Bela's eyes snapped open as she felt her breaths turn ragged.
She saw that she was laying on the ground. Her breaths were turning shaky as she just noticed that it was cold.
Her arms and legs were shaking as she tried standing up.
Once she stood up she couldnt bring her eyes up with her.
Her eyes were glued to the ground. She glanced beside her and saw a river that seemed iced.
Her breath was shaky as she tried walking.
But after a few steps her legs couldn't take it anymore and she fell to her knees again.
It was so cold. She felt her whole being shake solely because of the cold.
But when she tried to stand up again, she heard giggling.
Familiar giggling.
Bela looked in front of her and she saw the silhouette of Eveline, standing straight, meters away from her.
"E...Evlin...e..!?" it was so cold she couldn't even say her name right.
The child only giggled.
"Ev... What are... You... d-doing... here...?" Bela stuttered as she felt her knees grow weaker.
"You're dead, silly!" Eveline said almost gleefully as she laughed again, childish to the core.
Bela's shaky breathing quickened, "H-huh...? Of course... I'm dead, Miranda... She–"
"Wrong!" she giggled, "It wasn't Miranda that killed you! You've always been dead."
Bela stiffened, both from the cold and the atmosphere.
"W-what...?"
The child only laughed at her pitiful state. It was freezing so she started growing paler than she already was.
Bela gritted her teeth as she braced herself.
"Remember, three years ago, back in the Baker House?"
Bela listened, "Jack murdered you. Remember? When he threw you across the room the first time you entered..."
She froze. Bela froze, and it wasn't just her body that did.
Her eyes widened at the realization.
"S-so that means–"
"Exactly! You've been dead this whole time. You may have died years before, but your true flies and your true being died when Jack murdered you in the Baker house." the child explained.
Bela looked at her hands as she saw her breath turn cold in the air.
"T-then that m-means that my f-flies..."
Eveline laughed. "Have you ever even wondered why you kept on waking up? Why you could just reattach your limbs without any professional help? Why you just wouldn't die?"
Bela came to a realization. When she tried looking back up she paused half-way as she saw Eveline's overgrown boots right in front of her.
She looked back down as her hands suddenly started to turn black.
"You're nothing but mold."
Her breathing turned uneven but she grabbed the cold, moist ground and grabbed it hard.
She growled through gritted teeth, "...No, no. I still... Have to save... Mia... And my... Family."
She looked up at Eveline's silhouette, now back to where she was at first.
"I won't... Give up...!" she said as she tried to stand up.
She succeeds as she stands up straight for the first time after awhile.
She bares her teeth at the child as she clenched her hands.
"I won't... Ever... Give up! I'll save Mia, Rosemary, and Ethan... I'll beat Miranda. Just you watch!" she shouted determinedly as she felt herself slowly lose consciousness again. Her eyes were forcing themselves close as the cold made them water.
The silhouette didn't say anything about her outburst.
Instead, it only laughed.
"Go ahead then. Let's see if you'll win this time!"
The child said lastly as Bela fully lost her consciousness.
She fell backwards as she drifted back to sleep.
-----
Once Bela came to, her body ached everywhere.
She doesn't even know if she's dead yet or not. But she hopes it's the second.
She hears voices, familiar voices, but she has yet to open her eyes.
She breathed in the air in where she was and it smelled like smoke.
She opened her eyes slowly, and she felt as if she had just woken up from a bad dream.
Her heart was beating rapid–her heart was beating?
But didn't Miranda take it from her?
She noticed it was cold.
But she does not crack yet.
She shakes her head slowly as she tried to comprehend where she was and why the voices were familiar.
"...And the moronic freak. Don't you get it? Ethan, you're being–"
"Lord Heisenberg?" Bela croaked as she sat up, slowly.
The bearded man seemed irritated by the disruption but his irritation faded when he saw Bela.
Ethan, sitting just in front of a hatch, also turned his head towards her.
"Blondie? Good god you're awake. And here I was thinking I lost a soldier." Karl said as he approached her.
Once she sat up she eyed the room first. It was a room she hasn't seen before.
But what caught her eye the most were the pictures on the wall, with metal blades pierced on each of them except a large picture.
Ethan frowned as he watched Karl reach his hand out for Bela to grab on.
Bela saw the hand and grabbed it, then standing up.
She stumbled for a while before straightening up.
She glanced around the room.
"Welcome to my abode, niece. I'm glad you lived." Karl continued as he controlled the metal on the pictures to retract. He brought the metals down somewhere on the floor once he took all of them out.
"Bela! Do you know this man!?" Ethan asked as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on.
Bela nodded.
Ethan was about to say something but he stayed silent.
"...I'm glad you're alright." he instead said as he changed the chair's position, far from the hatch, and sat back down.
She saw Karl eye him down before his attention returned back to Bela.
Bela was touching the middle of her chest, checking for any signs of the hole. But there was nothing.
It was just like she wasn't even scratched other than the obvious blood on the dress shirt and the sides of her coat.
Karl walked back to Ethan and returned to talking.
"...anyway, Ethan, all I want is for you to help me grind Miranda into paste!" he said as he made the metal around the room float.
Bela saw Ethan looking down, thinking about it, before sighing.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blade, wrapped gently in a white cloth.
Bela went in front of Ethan and grabbed the blade from Ethan's hands.
As she examined it, Karl watched.
She took the white cloth off and it revealed the Dimitrescu dagger.
Bela turned to look at Ethan, "How did you find this?"
Ethan shrugged as he stood up.
"I found it accidentally in the castle while I was walking out." he answered as Bela nodded, acknowledging his explanation.
"So, this is the rumored dagger. But does it really have all kinds of poison ingrained on its tip?" Karl asked as he approached the duo.
Bela nodded, but at the same time she was also unsure.
"I don't know. I'll take my chances." She said as she held the blade up and shined it to the light. She closed one eye and watched it shine.
She put it back in the cloth and put it inside her coat.
Karl cleared his throat, "So, will you help me?" he said as he held out his hand for a shake.
Ethan paused for a moment before nodding, also taking his hand and shaking it thoroughly.
The three of them then heard revving.
"...It's sturm again. Nevermind him." Karl said as he gathered the floating metals into one big pile floating just behind him.
He looked back at Bela and Ethan. "You both'll help me, right? Then follow me." he said as they followed him down the hatch.
Ethan and Karl had to slide down while Bela only swarmed her way.
Soon enough, they reached the ground and the revving was now closer. Bela thought it reminded her of the chainsaw but she pushed that thought away.
Karl turned to them one more time before walking to the direction of the revving.
"Let's prepare the army."