Castle Dimitrescu – February 6th, 2021
"DAUGHTERS! TO ME… NOW!"
Alcina Dimitrescu's voice reverberated through the corridors, shaking the very foundation of the castle as her wave of anger intensified. The force of her rage was so potent that it felt like the paintings would rattle off the walls. Any maid within the area had frozen immediately, their skin pale as a ghost as the sound of the matriarch's wrath cut through their ears.
A tidal wave of buzzing was then heard as all three daughters rushed toward the source of the commotion. Bela arrived first, her face riddled with uncertainty. Daniela followed close behind, her amber eyes wide with curiosity and laced with the beginnings of dread. She knew that this was going to be nothing pleasant. Scoldings from their mother were not unusual, but this… this was different.
Cassandra, slightly behind them, slowed her pace as she caught sight of the violent scene unfolding before them, her lips parted in utter shock.
Sofia's body lay crumpled on the floor of the Main Hall, her blood smeared in thick, dried pools. But it was her skin—or lack thereof—that caught everyone's attention. The corpse had been flayed, her flesh meticulously peeled from muscle and bone, as if the killer had sought specific parts, leaving nothing but a gruesome, raw display of torn tendons and exposed ribs.
Had she been eaten?
Alcina stood over the mangled corpse as she faced the three noblewomen. Under the brim of her wide hat, those fiery eyes locked onto Cassandra with a burning, unrelenting glare.
She had already cast her judgment.
"Cassandra! How DARE you break my rules!"
Cassandra could not believe that she was being accused of a killing that she had not committed.
"No, Mother!" She replied, her voice pitched with shock.
Alcina advanced toward her, towering over her daughter with the full force of her rage. "Do not play dumb with me," she spat. "I explicitly told you—no more killing the maids without my permission." She pointed to Sofia's slaughtered remains. "And yet this is what I wake up to?"
Cassandra knew deep in her heart that she had not ended Sofia's life, but perception was reality. As unstable as Daniela was, she had no history of disobeying her mother's orders. Maybe a little maiming here and there, but no cut throats.
Bela—ever the perfect soul—wouldn't have strayed from Alcina's word, either.
That just left her—the daughter with a bad track record of doing the wrong thing. It seemed like no matter what, she was always being berated more than she should have. There was no end to it. Cassandra felt as though everything that she did was wrong. But to willfully ignore such an important command? She could never.
She opened her mouth, desperate to form a defense, but Alcina wasn't done.
"Explain yourself!" The towering woman demanded as her fiery glare grew narrower. "Now!"
"I didn't do this!" Cassandra's voice cracked as she pleaded her case.
A sharp clack rang through the room as Alcina's heel struck the marble floor.
"Lies." Her voice snarled. "You always take it too far, Cassandra. Your impulses control you." She glared down at her daughter, her disappointment dripping with venom at the way she spoke. "You couldn't even clean up your mess? On top of everything that you've done… is someone else supposed to clean it up too?"
Cassandra bowed her head, compelled by the unknown forces that she was not even aware of. "No, Mother."
But Alcina wasn't listening. She had already made up her mind long before the first shout.
She took a step closer, looming over Cassandra, her shadow overtaking the brunette's hooded form. "If you cannot control yourself, you will be confined to this castle. I will not allow you to make a fool of this name out there, especially when the warmer season is upon us. If there is another infraction… just you wait."
A bitter, suffocating silence fell over the hall. Everyone knew that hunting was Cassandra's way of being herself. To scour the forests in search of her prey was more about her finding peace than about an animal.
Alcina knew that too—and that was why she weaponized it.
Bela and Daniela stood at the sidelines, neither daring to speak. They knew better. Daniela's expression jumped between fear and sadness, while Bela's jaw was set tight, as if holding back words she knew would only make things worse. It wasn't her place to speak, anyway. The blonde knew that it was best to just keep quiet.
Cassandra's world was spinning.
This wasn't happening.
This couldn't be happening.
She wanted to scream, to lash out, to grab her mother and shake her until she listened.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't even move.
Even if she wanted to. Something locked her body tight. Made her into a doll.
She wanted to fight.
She wanted to rip something apart.
But she also wanted to disappear.
So many emotions mixed together in her fragmented mind.
Alcina straightened, exhaling sharply through her nose as she composed herself. As furious as she was, she was finished. She turned to Bela, her amber eyes centering on her with sharp expectations.
"Have your two personal maids clean this up," she ordered coldly. "Have them hurry it to the kitchen. Since Cassandra wanted to eat, we all might as well too. I will not have a maid go to waste."
"Yes, Mother!" The blonde responded immediately and obediently.
Alcina cast one final glance at Cassandra before turning on her heel and striding away without another word.
Cassandra stood frozen in place, her head down and her shoulders raised.
Daniela shifted uneasily beside her, casting her a cautious glance before looking away. Bela said nothing, merely exhaling through her nose as she turned to leave. Hell would be unleashed if Luana and Sorina weren't brought here promptly. She would not fail in this.
Besides, Bela thought, it was better that it was Sofia instead of one of her own maids.
As for Cassandra, the message was clear, it seemed. They weren't on her side.
No one was.
Cassandra clenched her teeth, swallowing down the raw, bubbling rage clawing at her throat.
She was alone.
And she was going to explode.
Daniela's lips pressed as she stood near her older sister. The entire morning had spiraled into something ugly—something she hadn't expected. She had woken up thinking about how she might finally prove herself to Cassandra, but now everything had fallen apart.
"It's going to be okay," she told her.
She watched as Cassandra's entire body vibrated with rage and humiliation. And then, before Daniela could even think of the next words to say, Cassandra turned to her with a fiery stare.
"Shut up, Daniela."
Her voice was low, but the pure hatred within it hit Daniela like a slap.
Cassandra's form burst into a chaotic swirl of flies, and within seconds, she was gone, vanishing down the corridors of the castle.
Daniela remained in place, her fingers curling against the fabric of her skirt.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
What am I going to do? Cassandra must feel so upset. Why did she kill Sofia? I know she's always hungry and a little bit impulsive, but still! This is bad! So very, very bad! I must do something to fix this!
...
Kyia pressed her ear to the wooden frame, steadying her breath as she listened. The distant murmurs of moving heels drifted through the crack under the door, muffled but still audible. She had heard it all.
A smirk tugged at the corners of the fawn's lips.
This family was unraveling.
She exhaled quietly, reaching down to set the basket of cleaning supplies on the floor. She had lingered long enough. No sense in pushing her luck when she had already gotten what she needed.
With a swift motion, she turned and trotted down the hallway, her footsteps quiet and neither too fast nor too slow.
By the time she reached the entrance of the library, her expression was composed, her breathing even. It was as if she was none the wiser to the murdered maid and the subsequent scolding that Cassandra had received.
The Library
Delia's hands twitched as she clutched her mouth. Her breaths were broken gasps, and her eyes were pink, filled with fresh tears. She had been trying to keep herself together, but the devastation in her face was undeniable.
"Sofia's dead," she whispered, as if saying it aloud would somehow make it less real. "Cassandra probably killed her."
Kyia placed a firm but gentle hand on Delia's shoulder. "You're saying that the Grand Chambermaid found her this morning?"
Delia sniffled, nodding, but her lips quivered as she pressed them together. "Yes! I was helping her carry a box when she found the body. I didn't see it, but… Madelina instructed me to return here." The young woman cried out again, her anguish muffled under the cover of her palms. "Why Sofia? She was so young and so nice!"
Kyia glanced toward the door, then back at Delia. "I don't know. But listen to me—"
The sound of approaching footsteps made her stop mid-sentence.
Daniela.
She squeezed Delia's shoulder once before pulling away. "Wipe your eyes. Quickly."
Delia barely had a second to react before the door swung open, and Daniela stepped inside.
Her amber eyes landed on Delia first, narrowing slightly as she took in the girl's pitiful state. Right now, she didn't care about whatever the maid was sobbing over. The redhead's mind did not even process that it could have been Sofia at all. Her callous disregard for the servant's emotional well-being got in the way of that.
Instead, she turned her attention to Kyia.
"Kyia," she said, her voice clipped with irritation as she jabbed a finger in her direction.
For a brief second, Kyia's stomach lurched.
Had she been caught? Was there some lingering evidence left that she had not accounted for?
She kept her expression submissive, as expected, lowering her head slightly in a show of respect. "Yes, Miss Daniela?"
Daniela exhaled through her nose, as if barely holding something back. "Delia. Go to the kitchen. Help Luana and Sorina with their… mess."
Delia hesitated. Kyia saw the fear in her posture—the slight tremor in her stance, the way her fingers curled against the hem of her dress. She was afraid. She knew what her master implied.
But that callous disregard that existed inside Daniela's heart returned again.
"Now," she said sharply.
Delia flinched before nodding rapidly and scurrying out of the room, the door shutting behind her as the hurried sound of her footsteps faded away. There was nothing that she could have done. There never was.
Nothing that wouldn't have gotten her killed in the process.
Kyia didn't move, standing perfectly still as Daniela took a step forward. The noblewoman ran a hand under her hood, right through her wavy curls, before finally locking eyes with the brunette before her.
"I need your advice," Daniela said suddenly.
Kyia blinked. It was an unexpected turn of events.
Daniela crossed her arms tightly, her eyelids coming down halfway as she eyed the floor. "I need to fix things with Cassandra."
Kyia contemplated her answers before responding. "Miss Daniela, with all due respect, if I may ask: Why do you seek my help?"
Daniela exhaled heavily, glancing away before muttering, "I don't know."
There was some tension in her stance, frustration in the way she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The woman was visibly uneasy, swayed from side to side, just like the thoughts that whirlpooled around in her head.
Daniela Dimitrescu wasn't sure of herself, and Kyia found that very interesting. Moldable, even.
Daniela was pacing, rubbing the side of her face as if trying to scrape away her troubles. Kyia stood in silence, noting how her sharp, erratic movements were less like a predator and more like a restless child trying to make sense of something beyond her grasp.
Daniela clearly wanted a direction to go in. Any direction, it seemed.
She did not want to remain in the predicament that she was in now.
"You've been alive for a while, right?" Daniela asked, stopping mid-stride and pointing at Kyia. "You're older than even the Grand Chambermaid, aren't you?"
Kyia's brow lifted slightly. She wasn't sure if Daniela meant that as a jab or if she was genuinely trying to appeal to some perceived wisdom that came with age. Either way, she remained composed. This was her chance to make something happen.
"I believe so, yes," Kyia admitted. "I am thirty-six, Miss Daniela."
"Then help me," Daniela huffed, throwing her arms up in a plea-like fashion. "Tell me what I can do. Cassandra is…" She groaned, running her hands through her hair some more, "I don't know how to fix things with her."
For a moment, Kyia said nothing. She tilted her head slightly, feigning deep thought. If Daniela was now looking up to her like a mentor, then she would have to play the part to its fullest.
"You truly want to repair things with her, Miss Daniela?" Kyia asked in her softest voice.
"Yes!" Daniela snapped, though there was no real anger behind it. "She's my sister. We fight, yes. We always fight. She gets mad all the time, and I don't know why. But today…" She closed her lips, her gaze darting downward before she shook her head. "Today was different. Mother scolded her so badly. I've never seen her that quiet. The way she looked at me after…"
Kyia tilted her head again. "That anger was still behind her eyes, was it not? Or was she more broken than you thought she could ever be?"
Daniela's eyes drifted up toward her, uncertainty clear in her gaze.
"I see…" Kyia stepped a little closer. "If you want to fix things with her, you need to find her when she's at her lowest, which she appears to be at now. When people are hurting, they don't always ask for help because they're scared." She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "Go to her. Do not let her be alone."
Daniela stared at her for a long moment, uncertain of that path. "What if she just insults me and tells me to leave?"
Kyia nodded slowly. "Then she needs you now more than ever. Her anger may be directed more at herself than it is toward you. You may only be a conduit for her inner turmoil, yet I doubt that she wants it to be that way. She isolates herself for that very reason. But if you go to her, if you don't leave her alone…" She let the sentence hang in the air.
Daniela swallowed. "…You think she's scared? Is she scared of being around me?"
Kyia allowed herself the smallest, most imperceptible smirk before smoothing her expression further. "I think she is hurting, and she needs you."
Daniela tilted her head back and let out a long, shuddering sigh. "I never wanted things to be this way…" she said, her voice alternating between contempt and sorrow. Her fists clenched before she suddenly snarled and slammed them onto the table beside her. "Why am I asking a damn maid for advice?!"
Kyia flinched as Daniela's voice echoed through the library, the outburst shattering the momentary calm between them. What had just happened?
"This is pathetic!" Daniela shrieked, her composure unraveling before Kyia's eyes. "You're worthless! Absolutely worthless!"
Something inside the redhead must have turned. It was another one of her unpredictable mood swings—and a bad one.
Kyia's heart hammered in her chest. But instead of defending herself, she lowered her head like the maid she was supposed to be. "Yes, Miss Daniela. I am worthless."
Daniela's breathing was erratic, her hands trembling as she pointed a sharp, accusing finger in Kyia's face. The tips of her glove were right at the fawn's nose. "Damn right, you are!"
Kyia remained still, noticing the flash of paleness between the black glove and robe. Cupping both her hands at her chest in a false plea for mercy, she let her right arm move up ever so slightly, her fingertips brushing against the exposed skin of Daniela's wrist.
A warm spark. The effect was immediate. A fawn's healing qualities interacting with the most peculiar of biology.
Daniela's entire body stiffened, her rage simmering down as if an invisible force had pressed its weight onto her. Her breath slowed, her eyes blinking rapidly as if struggling to grasp why the fire inside her was suddenly dulled. Though she was still visibly annoyed, the storm that had consumed her seconds ago had dissipated into something much weaker.
Seconds later—it was gone entirely. Daniela appeared to be confused, but still nonetheless as focused as she was prior to the outburst.
Kyia fought the smirk that now wanted to bloom in full, still retaining the image of obedience that was expected of her.
"You need to find Cassandra," she reinforced her earlier advice. "No matter what happens, don't leave her alone, Miss Daniela. She needs you."
Daniela sighed again, rubbing her forehead. "I just want my sisterhood back… I want it to be how it used to be. I don't even know when this started."
"But you will know when it ends," Kyia said with a smile.
Daniela nodded as she straightened out her dress, brushing down the folds as if readying herself for battle. "I can't give up on her," she replied. "You're right, Kyia. This is my time to act."
The Factory
The faint, yellow glow of the overhead lights swayed above the dark room as Heisenberg flipped through the brittle, faded pages of his decades-old journals. Standing at the edge of the table across from him, Narratha crossed her arms, her eyes turning as she tried to ignore the thick plumes of cigar smoke curling in the air.
"You sure you know what you're looking for?" she asked, momentarily leaning in to peek at the scribbles.
Heisenberg exhaled slowly, a grin drawing on his lips as he rolled the cigar around in his mouth. "Oh, I know exactly what I'm looking for," he said, tapping a finger against the page of an old leather-bound book. "Years ago, there was a meeting between all of us Lords—Mother Miranda called it after someone took a stab at that oversized bat."
Narratha raised an eyebrow. "An attempt on your sister's life?"
"Yep." Heisenberg flipped another page. "Some villager thought they could put her down. She was smaller back then, but the poor bastard didn't know what he was dealing with." He snickered, shaking his head. "But that's not what interests me. It's how he tried to kill her. A gun should have been the ideal choice, even if it still would have failed."
The fawn raised her dark eyebrow. "A gun? What is that?"
He set the journal down and briefly glanced at her, looking as though she had just said the dumbest thing possible. A puff of smoke was sent her way before his eyebrow raised in return. "You really must not be from around here. But never mind that. He chose a knife."
Heisenberg's finger then slowly drifted toward the center of the page. "…Or more specifically…"
Narratha leaned in again, intrigued as ever. "The Dagger of Death's Flowers?"
Heisenberg snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Bingo." He ran his hand through his unkempt hair and took another drag from his cigar, exhaling before continuing. "At the time, we didn't care about the damn dagger. Alcina was in a rage—angry that anyone tried stepping up to her. Miranda was just the same. She couldn't handle the idea that anyone would not blindly follow her. Given that no one had ever attempted to kill a lord until that moment, she called an emergency meeting."
He turned another page, scanning over the scrawled notes and half-legible remarks written in his own messy handwriting.
"Here," he muttered, jabbing his finger at a particular passage. "The meeting was mostly Alcina throwing a tantrum, but Miranda? She asked where this dagger would have come from. We figured the Duke probably sold it to the man, so she cracked down hard on his business for some time. He denies it to this very day, but why should we care, right?"
The redhead shifted her stance a little bit, recalling the way the Duke had persuaded her to purchase that comic for Marco instead of her own sword. If the Duke were to have sold the dagger to the would-be assassin, did that mean that the bulbous merchant had an eye for chaos, or was he trying to undo the tyranny that plagued this village?
But all of those thoughts fell apart once it clicked. The Duke had not sold the dagger at all. Kyia's own testimony that she herself was the fawn who wielded it during the great explosion meant that the weapon surely had to have landed here on its own—propelled across the very fabric of the realms themselves.
Narratha placed a hand on the table. "Because neither of you knew that dagger came from my world. Now, you're suggesting that Alcina still has it?"
Heisenberg scoffed. "If she does, she's got it hidden real good. But if someone tried to use it against Dimitrescu, that means it was in the castle at some point. And that means it could still be there. She wouldn't ever allow it to fall into the hands of someone else, but that woman also can't let go of things. She would not have destroyed it. Dumb bitch."
Narratha exhaled through her nose, tilting her head. "I'm surprised you never tried getting your hands on it before."
Heisenberg smirked. "Oh, believe me, I'd love to cut her head right off her fat neck. But I never thought that dagger was worth anything. Plus, she is just a nuisance compared to that even bigger bitch, Miranda—who is the one who started all of this. She took my life away from me, so I'm going to take hers." He snapped the journal shut and leaned back in his chair, tapping ash from his cigar into a rusted tray. "But now? Now it's different. I was expecting things to go a different way sooner or later—up until you showed up with this magic shit. If that dagger is still in Dimitrescu's castle, then we're going to need to find it and give you your powers back."
Narratha remained silent for a moment before giving a small nod. "I look forward to that moment. I want nothing else than to kill her as well."
Heisenberg leaned back in his chair, propping his boots up on the thick, wooden slab. He tapped his cigar at his side, letting the embers die in the air before she fixated on Narratha. "Alright," he said, rolling his wrist. "Now, I've been meaning to ask—what the hell did you mean when you told Alcina that you killed her before?"
Narratha kept her eyes on him for a few seconds, unsure of what to tell him. She tried to stall, knowing that her explanation would likely reduce her to the image of someone insane. "Must you ask?"
"Damn right, I'm asking." He gestured at her vaguely. "I mean, look—I already think you're crazy. But I'm feeling generous today, so I'll hear you out. Think of it as… a free chance to prove me wrong."
Did proving him wrong usually come at a cost?
Narratha exhaled through her nose and crossed her arms. "It happened in my world, not long before I was able to enter yours. I was surveilling a field when she appeared. It was quite unexpected, to say the least."
Heisenberg raised an eyebrow. "Surveilling, huh? You don't strike me as the type to just be sitting around, watching flowers bloom. If she somehow came into your world and you somehow found your way into ours, there must have been a damn good reason why you were there, right? So, what exactly were you expecting?"
Narratha hesitated, her fingers drumming against her arm. "There was… another fawn," she admitted, though her voice was flat—almost hollow. "I had been tracking traces of her power for a while. I was looking for her. The energy that she channeled was so great. There was also the hint of a strange energy in that field, so I thought that if I waited there, I would eventually find her."
Lia.
Heisenberg's curiosity piqued. "And?"
"She died." Narratha's tone was final, shutting the topic down entirely. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Heisenberg eyed her but let it go with a grunt. "Alright, fine. So Dimitrescu just shows up in your field, just like that? Did she tip her big-ass hat and complain about the weather?"
"She did not arrive as you know her." Narratha finally uncrossed her arms, tilting her head as if recalling the scene. "She arrived without clothing, her skin white and scaly, with tendrils twisting along various parts of her body. She looked so grotesque and horrid. I was in disbelief. Never before had I witnessed a creature so monstrous."
Heisenberg gagged, making a face that conveyed just how disgusted the vivid image in his mind made him feel. "Ugh, for fuck's sake—why'd you have to say nude?" He shook his head, shuddering. "There goes my appetite for dinner later. But hey—guess that just proves what I've been saying all along. That bitch is just like that on the inside."
Narratha didn't react to his commentary.
Heisenberg waved a hand, wishing to return to the core of this conversation. "Alright, alright. So, how'd you kill her?"
"She arrived, shouting the name 'Ethan' for whatever reason," Narratha stated as she pieced together the event. "Once I saw those claws of hers come out, I and my friend, Falena, went on the attack. I did the majority of the work. Falena just distracted her. I used my powers to burn and thrash her around until I plunged my sword into her chest over and over."
Narratha rolled her bottom lip, still thinking about the petite, blonde fawn. "Once that was done, Falena and I… we just left."
She didn't want to speak any further about the truth—of how Falena and she remained, only to find Lia and Cassandra arrive at Alcina's dying breath. Heisenberg did not need to know the events that followed once the two fawns had finally picked up on Lia's trail.
Miranda was a tyrant in Heisenberg's eyes. If he knew anything about the Acomb massacre…
"Simple enough." Heisenberg rolled his neck, trying to pretend that the mention of Ethan did not spark his interest. "So then riddle me this—why is she still here?"
Narratha shrugged, but something about the motion felt too casual. "If I had to guess," she said, "I arrived in this world at a time before she was transported into mine."
There was something about the way she said it—calm, detached—that made Heisenberg pause. Narratha, however, suddenly seemed distracted as her gaze grew distant.
A memory had come to her.
Cassandra Dimitrescu—the only other person besides Alcina who had entered Locwitary.
Without another word, Narratha turned toward the door. "I need some air."
Heisenberg huffed, jerking a thumb toward the exit. "Don't take too long. I have a lot more questions about all this time-travel bullshit."
Narratha didn't reply. She simply pushed the door behind him open and stepped out, leaving Heisenberg to mull over her words in the dim, smoke-filled room.
...
Narratha's boots barely made a sound against the cold, metal floor as her mind drifted, unwillingly, to the memory of her fight with Cassandra. The brunette's fury had been infinite, her relentless attacks fueled by her unnatural powers over the insects that she was seemingly comprised of.
Narratha had met a few killers in her time—but there was something about Cassandra that made her wonder. With what brought Cassandra to her castle back in Locwitary, had Narratha been the one in the right? Or had she herself been the one at fault?
She came to a stop, her gaze lifting to the light above her. The buzzing of the bulb filled her ears, mirroring the sound of that horde of flies. But her thoughts soon went elsewhere—to an even darker place.
Leta.
The image of the child's wide, terrified eyes surfaced in her mind. The blood on her hands. The way her small body fell to the ground after Narratha's blade had torn through her throat. The way the anger had burned in her chest at the time, the way it had felt right in that moment. The way it had felt necessary.
In the heat of the moment, slicing the girl's neck open had been both a strike against Cassandra and a way of trying to free herself from the torment over the loss of Balia. It was the only way out in a final, tragic act of desperation.
Narratha knew that she had still been consumed by the harsh side effects of the blood of her kind over the years. Her life-long rage had transformed into psychopathy, and once she was pinned into a corner, that child was the only way for her to regain the upper hand.
But it did nothing now besides only fill her with immense guilt. There was no saving the fawns if it meant killing a kid.
Narratha's jaw tightened as she stewed in her thoughts. She knew that she was not a good person. The idea of that was not new, but tonight, it clung to her heart like a sickness.
Her mind drifted again, this time to the first child that she had failed—Balia.
Her lips parted, and she let out a whisper. "Balia… can you see me now?"
Silence answered her. What else was there to expect?
She let out a slow breath and shook her head. "I hope not."
A lump formed in her throat, but she forced it down. "I wish I could undo some things," she muttered to the absent child. "I know what I did was wrong, but I still feel the anger of my past. Of your death. Even when I know it's wrong, even when people try to stop me… I still want to hurt everybody."
The whirling continued around her. Gears and steam coating the air with their melodies.
"I needed that power to fight back," she said. "But I killed my own sister and many other fawns to get it. I drank their blood. Ate their flesh like a dhin. It made me lose control, but I fear this was always in me. Maybe I am not the fawn you saw me as."
She thought again of Cassandra, of the sick, burning satisfaction she had felt when she had seen the noblewoman bleeding beneath her blade in another world. The way she had wanted to finish her, despite the brunette's sole reason for being there was to rescue Leta from her. She stood in the way of Narratha's goals—and by proxy—stood against Balia's retribution.
It made no sense the more Narratha thought about it, but she swallowed hard and listened to the mechanical churning that filled the empty spaces between her thoughts. Then she just stopped thinking about it altogether.
Her fingers curled into fists. "Marco…" The name slipped past her lips. "I thought I could at least save you, but I again failed, and you were killed by the unjust. When this is all over, I just want to forget. But I know I never will."
Her eyes darkened, and her voice grew cold. "And for what Miranda has done… she will die. I want to just walk away and stop, but I cannot live my life knowing what they did to you is going unpunished."
The silence stretched between her and the ghosts of the past.
Then, suddenly, her voice cracked. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye, trailing down her freckled cheek before she had the chance to wipe it away.
"How am I able to live after this? Do I even want to?" She whispered, and again, there was no answer.
Just the endless hum of the heavy machines, which were like feathers compared to the weight of her past.
Castle Dimitrescu
Daniela flinched as Cassandra's voice rang through the armory, her anger reverberating off of the tip of her tongue. The sickle in her sister's grip twitched, her breath coming fast and uneven as she glared at the redhead with a wrathful set of eyes. Her sister had interrupted her in the middle of one of her sessions, where she would swing the blade into the armored figures—filtering out her hatred with each blow.
But all that rage came back with a vengeance the moment her sibling entered and greeted her, begging for the chance to talk. It brought forth the caged feeling of weakness that the brunette so desperately sought to avoid. She wanted her privacy in moments like these, and if Daniela were here, she felt as though she was not even worthy of being granted that.
"My anger comes from you!" Cassandra spat, kicking over a mannequin so hard it clattered to the ground with a metallic crash. "You are the problem, Daniela! You just don't get it!"
Daniela paused but refused to back down. She had come all this way to save their relationship, and she would not give up on it now. "I don't understand why you're acting like this," she said, keeping her voice as even as she could, hoping that it would quell her sister's scorn. "I just want us to be a family again."
Cassandra let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "You don't understand because you live in your own delusional world!" She took a threatening step forward, her sickle still clutched tight. "You cling to this fantasy where we're all happy and close, but that has never been real! I scream at you, and you keep moving closer! Why?! Does that make any sense at all? Are you that stupid?"
I'm not stupid. This… this isn't my Cassandra!
Daniela's heart clenched at the words, but she forced herself to keep looking Cassandra in the eyes. "We are a family," she insisted, her voice trembling between her darkened lips. "And that is real, whether you want to admit it or not. But what is also real is the way that you're acting towards me, and I wish that it was anything but real."
Cassandra scoffed. "You really believe that, don't you?" She shook her head, her frustration boiling over, threatening to scorch the ground around her. "You need this family because without it, you're nothing! You're pathetic, Daniela! You just sit around, reading your stupid books, pretending we all love each other when we don't! You're in that library all day, so why haven't you come to terms with how alone you are?"
Daniela's stomach twisted. "I love you," she shot back. "Is that not enough for you?! You and Bela are all that I have!"
Cassandra's face twisted with something close to disgust. "No, we're not!" she shouted. "Because I don't need you! I don't need any of you! I am sick of this place, sick of my sisters, sick of you always trying to be a part of my life! I don't want you in it!"
Daniela's breath stalled. "That's a lie," she whispered, taking a step forward, only to walk it back.
"Is it?" Cassandra snapped, shoving her back so hard that Daniela nearly lost her footing. It was such a sudden act of violence that Daniela had not been prepared for it.
Why did she do that? How could she do that?
No! She didn't just push me!
For a moment, they just stared at each other until Daniela felt something inside her start to crack—whether it was sadness or fury, she wasn't sure.
"You're pushing me away for no reason," Daniela cried out. "You're so angry at everyone, but why? What happened to you?"
"You happened to me!" Cassandra roared, shoving Daniela again. "You and your constant whining. I can't stand it anymore!"
Cassandra's verbal onslaught did not end there.
"You think you're so special, don't you?" She hissed with unchecked fury. "You think everyone loves you, that you're the perfect little sister. But do you want to know the truth, Daniela?" She let out another laugh. "Nobody actually wants you here! If you went out into the snow, it wouldn't change a damn thing for me! In fact, my life would be better!"
She doesn't mean that!
"That's not true—"
"Yes, it is!" Cassandra cut her off. "You cling to Mother like a lost little girl, like a parasite, and I don't know why she favors you!"
"Cassandra, stop!" she pleaded, hoping that this would somehow still be salvaged. "Why are you saying this?! What did I do to deserve this?!"
"You were born!" Cassandra spat. "You were the last, and suddenly, Mother had her precious little pet to coddle! She never looked at me the way she looks at you! She never cared about me the way she cares about you! Argh! Why did you have to be there?!"
Daniela's eyes widened. "That's not true!" she cried. "Mother loves all of us the same!"
"No, she doesn't!" Cassandra's voice was raw. Daniela had found what she sought—the way her sister truly felt. "She loves you! She always has! I'm just some broken thing she must deal with! I'm the disappointment!"
Daniela's breath caught in her throat. "Cassandra, that's not—"
"Shut up!" Cassandra shrieked, her voice cracking under the weight of her years of pent-up anguish. She was ready to let the dam break and have the ensuing tidal wave flood that city that was her sister's heart. "Just shut up!"
And flood it did. Before Daniela could react, Cassandra lunged at her.
The first hit sent Daniela stumbling backward, her head snapping to the side from the force of Cassandra's palm. The sting spread across her cheek like fire. She had never felt a pain like that before.
"Cassandra, stop!" Daniela gasped, bringing her hands up in defense, both aware of what had happened, yet still coming to terms with the fact that it just did.
But Cassandra didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Once she threw that first hit, her sense of self-control had been forfeited.
Another blow landed against Daniela's shoulder, forcing her back into the cold stone wall. "You ruin everything!" Cassandra screamed, striking her again and again. "You take everything from me!"
Daniela's eyes brimmed with tears as she tried to push her sister away, but Cassandra was relentless. Too strong to control. She shoved Daniela hard, sending her crashing onto the floor. The impact knocked the breath from Daniela's lungs and rattled her skull.
And then the real assault began.
Cassandra dropped onto her, fists flying, hitting whatever part of Daniela she could reach. Over and over, grunting violently with each bash. Daniela curled up instinctively, her arms trying to shield her face, but Cassandra was too ferocious to fend off. She was like a wild animal out for blood.
"You are worthless!" Cassandra screamed, her fists slamming against Daniela's ribs. "I hate you so much!"
"Stop!" Daniela sobbed. "Please, stop!"
But Cassandra didn't listen. She struck Daniela's face with a closed fist multiple times, her mind clouded by unrelenting rage. Seeing her sister crumble in fear was her way of overcoming the perception of losing to her time and time again. Daniela was being beaten down. She was no longer safe—guarded by the love that Alcina seemingly never gave her.
"I hate you!" Cassandra repeated, her voice breaking as tears slipped out of her eyes. "I HATE YOU!" With a feral scream, she grabbed Daniela by the hood and yanked her up, slamming her back against the wall.
Daniela gasped, her vision spinning through the blurriness of her own tears. All she could see in front of her was the dark silhouette of the woman that she once thought had cared about her.
Cassandra's grip tightened like a vice. Her face was contorted in rage, but beneath it—beneath the fury and violence—there was something else.
Pain.
Pure, unfiltered pain.
Daniela, despite her own pain, saw it. "You don't hate me," she managed to let out. "You hate yourself!"
Cassandra froze.
For a moment, everything went still.
Daniela, still powerless under her hold, fixated her amber eyes on her as her vision finally cleared up. She could see the expressionless glare on the brunette's face, which made her appear as a shell of everything that she used to be.
"Cassandra..." she whimpered.
Daniela barely had time to react before Cassandra began to punch at her again, screaming into the air. Each hit hurt worse than the last. The noblewoman had such power behind her knuckles—defeating any resistance that their natural horde of flies could endure.
"Cassandra, stop!" Daniela sobbed, only to realize that this was not going to stop at all. If anything, her sister may just try to kill her.
I need to escape!
With a desperate burst of strength and nothing short of luck itself, she twisted out from beneath Cassandra and scrambled to her feet, gasping for air. She didn't think—her instincts took over. She turned and ran.
"Get back here!" Cassandra shrieked.
Daniela didn't dare slow down. Within seconds, both women burst into clouds of flies, their buzzing forms clashing midair as Cassandra's swarm overtook Daniela's in the chase.
The hallway became a battlefield of shifting darkness. Flies collided with flies, small bodies tearing at each other in a violent frenzy. Daniela pushed forward, reforming just outside the armory door—only for Cassandra to materialize right behind her.
"Bitch!" Cassandra howled, grabbing Daniela by the arm and throwing her against the wall. Daniela barely had time to react before Cassandra's fist collided with her face, then her ribs, forcing her to the ground again.
"Enough!" a voice suddenly rang out.
The moment Cassandra raised her fist for another strike, another figure lunged forward, catching her by the wrist.
Bela.
"What are you doing?!" Bela's voice was rife with horror as she stared at Cassandra, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Daniela lay curled on the floor, coughing, barely able to move.
"Stay out of this, Bela!" Cassandra growled, yanking her arm free. "She needs to learn her place!"
"Are you out of your mind?" Bela demanded, pushing Cassandra back and stepping in front of Daniela protectively. "She's your sister!"
"She's a spoiled little brat!" Cassandra spat, her chest heaving with rage. "She takes everything! She gets away with everything! And I'm—I'm—" Her voice cracked, but she didn't stop.
In a blind burst of fury, Cassandra struck Bela across the face.
The slap echoed through the hallway.
Bela slowly turned back to Cassandra, her face no longer calm and composed as it always was. Cassandra was about to attack again, only for the blonde to grab her by the shoulders and throw her onto the ground.
"Enough!" Bela snarled, pinning Cassandra down, her grip even stronger than hers. "You don't get to do this! When have we ever done this?!"
Cassandra thrashed, trying to push Bela off, but Bela held firm, her weight pressing Cassandra into the floor.
"Get off me!" Cassandra shrieked, but there was no escaping her older sister's hold.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"
The voice was unmistakable.
A cold chill settled over the hallway as Alcina Dimitrescu stormed onto the scene. Bela immediately released Cassandra and stepped back, but Cassandra remained on the floor, frozen by the very sound of her mother's voice. She knew it was all over now.
Daniela, still shaking and weak from what had just occurred, slowly pushed herself upright against the wall, her face streaked with tears.
Alcina's eyes swept over the three of them—the distress forming on Daniela's face, the scuff marks on Cassandra's gloved knuckles, and Bela standing stiff, unsure of what to do, wondering if she had done the right thing at all.
And then, her gaze settled on Cassandra and birthed an unholy fury.
"Stand up," Alcina commanded, her voice low and loud at the same time.
Cassandra promptly stood up, assuming the pose of the obedient daughter that she was expected to be, but everyone—including herself—knew that it would win her no favors. She had just bought a front-row seat on a ride to Hell.
Alcina took a single step forward, looming over her.
Cassandra swallowed hard. "Mother, I—"
"Silence."
Cassandra's jaw snapped shut.
"What did I just witness?" Alcina's eyes narrowed some more.
Cassandra's mouth did not break in an instant—delayed by a mere second. A second too late.
"Speak!" Alcina suddenly roared, the sheer force of her voice making the very walls tremble. Cassandra flinched. "Explain to me why you felt the need to attack your own sisters!"
"I—" Cassandra's voice failed her.
"SHUT UP!" Alcina snapped before she could even try. "You don't get to explain. You don't get to make excuses. I have had it with you, Cassandra! Every single day, you test me! Every single day, you push the boundaries of what I allow!"
Cassandra felt something tighten in her throat. It was as if her voice had been stolen from her.
"You have embarrassed me! Look at what you've done!" She glanced toward Daniela. "Your own flesh and blood!"
"Do you think that makes you strong?" Alcina hissed, taking another step forward, forcing Cassandra to lower her head even more. "You are a disgrace. A rabid dog who cannot control herself!"
Cassandra's breathing was short and quick, akin to the sound of a restrained cry.
"Oh, you don't like that, do you?" Alcina spat. "You don't like being told the truth? Well, listen to me, daughter, because you are going to hear every word I say! You are not strong. You are not special. You are nothing but a reckless little failure!"
Cassandra's chest heaved and stalled. Something inside her broke.
"Do you think you are above this family?" Alcina pressed venomously. "Do you think the rules do not apply to you? I have tolerated your behavior for far too long, but this—this is unforgivable."
Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the urge to cry.
"Look at me when I speak to you!" Alcina's voice boomed, shaking her to her core. Cassandra's eyes snapped open, wide and filled with fear.
"You will never, never lay a hand on your sisters again," Alcina growled. "I will personally ensure that you regret every single second of your existence."
Cassandra could barely breathe. Barely exist.
"You want to act like an animal?" Alcina seethed. "Then perhaps I should start treating you like one. Perhaps I should lock you away like the one you act as. Perhaps then, you would finally understand your place!"
Cassandra felt her knees weaken, her entire world crumbling under the weight of her mother's words.
"You are a disappointment," Alcina finished, her voice cold and cutting. "Not just to me. Not just to this family. But the legacy of our name."
Silence.
Cassandra's head lowered. She could feel the eyes of her sisters on her, feel the shame wrapping around her throat like a noose. She wished that noose was there and that it would be enough to take her away from all of this.
"Do you understand me?" Alcina growled.
Cassandra nodded weakly. "Y-yes, Mother."
"Say it properly!"
"Yes, Mother… I understand."
Alcina exhaled and straightened herself, bowing her head with a set of exhausted, shut eyes. "Bela, take Daniela to her room. Now."
Bela wasted no time. She gently placed a hand on Daniela's back, guiding her away, though her eyes lingered on Cassandra for a moment—only to turn away immediately after.
Once they were gone, Alcina turned back to Cassandra. "You and I are going to have a long conversation about your future. This is it, Cassandra. You're done."
The Factory
Heisenberg leaned against his workbench, flipping absentmindedly through one of his old journals as he sought any further information on the man who tried to kill Alcina. His third cigar of the night smoldered between his fingers, the embers glowing faintly as the burning progressed. He could not stop thinking about the day he would finally end Miranda's life—until the sudden, shrill ring of the phone on the table cut through the noise.
He sighed, setting down the journal with a heavy hand before grabbing it. "Hello?"
A painfully familiar voice responded. "Heisenberg."
His grip on the phone tightened, wishing to crush it. "Mother Miranda," he said, his voice flat, but his fingers twitched slightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I will be returning to the village in a few days," she said, her tone almost pleasant. "And I will have Rose with me. I'm just learning what I can about Ethan Winters in the meanwhile."
Heisenberg's expression darkened. He flicked the ash off his cigar, nearly throwing the entire thing away in the process. "Right. And what's the grand plan?"
"You don't need to concern yourself with that," Miranda replied smoothly. "However, I do have a question for you."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother Miranda?"
"What is the name of the outsider you are safeguarding?"
Heisenberg hesitated for only a fraction of a second before answering. "Narratha."
Silence.
A silence that stretched just long enough to set his nerves on edge.
"I see," Miranda finally murmured, something unreadable in her voice. "Her fate will be decided shortly as well. I expect to have her dead by the time I return."
His teeth grinded. "How so?"
"No more questions."
Click.
The call ended.
Heisenberg exhaled slowly, staring at the receiver before slamming it back onto the table with a dull thud.
He took a long drag of his cigar, the bitter smoke curling from his lips as he muttered under his breath.
"Shit."
NOTES:
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This was long overdue, and I sincerely apologize to you all. I knew that this one was going to be late, but too much time escaped me. I've been busy with studying and taking a bunch of midterms today and planning a trip that I will soon be going on. I know that I have a lot of comments that I have not responded to, and I feel pretty bad about it. Sorry to leave you all hanging. I haven't been on this site much, but I'm going to have some more time to write soon, I promise!
This story is not getting abandoned, and I will not take this long again.
So, the big moment finally happened—sort of.
If you've read Fragmented Flies, you know that eventually Cassandra beats up Daniela. We all knew that this was heading towards that point, but with Kyia in the mix, this is now a separate timeline that is branching off (the flicker theory), and so things played out differently—and way, way worse.
Because Cassandra is so fresh out of the wrath that Alcina gave her in the beginning, she was more explosive with this. Kyia purposely guided Dani there for this very reason, as she knew that Cassandra would not have gotten her anger out at all.
Now, we've seen the fawn exude a sort of 'mind control' over Dani, and to explain that, Kyia has regained a fraction of her powers. Kyia's healing qualities are causing a change-up with Daniela's cadou, which in itself has left the woman in a fractured state. This will be emphasized greater in the next chapters, but I'm sure some of you may have wanted to know what was going on with this. Kyia is basically "healing" Daniela's anger, thus keeping her stable enough to control.
Speaking of fawns, Narratha will soon learn her fate as well. I'm not building up her character just to have her burned at the stake. While she was an exceptionally vile villain in Fragmented Flies, this story is going to continue to shine a light on the fawn that she used to be. Nonetheless, that villain is still in there somewhere—only now she is being paired against other villains.
When can you expect the next chapter? Well, what about tomorrow?
Yes! I managed to whip up a second one, so this will be a double release! I hope it makes up for the extra wait. I'm also going to be gone for a week, so I wouldn't have been able to write it sooner.
Get ready to watch Kyia advance the next stage of her plan, while Daniela contends with the broken aftermath of what is her life (her redemption is coming too). And on top of that, we will learn Narratha's fate, and I think you will all enjoy (and dread) where this story will take us to from there.
You've all been waiting so patiently for the action, and now it is here, and it's not slowing down. When this is over, a lot of people and creatures are going to be dead. Who survives and what remains will only be revealed in the end.
Thank you so much for all your support again! I am so grateful that you have stuck by me through this. I will say some more in the next chapter notes, but I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend! Take care and stay safe!