#txciawrite

You were almost asleep, the waterfall sounds never failed to calm your soul, the distant symphony nature conceived you always following you throughout the day. Your stay at the Beneviento's state has been satisfactorily peaceful, your routine consisted of watching over Miss Beneviento and Miss Angie, administrate the house and cook for them; although you heard many legends and myths about the veiled woman, they all proved themselves wrong, Donna Beneviento was not a merciless sickening creature and Angie is not a disturbing – well, that's up to debate – maniac doll. They were kind, lovely, graceful, even. Energetic and serene, enthusiastic and gentle, intense yet lethargic; yes, those were Donna and Angie, opposites — The sun and the moon.

“Human! Donna requires your assistance!”

Ah, speaking of energetic. Angie hops through the garden to meet you sitting on a pile of soft snow, facing the waterfall, pleasantly starting the day.

“Donna needs someone to help with the fabric! Hey, are you hearing me?!” The doll pokes your right arm repeatedly, forcefully drawing your attention to her – if she had eyebrows, you can be certain they'd be very frowned now.

“Ah, yes, Miss Angie, I'm hearing you! I apologize for not responding at first” You support your hand on your thigh as you stand up, patting away any flakes on your work pants.

“Hm! I shall forgive you this time, human. But I won't have mercy next time!” It's the fourth time she says this. You play along, bowing to her as if she's the queen of the castle; her hands go to her hips, eyes closed, taking in the adoration you give her, silly little doll, if she only knew how she brightens up your day with only a few simple mannerisms.

You enter the house accompanied by Angie, the cozy ambiance greets you on a warm hug, contrasting the cold weather outside; the fireplace burns leisurely, the dancing flames sounds creating a piece of background music for this lovely morning. There's a certain smell in the air... Ah, chamomile tea and fresh chocolate and cinnamon cake, Donna's favorites – she must be in a good mood today – although you weren't expecting your lady to be baking, you were not going to complain, either.

“I thought you needed help with sewing, Miss Beneviento?” In a jump, she turns around, she must've not heard you coming in;

She lets out a long hum, probably calculating her next words “I did... Not... I apologize.”

You give her a reassuring smile and say there was no problem; the moment you were about to make your way out of the kitchen, a quiet 'Wait!' that was barely said out loud filled the air. “Perhaps... You would want to have some tea?”

The veiled woman sounded hesitant, yet full of determination... And honestly, how could you ever say no? Not just because the cake looks delicious, but because you know Donna made all this effort for you – she would never eat a whole cake by herself, she barely bakes anything since you came around... and did she ask Angie to come up with an excuse for you to get inside? – So it would not only be rude but also be very inconsiderate of you to refuse her request.

“I'd love to,” You say without hesitation.

All of the tension on the woman's shoulders went away, a relieved sigh left her lips as she settles the tea kettle on the table along with delicate ceramic cups – they were beautiful, elegant blue roses were painted along with the whole structure, a true artist's work – Oh, the cake looks divine, you cut a small piece for yourself, getting a small grunt of disapproval from Donna, who puts a larger piece on your plate - you return the favor, cutting a big piece for her as well - you both chuckle, it was moments like this that made you grateful for having her in your life. A lovely company, a thoughtful friend... You cherish each other, you know your place in her heart, and she knows hers in yours as well.

“Are you having a tea party without me?! The nerve!!” Angie stomps her way to the kitchen table, climbing on her high chair and facing you both on – what you believe is – disbelief;

“Oh please, Angie,” your lady says in a breathy response. She has lifted her veil to eat now, even though you've been here for several months and have seen Donna's face multiple times, you understand what her veil means to her and never once asked her to take it off; she's wearing it today because she's nervous – that explains the tea – Today the lords are having a meeting called by Mother Miranda herself to discuss 'village business'... You've been around long enough to know what they talk about in there; Beneviento never feels much thrilled to meet with her 'siblings'... And from what she says, you wouldn't be either! Imagine a 9'6 feet tall lady yelling at the robot man while a fish guy wants to participate in everything... You wonder what Miranda was thinking when she got them.

“Hey!! I'm talking!” The doll snapped you out of your thoughts about the soon event, making Donna giggle at your confused 'huh?'; she even finished her piece of cake already, for how long have they let you drift away?

“My apologies, I was quite distracted” Donna frowns her eyebrows for a microsecond, but decides not to say anything.

“Y’know, Donna was thinking of visiting the big lady this weekend” – Miss Angie rests her little chin on her hands, facing you.

“Oh, that's nice of you, I'm sure the girls are missing you two” You answer without putting much thought to it, as you take the fork with cake to your mouth.

Angie sighs comically loud, what made you look at her with a questioning look “Are you that dumb?? Donna is asking ya to come with us! Gosh!” ...Oh.

Oh

Donna wants you to go? That's– That's new. You're just a maid, you don't belong in the family visits... But now Donna is asking you to go. You feel your cheeks grow rosier as you almost choke on your fork – how embarrassing – “Ah, of course I will accompany you! Thank you for being kind enough to allow me to go, Donna”

She smiles, and that's when you smiled too, a peek of her face is all you need to go through your busy week - her serene expressions, the sweet sound of the giggles you steal from her, the way her nose scrunches when she's concentrated - you could spend the whole day listing every bit of her you wish you could frame and save from time's merciless tricks, but for now, her smile is all you want to focus on.

“Please, you're family.” The woman sounded so certain of what she just said, her voice was so filled with love you could almost grab it and keep it in your heart. You're family... that's how important you are to her now. Things are changing.

A few hours go by, the weather is significantly warmer outside, but still cold; the sky is bright grey, little snowflakes descending to meet the fresh layer of snow on the ground. Donna is putting on her veil and adjusting her doll's dress, the meeting will start soon; Lord Heisenberg will pick the girls up, take them there and bring them home safely, in return, you will go to his factory once a week to deliver some desserts and sweets and do him some company — he's a funny man... You worry about him sometimes, but he's not that bad, after all.

“Please take care, put on more clothes, and have the rest of the tea” Donna's left hand touches your shoulder while her right arm holds Angie close to her chest; you are all by the door, you're holding it open for them.

“Don’t worry my Lady, I will take care.” You give her a courtesy bow, receiving a light giggle as a response – the doll rolls her eyes and kicks her feet frenetically, telling Donna off for taking so long to get in Heisenberg's exquisite carriage. You wave at the man from afar, who lowers his hat a bit, his nice way of greeting you. The metal horses neigh and take off, the wagon disappearing into the horizon.

xxx

Angie's excited rambling saturates the once calm atmosphere of the house, Karl just dropped them off, coming to the door with them.

“Here they are, kid, no scratches.” He puts a cigar on his mouth and looks into the house through his dark glasses, taking in the ambiance.

“Why, thank you, Lord Heisenberg – ”

“Tsk. Cut the ‘Lord’ shit, just call me Karl.” He interrupted you, although he sounded annoyed, you knew he was befriending you “You’re basically family, no? We all know how Donna cares for you – honestly, it's annoying.”

“I- I’m sorry, what did you mean by that?” The man laughs at your rosy cheeks and stutters, waving his hand, he takes a drag of the cigar, walking to his carriage “I’ll be waiting for cookies, girl”.

You wave back, closing the door and looking at the living room, where your ladies are making themselves comfortable.

“You won't believe what happened today!! The bird lady gave us a baby!”

“Oh– Oh no, Angie– Miranda gave us a flask to take care of..”

“A baby!”

“...A flask”

“A baby in the flask!” – Donna sighs in defeat, rubbing her temples. Angie points to a square yellow flask on top of a ceramic counter, there's a label on it, you come closer to read it.. ‘Legs’.

...Legs? It can’t be actual – Oh, you're starting to feel sick. “Um... Donna...?'' You hesitantly look at the woman, who sighs heavily and lifts her veil, her expression says it all; her eyebrows frowned upwards, lips sealed and her eyes have a disappointed tint to it. She slowly nods, her gaze going from you to ‘Mother Miranda's gift’.

“I understand if you want me to put it away in the basement.” She's willing to do it for you? No, she's your lady, you should do it.

“I suppose I should–” Once again you are interrupted, this time by the eager doll, who jumps in your arms with the flask on her hands – When did she get it? How did you not see her? – “I hope Ethan won’t try to take it back!” Your head tilts to the side, a silent question to both of the girls.

“Ahem... Ethan is... Rose's father... And Rose is, well...” – Oh, heavens. – “Mother captured him and Heisenberg made him go through a ..‘death maze’..” Donna's fingers go up and down on a quotation mark sign.

“But he ran away!!” — A dense silence fell onto the room, the atmosphere suddenly grew uncomfortable, at least for you.

“Are you alrighty?” Angie turns to face you, her eyes traveling your whole face, your expression is blank now; what the hell was going on? This is all too much to take in at once.

“Is he dangerous?” That was the only thing you managed to say among so many questions you wanted to ask Donna.

“Well... He did escape Heisenberg's plan...” Then he is, that's what she's saying.

“How long ago was that?”

“The escape? two hours or so! We stayed there with Heisenberg trying to find out what he did wrong, dumb metal man...” You hum, your semblance should look horribly tense, because the next thing you remember was Donna's hand being so lightly placed on your left arm as if you were a shattered porcelain doll about to break with any rougher contact.

“Miss Angie, would you mind giving us a moment to speak in private?” – You lower the doll and take the flask from her hands.

“Ya know Donna and I are connected, right?” The smaller girl was quickly taken out of the room by her master — and you swear you heard a quiet ‘shoo, shoo’. The lady of the house now stands in front of you, a concerned look on her face, matching yours.

“Miss Donna, I'm worried about this whole situation... Maybe we should be careful. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I am afraid I do...” She looked nervous, her fingers fidgeting and interlocking with themselves; there's silence for a long moment, both of you meticulously measuring your next words, surprisingly, Donna is the first to speak; with a heavy sigh, she stands up straighter.

“If anything happens, you must go to the castle, please.”

“But my lady—”

“Alcina will know what to do, that man won't get past her state, her girls are probably hunting him now – if they haven't found him already. Still, if something happens to me or Angie, you know who to ask for help, okay?” — You nod — “Promise me, please.”

“...I promise.”

How you were going to regret this later.

She shyly smiles with the corners of her mouth as you take her hands in yours, your way of saying ‘everything will be alright’. The woman opened her mouth to say something, but her words died in the air, her sudden frozen reaction sent chills down your spine – what's happening? – she looks straight at the door, her semblance growing more and more despairing.

“Miss Beneviento?”

...

“My lady?”

...

“Donna?!”

Her gaze hesitantly made its way from the door and fell upon you, her hands are slightly shaking – is she starting to hyperventilate? – she tried to speak, but not even a whisper was heard. After a few tries, her shaky and breathy voice met your ears – “He’s here.”

You are petrified, the grip your hands have on hers grows tighter, what does she mean, he's here? He can't be here. That would mean getting past House Dimitrescu and the only way someone could do that is by k—

Oh no...

You can tell that is exactly what Donna is thinking about as tears threaten to fall from her glossy eyes. Lady Dimitrescu can't be... dead... can she? What about her daughters? Oh, poor things...

“You must go.” Your lady's voice got your attention again, her trembling tone barely allowing her to properly speak, so she led you by the hand to a room with aid kits and hand-made medicines; she handed you a bag containing some of it and pointed to the door.

...Is... Is this how she is going to send you off?... Not even a ‘goodbye’, or a handshake, at the very least? Your eyebrows frown and your lips part open, you hold the bag against your chest closer to you. “...My lady..?” Now your voice is trembling as well. She avoids your gaze, standing firmly at the same spot.

She calls Angie, who floats towards you, pushing you through the house to the front door. “I’m sorry, but ya promised.”

She and the other dolls corner you at the door, your back meeting the hardwood board; you can hear your heart shattering as you're being so abruptly banished from the house.

“You can't even say something?! After all we've been through? Is this really how you want to send me away?!... Please, Donna.”

After overlong minutes of deafening silence and a torturing lack of response, you see a now veiled figure stand in front of you, a few meters away; her hands are by her sides, fidgeting with her dress' cloth, her head hangs low, her gaze meeting the floor.

“I didn't know how to...” she murmured.

You feel warm tears wet your eyes as you walk confident steps toward the woman you care so much for – you leave the carrier on the floor – your arms are wide open, embracing her as you bury your face in the crook of her neck; some seconds pass by before her own hands go up to your back and grab your clothes — she's crying on your shoulder and she's soaking it, but you don't care because you're also damping her dress. What felt like an eternity as you were hugging went by too fast, you gradually drift away from each other's embrace, slowly picking up the bag and snuffling, you know you can't stay there; if there's any chance of Donna surviving this, it depends on you.

You hug Angie one last time, the other dolls gather around you and their little arms do their best trying to hold you too, how you loved Donna's marvelous inventions. They all follow you to the back door – where you would try not to cross paths with Ethan – You grab the bag tight, you're leaving.

“I will come back.” You smile as a reassurance, hesitantly going through the door and closing it, you breathe in sharply – can't stop now.

Donna watches you say your last words to her and smiles morosely, waving at the closed-door – “Please don't...”

You were almost crossing the bridge to leave Beneviento's state, everything was going fine, the man didn't seem to show up... Maybe Donna was just mistaken and everything is alright.

— But like a shot, Angie's maniac laughter gets to your ears and smashes any kind of hope you had of Ethan ignoring their house. You hold yourself, Angie's threats can be heard from here; you know Donna won't be able to hold him for much longer, you must be faster.

xxxx

“Lady Dimitrescu!”

You're here. You're finally here. But what the hell happened here?

The chilly air makes your lips tremble a bit, your arms instantly hugging yourself; walking here was no easy task, but that's none of your concern anymore. You go through one of the castle's demolished walls, you look up, there's a hole in the roof and the levels above, just beneath it there's a... carcass of God knows what, although it looks like a rotting dragon. — Oh God, did it kill Lady Dimitrescu?.. Or perhaps she killed it?

You keep marching carefully yet hurriedly; you find the doors open and the handles smeared with blood, feeling apprehensiveness tightening your chest, you make your way inside of the castle. You look around and process the ambiance, the unexpected warm atmosphere of the house falls upon you like a blanket, but the comfortable feeling disappears the moment you see blood splashed all over the walls, corpses of lycans and monsters ripen in half and splayed on the floor... A crimson path marks its way through the rooms, and maybe you should follow it.

“Lady Dimitrescu?”

As you follow the sanguine liquid trail, you spot a huge stiff figure laying on the floor, covered in wounds and painted scarlet red. You rush to help her, not even certain if she was still alive.

“My lady!”

She grunts, a surprisingly low growl leaves her lips as she sits up, holding onto a cloth around her body for dear life, you walk closer to her slowly and steadily, but her cry of pain as she holds a wound on her side makes you run to her – how it pains you to see someone like this. Yet, you take quick steps back and almost freeze in place when she unleashes her terrorizing long and sharp claws, why is she doing this? You're trying to help, and she needs it.

You bring your hand to your chest, not because you're afraid, but because you feel your heart beating so fast it might explode. – “Please, Lady Dimitrescu, let me help!”

“Out.”

Her voice was like a rumble of thunder and it reverberated through your whole body, giving you goosebumps; for a moment, all you could do was obey and step away, your gaze still fixated on her, but something clicked in your mind — you made a promise.

You can see a clear change in the woman's expression as you stand your ground.

“Leave. I will not repeat myself.”

You can't go, even though you truly want to, you want to go back to your Misses, you want to run away from this woman who might behead you any instant, you want to leave; all this flashes in your mind as you look at the big main doors. You grab the clothes on your chest with an absurd strength, come on, you need to be brave now. You sigh, Donna has no idea of the impact she has on your life.

“Allow me to help.” You try to sound certain, but the thought of Donna and Angie invades your mind and brings you to the verge of tears again.

Feet taking more steps closer to the Lady, you can't look at her, not like this, almost crying, that'd be pathetic.

Although it seemed impossible, her nails grew longer and her eyes were intensely trying to burn holes in your head, she is indeed terrifying, but you must not fear her now, you trust Donna, she said Alcina would help. You move your arms to the front of your body as a peace sign, you don't want to cause any harm. Still, she shows her teeth and looks at you with a feral cast, like a beast ready to devour its prey. You gulp, just a few more steps and—

An unhesitating metal swing sound cuts through the air; you scream, you shout at the top of your lungs as you feel her cold claws rip your face and throw you away with much force. Hot blood squirts and spills from your face and chest — you can't make a noise anymore, your lips are parted, mouth open, searching for the air you suddenly don't have anymore, your hands go to your face, trying to figure out either to press your wounds or hide it from the woman. You spend some more moments in anguish, trying to find your voice, but not even a whisper would make its way out; you were struggling to open your left eye, it hurts so much, everything hurts, burns, aches — pain washes over you and adrenaline runs fast in your veins. A raspy and agonizing scream builds up in your chest and leaves your throat way louder than you expected, getting the Lady's attention. Good.

Stupid loyalty, foolish attachment, cursed be all the fondness in your heart that is making you do this. You need to do this, don't forget why you're here. Your shaky hands reach for your bag, pulling out a flask of treatment disinfectant, you assemble your last strengths to crawl your way to her and kneel up, stretching the hand with the flask out; you can't stay like this for long, your body is giving up on you – the moment she takes the medicine, you collapse right in front of her, not even caring about being safe or not.

xxxx

It's dark. Cold. Unbelievably silent. You’re alone now, only you and the abandoned hopes that still wander above your head, both yours and hers — speaking of her, where is Lady Dimitrescu? You need her help. but as it seems, you must aid her first — You breathe stiffly and out of tempo, your clothes and hair are drenched, and your face has a bit of crust on it, probably dry blood.

Elbows up first, then shoulders, push your back up and now you’re on your hands and knees, still facing the floor; it all still hurts, your body aches from being so brutally tossed at the floor. You can’t move nor feel your face — not much of a good sign — Your left eye is locked shut, God knows what will happen if you try to open it. Your vision is blurry and dark, as if it’s dirty, which makes sense if you consider all the blood in your face; you cannot see well and… Perhaps, your left eye might go blind... — let’s pray it doesn’t turn that way.

From a pool of blood underneath you, there's your reflected image, you make some effort to see the damage that woman did to you: three big claw marks cuts through your face, one striked your lips, cutting up at a point you can see part of your gum, the other is right in the center, it striked the bridge of your nose and your left eye, and the last one got the side of your forehead and a bit of your hairline. Well… Let’s focus on the not so bad things for now.— At least your body and hair are fairly fine.

A small drop that hits the pool’s liquid and creates small scarlet waves makes you notice you have been crying during this whole process, tears washing over your wounds and making them sting, only to find their way into the crimson beneath you. You take your time at this position, everything is so quiet, so peaceful, the wind and the birds chirping try to fill in the devastating mourning and obscure silence of the castle — they don’t succeed.

… Now, thinking about it, you don’t want to keep facing your — shattered and ruined — reflection, so you heavily exchange your weight to your legs, sitting on your knees.

Air escapes your lungs for a millisecond as your gaze meets the lady of the house — was she watching you the entire time? How did you not notice her? Heard her? — She’s standing away from you, almost hiding in the shadows; at some point of your unconsciousness, she must have gone to her chambers since she got rid of those bloody sheets that wrapped her and is now wearing a proper robe that cascades to the floor.

Neither of you dares to break eye contact — an unspoken dialogue — Alcina has a dreadful look on her eyes as if she’ll murder you right this instant; now that you realize, she’s clean, although her hand still presses the injury on her side, it must be a severe one, as she looks healed from all the others. You decide to stand on your feet, your shaky legs not collaborating; your body is still limp, your joints hurt and there’s this constant pain in your lungs as you breathe, however, you keep your gaze locked with hers. The moment you opened your mouth to speak, she abruptly interrupted you.

“I shall give you one chance. Who are you and what are you doing at my house?”

Her words were like a knife and her tone was a flame burning you alive, her frowned eyebrows and threatening eyes sent shivers down your body — that or the excruciating wintry breeze that kisses your injuries — you are petrified in place. You gulp, your mouth opens and closes multiple times, but nothing comes out, nothing but only a whisper: “Donna...”

Her eyes squint and her lips form a pout, she walks closer to you, bending her torso so she meets your face.

“You know Donna Beneviento?” — You nod twice.

A hum leaves her throat but she doesn’t look any less suspicious of you, she grabs the sides of your face, carefully enough to not open your wounds any further, and brings you closer to her by lifting you at a point your feet barely touch the floor — how little effort it took an injured woman to do this, well, not any woman, she’s Lady Dimitrescu. Who is about to behead you if you don’t decide to speak — Yet, she stops and stares deep into your soul, a command: proceed.

“I-I was sent by Lady Beneviento” You stutter so much you need to take a deep breath before continuing. “She needs help, Ethan is—”

“Ethan?”

“Yes, Ethan Winters, he found them and n—” She suddenly drops you, the thud of your body hitting the ground makes you gasp for a second, you couldn't even hold yourself up. She stands straighter now, her expression is cold and serious as she looks forward — what is she wondering about? Will she help you? She takes her time staring at the horizon, time enough for you to slowly pick yourself up, limps slightly trembling.

A heavy and low sigh fills the air as she closes her eyes, arms hanging on her sides, as her golden gaze meets you again, you almost frown your eyebrows seeing how unexpectedly her expression changed. She was so revengeful and ferocious a few moments ago, now she looks… fatigued — shattered, if you will — . The woman unhurriedly walks out of the room, leaving you without a proper response. Will she help? Will she not? Good lord, all this tension even made you forget the pain you find yourself in. Perhaps the medicines you brought will do better for yourself than for her. You bury your hand inside of your bag and pull out some pills and flasks for your injuries, following Alcina right away, clumsily sprinting to match her quick pace.

“Lady Dimitrescu! Wait, please!”

——————

heeyyaa I actually posted chapter 2!! yk the drill, if you read it till here, thank you and I love you!! please like and/or reblog if you want me to post the next chapter!!