Phantom of House Beneviento (Donna X Fem Reader)

Chapter 19: One Last Time

You couldn't move faster out of the castle, Alcina offered a carriage to take you to the edge of Donna's property but you vetoed it. The news from Mother Miranda ignited a fire inside you and gave you a surge of adrenaline that you used to propel yourself from the castle grounds. People in the village scurried to move out of your way, some of them recognizing you and giving you glances of worry but you paid them no mind. In the distance you saw the altar, which meant you were so close to the gate but life wasn't kind to you for long. The gate opened as you approached, making you skid to halt and panic set it for a brief moment. Panic turned to contempt when you recognized the pasty, scrawny, pathetic excuse for a human come into view.

"Salvatore." You nearly spat.

Mother Miranda warned you, maybe you could beg on your knees for forgiveness, but what could she really do? Throw you out of the village to be exposed to the elements? You would live as a hermit with Donna, because you knew she would rescue you. She always recused you. Before he could speak you approached him, fist clenched, you wanted nothing more than to put him in the dirt where he belonged. You swung your first toward his head, it would have hit him in the nose but he dodged at the last moment, before you could rewind he grabbed your hand with his own. He smirked at you, flashing his yellowing teeth as he tightened his grip enough to make you flinch.

"Nice try sweetie, but I've done this-"

He was cut off by another fist flying through the air and hitting him square in the jaw, the impact enough to send him stumbling to the ground. He sat up rubbing the spot, groaning loudly as the few villagers around gasped and made 'ooh' sounds. You looked over to see Cassandra shaking her hand then bringing it up to her lips to kiss her knuckles.

"Wow, that felt good." She giggled.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in trouble with your mother."

"I am but Mother thought you might run into a certain pest and didn't want you to make any rash decisions."

"And this was the solution?" You motioned toward Salvatore.

"She didn't say I couldn't do anything." She said dramatically while emphasizing the 'I'.

Salvatore spat near your feet and growled, "you'll regret this! Wait until Mother Miranda hears about this."

"You know, I think you deserve another punch because obviously you can still speak." Cassandra threatened.

She turned toward Salvatore, from where you stood it was kind of humorous to see how Cassandra towered over him. She had a good six or seven inches on him easily, and judging from how hard the hit sounded, outmatched him in strength. She looked over her shoulder at you and winked as you smiled in return and went through the gate. On your way to the manor you paused at the sound of other footsteps, you were near Claudia's grave which didn't give you many options as far as hiding. You took a dive into the brush behind a tree, squatting down and peeking through the bushes to see Mother Miranda come into view through the fog.

She paused in front of Claudia's grave, kneeling down in front of the name plate as she ran a hand over it to brush away some fallen leaves. You couldn't hear what she said but could see her mouth moving, probably saying a prayer. Mother Miranda stood up from the grave and turned around to leave the way you came, once you were certain that she was out of range you darted for the path to the manor.

The manor stood in all of its doom and gloom, shrouded in mist from the waterfall but to you it was beautiful. You were finally home again. You slowed down and worked on catching your breath rather than controlling your descending thoughts. You guessed that the manor would be called your home now, obviously you weren't returning back to the states or leaving in general. Did you really want to leave? It seemed like that would be the best course, if you left all of this behind you could start fresh.