In the castle, it was a very tranquil morning. Alcina, Bela, and Cassandra had already taken their seats in the dining room, waiting for their meal. Daniela was not to be located at the time, and Alcina has a suspicion about her whereabouts.
"Girls, where's your sister?" She asked, as she lays the napkin across her lap
"She's in the cellar or basement, she told me that she would go either those two places." Bela responded.
"She haven't found that servant?" Cassandra inquired, her lips pursed.
Bela shook her head and faced Alcina. "Mother?"
"What is it darling?"
"You didn't touched her did you?" Bela squeezed her lips together, waiting for Alcina to respond.
A loud scream drew their attention and silenced them before Alcina could even respond to Bela.
"What was that?" Cassandra got out of her chair.
Another scream was heard, startling the three of them because they recognize the owner of the scream.
Bela rose from her seat as well, saying, "That sounded like Daniela."
Alcina's lips formed a smile as she covered her mouth with her hands. Her plan is working out perfectly, and she couldn't be happier.
"We should check her. It's possible that something horrible has happened." Cassandra spoke up, her voice anxious.
Bela and Cassandra both vanished. Alcina was left alone in the room, finally exhibiting her previously hidden smile.
"I'm already kicking myself for doing this," she said to herself, her brow furrowed. "However, how can she learn her lesson?" she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Alcina rose from her seat and walked out of the dining room. She knows where the three girls are: they're in the blood-draining cellar. She entered the cellar, and she was correct; the girls were all there, all with astonished expressions as they spoke of the body hanging from the large hook.
"What gives you all such a startled expression?" She inquired, drawing the girls' attention to her.
Cassandra's face appeared pallid, as if she had lost all color. Daniela's face was unreadable among the three; she had no expression and just stared at the lifeless body hanging from the hook. Bela was wide-eyed as she clutched her stomach.
Bela, who was attempting to vomit, muttered, "Mother." She swallowed and turned her gaze away from the body dangling from the hook. "Is it that who I think it is?"
Alcina wore a smile on her face as she crossed her arms. The body on the hook had been severely tortured and had been dressed in Clementine's uniform. Of course, the girls believe the body belongs to Clementine, but this is not the case. The body belongs to an old servant who attempted to poison her multiple times, which she tormented as part of her plan.
"Mother?" Bela called again her hand not leaving her stomach.
"I think you already know the answer."
Cassandra was shaking as she turned to Alcina. "B-but w-why?"
"What exactly do you mean by why?" Alcina cocked her head. "Darling, as your mother, I did what I had to do. She harmed you, so I retaliated."
"This is too much," Bela said as she returned her gaze to the tortured body. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave," she said, clutching her stomach and straining to puke once more.
Alcina turned to face Daniela, who stood motionless, staring at the body.
Daniela slowly turned to face her. Her expression remained austere and impenetrable, as it had been previously.
"Are you all right, darling?" Alcina enquired.
Daniela exhaled deeply. "I'm hungry," she said as she walked out of the room.
Cassandra was taken aback by her sister's response. After seeing the body, she expected her to yell at her or strangle her, but she received no response.
"You don't appear to be in a good mood, Cassandra." Alcina gave her a sidelong glance. "Aren't you relieved that she has passed away? Isn't it true that you despised her?"
Cassandra returned her gaze to the body. Her brow furrows as she looks at it; the body had been tortured to the point where even the three of them couldn't do it, even if they assisted one another. She knows her mother was furious when she did this, and she feels... guilty?
"I..." A sigh escaped her lips and she stormed away from the room.
Alcina smiled to her daughters' reactions, she wasn't expecting this but it did give her good feedback. Finally, her strategy is working. She cocked her head to look at the dangling body.
She grinned as she said, "Donna did a fantastic job torturing every part of you."
She attempted to exit the room but came to a halt when she noticed Ingrid nearby with bloodied hands. She appeared to be performing her job, mixing the wine and blood, but she abruptly stopped when she saw the body.
"M-my lady," Ingrid greeted her bowing her head.
"After you're done mixing you can take a break." Alcina said before finally leaving the room.
After Alcina left the room, Ingrid collapsed to her knees. A tear welled up in her eye as she returned her gaze to the body.
"Clementine." She muttered.
-
Clementine was staring at the mannequin wearing Alcina's suit that she had sewn. She was staring at it with her chin clenched and her forehead furrowed, wondering what was missing that was already on the tip of her tongue that she can't quite say.
"Come on," she said snapping her fingers.
Her gaze wandered across the room, eventually settling on Alcina's cabinet, which was brimming with different styles of hats.
"That's it!" She grinned. "Of course it's missing a hat!"
She took the materials she'd need to make a white hat to go with the costume. Alcina already owns a hat collection, but who cares? She's stubborn to make it no matter what her reaction is. She sat down at the sewing machine and worked on the enormous white hat for about two hours. Once she was done with the hat she instantly stood up and placed it on the mannequin.
"Perfect!" She clapped her hands.
She draped a white cloth over the mannequin so Alcina wouldn't notice because she wanted to surprise her. After cleaning and putting away the materials she had used, she went back to the living room to find a movie to watch. While looking for a movie, she came across a CD in the back of the shelf that she took and inspected. She dusted the dust off the CD's cover so she could see what it was.
"Miss D and the Pallboys?" she raised an eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at the cover for a long time before realizing who it was.
"Holy shit!" She gasped and covered her mouth. "Lady Dimitrescu used to be a singer?!" She loudly said. "I need to play this!" She said and went to the DVD player.
She withdrew the disc with care and inserted it into the player. The television screen was black and white, and Alcina appeared in the center, dressed in an off-shoulder gown with gloves and a large hat on her head, with four men behind her, each carrying a saxophone, guitar, piano, and cello. She stares at the television, anticipating Alcina's performance. Clementine frowned as the people on the television began to move and Alcina began to sing, but no sound could be heard.
"What?! No!" She groaned and pouted at the same time. "This is the worst!" She sighed and rolled her eyes.
She turned off the TV and placed the disc back to the shelves. She felt disappointed that she couldn't hear what Alcina's voice sounds like. She buried her head into the sofa's pillow and yelled her frustration out.
-
Cassandra was outside Daniela's room patiently waiting for her to go outside. She's been waiting for her to go out for about an hour, hoping to chat to her about what occurred earlier. Daniela was silent throughout the day; throughout both breakfast and lunch, she simply ate and departed the room, without saying anything else. Cassandra had met her earlier in the corridor and had braced herself for the worst, such as strangling her or hissing at her for Clementine's death, but she got nothing; Daniela simply shrugged her off and went about her business.
When she saw the body on the hook, she had to admit that she was taken aback. Since the village's rehabilitation began, their mother has warned them not to torture or murder any more of their workers unless they do something heinous. That was their new rule, which her two sisters accepted with the exception of her, who had always enjoyed torturing maids, particularly those in the cellar whose blood was being drained for the wine. Clementine was no different, but her closeness to Daniela let her remember everything bad about their past maids, which made her loathe the woman even more
She let out a sigh as she remembered the body from earlier. Her attention was drawn to the sound of a door opening. Since Cassandra was standing in front of the door, Daniela finally exited her room with a stunned expression on her face.
"What are you doing here?" Daniela asked in a monotone voice.
"I-I was waiting for you," she said, her voice trembling.
Daniela leaned on the doorway and crossed her arms looking directly at Cassandra's eyes.
"What do you want?"
Cassandra pressed her lips together. "About Clementine—"
Daniela raised a finger preventing Cassandra to utter another word.
"What? Do you feel guilty for what happened? Don't be, because we all know that's what you really wanted," she sarcastically smiled. "Nothing will change even if you tell mother the truth, she's dead and she's not coming back. I hope your happy that someone innocent died."
Cassandra made a sneering remark. "This was not what I expected! I assumed that mother would simply take her blood and let her live, like she is doing now with the other servants; I had no idea that she would torment her."
Daniela screamed angrily. "Of course you have no idea! Do you believe Mother will be merciful if one of us is involved, Cassandra? No! No matter how much I beg her to let Clementine live, she refuses because Clementine attacked you on purpose in her mind!" She sighed in exasperation. "Isn't it ironic? People constantly regret and feel guilty about the things they do once they're done," Daniela's eye welled up with tears.
The two of them fell silent as Daniela stirred her words. Cassandra was trying to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind, and all she could do was stare at Daniela, who was now crying.
"I know we had a traumatic and horrible experiences with our former servants, and I also know that you suffered the most among the three of us," she wiped her tears away and turned to face Cassandra. "I hate to break it to you, but it's time to let go. You can't always fall back and trap yourself in the past thinking that everyone is the same and they'll just utilize you at some point. Everything changes and nothing stays the same, so let go because it will help you heal and move on," Daniela turned away from her and went away, leaving her alone.
Cassandra noticed her cheeks were wet and touched them realizing that she was crying. She was finally crying after a long time of hiding the pain to herself. She ought to herself to never cry again because crying is for the weak but here she is, crying.
"Stupid tears!" She said, aggressively wiping the tears on her cheeks.
She dragged her feet towards the art room, where she assumed Bela was at the moment. She needed to talk to someone after that conversation with Daniela, either to console her or to slap her in the face with the truth she had never been ready to hear. She gently knocked on the door when she arrived at the room and just like she expected, Bela was there, her hands already filled with paint as she stood in front of a canvas. Bela turned her head to the doorway and saw Cassandra entering the room.
"What brings you here? Have you and Daniela talked already?" Her gaze is riveted on the artwork in front of her as she inquires.
"Yes, before I came here, we had a talk."
Bela's eyes squinted as she looked at Cassandra. "Did you cry?"
Cassandra sighed and told Bela all about the conversation that she and Daniela had.
"Well... Daniela has a fair argument if you'll ask me," she says, as she dabs green paint on the canvas. "I mean, mother made sure the three of us went to therapy and that we were all told to move on at some point," she says.
"Do you really think that i'm locking myself in the past?"
Bela nodded slowly. "Cassandra, it's been a couple of years. You're the only one who keeps isolating yourself," she caressed Cassandra's hair. "I was also hesitant to move on, but I reminded myself that I would have to let go soon in order to begin a new life. I understand how difficult it is to find someone trustworthy, and those servants were part of a life lesson in which we should select whom we should trust or not."
Cassandra took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Do you have any idea where mother is?"
"Why?" Bela raised an eyebrow. "I believe she's in the study; she's generally there now that our wine business is doing so well."
"I'm thinking of talking to her," she shook her head. "Scratch that, i'm talking to her!"
"Okay then. I wish you goodluck, mother is in a bad mood earlier."
Cassandra ignored Bela's words and walked out of the room, heading for Alcina's study. She had finally arrived at the room and was contemplating whether to knock or not.
"I'm just going to talk to her, why am I nervous," she fanned her hands.
She took a deep breath and stepped a toe towards the door. She raised her hands attempting to knock but she stopped herself when she felt her racing heartbeat.
"I can do this. I can do this," she said boosting her own confidence.
She was about to knock on the door when it unexpectedly opened, exposing Alcina, who was wearing her spectacles and raising an eyebrow.
"Mother!" When Cassandra saw her mother's face, she jerked.
"I can hear you inside disputing with yourself," Alcina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please come in."
Cassandra entered the room and sat on the couch next to Alcina's desk. Alcina took a seat in her chair and turned to face Cassandra.
"What brings you here?" She inquired as she took off her glasses.
Cassandra fidgeted with her fingers and inhaled deeply before confronting her mother.
"I... I'm curious about the body?" She said in a questionable tone.
"What do you mean you're curious?" Alcina couldn't help but to smile.
"What are you going to do with the body?" She bit her lip.
Alcina tapped her chin with her index finger. "It should be disposed of. Why? Do you want to do something with it?"
Cassandra's shoulder sagged and a sigh escaped her lips. "Can we give her a proper burial?"
Alcina was taken aback by Cassandra's suggestion, she wasn't expecting this at all.
"And why is that? I thought you hated her and have you forgotten? She purposely threw water on you."
"T-that's n-not w-what really happened," she murmured softly.
"What was that darling?" Alcina flashed an amused smile on her lips.
This is what she was really waiting for and it's now happening.
"Clementine didn't threw water on me, none of that happened at all," she swallowed.
"Explain to me what really happened."
"I strangled her. Those red marks on her neck were done by me for no reason," she played with her fingers. "I was just infuriated every time I would see her because she reminded me so much of Sam. Her smile, the way she treats Daniela, it's bringing all those memories back, and I had this thought on my head that she was a threat. I did that to her," she sighed.
Alcina nodded her head in response.
"I know that my words will not bring her back to life, but I feel completely responsible for everything. I just wished I had treated her better or at the very least given her the opportunity to prove herself," she pursed her lips together. "I hope we can give her a proper burial; it's the least we can do, and if you agree, I'll prepare it myself."
Alcina grinned and wished she could clap right now. Who knew Cassandra had such a bright side?
"Have you talked to Daniela yet?" She asked.
Cassandra nodded in response.
"Don't worry about the burial, i'll handle it and i'm quite proud of you for speaking out. Just fix the feud between you and your sister and everything will be okay."
Cassandra cocked her head. "You say everything will be fine in such a strange way, like if you're assuring Clementine will come back to life."
Alcina shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."
Cassandra furrowed her brow. "Are you certain you'll be able to manage the burial?"
"Yes, now go apologize to your sister."
Cassandra got out of her chair. "Don't worry, mother," she murmured as she walked out of the room, "I'll start to change for the better."
Alcina allowed a sigh of relief escape her lips when Cassandra finally left. Her plan worked out well just as she had hoped, and the added advantage is that Cassandra is eager to learn more about Clementine herself.
"I couldn't be any happier!" She exclaimed.
Her grin faded to a frown when she realized Clementine didn't need to be in her room any longer because her plan had already worked.
"Oh right, I guess I'll have to tell her about what I did," she remarked, her voice tinged with melancholy.
-
Clementine sat eagerly on the sofa, expecting Alcina to open the door at any minute. She'll finally show her what she's been working on for the past few days, and she's looking forward to seeing her reaction. She bit her nails as she looks at the clock. It was already eight thirty and Alcina will come inside any minute now.
"Act normal, Clementine or else she would noticed," she murmured to herself.
She heard the doorknob turn, so she got a book and pretended to read it, and Alcina entered the room just as she had predicted. Alcina looked over at Clementine who was seriously reading the book, a small frown formed on her lips again.
"Oh, Lady Dimitrescu. Sorry for not noticing you," she placed the book on the table and closed it.
Alcina only nodded and smiled at her as she walked over to the sofa and sat next her. The two of them looked at each other waiting for the proper time to say what they need to say.
"How was... your day?" Clementine asked.
"It was fine," Alcina answered. "How was yours?"
"It was also fine," she nodded her head.
Silence filled the room as the two of them were waiting for the right time to start a conversation once again.
"I have something to tell you." They both said in unison.
The two of them were wide eyed and shocked from hearing each others words.
"You go first." They both said again.
The two of them laughed.
"Okay, i'll just go first." Alcina said.
She looked at Clementine with a serious face making the woman feel nervous.
"You're not going to kill me right?" Clementine nervously joked.
Alcina shook her head. "You're finally free of this room."
"What?" Clementine stared at Alcina with a confused expression on her face.
"Listen closely because I'll explain," she said with a smile. "I called you in here to scold Cassandra and make her understand her mistakes, and it worked out exactly as I intended it, so you're free to leave later at midnight," she laughed. "I also feigned your death earlier, so if someone is afraid of seeing you, that's the reason."
"You faked my death? Is that why you wanted my uniform?"
Alcina smiled and nodded. "I already told you I wasn't going to return it. Apart from that, when I said punishment, I meant sucking your blood," Alcina gave a nasty grin. "I didn't like the fact that you were covering for Cassandra. Never cover for any of my girls because they must learn the difference between right and wrong."
Clementine smiled and nodded. "Wait a minute. How did you know Cassandra was the one who attacked me?"
"I overheard Ingrid and the other maids discussing it."
Clementine chuckled, "I must admit, I'm extremely impressed with how you discipline your girls; I'm in awe right now."
Alcina jokingly bowed her head. "Why thank you for the compliment."
The two of them laughed together and silenced subsided them again. Clementine pursed her lips and looked over at Alcina who was also looking at her.
"Since i'm leaving tonight..." She quietly muttered.
"What is it?"
"I have something to show you," she nervously said.
"So, what exactly are we waiting for? Then show me." Alcina exclaimed with glee.
Clementine got out of her chair and led Alcina into the dressing room. She urged Alcina to sit on the Cleopatra chair while she went to get the mannequin once they were inside the room.
She scratched the back of her head, "I hope you're not mad since I may have used your small sewing room over there."
Alcina shook her head. "It doesn't bother me at all."
Clementine took a worried breath and exhaled slowly. "All right, then."
She moved the covered mannequin close to Alcina's chair.
She said to herself, "Here goes nothing."
She finally revealed the woman suit she had been working on for days as she removed the cloth off the mannequin. Clementine's pulse raced as she saw Alcina, who was seated in the chair, with a grim expression on her face.
"W-well?" Clementine swallowed as she waited for Alcina's response.
Alcina grinned as she clasped her hands together. "I love it!" She was ecstatic.
"Really?" Clementine inquired, unsure if this was real.
"So this is what kept you occupied? It's lovely, Clementine, " her lips formed a pleasant smile. "This is the first time someone has done something like this for me."
The heat on Clementine's cheeks is palpable. "I'm glad you liked it but i'm not sure it fits since I took some of your clothes and measured them,"
Alcina drew Clementine into a close, warm embrace. Clementine was taken aback because she hadn't expected Alcina to hug her; she had expected a thank you, but this was better.
"Thank you, Clementine." Alcina softly said.
Clementine returned the woman's hug, trying to savor the time they were sharing.
"Anything for you, Lady Dimitrescu."
--
Sorry for the no update yesterday, I was sick and I had a fever which gave a headache causing me to sleep all day. But i'm better now (quite)
Happy reading, I guess? Lol.