A Thief's Tale [lady dimitrescu x fem!reader] [COMPLETE]

Chapter 34

"It's okay, dove, I'm here now and I don't ever plan on leaving you alone again."

You rubbed circles on her cheek until she fell asleep, a faint smile taking over your face as her face relaxed. Her soft breathing eased your anxiety and the door to her room opened as quietly as possible, earning your attention and a smile when you noticed the girls trying to get a peek in. Their eyes lit up when they saw you, but you knew they were containing their excitement so they didn't wake their mother — judging by how they walked toward you instead of swarming over.

Once they were close enough, you carefully shifted in their mother's hold to let them all kiss your cheek one by one. You offered them a larger smile before deciding to speak softly to them — figuring waking your lady wasn't a good idea right now.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long," You started and placed your hand on Daniela's cheek. "You three should be there for Isa right now, however, they—."

"After they told us and we calmed down, they passed out," Daniela interrupted, concern in her voice. "We think it's from emotional exhaustion, but we tucked them into bed."

"We wanted to stop by and see you before we went to the kitchen and made them some food," Cassandra explained as she fidgeted with her gloves. "And to make sure mother had stopped drinking..."

"She started drinking a lot when we realized it wasn't just a long sleep..." Bela sighed as her concerned eyes were on their mother. "Now that you're back, hopefully, she'll drink less again and we won't go through so many bottles of wine."

"Bottles?!" You whisper-yelled in shock. "How many a day?!"

"Depends on if she had passed your room or not that day," Bela explained and watched her mother's grip on you tighten. "It could be anywhere between one bottle to thirty bottles a day. We went through a lot of maidens because of it too."

"Thirty... That's like, two bottles every hour..."

"When it first started, she drank forty-five bottles in one day... Mother Miranda had to scold her for it — she understood why mother was drinking so much, but she knew we couldn't survive if she drank that much every day. It's concerning, but it's not as bad as it could be..."

"I'll talk with her when she wakes up," You promised and moved your hand to Bela's cheek. "I promise you three, your mother will never drink like that — or how she's been drinking — ever again."

The three nodded before taking turns placing a kiss on your cheek, muttering that they were going to make food for Isa before leaving. Once they were gone, you turned back in lady Dimitrescu's hold and began tracing random patterns on the side of her neck — earning a small smile from her sleeping form. You let out a soft giggle at her reaction before continuing, humming a tune you had heard her play before.

Time went by faster than you expected, and her eyes eventually fluttered open. Once they landed on you, confusion and hope flooded them until you smiled at her — those emotions quickly switching to happiness and relief. You let her sit up and move you to her lap, noticing the tears that threatened to fall as she held you as close to her body as possible. It hadn't processed just how much she missed you, but now that it had, it made you question if her feelings for you had changed — not that you'd be the one to initiate that conversation.

"I thought it was another dream," She stated — her voice hoarse from holding back tears. "I was prepared to wake up and find you not in my arms again... To head back to your room and see you lying there motionless again..."