RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE - The House of Dimitrescu

Chapter 16 - Sibling Drama

Bela was more civilized, and seemed determined to keep cordial relations with Y/N under any circumstances. However, she made no move to deter Cassandra, and had recently taken to following him around the castle, almost as if she didn't trust him to be alone near her sisters without her supervision. She almost never spoke, and the unnerving silence between them, coupled with the almost unblinking watchfulness was extremely unsettling.

However through these days Daniela was Y/N's light and life. Always full of energy, playfulness and optimism, she had come to be extremely possessive of her time with Y/N, which now was almost always. She was cheerful and whimsical, but at times rather emotional, but for the most part, Y/N didn't mind. It was nice having someone to pass the time with, and in addition, whenever they heard Cassandra buzzing nearby, Daniela had taken to whisking him away to hide from her sister, in a bizarre game of hide and seek similar to the first few days Y/N had spent in their castle.

Although, this protection and company did not come for free. Y/N was extremely conscious that, in spending as much time as he was playing with Daniela, he was neglecting the repairs to the cabin on the hill, but it seemed that Daniela was utterly unwilling to release him for any reason except sleep, and the handful of hours that Y/N had managed to sneak away he normally used to shower, shave, and complete a small number of other tasks.

All in all, things weren't so bad. Indeed, by the third day since the Countess had left, Cassandra had all but given up her tormenting of Y/N completely, and Bela's attentiveness and suspicion seemed to have faded somewhat, though Daniela's energy seemed inexhaustible.

Y/N and Daniela often perused the library together often, discussing books, plots and authors at length. She would read him poetry, asked mountains of questions about his travels and the outside, modern world, and seemed almost completely unawares of what Y/N would call "modern society." Electronics were but basic ideas in her mind, and politics, society and religion all but irrelevant to her. 'Why should I mind?' she would often say, 'it's nothing to do with me.'

As they grew closer as friends, Y/N was almost pained to discover how cloistered she had been. Her life, aside from her hobbies of books and music, was dedicated entirely to the service of her mother, the procurement and consumption of humans, and the wine-making business of House Dimitrescu.

In return, Daniela seemed completely enamored by Y/N and anything he did. His skills with tools were all "frightfully interesting," and his knowledge of all things weird and wonderful like a new library for her to examine.

It was because of this that Daniela first showed him the contraption. Several small, brass cogs and thin metal shapes, held together in an unruly pile of glittering shapes in Daniela's hands as she slowly crossed her room towards Y/N, who stood waiting at the door.

'What do you have there?' Y/N asked interestedly, and Daniela glanced up at him with a shy smile.

'May you have a look at it?' She asked nervously, holding out her hands to him. Y/N held out his hands to receive the fragments, and Daniela tipped them into his palms with a gentle tinkle of metal.

'I found it in a box inside one of the library books.' She told him, watching carefully as Y/N poked through the cogs with one finger. 'The box has a number two on. I still have it if you need it?'

'What is it?' Y/N asked. 'Some sort of mechanism?'

'I don't know.' Daniela laughed slightly. 'But ever since I found it I've always wanted to know what it did. If it was hidden away in a box like that, it has to be important, right?'

'Well... given the other things I've found in this house... it does sound right up your family's street.' Y/N muttered, still peering curiously at the cogs. 'Especially if it was numbered. What do you want me to do with it?'