ETERNAL. 𓄼 𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑢.

iii.

You spent the night laying incredibly still, staring at the door to the room in a petrified state. You feared that at any moment one of the castle inhabitants might enter the room and murder you there. No one knew of your location, no one knew to look for you, and even if they did, you somehow doubt they'd ever find you here.

Around midnight, a maiden had called softly from the other side of the room, informing you that the storm had picked up and would likely last another day. The paths had begun to flood and that only meant one thing for you; you'd be stuck there. At least a couple days. So, the first night you laid still in the overly lavish bedding, quiet as a mouse, too scared to move to look out the window. You focused on the sounds that you could hear: the rain tapping against the windows fervently, the fire crackling in the fireplace across from the bed, a low murmur of a record player playing Clair De Lune somewhere in the castle. Each sound would have been comforting if your situation didn't have you so paralyzed in fear.

At some point, you must have heard one of the women roaming the hallways because your grip on the bed sheets tightened, knuckles growing pale. Things like this just did not happen in real life, vampires, or whatever they were, did not exist.

Or perhaps you'd just been blind to everything the world held.

You remember hearing about the Raccoon City incident as a girl, seeing the photographs of the city in flames and depictions of the undead walking the streets. You'd seen the Terragrigia mess on the news, saw members of TerraSave speak on the matter and the BSAA rumored to have been in China at some point as well.

If all of that could exist, that devastation, couldn't vampires, too? And were they even vampires? So many questions ran through your head about the castle and the inhabitants of it. Would she, Lady Dimitrescu, answer your questions if you asked?

Alcina Dimitrescu. There's no denying the instant allure she casted over you. To be such a beast–was that the right word, you wonder–she certainly was one of the finer creations in life. Something much more devastating resided within the castle inhabitants, you feared.

You spent the night pondering your own questions, listening to the rapid thwap of rain against the window. When your eyes grew so heavy that you could hardly keep them awake, you had fallen asleep with the hope that the mistress would stay true to her word.

That night you dreamt of crow feathers, dark as the night sky, and a foggy figure dressed in black.

You awake to the sound of thunder and the rain. The curtains in the room prevent the light from seeping through, covering the room in darkness, your fire having long since burned out. A shiver crawls over your skin, the fear residing in your system is still there.

But you're still alive.

A knock pulls you out of your morning exhaustion. A woman with curls of brown hair poking her head through. "Good morning, Miss. I'm sorry to intrude on your slumber, the lady of the castle has asked that you join breakfast." She tells you, revealing a fresh set of clothes for you.