Countess Dimitrescu

Chapter Ten: Bitter

Alcina could not shake the adrenaline, a pulsing of blood shoots through her veins as she exhales smoke.

This new personal maid is proving more an arousing interest to Alcina, rather than a simple toy.

She expected this one to last no more than a month, but it was difficult to consider when Lumiñita was such an intriguing woman. Such a feisty, yet honest personality.

Alcina found herself torn, something she rarely is.

Previously, Daniela had told a story of her, and her sisters enjoying the night with Ms. Lumiñita. Talking, and strangely enjoying her company?

Alcina struggled to wrap the idea around her mind. Cassandra hated every maiden that walked through those doors, and Bela wanted nothing to do with them, so what was the sudden change? What was so special about this one?

She wished to personally ask her daughters, but Daniela loved to talk, so in due time, she would ramble on anything new.

Loisel even seemed off, the tour she usually allowed new maidens was oddly short this time around, almost on purpose. Could that be the reason for the questioning nature of Ms. Lumiñita? Could she want more from having nothing?

Daniela was the one to give an introduction! She did Loisels job for her without any bribery. Not that Alcina would tolerate the conduct, but it was a change of nature for Loisel to slack on her job. Alcina was beyond frustrated with the lack of information, and it gradually etched her patience. Had her family turned on her? Had Miranda done something?

She taps her foot, and the whites of her eyes grow a deep red.

It had been most of the day without Alcina feasting, which would explain her erratic behavior toward the situation; although, how could she sleep if she could not understand the members of her household?

"Mother...?"

Had it been a recent argument? Had Alcina been too harsh at all? She couldn't remember, she can't think!

"...Mom...?"

Alcina snaps her gaze, her brows furrowed furiously. It is when her golden gaze lands on her oldest, Bela, does her gaze soften, and she visibly relaxes.

"Yes, dear?"

Bela makes a face, unsure of the change in tone.

"Are you okay?" Bela approaches, tilting her head in question.

Bela could see the stress on her mother's face, the cracks along her jaw that gradually spread whenever her mutation was contentious.

Alcina smiles, slightly genuine, but mostly false.

"Of course, why question it?"

Bela makes a face, her teeth on display like a grimace.

"Your skin is cracking, have you eaten?"

Alcina's eyes widen, and she turns to her vanity, her heart racing.

She usually had such good control over her mutations, she was a brilliant success under the cadou, a one-in-a-million chance at such magnificent control and dignity. She was Lady Dimitrescu, a pinnacle of perfection and strength, she couldn't be seen as weak.

Her world blurs as she grabs her white powder, add a generous amount to her jaw, and any noticeable cracks.

"What is it that you want?" Alcina barks, which throws Bela off.

Her mother, usually took a much kinder tone when it came to her daughters, but now, it was like Bela was nothing more than any other servant.

"I came to check on you, you haven't left your room for dinner–" Bela is promptly interrupted, her mother's tone of voice a vicious snarl.

–"Does it look as if I am hungry!?" Alcina had never snapped before, especially at her daughter. It bewildered Bela, her eyes wide as she snapped into a burst of flies, and vanished from sight.

Alcina could only stare, still full of fury she couldn't understand. Her heart beats rapidly, and the cracks in her skin become increasingly large. Tendrils rip past the cracks and Alcina screams, in a vicious rage, she snatches the vanity and throws it across the room, smashing it into the door.

She screams obscenities, storming over to the closet and nearly ripping the door from its hinges. Alcina cursed Miranda, she cursed herself, ripping apart her hung-up clothes as her talons tear past her gloved fingers, and slash at anything near her.

No matter what Alcina did, Miranda would never love her, she would never see her for the genius that she is. Alcina loathed the thought of Miranda finding Heisenberg a better result. All Heisenberg was, was a dirty mutt, a sickness that caused her food supply to grow weak.

Alcina saw herself as a brilliant, successful woman, she had such magnificent control over her transformations, not to mention the consciousness she experienced while under the cadous command.

She is the reigning dragon over this village and her disgraceful siblings, why couldn't Miranda see that?...

... "There is something wrong with Mother, she is going through some sort of mental break."

Cassandra shrugs.

"Miranda keeps pushing her to the limit, and Heisenberg continues to invade the land, I would have a mental break as well."

Bela smacks her sister over the head.

"We have a reputation to uphold, I do not want you to throw it all away with such carelessness."

Cassandra scowls.

"I understand but we can't do much to guard, this winter will kill us the moment we step foot outside."

Bela was frustrated with the truth. In the winter it was hard for the sisters to keep the villagers in check.

Their cadou reacted negatively to the cold, dry air, and as a result, it deconstructed their physical form.

It was up to them to find a solution to their issue, they controlled their cadou just as well as their mother and needed to prove it.

There were multiple occasions when they ran tests consisting of the trio to see how long they could go in freezing tempretures for extended amounts of time. The longest they could go, without permanent damage, was an hour and fifteen minutes, but that does not include the two hours of recovery by a heat source to properly bring them back to form.

The only people available to walk freely in the cold were Loisel and Lumiñita, so the choices were not consistent or practical.

The women needed a solution, but how could they get one in time?