Failing Grace

Mild Emergence of a Guarding Beast

Warnings: violence/slight gore

Alcina

The morning had come and gone rather quickly. It felt as though she had merely blinked and half a day had disappeared. Time had never been all that important. For a being such as her it was a mere trifle. Still it felt as though she had wasted her whole morning and accomplished nothing, which irked her beyond belief.

Things had been done, she was well aware of that fact, yet nothing had been solved. Her brain had been scattered, too many thoughts and no thoughts, all at once. It might be that she had been spread too thin. What with the issues at her wine distribution sites and the strange smelling hunters on top of loose lycans and a scarcity of goods in the village, there really was a bit much to deal with. It shouldn't surprise her however, a multitude of problems always lay at her feet and yet today she was one more inconvenience short of sending her desk flying out the window.

Letting out a breath she tried to still her mind and focus. It may be, the stress of it all was slowly getting to her. She was well aware that a few well placed conversations with the distributors and suppliers could solve the issues at the sites. The strange smelling hunters had scattered as per Salvatore. Yet he had managed to cut their numbers some. A call from Angie let her know a few had made it to her sister's manor and they had been swiftly dealt with. The rest would be taken care of by the loose lycans and the people of the village knew to inform her of any outsiders. As for those loose lycans themselves she would make Heisenberg take care of the issue. All that was needed was for her to bruise that ego of his, which she was an expert at doing. She hated he could do the same to her but when she set her mind to it she could have so much fun with that dimwit. Moreover, those food problems at the village could be solved with money and the Duke. Once winter was over she would address the issues better to ensure it wouldn't continue to happen. Everything had a solution she needed only to calm herself. Needed only to quiet her mind and push away the thoughts that contributed nothing to her. Thoughts like her silence.

The silence from Mother Miranda affected her more with each day that went by. She hoped soon news would reach her. Just something to tell her more about the girl with glittering eyes and a heart that seemed to race in her presence. Or the reason why new lycans were made and let loose in the village. She would never presume to know, or rather, understand Mother Miranda's motives but she hoped the priestess would explain if only a fraction of her plans. Alcina was her first success and after everything she had done she felt she may have earned the right to at least know something. Anything...

Shaking her head she then took a deep breath. Still her mind and calm herself. That was all. Pulling out a cigarette and fixing it upon its holder, she lit it and sat back. Usually her breaks came about due to some irritating call or letter or when one of her daughters was just enjoying herself a tad bit too much. Rarely did she take one during the day but she supposed today was just one of those days where a break was needed.

Leaning back she watched as smoke began to fill the study, billowing softly from her lips. She could barely remember anything but the study with its desk topped with mountains of paperwork and correspondence. When did her work become this busy? Every day in the last week she had risen from bed, worked, eaten breakfast, worked once more, eaten lunch, delved deeper into her work, eaten dinner, and worked some more before getting back to bed. Each day had been the same and she knew her daughters were starting to pick on the notion of it, limiting their interactions to mealtimes.

Guilt rose up in her chest but she knew work and all of its problems would not see themselves into solutions. Still, she ought to do better. The absence of her middle child had not gone unnoticed at today's midday meal and she had also noticed this had become a recurring instance. Lunch had been little more than a blur in the last week. Bela would give whatever updates she could on her research while Daniela would report on the comings and goings of the girl. The few times Cassandra had been present she'd chirped some observations but she never talked more than was necessary. Alcina wondered when her daughter would finally work through that guilt that was eating at her. She hoped it would happen soon. Watching Cassandra acting the way she was, was also starting to get to her.