Letters of Admiration

Cassandra

You've been receiving lovely letters for quite a while now. They are often the part of your day that you look forward to the most, especially since you started leaving replies and picked up conversation with the writer. She signs her letters with the name Andra, but you know not her true identity. All you know is that she makes you very happy and you're becoming smitten with her.

The words Andra writes for you frequently leave you grinning and blushing like a fool. She makes you laugh and shares interesting (although purposefully vague) stories with you. She calls you darling. You want nothing more than to feel her touch.

The one thing you know about her appearance is that she has dark hair, but that hardly narrows anything down since the majority of the maids do. Idly, you think about her as you head towards the dining room.

Because the maid typically responsible for pouring wine during meals has recently been taken to the cellar, the duty has been passed onto you. Likely because you're not as frightened in the presence of the lady and her daughters as many members of the maid staff, and therefore less likely to make nervous mistakes and pour with shaky hands.

You push open one of the doors at the beginning of dinner, a bottle of Sanguis Virginis in hand. Since they're seated facing the direction you came from, you immediately see the big grin on Daniela's face and how Cassandra seems as though she's seconds away from committing murder. Granted, that's not rare for her, but the accompanying facial expression is typically a gleeful one and not... immense annoyance. The kind that only a sibling can bring forth.

Your eyes catch hers for just a second before her head dips down towards her plate and her hood obscures them from view. It seems to be a habit of hers to keep her head at an angle that makes it more difficult to see her face than either of her sisters', so you think nothing of it.

"What is so funny, Daniela?" Lady Dimitrescu drawls. She gives you only the briefest glance of acknowledgment as you fill her glass, then move onto Bela's.

"Andra is in love," Daniela answers in a sing-song voice.

When the name leaves her mouth, it's like a brick abruptly hitting you in the face.

"Shut up!" Cassandra hisses, which only elicits laughter from the youngest sister. "And don't call me that!"

You've somehow never realized that Andra's name slots into the end of Cassandra's. Probably because you never even considered the possibility of it being her.

Was it only a mere coincidence? It had to be. You find it difficult to wrap your head around the middle sister being the Andra who's been writing to you. There is no way Cassandra Dimitrescu has feelings for you. Maybe Andra is nowhere even close to the author's actual name.

"Why? Is only your girlfriend allowed to call you that?" Daniela rests her chin on her interlocked fingers.

And... there goes another brick. At this rate, you're going to end up collapsing to the floor unconscious.

You desperately wish you could properly see Cassandra's face.

A throat clears beside you and you stop pouring, realizing that you are dangerously close to overfilling the eldest sister's cup. She raises an eyebrow at you.

"Sorry, Lady Bela." You bow down slightly in apology. "It won't happen again."

"No elbows on the table, Daniela," Lady Dimitrescu chides. "Cassandra, is this true? That sounds very unlike you."

Cassandra only grunts.

"Seems to me like you've been spending too much time with her." Bela nods at Daniela. "She's rubbing off on you."

The rest of dinner is spent with you on autopilot as you try to process what you've learned. You only snap out of it once you're dismissed.

"Wait."

You stop just short of the maid's quarters, turning to find Cassandra approaching.

"Hello, Lady Cassandra," you greet.

"Listen. What you heard? It isn't true. Daniela is full of shit."

"What isn't true?" You feign a look of ignorance.

"That I have interest in y—someone! Someone."

Wow.

It's clear that she didn't think through what she was going to say before following after you.

"You're much smoother in your letters, I see."

Cassandra glares at you. It's the kind that makes new maids cower, but you aren't afraid.

"Are you disappointed?"

"No..." you answer. "Just surprised. And hopeful that we can spend some time together now."

"If that is what you hope, then you ought to accompany me somewhere else. My room, perhaps?"

"I would like that, Andra."