You awake with a start, shooting your head up and immediately regretting it as you drop your head back down onto a soft pillow. You want to believe that everything that has happened in the last, who knows how many hours, was all a fever dream. The pain though, the pain snaps you back to the harsh reality that it wasn't a dream. When you swallow it stings from how dry your throat is, looking toward the nightstand you see a glass of water sitting there. Your face contorts with different looks of discomfort as you prop yourself up in the bed and reach for the glass but your fingers won't grasp it. It's as if you have lost complete function of them, and all you can do is paw at the glass before falling back in defeat. The effort alone makes you pant with exhaustion, and a bead of sweat rolls down your forehead.
What the hell happened to me? You think.
The door opens with a soft creak, making you look toward its direction to see a familiar head of blond hair. Your heart flutters and makes the wound on your neck throb again but you don't care, you focus solely on Bela as she steps into the room. She looks at you with relief, sadness, and something else you cannot pinpoint but you're happier than ever to see her. The last thing you remember is laying on top of Bela before blacking out, with no way of knowing if she lived; but here she is, standing in front of you. Bela closes the door behind her, carrying a small black box, wrapped in red ribbon in her hands when she approaches the bed, sitting on the edge near you.
"Excuse me for coming in. I wasn't expecting you to be awake. I brought you something for when you feel better."
She leans over and places the box on the nightstand, as she did there is something different in the air that you never noticed before. Your face tilts as you take a deep inhale of the air around you, there is the familiar smell of death that accompanies each sister but also something faint. Another deep breath with more focus and determination revealed it to you: honeysuckle and jasmine. That's what she smells like and you suppress the urge to bury your face into her until the smell overcomes your senses. Bela turns her head at you, watching you take deep breaths before lowering her gaze and biting her lower lip softly. She holds her hands in her lap, pulling the fabric of her gloves from each finger before pushing it back down and repeating the process.
"Thank you for what you did." She sucks in a shaky breath, "if not for you I-I might not have made it. I'm also sorry that this is the result of it."
Her hand moves from her lap and she intertwines her fingers with yours, squeezing your hand but still not looking at you. Your breath quickens, trying everything you have to return the squeeze, it's draining but successful as your fingers shift perfectly between hers. She smiles a little and you see her shoulders relax, her hand fitting comfortably in yours.
"That's the closest I've been to death that I can remember. I don't remember anything from before I was like....this." She motions over her entire body with her other hand, "and now I wonder if that's how every person I've ever killed felt. That overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and fear, knowing there's nothing I can do. When I close my eyes I see myself back in that room, feeling my body breaking and unable to move."
She turns her head away so you can no longer see her profile, but you briefly caught the tears that rolled down her cheeks. You muster another squeeze of her hand, watching her wipe away her tears with her still facing away from you.
You clear your throat, gently rolling your chest around, "Bela." Your voice sounds coarse, like your vocal cords are being rubbed down with sandpaper.
"I'm sorry. I came here to check on you, not pour out my feelings. Let me help you."
She releases your hand and moves around to your side, helping you sit up and rest against the headboard. Her hand brushes against your sweaty forehead, while you remain locked on her eyes. Slowly you reach your hand up and she meets you halfway, both of you clasping your hands together once again. She notices your eyes drifting toward your arm and your expression turns into one of confusion: just last night your wrist had more scar and scab than skin, and today there's nothing, as if it never happened. Bela grabs your chin gently with her thumb and forefinger, locking your head and making your eyes go back to her.
"I know you must have a hundred questions, and I promise that everything will be explained in due time. For now, you need to focus on healing your body and not concern yourself with that." She runs her hand along your cheek, making your face hot.
You do have questions. So many questions, and you don't have the patience to wait for answers. She presses her thumb against your mouth when you try to open it, shaking her head. You aren't going to get any answers, not from her at least. Her thumb traces the outlines of your lips as her eyes dart from your lips back to your eyes.
"Do you need some water?" She asks, breaking the silence.
You blink a few times before nodding in response.
She reaches across you for the water with her free hand, not releasing your hand as she did, then twists her body to bring the glass to your lips. You raise your head the best you can, drinking the water greedily until she pulls it away from you, letting a dribble of water run down your chin. Water has never tasted so good before, you want to drown in it but know if you drink too fast that it'll come right back up.
"Don't get used to this. Remember that you're the servant, not me." She teases before setting the glass on the stand next to her.
You attempt a laugh but it turns into a cough that becomes rather violent, your body curling into itself while covering your mouth with your hand. Bela's face turns to worry as she stands and runs her hand over your back, the other hand holding yours even tighter. When the coughing fit subsides you lay back against the headboard, Bela watching over you with worry as she brushes some loose strands of hair away from your face.
"Mother said it'll take some time, but you're in the worst of it now and can only get better."
Your eyes meet hers again, seeing they are still shiny from crying, "lay with me."
Bela hesitates, you can see her contemplating her decision as her eyes dart between you and the floor, then she stands and goes around to the opposite side of the bed. She crawls on top of the covers, wrapping her arms around you tightly and ignoring your grunts of pain. You can smell the honeysuckle more clearly now as it wafts around you, and when the pain lessens, you use the remnants of energy to lay down again and wrap an arm around her. She lays her head against your shoulder, and her fingers run along your chest.
"You can talk to me anytime Bela." You whisper.
"You should go back to sleep." She responds equally as quiet, clearly not wanting to talk anymore.
The both of you lay like that for some time, her fingers trailing over the curves of your abdomen and then back up to your ribs. When she looks back at you she notices your eyes still open, to which she huffs, using her fingers to press your eyelids shut.
"Go to sleep." She orders.
As stubborn as ever, you open one eye to peek at her before closing it again when she tries to reach for you again.
"I swear to Mother Miranda if you don't close your eyes I'll make them close." She threatens teasingly.
You wake from slumber again, noticing no light through the curtain and turning your gaze toward your clock. 3am. A soft sigh makes you look down to your opposite shoulder to see Bela asleep on it, her breathing rhythmic, perfectly in time with your own breathing. Even without any light you can make out everything in your room, clearly seeing the furniture in different shades of gray and black. When you look back down at Bela, you can see every perfect detail of her body, from the faint smears of makeup and blood on her face down to the detail of her head symbol.
She had moved under the comforter, and no longer wore her cloak, you glance over to the desk to see her cloak hanging on the back of the chair. Her body isn't cold but every part of it is pressing against your own. You smile to yourself, realizing that she was using you to warm herself up and now you two are nearly the same temperature. Burying your face against her hair, you take another deep breath of her sweet scent, memorizing it to your brain; breathing it in like your life depended on it for survival. You close your eyes and think about how warmly and gently her and her sisters treated you.
"Good morning sleepy head!"
You snort awake, immediately looking to the edge of the bed to see Daniela sitting there with a big grin. You look to the empty space next to you, your hand swipes along the ruffled sheets and feel that it's still warm. After your heart rate dies down from being woken up you turn your attention back to Daniela.
"Oh my Mother I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."
She stands up and helps you sit up, leaning you against the headboard before flying over to your desk and back. Plopping a tray onto your lap, your mouth instantly starts to water from the smell of food. The growl in your stomach only encourages you. Daniela refills your water then props herself against you smiling, and amongst the smell of breakfast you get a hit of apple with cinnamon. Now your curiosity is thoroughly peaked, they each have a unique smell and you have one more sister. You narrow your eyes in thought as you wonder what she'll smell like.
"I brought you breakfast. I thought maybe I could read to you while you eat."
You blink away your thoughts and smile at her, nodding your head, and slowly eating the food she brought you. It is weird being served, secretly you hope your recovery is slow because you enjoy every minute of this treatment. The sound of Daniela's voice is soothing, you relax your muscles and it gets easier to eat, but even after eating everything on the tray, you still feel a little hungry. When you finish she puts the tray back on the desk then stands by your side.
"Scoot forward." She tells you.
You look at her confused but she makes a motion with her hands and you're not about to argue. With her help you scoot yourself forward, it's difficult to stay sitting up but she holds you firmly in place as the dips behind you. With her other hand she pulls her dress up far enough that you look away before you see anything you shouldn't. Her bare legs stretch out on each side of you, and the same hand that was holding you up now pulls you against her chest. Her hair tickles your cheek as she hugs her arms around your body and continues to read with the book resting on your chest.
As Daniela finishes reading the book to you, the door opens again, this time to reveal Cassandra. She raises an eyebrow at the two of you, Daniela spooning you while you're almost asleep against her breasts. You blink a few times to wake yourself up and try to sit up only to be stopped by Daniela tightening her hold.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything. Mother wants an update on how Y/N is doing." Cassandra says matter-of-factly.
"No, we just finished reading. I'll be back tomorrow." Daniela kisses your cheek before removing herself from the bed, and easing you against the headboard once again.
Daniela picks up the tray and turns to take it out, her eyes meeting Cassandra's who gives her a smirk. After Daniela leaves Cassandra approaches the side of your bed, looking you up and down before grabbing the cover and pulling it back. It's not enough to cause a draft but the sudden surge of cold air makes you shiver nonetheless. She stands upright then hands you the glass of water, you take a sip but the look on her face tells you to keep going. You finish the cup of water and Cassandra hums softly, she takes the glass and sets it aside.
"I need you to attempt to stand and tell me how you're feeling. I'll also need to see your wrists and ankles."
You oblige. She checks your wrists and ankles first, commenting on the progressed healing. Next is trying to stand and move. Every bone in your body pops when you move, the action is agonizingly slow and painful as one leg drapes over the edge, followed by the other. Now sitting on the edge, you plant your feet firmly on the ground, breathing deeply to not only contain the discomfort but suck in the courage to push through it. You fail miserably.
A muffled scream of agony roars behind your clenched teeth as you push with your arms and engage every muscle in your legs that shake uncontrollably. Cassandra places her hand on your chest and another on your bicep the moment your legs give out and you plummet back down on the bed. She helps you get as comfortable as you can once more, letting a sigh escape her while her aureate eyes examine your body one last time.
"Not great but expected for your first day."
When she angles over you to examine the scar on your neck, this is when your missing piece completes the puzzle. Her scent is by far your favorite, with earthy tones of wood mixed with the coolness of eucalyptus. You aren't very stealthy for she looks in your direction when you inhale, then continues her observation without bringing it up.
* * *
Every day you get stronger, and every day one or all of the daughters will visit you to check on your progress. With your strength returning you work toward being able to walk around freely, bathe yourself, and soon you can leave the four walls that have made you slightly stir crazy. However, a question still remains and the ladies won't answer you or would change the subject when you ask. What happened to you? You struggle to remember the events leading up to it, and anything in between but all that comes is throbbing pain in the scar along your neck. You spend a considerable amount of time jumping between sleeping and contemplating why the scar along your neck remains, but the others have disappeared.
Being bed ridden has also given you plenty of time to become more confused about what happened to you. Being able to smell such faint yet distinct aromas from the ladies, hear people coming before they knock on the door, waking up in the middle of the night and you can see as if it were day. All you can do is hope that answers will come soon, though you remain doubtful.
Today is your first official day of no longer being confined to your room, and for once your heart beats with jittery excitement to return to your work. As you are pulling your suspenders on, your ears perk at the sound of heavy, heeled footfalls coming down the hallway. Before she knocks on the door you can smell cigarettes and expensive perfume, the combination hurts your head and makes you scrunch your nose. You fix your face and open the door as she raises her fist to knock, she drops it and waits for you to move out into the hall; your room being far too small for her to enter through.
"It is so nice to see you up and about. My daughters have informed me you have made an excellent recovery." She starts.
"Thank you, My Lady. Your daughters have been keeping me in great company, and I fear I might have gone crazy without them. To be candid, I'm excited to be returning to my normal schedule."
The lady gives you a sympathetic smile, "unfortunately Y/N, you will not be returning to your work."
Your heart sinks at her words, as does your smile with the look of total defeat taking its place. Even your shoulders and posture slump down, your body physically deflating but you continue to look up at her. Hundreds of questions and feelings bubble in your chest, wanting to be expelled and answered. The lady raises her hand to keep you from speaking, and indicates she isn't through speaking.
"I have been monitoring the maidens in your absence and have chosen a replacement. She is not as competent as you, but she'll suffice. You will no longer attend to the needs of myself or the rest of the castle grounds. In fact, you will no longer be in charge of the other staff either. My daughters have grown rather fond of you and have requested that you be their personal maid, and that your only duties will revolve around them. I agreed. Afterall, they did care for you while you recovered, and I find it only fair compensation."
You can't say anything as you continue to stare through the Lady, tensing your jaw in order to not let it drop. You're clearly, but also happy? The thought of personally caring for the daughters makes you excited because that means you'll see them more; but you also feel as though you've disappointed her and are currently being punished.
"I am sure by now you have noticed that you no longer have normal mortal abilities and I cannot risk the safety of you or other staff. We will meet every morning in the dining room to check your progress until I know you are manageable, and can be around others without incident."
Your eyes meet hers in surprise anger, "what do you mean manageable? What did you do to me?"
Your voice starts to raise, making the lady's face turn stoic and dark, the shadow from her hat not helping in making her appear more menacing. She scrunches her nose in dissatisfaction from your outburst, but slowly releases a breath in an attempt to compose herself. You catch her flexing her hands open and shut from the corner of your eyes.
"Mind your tongue. If it were not for my daughters, and the fact that you risked your life to save one of them, I would have killed you and drained your blood. Instead, I decided to save you. You should be grateful and remember your place. I will forgive this outburst, but next time I will not be as understanding. You are not above spending a night in a cell."
Her cold voice makes you flinch back and bow your head at her, swallowing back your emotions to keep from having another outburst. Squeezing your eyes tight you bow even lower so that she can't see you hiding your flurry of emotions. You hear her sigh heavily and you straighten out, this time looking at the space between you and her.
"When you choose to act properly I might answer some questions you have. Until then, all I will say is I am learning at the same time you are."
You watch the edge of her dress disappear from view before turning back into your room, slamming the door behind you hard enough the hinges shook. Your blood feels like it's boiling, you want to throw something but also don't want to ruin any of the nice furniture. You ball your fists, squeezing until your palms hurt from the pressure, and you feel something sharp digging into the skin. Looking at your hands you see the tips of claws breaking through your fingertips, blood slowly draining out of the holes they made and from the broken skin on your fingers. You pant heavily, staring at the night black talons protruding from your torn skin. The claws eventually retract and the holes seal over back into your normal fingers, the only clue they were ever there is the blood trails.
You take a shaky breath, going into the bathroom to wash your hands and staring at yourself in the mirror while grasping desperately to catch your breath. You glance between your fingers in the mirror, trying to wrap your head around what you just witnessed. Out of the corner of your eye you look over at the box that still sits on your nightstand; Bela did say it was for when you were feeling better, and right now you need a distraction. The box is light in your hands, glancing over it until you pull the red ribbon loose and letting it fall onto the nightstand. You take off the top of the box only to see white tissue paper, and when you push it aside a glass of liquid comes into view.
You set the empty box down and hold the bottle in your hands, admiring the sleek design of it and the fuchsia flower that is on top. The flowery smell is potent when you twist the top of the bottle off, but it smells heavenly too. Your anger subsides momentarily and your muscles relax while dabbing the perfume on your wrists and neck. After setting the bottle in the bathroom on the empty counter you finally finish dressing and leave the containment of your room, breathing in the smell of the castle.
The walk around the castle brought you joy, but it isn't long lived as your mind starts to drift back to the claws from your hands and what Lady Dimitrescu had said. You are so preoccupied you hadn't noticed the slowly forming mass moving next to you until you're caught off guard by a voice.
"Look who lives!" Daniela smiles.
You jump back with a yelp, blinking at her before giving her a soft smile, "ah, hi Daniela, I didn't see you there."
"After all this time, this is when I finally scare you?" She laughs before catching you looking away from her, "is something wrong? I figured you would be happier to finally be out and about."
You chuckle softly, "I thought so too."
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks.
You chew on the inside of your cheek in thought, she'll find out eventually anyway. You look down at your feet as you walk, slipping your hands into the pockets of your pants. There's a piece of lint inside one pocket that you roll between your pointer finger and thumb, fidgeting with it as you try to think of the words.
"I think I got fired, but also, promoted?"
You didn't bother bringing up the claws, not wanting her to worry and certainly not wanting to be bombarded with questions you can't answer. Daniela stops walking, you take a few steps more before stopping yourself and twisting to look over at her. She starts to giggle, her giggle turning into a belly-grabbing laugh; her laugh is contagious enough that you join her in the laughter.
"Wow. You sure are full of firsts aren't you? First to live this long, first to go to the dungeon and not get killed, first to get fired and promoted, and.." Daniela leans forward, smelling the air around her as her thought process goes elsewhere, "are you wearing perfume?"
Red forms on your cheeks as you turn back around and walk down the stairs, recognizing now that you are near the Hall of Ablution, "yes...um..Bela gave it to me."
Daniela narrows her eyes, reappearing next to you and giving you a smirk, "I see. So tell me more about being fired and promoted."
You rub the back of your neck, "I just talked to Lady Dimitrescu and she told me I would no longer be working with the rest of the staff, but instead I would be working under you and your sisters only. I'm happy to continue working, especially for you three, but it still kind of hurts though. Everything is changing so rapidly."
She bumps you with her hips, "don't be so bummed about it, we're better company than the rest of the staff anyhow, and we'll certainly keep you busy."
You chuckle in agreement with her as you two continue to walk through the halls together, soon you are interrupted by the other two sisters who are equally happy to see you walking around. They follow you, quipping with each other but otherwise staying quiet throughout the rest of the walk. Even though you have spent a whole week with them, it is nice to see how much they enjoy your company and vice versa.