Thanks for reading! In this chapter Lady Dimitrescu takes Dorothy for herself and decides to turn her.
Dorothy awoke in a cold sweat. Once more she had dreamed of Harriett chasing her and killing her. Slowly she got out of the bed and entered the bathroom to throw cold water on her face. It helped a little, but she still felt unsettled.
"Hello?"
Dorothy turned back around with a frown. She did not recognize the woman's voice.
"Hello?" Dorothy answered, finding a young woman with reddish brown hair and blue eyes standing in the room with fresh sheets in hand. She looked oddly familiar, but where?
"Oh, I am so sorry. I did not realize we had a guest occupying this room. I can return later," she said.
"You," Dorothy said, the realization hitting her swiftly. "Wendy. You are Wendy!"
"I am," she said. "How do you know that?"
Dorothy felt her throat tightened.
"I-I know your mother and father."
"Really?" Wendy said. "How?"
"They took me in and helped me…"
Wendy smiled.
"That sounds like them. They were always quick to help anyone in need."
Dorothy attempted at a smile.
Wendy cocked her head to the side.
"What is wrong? You look so very sad."
Hot tears welled in Dorothy's eyes.
"I do not know how to tell you this, but they are… they are dead."
"D-dead?" Wendy whispered. "How?"
"They were killed by these wolf-like creatures," Dorothy explained, watching as tears slid down her face. "I am so sorry, Wendy. I came here in hopes to find you and get you out."
"Get me out?" Wendy laughed bitterly, wiping the tears from her face. "And where would I go now that they are dead?"
Dorothy fell silent, watching Wendy walk over to the window and stare out it.
"I did not get along with my parents," Wendy said after a moments silence. "I had such dreams. I would leave the village and make my own way in this world, but I needed money to do it. It was why I applied to work for Lady Dimitrescu." Her voice shook with emotion. "I did not speak to them after I was hired. That was almost two years ago… I should have." She released a shaky breath. "I should have wrote to them at least, but I was so angry with them. Angry they were so against my dreams. How stupid of me."
"They were not angry with you, Wendy," Dorothy said. "Your parents were doing everything within their power to bring you home."
"And it got them killed, didn't it?"
"Wendy," Dorothy walked straight up to her and placed her hands upon her thin shoulders. "You must leave the castle."
"And do what?" Wendy said. "Death befalls any who try to leave here. I am sure you have already learned that."
Dorothy nodded.
"And what about you? Why are you here?"
"I was searching for my mother," Dorothy said.
"Did you find her?"
"I did," Dorothy said. "She is dead."
"I'm sorry," Wendy said. "Truly."
The two locked eyes briefly before Wendy looked away and back out the window.
"I am not from this village," Dorothy said, wanting to talk about something other than the current topic. "I came here with the help of a traveling merchant. If we can escape the castle and find him, I can take you to my home. I will help you find your dream."
"Why? You do not know me, nor owe me that."
"Your parents helped me," Dorothy said firmly. "And I owe them by helping you."
Wendy considered her words for a moment.
"I suppose there is a way to get out of here," Wendy said. "Through the cellar."
"Is that not the dungeons?"
"Yes," Wendy said. "The place where death and torture happen."
"I have already seen the horrors of it. There is no escape route there," Dorothy said.
"There may be no other option…" Wendy said, turning her gaze to the door upon heels nearing the closed door.
"What is it?"
"Someone is coming…"
Then came the sound of a key inserted into the lock and a 'click' before the door opened. Dorothy began to frown in confusion upon Anya stepping inside; she, too, gazing at her with the same countenance.
"Dorothy? Who in the name of Mother Miranda were you talking to? And why are you out of that bed?"
"I was talking to… to…" Dorothy drifted off.
"Talking to yourself, then?"
"No," Dorothy snapped back. "I was talking to Wendy."
Anya looked as though she had just been shot.
"What?"
"Wendy," she repeated, knowing how impossible that sounded now. How insane.
"Lie back down. I have brought you some medicine."
Dorothy climbed into the bed, numbly. How could she be seeing these apparitions? It was just as she had seen at Lady Donna's home.
'I am losing my mind?' She shook her head, staring straight at Anya who was now beside her. "Tell me what happened to Wendy. Is she dead?"
"That is none of your business."
"It is my business," Dorothy said. "And if you do not tell me, I will inform Lady Dimitrescu of how roughly you have been attending to me."
Anya glared down at her.
Dorothy glared back.
"Fine, you little wretch, I will tell you she is in fact dead. I brought her body into the dungeon where Miss Cassandra disposed of her."
Dorothy continued to glare at her, though inwardly her heart was broken.
'So the mad girl below was telling the truth after all… Gabrielle, Malkin forgive me. I was too late.'
"Any further questions, or can I continue with my duty?"
Dorothy opened her mouth as Anya spooned fed her the liquid medicine. It tasted very bitter, making Dorothy grimace after the second dosage.
"What is that?"
"A remedy that will help you to sleep. I will return later with food." She swiveled around and walked out of the room.
Dorothy sat back in the bed and released a deep sigh. She was still thinking of what she had seen. Wendy. Why had she seen her?
"Why did Lady Dimitrescu kill her? What did she do? Did she do it, because Mother Miranda ordered her to?" Dorothy released a yawn, the medicine was fast acting and making her drowsy. "Lady Dimitrescu." Her thoughts now changing to the memories Mother Miranda had shown her. Reminded of the terrible sorrow she had endured all because of Mother Miranda. "It was all her fault. She caused the death of her family, but of course that means nothing to her now. She is not that woman anymore…" She looked down at her arms. "But still. She saved me." her thoughts then shifted to the letter her mother had written. "I pray no one will find where I have hidden it. Not that it matters, I suppose. No one will understand the content, but Lady Dimitrescu herself."
{…}
Lady Dimitrescu was seated in her study and strangely alone. She had just finished dinner with her girls. Daniela off to the nursery to begin her next art project, Cassandra down to the dungeons to finish carving her girl and Bela in a most peculiar place: the library.
Lady Dimitrescu took a sip of wine and then set it down to draw from her cigarette. She could not focus on the last of her paperwork. Her thoughts were on Dorothy. Always Dorothy, but something else was churning in her mind. An idea she had been going back and forth with since the woman first arrived. She drew heavily from her cigarette, exhaling the long stream from her mouth.
"Will she survive? That is the question. I have no doubt she will easily take my blood with little error, but the next part… I was unsure if Bela, Cassandra and Daniela would survive it." It was this uncertainty that prevented her from going through with it earlier, but there was a graver threat looming down upon them. "She will be killed by Mother Miranda. I will not allow that to happen. I have little choice. I must go through with it." She picked up her glass of wine and drained it in one sitting. 'Bela, Cassandra, Daniela.' She called upon her daughters.
In a second all three appeared before her.
"Mother?" Bela asked.
She started to smile.
"Time to go to work, my darlings," she said.
All three smiled widely at her words.
"About time we purged," Cassandra cackled, her scythe appearing in hand.
"I get the kitchen!" Daniela said.
"How many do you wish for us to purge?" Bela straight to the task.
"Ten," Lady Dimitrescu said. "Be sure not to make too much of a mess. Oh!" she snapped her fingers. "One more thing."
All three were hanging on to her every word.
"Have fun."
They all disappeared in a plume of bugs while Lady Dimitrescu stood up with a growing frown.
'Now that they are out of the way, I can begin my task…'
{…}
Dorothy awoke to the sound of a distant scream. At first she thought she had imagined it, but a second scream that was much clearer, made her sit straight up on the bed. She could not decipher who was screaming, but knew the reason for it. Either Lady Dimitrescu was chasing after the other maidens or her daughters were on the attack.
"What is going on?" she whispered, getting out of the bed and walking over to the door. She knew it would be pointless, but she tried to open the door. "Locked as I suspected."
"Help me!"
How close she sounded to her door, her voice shrieking out as she cried out again and then she abruptly went quiet.
Dorothy backed away from the door. The horror of what was happening to the others. She did not want to imagine, but with all she had already observed, she knew they were being slaughtered like animals.
Then came the sound of shrill, manic laughter from Lady Dimitrescu's daughters.
"Am I to be next?" Dorothy wondered aloud. "Perhaps Lady Dimitrescu has changed her mind and wishes me to join the rest below…" She felt fear. Unexpected fear upon seeing any of the daughters appear in the room. She would have no hope of survival. "Should I attempt to make an escape? Find a way to the Entrance Hall?" Dorothy knew that would be impossible. "The daughters would sniff me out. Not to mention if I step back out into the village, Mother Miranda and those creatures would find me."
Dorothy took a seat back on the edge of the bed and started to realize something. Remembering what Harriett had said to her about the castle being a haven to many of the maidens.
"It would seem I am no different from them. I would have no safe place to go out there. Here in this room and in good favor with Lady Dimitrescu is the only thing keeping me alive…" She lay back on the bed, staring at her bandaged arms. The pulsating pain had gone, but it still hurt to move her arms too quickly. "I wonder if Anya will make it up with some food? Will she be dead like the others?" She closed her eyes, deciding to try and get some more sleep. Hoping when she awoke the sound of the killing would be over.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
Dorothy opened her eyes in a flash and sat straight up. The sound of heels was drawing closer and closer.
Was this it?
Click.
Dorothy watched on as Lady Dimitrescu ducked through her doorway and stood at her full height. She was donned in her nightly attire and carried in hand a tray with a bowl of soup, piece of bread and a cup of water on it.
Neither spoke for a moment. A loud shriek from somewhere in the hall made the hairs on Dorothy's arms stand up.
Lady Dimitrescu quietly closed the door with her foot and presented Dorothy with a smile.
Dorothy did not return the gesture.
"I have brought you some food if you are hungry," she said, setting it down on the bedside table, her eyes flashing straight back to her. "What is it?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why not set me loose to be killed just like them?" Dorothy said.
"Must we continue to run around this circle?" she sighed. "Or perhaps you enjoy the chase?"
"I wish you would cease the chase and do whatever it is you are planning to do."
"Be careful what you wish for, my darling," she said, keeping her tone calm.
Dorothy rose up from the bed and walked over to the balcony to stare out at the evening sky. For once she could see the inky blackness of the night and the stars sparkling like diamonds.
"My mother and I would go outside on nights like this to look at the constellations. She could point them all out and tell me there names."
Lady Dimitrescu listened in silence.
"I remember telling her I wished to be an astronomer and discover new constellations. She would smile at me. A smile that reached straight up to her eyes and made them sparkle like the stars I see now." Dorothy's voice cracked unexpectedly. Her head sagging down with a heavy heart. "I should have done more."
"There was nothing more you could have done," Lady Dimitrescu whispered. "Mother Miranda had injected her with the parasite. I put her out of her misery, because I could not bear the thought of watching her turn into one of those mindless creatures."
"Did Mother Miranda order you to kill Wendy due to her parents' entanglement with Elijah?"
"Yes. I did not wish to dispose of her either…"
"What about Allison?"
"Another terrible decision," she said sincerely.
"Is she being purged at this moment?" Dorothy asked quietly.
"No. She is currently on her way to Donna's house to serve her. It was the only way to appease Donna and leave you be."
Dorothy could not look at Lady Dimitrescu. Knowing Allison's fate with Lady Donna would mean a slow and painful death. She would begin to see things as she had and slowly lose her mind. It was how she felt after seeing her mother, Elijah and Wendy's parents. Not only that, but Lady Donna was planning to turn her into a puppet.
"You will not share their fate, my sweet," Lady Dimitrescu said softly; lovingly, approaching Dorothy now and standing right before her. "I have decided to make you mine forever just as I made Bela, Cassandra and Daniela mine."
Dorothy shivered at her words.
"I do not want that."
"It is the only way, my Dorothy. If not that than I will have to kill you."
"Will this not be a death sentence?"
"You will not die," Lady Dimitrescu said, placing the tips of her fingers under her chin and raising her head up. "You are strong. Resilient. You are your mother's child."
"My mother would never had bared to see you like this. She would condemn you for what you have done."
"Your mother found me," Lady Dimitrescu said. "She came to me… she found me. My love. I-I regret her death, but you will not suffer her fate. I will save you and take you before anyone else can…"
Dorothy stared straight into her eyes. Feeling herself falling straight into them. A voice telling her to let go.
"I cannot," Dorothy said, pulling her head away and walking around Lady Dimitrescu.
"Part of you does. I can see it," Lady Dimitrescu said.
Dorothy wrapped her arms as best she could around her waist, leaning against the bedpost and continuing to hear the whispers. A soothing; adoring voice telling her to let go.
"Come to me. Come."
Dorothy did not move.
Lady Dimitrescu then raised her arm and held out her hand.
"Dorothy."
She could feel arms wrapping now about her waist. Sweet kisses placed upon her cheek and down her neck.
"Your will is strong…," Lady Dimitrescu said.
Dorothy tried to close her eyes in order to resist the urge to move closer to her, but she could not ignore the whispering. She could feel her senses swaying. Unable to control herself and wanting to be in her arms. Wanting only her.
"… but my will is stronger."
Dorothy felt herself falling now. A darkness embracing her in an unbreakable hold. Then came the round of applause. A single bright light cracking the impenetrable darkness and holding her there. Her eyes caught her own reflection from the polished floor to find she was wearing a ball mask painted gold. Even her attire had changed to match the mask in its golden glamour.
The round of applause then came to a conclusion and in its place came a slow violin. She could not see the orchestra, nor the people who had been clapping.
"Where am I?" she whispered.
"Do not fear."
Dorothy spun around to find a familiar figure standing before her wearing her own mask and dress. Her rosy red lips pulled up into a loving smile.
At once she felt her head swim. Her heart fluttering. She smiled back at her, taking Lady Dimitrescu's hand and allowing her to lead them in their dance.
Around and around she spun about the room. Candles coming to life and bringing more color to the room. Revealing the crowd watching them from the side, and the orchestra playing on a stage.
Dorothy felt blissfully happy. The lights reminding her of such spectacular fireworks. Every color she could imagine twinkled in her eyes off the candle light.
Lady Dimitrescu continuing to hold her smile as she took her around for a second time. The song coming to a close and the audience once more clapping.
Dorothy giggled, feeling jittery from the dance.
"My darling," Lady Dimitrescu hummed, leaning forward and kissing her lips.
Dorothy did not hesitate to kiss her back.
"Good girl. Good girl," she hummed, placing gentle kisses to her jawline and then nipping down her throat.
Dorothy released a soft moan in pleasure, feeling her mistress wrap her arms about her waist and lift her up. Once more Dorothy felt as though she were falling, but now she was laying partially naked in a large bed. The room warmed by a fire burning strongly in the hearth, and there approaching her, was Lady Dimitrescu wearing only a silk, red night robe that was open to reveal her naked body.
Dorothy released a moan, stretching her arms and legs out in welcome to her lady.
Lady Dimitrescu tittered at the sight.
"My Dorothy." She got into the bed, taken aback as Dorothy wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her. 'Mine.' She broke the kiss off, frantically kissing down Dorothy's supple body, nipping just over her breasts and then she sank her teeth in.
Dorothy released a gasp, her body wiggling underneath her as she was consumed by her pleasure.
Lady Dimitrescu running her tongue over the spot, she kissed back up to her neck and sank her teeth back into her flesh. She could feel the pulsation of Dorothy's heart. How fast it was racing, but steadily slowing down. Soon she could feel their hearts were becoming as one. Intertwined together.
She pulled away with a slight gasp, staring down at Dorothy who had her eyes closed and was still moaning with a smile.
"Your turn," she said, pecking her on the lips before she sat up and used her nail to slice just over her left breast. "Come." She motioned for Dorothy to sit up. "Join me. Become one with me. Forever."
Dorothy looked up to her mistress and then back to her bleeding breast. Once more the whispers in hear ear guided her up into a kneeling position, Lady Dimitrescu's fingers gently stroking the back of her neck in encouragement.
She sucked in a sharp breath as Dorothy clamped her lips over the flow and drunk from her. Already she could feel their hearts were as one. Every emotion Dorothy felt, she would feel it too. Every memory… every memory.
Lady Dimitrescu shuddered upon seeing it all play out before her, but these were not Dorothy's memories… no they were her own.
'Gods…' she thought, sucking in another sharp breath as Dorothy nipped at her flesh. She wanted to push her away, but could not allow herself to do that. Or rather she was unable to do it.
She was overcome by it all. Feeling herself slipping away into a deep sleep.
Below Bela had come to an abrupt halt, her attention directed back the way she had come. She could sense a shift in her mother and sense the beat of a new heart. A heart much like Daniela's and Cassandra's. Gooseflesh began to run rampart up and down her body.
"Mother?" she said. "What did you do?"