Thank you all for reading! Hope you are enjoying the story so far!
Chapter 3:
Lady Dimitrescu walked down to the dungeons to inspect Cassandra's handiwork with Daniela close behind. Cassandra skipped ahead cheerfully. Unable to contain her excitement to reveal her hard work.
The moans of the fresh girls hanging from their wrists was a most pleasant surprise to Lady Dimitrescu when she entered the room.
"Well, well, Cassandra," Lady Dimitrescu acclaimed. "You have indeed done a perfect job."
"Thank you, Mother," Cassandra bowed her head to her.
"And since you have done such a fine job, I have decided to leave this task to you."
Cassandra looked up at her mother.
"You mean, I can have the dungeon to do as I please?"
"No, but you will be permitted to make decisions on who is bled and who will be slaughtered for meat. That being said, I will make the final decision."
"Yes, Mother," Cassandra said, her yellow eyes glowing with pride. "I will begin my next inspection immediately." She did not wait for her mother to say another word and disappeared to the cells.
"That made her day," Daniela commented.
"I fear I have created a new monster in her," Lady Dimitrescu said. "Bela will not be pleased with me."
"Or perhaps she will be. She won't have to deal with the dungeon anymore."
"I would not say that," Lady Dimitrescu said, winking down at her youngest. "I do not doubt Cassandra will grow bored of this quickly and seek her entertainment elsewhere. Bela will be back doing this task before we know it."
"Yes she will," Daniela giggled.
"Only time will tell, but for now I must return to the surface."
"Paperwork?" Daniela groaned.
Lady Dimitrescu patted the top of her head gently.
"Come along, dearest, it is time you learned this side of the business."
"Ugh, I do not want to torture myself."
Lady Dimitrescu tittered at her remark, leading them straight to her study without incident.
"Take a seat here." She patted the chair Bela usually occupied.
Daniela took a seat, her eyes growing as wide as saucers at the pile of paperwork.
'I should have gone to the library…'
Lady Dimitrescu took a seat in her chair, picking up her pen and getting to work, but her thoughts drifted to the letter she had received. The amount of money he was proposing to take Wendy back home… she screwed up her face to stop herself from laughing as she did before. The child had come to her willingly and remained with her willingly.
'Still I will entertain this and call upon Mother Miranda to inform her of this new development. I know she will be most pleased to finally have him…'
{…}
Dorothy wiped the sweat off her brow. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen overnight and made shoveling almost impossible.
"Go back inside and fix us all some coffee."
"Are you sure?"
Gabrielle motioned her to go before turning back and shoveling the rest of the area. Dorothy followed the path they had shoveled and took her boots off before she entered inside. She walked into the kitchen and got to work preparing them some coffee.
Ten minutes later Malkin walked in with his face red from the cold.
"Chilly out there," he said.
"Yes, sir," Dorothy said, pouring them all a cup.
"Where is Gabrielle?"
"She is still in the back shoveling. She asked me to come inside and make us coffee."
"Thank you," he said.
Dorothy set the cup down in front of him, looking up at the sound of knocking at the door. Malkin took a sip of his coffee before setting it back down on the table and dashing to the front door.
"Come in Elijah."
"I have some good news for you, my friend," Elijah was saying, pausing at the sight of Dorothy.
"Elijah this is Dorothy."
"Hello, sir," Dorothy said.
"Good morning," he said, giving her a little bow of his head. Clearly he was curious to who she was and where she had come from. His gaze turning back to Malkin.
"We found Dorothy on our doorstep last night. She has told us her intentions of paying visit to our quaint village," Malkin said, looking to Dorothy now.
"I have come in search of my mother."
Elijah raised his bushy eyebrows up at her words.
"I see, what is your mother's name?"
"Lady Beatrice Bogdan," Dorothy said.
"I am so sorry, Dorothy, but there have been no new faces in this village for a while. Could you tell me a little more about her?"
Dorothy nodded, telling Elijah everything she had told Malkin and Gabrielle.
"I am so terribly sorry," Elijah said, the sadness on his countenance tearing at Dorothy's heart. "I will do all I can to help you in your search for your mother." He shot a look over at Malkin. A secret communication going on between them that Dorothy did not quite understand. She sensed there was something they were not telling her. A dark secret of sorts that was not to be shared.
{…}
Lady Dimitrescu donned her black fur coat, matching black fur gloves and a hat. The air had a bite to it. The weather in the village seemed to always be cold and snowy, but this trip to the abandoned church was well worth frozen toes and fingers.
Down the path she walked alone. The sun just barely able to poke through the thick, gray clouds. More snow was about to fall. She could feel the bitter chill in the air. The mountains that surrounded them pure white. From time to time she could hear the roar of an avalanche in the distance.
Romania was a treacherous land. Full of mystery and the unknown.
All her life she had lived in Romania. A beautiful place, and also one of great sadness. She could not always remember her past life. Some days she could and other days she could not.
Brief flashes of a past that she could scarcely say were her own. Flashes of a man, two children and a young woman with wavy blonde hair. What were their names? She would find herself attempting to pull their names out of her memory bank. Sometimes they would come to her and other times they would not.
Lady Dimitrescu bit her bottom lip to stop herself from probing. Not even realizing she had arrived at her destination. She stared up at the delipidated building. None of the peasants used the church anymore due to the instability of it. It had been abandoned many years ago and was not well kept. The ceiling had many holes in it and it was here where the Lycans had created a lovely little den for themselves below.
"Alcina." Mother Miranda's voice echoed around the space.
"Mother," Lady Dimitrescu bowed her head to her as she stood up from the bench and approached her.
"I am very pleased you made it. The weather is growing much more violent. Please, take a seat."
Lady Dimitrescu took a seat in the large chair while Mother Miranda sat on the bench across from her.
"I have some news for you, Alcina," Mother Miranda started. "I have a new shipment coming in later this week of 'blood bags' as you call them. I am allowing you first pickings before the others."
"Thank you, Mother," Lady Dimitrescu said. "And I have news for you as well."
Mother Miranda waved her hand for her to proceed.
Lady Dimitrescu went over the letter she had received from Elijah; Mother Miranda sat listening in silence, nodding her head occasionally as she spoke.
"Well, that is interesting, we shall invite him here."
"Do you not think my castle would be far more suitable?" Lady Dimitrescu asked. "In my castle there would be no chance of his escape, and it is far more cozier."
"If that is what you wish, I will allow it."
"Thank you," Lady Dimitrescu said.
"When do you plan to meet with him?"
"I will write him a letter and have my maid, Anya, deliver it to him personally."
"I will take over this part of the process, Alcina," Mother Miranda said abruptly.
"Mother?" she frowned.
"My ravens have been keeping a diligent eye on him, I have seen where he resides the most, along with two other conspirators of his. I will have the Lycans collect him for me and kill the couple," Mother Miranda said. "And there appears to be a new face amongst the villagers. One that I will happily hand over to you."
Lady Dimitrescu attempted at a smile; however, she was not pleased by this decision. Wondering why her mother did not want her to be in charge of this. Did she not trust she would be able to accomplish this on her own? Did she think she was so childish like the other lords not to be able to handle it?
"With all due respect, Mother Miranda, I would be more than happy to do this chore for you. After all, you are a busy woman and this is something I can deal with for you."
"You are most generous," Mother Miranda said. "But this is a chore of great importance. One that I do not wish to be ruined with the slightest of errors."
A pang of rage swept through her.
"And you would trust the Lycans with such a monumental task?" she said, keeping her tone even.
Mother Miranda chuckled.
"/I/ control them, and I will be with them when I collect the menace. As much as I appreciate your concern, it is misplaced my child."
Lady Dimitrescu did not realize she had been clenching her hands into tight fists. Her body tense as her mother spoke. She could not understand how this could be.
"You have done so well, Alcina," Mother Miranda continued. "How have you been feeling recently? Do you require any medicine to combat those migraines of yours?"
"I have been well," Lady Dimitrescu said, pulling herself out of her inner brewing. "The herbal remedy from Donna has helped me immensely."
"I am pleased to hear that. I will be sure to collect more herbs for you during my next visit to Donna's garden."
"Thank you," Lady Dimitrescu said, glancing past Mother Miranda upon a whiff of a scent. How familiar it was to her and showing her a vision. A blonde haired young woman seated at a vanity and brushing her hair. She was donned in a plain white dress and smiling at her from the mirror. She was speaking, but her voice was inaudible. How joyous she looked. A bright face with pink cheeks and kind brown eyes.
"Alcina?"
Lady Dimitrescu directed her attention back to her mother.
"Forgive me, Mother," she said.
"I have more information regarding Elijah and his infiltrators."
"They are a plague…"
"They are legion," Mother Miranda said. "I have been forced to send more Lycans around our border to keep an eye on things. I say they have been doing a decent enough job, but still these people continue to slip in. There must be a chink somewhere that they are getting through."
"Do you think the Duke is at fault? Could he be transporting them into the village with his carriage?"
"The Duke?" Mother Miranda chuckled at that. "Nonsense. He is a quirky fellow, but keeps his nose clean. No, I believe this was just a desperate move done by Elijah to seek help from the outside world. That man. If there was anyone who could have come close to destroying this village, I truly believe he would have, but once he is officially gone the threat should dissolve in time. I will keep an eye out for any more of his followers and dispose of them. I thank you, Daughter, for your service. I will call upon you when the next phase begins…"
Lady Dimitrescu bowed her head one last time before she rose out of her chair. She took her time leaving, her thoughts still on the scent she had picked up. Mother Miranda had already left to the back of the church where her lab resided below. She would go down from time to time to pick out blood bags, but that seemed to be months ago since she had been invited below.
"Beatrice…" she said the name aloud without a thought. The name just came to her and left her tongue before she even realized it. Beatrice's face as clear as day in her mind. The cold wind hit her face again, bringing her back to the moment. She was outside once more. Fresh snow starting to sprinkle down from the heavens.
She growled, gazing around at the sound of the villager's speaking from somewhere close by. They would be afoot, which she certainly wanted to avoid.
"Time to go home…" she whispered, her breath coming out in thick puffs.