Metal Thunder (Karl Heisenberg - Resident Evil)

Chapter 7 - A Countess Yearning For Affection

Across the village from the factory lay the great castle home to none other than Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. You could spot it immediately once you arrived in the valley with its many Victorian towers giving it an overly gothic appearance as it loomed over the village towering in all its glory. It made the rest of the village look like a simple hamlet.

The inside was just as opulent with the walls lined with gold in some places, expensive urns, statues of dukes and duchesses, and other noble figures, portraits which some were of Alcina's earlier years which some she dared not view since that day the Cadou overtook her. It didn't take you long once you entered the castle and followed the corridor to the main hall with the massive golden chandelier dangling from the ceiling with glittering crystals and lights and the spiral staircase leading to the halls containing different statues with different masked faces and many other antechambers such as the library, opera hall where grand balls with live music once occurred, and any other private quarters.

With so many rooms and hidden passages, you'd believe instantly that the castle was meant to house many servants, children and other noblemen and women part of the Dimitrescu bloodline. It was true that there were once many servants that served their mistress until Miranda's arrival and experiments changed everything and Alcina's transformation would render her never be the same again.

After her change, Alcina conducted tests of her own by creating her three mutant daughters she took in as her own who could only live within the castle walls with their bodies manifested from flies which were sensitive to the harsh cold outside. The remaining servants of the castle soon vanished one by one, as Alcina inducted strict orders of how things were to be run from then on. Any servant in the castle who disobeyed even the slightest were either sent down into the dungeons to die or their blood was drained for Alcina's own sustenance due to her hereditary blood disease that the Cadou did not nullify. Soon, all that remained in the castle was Alcina herself and her daughters.

The castle was also known for its expansive collection of wine, mostly reds, as Alcina was known to seek out the most elaborate and ornate selection from the market, as such she was a frequent client of the Duke and eventually ran her family's wine business on her own. When the village was still highly populated, rumours circulated that she drank human blood with her red wine, anyone who looked upon the castle saw nothing but death that awaited him and Alcina was pleased to be feared by others.

In spite of all she had been through and loved all that she had now, Alcina was deeply insecure. She could never let go of her old-fashioned view of the world and all she wanted was for Miranda to see her as her favourite. It felt like a personal gain to her that she bemoaned over not having. The only thing that kept her happy was her daughters and wealth as long as she didn't have to deal with Miranda and the others.

***

The castle's great bell chimed the hour of midnight but Alcina barely heard it, for she was down in the cellar's tasting room surrounded by many kegs and bottles of red liquor on wooden shelves nailed to the brick wall. A turntable sat atop an empty barrel playing old jazz music from the 1910s with saxophone and piano, and Alcina stood in the center of the room at a small square counter in her long wide dress and wide elegant black hat, sampling the wine. The music and wine were a distraction and the former she refused to accept the more modern genres that were out today. Everything new she shunned, preferring to stay in her own bubble of her time.

Picking up a small glass of cherry red wine in her gloved hand, she brought it to her red lips and tasted it. Her mouth filled with the strong iron taste of blood mixed with a hint of cherry. This was her favourite that the Duke had brought her and she had filled the kegs with blood from villagers and trespassers, pleased that she was able to lure them to her before the other three lords could. That's why I love this castle, it's the first thing intruders see when they arrive in this forsaken village, so they assume the safest place to go is here when my daughters and I are waiting for them. She thought as she took another sip letting the smooth jazz relax her a little. She couldn't remember who this victim was, but just like the rest, they had been devoured like the rest with plenty for her and her daughters to enjoy, and there was still plenty enough blood for her to continue her business and keep her vitality strong.