The Mélusine's Filtered Cage

Morally Grey? More Like Morally Slay (No, Seriously)

"Daniela, Bela, have you seen your sister?" Alcina asked, shouting in the middle of the grand hall.

"No, Mother," Bela shouted from a balcony. "I thought she was with Daniela."

"She isn't with me," Daniela's swarm of flies called out to the room, flying around until they got to Alcina where they landed in front of their mother. "I haven't seen her since sunset."

"Now, where could Cassandra be?" Alcina sighed, resting her hands on her hips. "It's nearly Witching Hour." Alcina glanced up at the balcony Bela was standing on and waved her off. "Go check to see if your sister is in her room, dear. Perhaps she fell asleep."

"Right," Bela said, nodding. "I'll be right back."

Bela turned away and walked down the hall, not worried about her sister at all. Cassandra liked to sleep even when she didn't need to, she always said that it was calming and cleared her head. If she was anywhere, it would be in her room. Bela didn't want to disturb her sister so she crept down the hall, hoping that her footsteps were quieter than thousands of Bull Flies' wings. The maids that were cleaning the area were also very quiet, a strong indication that Cassandra was only sleeping. 

"My Lady," Doina said, bowing to the Lady of the Castle. "My apologies but you have a visitor at the vineyard gates."

"Who is at our door at this hour, Doina?" Alcina asked, slightly irked. Because of the Cadou, Alcina and her daughters didn't need to sleep as much as the other inhabitants of the village. In fact, the Dimitrescu household did most of their hunting at night so the prey didn't get away as easily. However, no one in House Dimitrescu left the Castle during the winter months unless absolutely necessary. One of Mother Miranda's meetings fell into that category and- during winter -Alcina would remind every single one of the Lords to limit visits to Castle Dimitrescu so her daughters couldn't get hurt. 

"It's Lord Moreau, my Lady," Doina answered, keeping her head bowed. "He is insisting on having an audience with you."

Alcina huffed and rolled her eyes, annoyed by Salvatore's sudden appearance. She was not exactly surprised, Salvatore was always catching her outside of meetings in an effort to talk to her about Miranda. At first, Alcina was delighted that Salvatore was finally getting past his obsession over you and how Miranda "betrayed" you and the Moreau bloodline. But then Salvatore started going on and on about how the Megamycete was weakening and that Mother Miranda would need to kill every occupant in the village to complete the ceremony for Eva. Alcina couldn't believe that Salvatore's delusion would go so far as to believe Mother Miranda would kill any of them. Well, other than Salvatore, of course. The Lady of Castle Dimitrescu was honestly surprised that Mother Miranda hadn't killed Salvatore yet. Insubordination was not something Mother Miranda tolerated.

"Very well," Alcina sighed, stepping forward. "I will speak to him, Mother Mirand knows he won't leave unless I do. Daniela, go check on your sisters."

"Yes, Mother," Daniela said, rushing up the stairs.

"Doina, you may return to your earlier duties," Alcina said, waving a hand as she walked past Doina. The maid didn't say a word, only bowing before rushing off to clean. Alcina's annoyance grew with every step she took towards the front doors, not wanting to speak to Salvatore while he was delusional. But she and her daughters would know no peace if he were to continue banging on her door. With her large strides, Alcina made it to the vineyard doors in less time than most, throwing the doors open when she saw that her daughters were nowhere near the cold. "What do you want now, Salvatore?"

"You're not used to this song and dance yet?" Salvatore asked light-heartedly. "May I please come in?"

"No," Alcina said, her voice stern. "I'm positive whatever delusion Heisenberg passed to you is contagious and I can't have you infecting my daughters or my staff."