Living With Dimitrescu

3) Melody of Hunger

Why Hello there again, young [Y/N] its the Duke here. Don't mind me, I am just here to offer you advice as you read your little tale. Things seem to be going quite well for you so far it seems, but you are forgetting something. Exactly what makes a person a monster? Is it their looks or how they treat you? We create our own monsters, then we fear them for what they show us about our own selves. Are you ready to face your demons? Haha, just a little food for your thoughts. Carry on with the story now.

You set your eyes on a massive painting near the entrance. It had three beautiful girls with locks of curled hair. You walked up to it taking in each expression of the women. Below the painting had a plaque that read "Bela, Cassandra, Daniela." You gazed closer at their dresses recognizing the emblem on their chest. It resembled the same decal as the charm you were given. You held the necklace that rests on your neck, feeling its warmth despite being outside in the cold for so long. "I wonder what all this means." You tucked the necklace into your shirt and took a breath before entering the next set of stairs. This lead to the grand hall of the castle. Archways were four stories high with a giant chandelier that glistened over the wooden finish of the staircase and walls. There was a fireplace to the right of the room, with a couch and table. You walked closer to it, hoping to warm up slightly as you rubbed your hands together. "burrrrrr.. I didn't realize how cold I was till I felt the heat in here." You looked down at the table and saw two wine glasses, with stained lipstick on the rims.

"You seem pretty warm to me, lovely." A woman in all black was walking down the giant staircase. She had long black hair with a tattoo of a flower on her forehead, black lips and bright golden eyes. She kept a smile the entire way down, making her way towards you then sat beside the wine glasses on the couch, patting the spot beside her. "come here, you'll catch a cold if you don't warm up enough dear." You nodded and walked closer to the fire, sitting beside her and she places a hand onto your head, resting her fingers over your injury with her smile fading. "what is this place exactly and what's your name?" you ask. Your voice brought her smile back and she leaned closer, examining your expressions. "My name is Cassandra and were in Castle Dimitrescu. I live here with my two sisters and mother." Your expression hardened after realizing that you trespassed into someone's home without permission. "I'm sorry to come in uninvited. It was an emergency and.." She pressed her thumb from the hand that held your wound to your lips to silence your sentence. "Shhhhhh.. its okay..its perfectly fine for you to be here. I'm delighted to have a guest in my presence. So what do I have the pleasure of calling you?" Cassandra took her thumb off your lips for you to speak and kept her hand on your cheek to lock your gaze with hers. "My name is [Y/N]"

"That's such a nice name. That's one I haven't heard before. You must not be from around here at all. And your clothes.. the stitching is so fine and nice." She leaned closer and you scooted away shyly to keep your composure. "No, I'm not from around here. I traveled here in hopes of finding better education but now I don't know where I am and I don't have a place to shelter from the cold.." Cassandra watched as your expression saddened and she took your hands into hers. "[Y/N] why don't you stay with us for now? We hardly have company over, so it would be a treat to have you for awhile." Her expression changed from happy to excited as you locked eyes with hers. "I don't think I have a choice to stay anywhere else, do I?" She took the bloody cloth you kept hanging from your pocket and sat up. "You should meet the rest of my family when you can. My mother stepped out till dinner hour but my other sisters should be upstairs or in the kitchen. Ill have a maiden settle you in till then and show you to the guest room." You smiled and thanked Cassandra for her hospitality watching her walk up the stairs but your smile faded as you caught a glance of her holding your bloody cloth to her nose as she disappeared into the hall upstairs.

You waited for the maiden to walk up to you, her expression seemed lifeless and she gestured you to follow her. You got up to walk behind her to the upstairs hallway. A soft buzzing ran in your ear as you kept walking causing you to search for a fly around you but you couldn't seem to find it. The maiden opened a door and held her hand out gesturing you to go in. You entered a large room with a bed and high end furniture. After you sat onto the bed to get comfortable, the maiden leaned down to light the fireplace, warming the room up. "My apologies for not having the fire prepared sooner for your arrival." She picked up a small box from the dresser and set it beside you. She then curtseyed before leaving the room. Immediately after, a woman dressed in a similar attire to Cassandra walked in. She had red stained lips and orange brown hair with golden yellow eyes.

The woman's eyes opened wide. "Oh Cassandra was right! We have an absolutely adorable guest this evening!" She clapped her hands together excitedly and moved the box aside to sit beside you. "I'm Daniela, the prettiest of my two sisters." Before you could say anything, she had opened the box to reveal medical supplies, then took out a disinfectant wipe to press against your wound. "o..ouch! T..thankyou Daniela.. ahh! that stings.." She gazed at your wincing and stuttering from the pain, her smile turning into happy giggling. Her eyes relaxing in blissful admiration of your pain. "Just a bit more. Your cut needs to be thoroughly cleaned, darling" she said. Your pain subsided from her kind words and she put a bandage over your wound. "All better, sweetheart?" You nodded and smiled. "I feel much better, thankyou, Daniela." She got up to walk towards the door and just before opening it she turned to speak. "Supper will be ready soon. Be sure to wash up and be downstairs in time. You'll be sitting next to me!" You felt a sharp pain on the back of your neck. After reaching over to slap the bug off, the buzzling sound of a fly left the room and Daniela closed the bedroom door. You looked at your hand and saw blood. "Is that.. Is that from me?"