the Cadou, and collapsed into her open arms.
"Dearest," she whispered. "What is the matter?"
"I cannot sleep," she answered. "May I stay with you?"
"Of course you may," Lady Dimitrescu said, lifting her up with ease and setting her down in the bed beside her.
Daniela giggling with glee as she was hoisted up, she snuggled up against her mother to ward off the cold.
Lady Dimitrescu smiled at her.
"I will have to find out who was in charge of placing extra pieces of wood into the fire. They will be punished harshly for their laziness."
"Can I eat her?"
"Perhaps," Lady Dimitrescu said. "I have not quite decided what I will do with the guilty party."
Daniela yawned, her eyes already beginning to flutter closed.
Lady Dimitrescu leaned down and placed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Goodnight, dearest."
"Goodnight, Mother…"
{…}
The Village: Evening
A man garbed in an all-black cloak shuffled through the snowy path. The sky overhead was darkening and with it came fresh snow. It was heavy. Coming down off the mountains and having the potential to bury them in a foot of it.
"I will have to make this meeting short," he muttered to himself, taking another left and finally reaching his destination. He knocked on the door. He heard the click of a lock and then the door squeaked open to reveal a man in his early fifties greet him.
"Elijah, thank you for coming."
"Of course, Malkin," he said, following the man to the kitchen where Malkin's wife, Gabrielle, stood preparing them some warm cider. "Gabrielle." He took her hand and kissed the top of it.
"Please take a seat, Elijah," she said, placing the drink in front of him and her husband.
They all fell silent. Elijah looking from Malkin's hopeless face to Gabrielle's.
"Still no success, then… Forgive me, my friends, I am doing all I can to get your daughter back, but I have had obstacles in my way."
"Mother Miranda," Gabrielle hissed.
"Shh, Gabrielle," Malkin said to her.
"Peace," Elijah said to them. "I cannot imagine the stress you both must be under. The constant worry for your daughter at the forefront of your minds. I will not give up on her, I promise. However, negotiations with Lady Dimitrescu to get your daughter back have been tricky. She does not give up her charges so easily, and she requires an abundant payment."
"We have already told you we won't have the funds," Malkin said. "The urgency is more critical now than ever. She has been gone for almost two years, and we know the stories of the bloody lady. What if Wendy is dead?"
Gabrielle slammed her cup down on the counter, making Malkin go quiet and busily blow on his steaming cider.
"I do not believe your Wendy is dead," Elijah said. "And I wanted to inform you that I have written to Lady Dimitrescu, and placed the note into the hands of Anya, her grand chamber maid, to deliver it to her personally."
"How did you do that?" Malkin asked him.
"She comes down to the village to buy produce and pick up any mail. It took a few coins, but she left with it."
"What is the next step after that?" Malkin continued to press him.
"I will hopefully get a response from Lady Dimitrescu that will mention a meeting time."
"Do you truly believe she will set a time to see you?"
"I do," Elijah said firmly.
"Thank you," Malkin said. "Gabrielle and I owe you far more than we can possibly give to you."
"Your repayment is your support," Elijah said, taking a sip of the cider with clear enjoyment of the drink. "We will take back this village from the heretic. She has destroyed this once peaceful community and turned it into a cult. I have also sent out letters to the WTO in hopes they will send help to us, but there has only been silence…" he took another sip, sighing. "This has become far more difficult without my wife here. She was always better at leading than I."
"She would be proud of you Elijah," Gabrielle said.
He smiled kindly at her.
"She was always insistent on holding on to hope," he said.
"I am finding it harder to find it these days'," Malkin said.
"There is always hope," Elijah said.
A half hour passed and Elijah left for home. There was a curfew in place for all the villagers. As darkness descended over the land, the monsters would come out and hunt.
Many of the villagers had closed the shades on the windows and cast the village in darkness. Before that the male of the house would place a totem on their door. It was said it would cast out all evil and no evil could penetrate their walls. Mother Miranda would protect them, especially, from the creatures that roamed.
Malkin, not one to believe in silly superstition created by Mother Miranda and her followers, he was forced to by Gabrielle.
"We must be like everyone else. We cannot let the others know who we really stand with… now hurry along, Husband," she said as she shut the final shade. "You know the totem must be placed on the door by nine sharp."
"Yes, yes," he answered, grabbing the totem and shaking his head. As he walked to the door and reached for the knob, he paused at the sound of a 'thump!'. For a moment he did not want to open the door, the image of one of those wolf creatures on his doorstep making his heart quicken. "Stop it Malkin," he whispered to himself. "There is nothing there." He took in a deep breath and slowly opened the door.
The harsh wind hit his face and spit thick snowflakes at him. His face instantly went cold at the touch and hastened his movement.
"H-he-lp."
Malkin had not noticed the figure huddled a few feet from his doorstep. Wearing a thick cloak and hood over their head, he cautiously approached.
"Hello?"
The figure reached out a shaking arm.
Malkin took hold of the figure, who collapsed right against him. The hood slipping off the figure's head to reveal long blonde hair. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of a woman. She was so thin and pale. Her body chilled to the bone.
"What in the name of God?" he breathed, not thinking twice as he carried her into the house and to the kitchen where the fire was still going. "Gabby!" he called out to his wife. "Gabby I need your help!"
She appeared in the doorway, her eyes widening at the sight of the woman.
"Sweet Mary and Joseph." She looked to Malkin. "Where on earth did she come from?"
"She was outside laying half dead in the snow," he said. "Hurry and fetch some blankets, she is as cold as death!"
Gabrielle ran back in the direction she had come from, returning moments later with two wool blankets.
"You are going to be all right, Miss," Malkin said, having removed her wet cloak and hung it up by the fire to dry.
"Where did you come from?" Gabrielle asked, preparing a kettle of tea for the woman.
"Brasov," she said through chattering teeth.
Malkin ignored the look his wife gave him.
"Do not worry," he reassured her. "We will get you warmed up and we can discuss it later."
Once the tea had been prepared, Gabrielle took Malkin by the arm and led him to their room.
"She cannot stay here. You and I both know she is an outsider. Despite what we believe, Mother Miranda will curse us if she stays here another minute longer."
"And we will be tried for murder if we throw her out in that blizzard!" he hissed back.
Gabrielle gritted her teeth, but did not say anything further. She knew he was correct, but still.
"I just cannot imagine where she came from or how she got here?" Malkin scratched the gray stubble on his chin.
"What will we do once the blizzard clears?"
"I will summon Elijah tomorrow and see what he thinks."
"Do you think he can help her?"
Malkin did not answer her, his thoughts on the woman in wonder of how the hell she made it to the village.
"I will get the bedroom prepared for her," Gabrielle said.
"Thank you," he said, watching her leave.
Gabrielle walked straight to her daughter's room. There was no other place to put the woman, and she would not see it fit to place her on the couch. It had been a long time since she entered her daughter's room. The sting of her leaving still painful for her.
Quietly she opened the door and turned on the lamp by the bed. Once the room was lit up, she placed fresh blankets and pillows on the bed. After she had completed that task, Gabrielle paused by the dresser to look at the old photographs. How happy and carefree Wendy looked. She still could not understand what caused Wendy to leave, why she had made the decision to work at the castle. She released a shaky breath to control her emotions as she exited the room and reentered the kitchen. She found the woman still seated and drinking the tea.
"Thank you for your hospitality," she said through chattering teeth.
"I have prepared a room for you to stay…, my name is Gabrielle."
"Dorothy."
Gabrielle gave her a small smile before it dipped back into a frown upon hearing Malkin's heavy footsteps.
"Are you hurt?" Gabrielle asked.
"No, I am just tired. I have journeyed a long way."
"To this village? Why?"
Dorothy averted her gaze down to her cup of tea.
Malkin reached out and touched Gabrielle, indicating for her to leave her be.
"My name is Malkin," he said.
"Pleased to meet you," Dorothy said.
"My wife has set you up in our daughter's old room. We hope you find it comfortable."
"I would have been fine with sleeping right in front of the fire," Dorothy said. "I am truly grateful for your help and hospitality."
"We are both happy you are all right," Malkin said.
"I can take you to the room now if you wish," Gabrielle said, still a bit stiff with having her in their house.
"I would like that," Dorothy said, rising up to her feet with the tea still in hand.
"The bathroom is directly across from you," Gabrielle pointed out.
"Thank you," Dorothy said again, entering into the bedroom and eyeing it over with a growing smile.
Gabrielle entered the room with her and went to the closet to pick out sleeping attire.
"I will place your clothes by the fire as soon as you are dressed," she said, closing the door to give her privacy.
Dorothy quickly got out of her clothing and slipped the nightgown on. It was heavy and soft with long sleeves. She then averted her attention over to the single window where the outline of a castle could be seen.
"I wonder who resides there?" Dorothy mused, turning her attention back to her belongings and pulled out a journal and photographs.
"Dorothy?" Gabrielle knocked on the door.
"Come in," Dorothy said, quickly shoving the things back in and facing Gabrielle, who was staring at her with a blank countenance.
"My husband does not want me to continue prying, but I wish to know how you came to be in this village? You are clearly a foreigner. Were you sent here by the military? Are you a soldier Elijah had asked for?"
"No," Dorothy said. "I do not know anything about an Elijah or the military. I was brought here by a merchant from the town of Brasov."
Gabrielle did not pry further, her attention now directed towards the bag where a photograph was poking out.
Dorothy followed her gaze.
"These are just photographs and a journal from my mother," she explained.
"I see," she said, picking up the wet clothing. "Well, you best get some sleep. We will speak more in the morning."
Dorothy smiled at her, watching her exit the room. Once the door had closed, Dorothy reached into her bag and pulled out the journal.
"Mother…"