"Whoever you are, you better leave this castle, before I rip you apart!" Bela Dimitrescu growled, waking from her slumber. Lilith was sitting in the arm chair, sipping her black coffee. She didn't turn around, as she heard Bela get off her bed.
"Do you hear me maiden?! Mother will have your head!!" she yelled. Getting no reaction, Bela started stalking Lilith, ducking low like a lioness hunting.
"Stop stalking me, Bela. I'm not a maid." Lilith took another sip, her eyes never leaving her book. She smiled when she heard Bela growl. Suddenly Bela tackled her to the ground, spilling her coffee. They landed on the floor with a thud, and Lilith started laughing hysterically. Bela looked at her, confused. In the distance, she could hear Lorraine giving orders to the new group of maidens she found.
"That was fun. Please get off me youngling, so I can explain. Look around you, Bela." Lilith laughed, pushing the oldest Dimitrescu daughter off of her. Bela stood up and looked around. Her eyes landed on her sister's bodies, completely grown from the crystal. She gasped, as the memories came flooding back. She broke down crying, upon seeing her mother's torso, still unchanged. Lilith looked at the crying woman, frowning deeply. She wasn't sure what to do.
"There, there, little vampire bug girl." Lilith awkwardly patted her head.
"Who are you, witch?" Bela frowned.
"Lilith is my name. Not witch, silly. I am the one who brought you back. Drink the blood wine. You were dead for about a week." Lilith smiled. Bela immediately grabbed the bottle, eagerly gulping down the entire bottle.
"Thank you, wit- Lilith." Bela said softly. She looked at Bela, tilting her head in confusion. She didn't understand emotions, having cut off that part of her almost 80 years ago. She watched silently as Bela walked to her mother's bed, softly running her hand over the crystal.
"Why hasn't she changed? Like Dani and Cass?"
"I'm unsure. Maybe she doesn't want to return?" Lilith answered her with a question of her own. That seemed to hurt the girl.
"She has to come back! We need her!"
"Are you still hungry? I can take you hunting." she said, annoyed by the girl's emotions.
"Yes, please. I'm starving."
Lilith took Bela through the woods, heading in the direction of the village. Bela was walking slowly, either not strong due to not feeding properly or, because of the cold. She wasn't sure. Suddenly an arrow pierced Bela in the shoulder, making the girl cry out in pain. Lilith saw a hunter approaching, grabbing Bela by her injured shoulder.
"Move back, witch! I'm taking the girl!" the hunter growled, tugging Bela away from her.
"The fuck you are." she let out a wicked laugh. The psychotic look she gave the hunter was enough to make him let go of Bela. Lilith held out her hand, her palm facing the man, quickly making a fist. With that move she snapped the man's leg and he fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Bela grabbed him and immediately drank from him, draining his blood fairly quickly. She finished and dropped his body on the ground and yanked the arrow out, her wound healing almost immediately.
"Thank you, Lilith." she said softly, not looking at the witch. Lilith was taken aback, not expecting that. Deep down, very deep down, Lilith felt an ember lighting in the depths of her black heart. She didn't answer, as they turned back and headed towards the castle. The cold was quickly getting too much for Bela to handle. They made their way into the bedroom, finding Cassandra, next to her mother in bed, draining a maiden of her blood. As soon as Cassandra saw Bela, she ran over and hugged her sister. Lilith frowned, not exactly understanding the gesture she gave Bela. 'An embrace?' she thought to herself. She was pulled from her thoughts, hearing a deep growl coming from Cassandra. Lilith sighed and prepared herself. Cassandra tackled her to the ground aggressively.
"Your blood smells amazing" Cassandra said, inhaling deeply. Bela grabbed her shoulder.
"Cass, wait!" Bela yelled. Lilith smiled, rolling her eyes.
"Why are you smiling, witch?!" Cassandra growled.
"You're amusing me. Get off, girl. Before you hurt yourself." Lilith laughed.
"Cass, she saved my life. She's the one who brought us back. Her name is Lilith. She's friendly, I think." Bela reassured her sister, as Cassandra stood up, sighed and held out a hand for Lilith, who took it reluctantly.
"Mmm. That's better! Now, let's all relax? You two need rest."
"What's wrong with mother? Bela, what happened?" Cassandra started trembling.
"He killed us, Cass. Mother too. Let's go sit by the fire. Dani should wake soon."
Lilith watched as the sisters sat next to each other by the fire, Bela's arm around Cassandra's shoulders. She took a seat in her chair again, watching them with confused fascination. She tried to remember if she ever had an interaction like that with someone before. She couldn't remember, and shook the heavy feeling in her heart. She noticed both girls crying and absentmindedly conjured a piano and placed it close to the balcony doors. The crying girls turned around at the soft sound of the piano playing, soothing music filling the room. The girls soon fell asleep, still on the carpet in front of the fireplace. A few hours had passed, the sun slowly rising higher in the sky. Lilith heard the youngest daughter wake up. She prepared herself once again, expecting the red head to attack. When nothing happened, she turned and looked at Daniela, and felt a strange feeling in her heart, a feeling she greatly disliked. Daniela sat in her bed, crying uncontrollably. Something made her walk over. She looked at Lilith with her golden eyes, defeated, hot tears running down her cheeks. Daniela turned and tried to hide her face, embarrassed to cry in front of a stranger. Lilith grabbed her chin gently, turning Daniela's face towards her.
"This? These tears? They are not a weakness. They show how strong you are and how strong you've been. And when you're done, look back and know that you were strong enough to overcome what you once thought to be impossible." Lilith said softly, surprising herself. Daniela hugged her suddenly, catching her off guard. She tried to wriggle out of the girl's grasp, but her grip is too strong. She groaned internally, rolling her eyes.
"Bela. Cassandra. Your sister is awake." Lilith called, waking the sisters. They immediately run over and hugged Daniela. They explained everything to their younger sister, who just cried more and more. Lilith shuddered at the amount of emotions the girls showed.
"Thank you, Lilith. For your comforting words." Daniela said.
"Uhm, sure. Sure. Now. Cassandra, Bela. Do you mind taking your sister hunting?" she smiled a toothy grin. They nodded and left the room. Lilith slumped down into her chair, trying to figure out what it is she was feeling. She frowned and lit a cigarette, looking in the direction of the Lady. Still unchanged. Eventually she snapped out of it, and walked over to Lady Dimitrescu. She looked at the torso, still unchanged, frowning.
"You give me no choice, woman. What's the matter with you? Your girls need you. Why won't you wake?" Lilith sighed. She placed her hand over the heart of the torso, and closed her eyes.
"Let's see what's going on inside that pretty head of yours, shall we?"
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