Chapter Text
The sound of a dripping tap echoed off of the stone walls and disappeared quietly down the dark hallways. It was a conceited sound, there was no tap on that level of the castle. The harmless almost mundane noise came from a source quite the opposite of mundane. In the weak light of the few hap-hazardously lit torches the silhouette of a strung up corpse could just be made out.
Amelia had woken with a heavy soul; within seconds of her consciousness, she was muttering desperate prayers to the Lord. The poor maiden began to wonder if it was a curse that she had awoken again. Her body screamed bloody murder, how fitting for her current environment. She could feel cold bodies underneath her, but she dared not look to confirm her fears. The stench of decay told her enough.
The sounds of heels against stone rang clearly like a metronome. Almost as if it where a countdown, ticking away every second Amelia had left. Pathetic wrangled cries and pleas fell from her scratchy throat.
“I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress- my refuge and my fortress- fortress,” The maiden stumbled through the prayer of protection, “my God- my God; in Him I will- I will trust,”
‘Hell or Castle Dimitrescu? What’s the difference?’
Amelia’s sobs filled the air as death closed in on her.
~
Y/n stood in the doorway of a delivery entrance for the Dimitrescu estate. Waiting. She stood with a clipboard clutched to her chest whilst the crisp wind nipped at every bit of exposed skin. The tame breeze sent ripples through her skirt uniform, the stockings she donned did little to nothing to stave off the cold from her legs. Winter was waning away, but spring had yet to rouse. So, the maid stood shivering. She sighed heavily and eyed the clock over her shoulder.
The maid let her eyes roam over the cases of wine. The wood was finished with a high end varnish and the metal fittings were treated in some way to give off a rich gold look. The Dimitrescu coat of arms sat pride and centre on the lid of each case. Emblazoned in gold, exuding nothing short of luxury. The flicker of a moth’s wings caught her attention, the insect sat on the edge of the crates staring at her. The fine hairs on the back of the maiden’s neck stood on ned as she bristled out of discomfort. It seemed like an eternity stretched between her and the offending bug. She stared it down, refusing to lose the staring competition.
‘I will not lose to a creepy bug, it started it anyways,’ was her justification.
In a split second the insect flew at y/n and landed on the swell of her cheek. Far too close to her eye for comfort. The moth was quite content on her face, even when the maid had flinched it stayed put. Y/n made a sound which can only be described as pure disgust.
‘Ew ew ew ew ewwwwww!’ The maiden made a suitable ‘boking;’ noise to accompany her thoughts.
~
Alcina strolled down one of the many hallways that riddled the castle, taking her time to admire the many paintings she had commissioned over the years. She stopped to dote on one particular oil painting in a gold gilded frame. It sat on the wall ay a comfortable level for her to gaze at. The light spilled in from the windows that lined the other wall. The white light of the winter’s sun was plenty enough to see the ridges of the paint. To have torches lit in this corridor would be a waste.
The countess felt her lips pull into a soft smile as she studied the faces of her daughter, a swell of pride and unadulterated love bloomed in her chest as she allowed herself mind to wander off. This piece was commissioned quite a few years ago, not too long after her sweet Daniela had been turned, the better Half of a century. It was a family portrait, and Alcina had got her girls to sit still for long enough. With fondness she recalled how Cassandra would not stop bantering back and forth with Daniela. Making it near impossible for Bela and herself to keep a straight face. It resulted in a portrait that perfectly captured the happiness of the small family of four. By far Alcina’s favourite portrait, it was a shame Heisenberg had broken his leg before the painting was due to start…
This state of tranquillity was soon broken much to the Lady’s displeasure. The laugh lines on her eyes faded as the crows feet that graced the corner of her eyes disappeared. Any normal human would not have caught the sound, but Alcina was far from normal. Her ears did pick up the noise, in curiosity as to what was making this retching noise the vampire crossed the wide corridor in a matter of a few strides. Her grand silhouette framed by the window. She looked picturesque there. Her eyes fell upon one of the castle’s staff members. Y/n to be specific. Alcina’s hearing was sharp, and her eyesight surpassed the human twenty-twenty vision. She was able to spot the small bug on the maiden’s face. It wasn’t any of her daughters from their swarms.
Mother Miranda could wait another few minutes, It wasn’t as if they were running out of time. Alcina’s eyes were half lidded as she looked down from a high floor to the ground outside. This y/n was seemingly having a very animated debate with herself. Or was she panicking? The matriarch’s eyes roamed over to the cases of wine stacked up beside the maid before they were drawn back to the girl standing in the castle threshold. Her eyebrows shot up fractionally when the maiden slapped her own face and chuckled lightly. The following sequence of events kept Lady Dimitrescu rather amused. The maiden had a freak out over the dead – now squashed and smeared on her hand – bug, in the process dropped the clipboard she had held to her body. The maiden had taken to pacing before scuttling inside.
“Mam!” Daniela manifested from a swarm of moths at her mother’s side. She followed the woman’s gaze down to the castle grounds, where snow blanketed the ground. Her eyes landed on a maid that went to go pick up a discarded clipboard. She vaguely remembered the maiden.
“Daniela?” Alcina spoke with a light tone breaking her gaze from y/n.
Daniela looked as if she were about to say something, but the voice of Bella rang down the hall cutting the redhead off. Alcina caught Daniela’s eyes and sighed. Bella rushed towards the pair panting, glaring daggers at her sister.
“Daniela I’m not going to shelter you from Bella, and Bella,” She fixed her eldest a look, “Don’t make a mess of the castle,”
“Yes yes, I will mother don’t worry,” Bella waved her hand before going for Daniela who scampered off.
Alcina spared a glance out the window, the maid seemed to have collected herself and taken to counting the bottles in the cases. Judging from the fact she had been assigned the duty of seeing off a delivery must mean she was literate to some degree. Hardly any maids were able to read. Alcina mulled over this piece of information, typically anyone in the village who could read took on jobs and didn’t need to turn to the castle for work. A mild interest in how this literate maiden ended up here was piqued. By now the maiden had started to wander further from the doors. A trail of small footsteps dented the snow in her wake.
“Where do you stray little one…?” It came as a whisper that faded into silence in the hallway.
~
Y/n walked, back turned to the castle. She stopped once she could see the sleepy village from her vantage point. It looked so peaceful and quaint, you would never have thought it was under Lady Dimitrescu’s lock and key. Her face was the epitome of melancholic, a gentle smile on her lips as she stared into the expanse. A timid breeze caressed her face and brushed her hair back. In her mind’s eye a montage of memories flowed thorough. Of parents with no stress marks, with just two children. A picture perfect family really, blessed with one boy and one girl. They even managed to send them both to school. Life was… content. However short lived it was. Time was lost on the maiden.
With a sigh the girl pulled herself out of her thoughts, her eyes followed a horse drawn cart not too far away. She forced herself to not frown as she headed back to her spot beside the cases of wine and waited.
“You’re late,” she muttered as a middle aged man hopped down off of the cart.
No reply.
“It’s not exactly pleasant weather to be stand- “
“Just be glad I came,” He spat back.
Y/n fixed the man a withering glare before huffing as she went to write a record of the delivery down. A belch from him paused her mid stroke, her face riddled in disgust, more so at the man’s lack of manners. She recovered and finished scribbling, the parchment was held t her chest again. She watched the man load the third crate; the maid felt no need to help him.
“Twelve bottles to a case, there’s five here. So, sixty bottles total,”
“I can count girl,”
The maid shifted her weight to one leg, hands on her hips. Clipboard still in hand, “I didn’t doubt your numeracy, sir. I was informing you,”
“Don’t give me that attitude,” He grunted.
The words fell from her mouth before she even registered them, “Or what?”
The maid stood her ground as the man invaded her space. The hint of alcohol on his breath forced the maid to supress a scowl. Regret began to ebb into her mind as he lunged for her throat throwing her back a good few steps. Callouses scraped the skin of her neck whilst the fabric of her uniform snagged on the brick wall she was backed against. His beady eyes began to drift down her body, he adjusted his hands to use one to hold y/n in place whilst the other began to follow where his gaze went. The maiden’s body prickled over in cold sweat; She fought against him to no avail.
“You ought to be put in your place,” He smirked to himself, eyes still travelling south, “Lucky me, you’re a pretty thing,”
The maid’s mind raced with desperate thoughts. Begging for a miracle. Her eyes darted around the place before landing on a saving grace. A figure of white stood at a window, with a clear line of sight to the pair.
“Be careful, sir,” Y/n found her voice, “My Lady is watching. I don’t think she’d take too kindly to what you’re about to do,”
He glanced up to the window before backing off. He made to say something, but the maid flashed the biggest shit-eating grin at him.
“Bitch,” He grumbled as he clambered onto the cart and spurred the mare on.
Y/n sighed in relief as the cart trundled away, the soft whinny of the mare growing quieter every second. A few tears fell from her eyes as her body began to catch up on what transpired. What could have happened. She slumped back against the wall before she ended up just sitting in the snow. Her legs were sluggish and still shaking as the adrenaline faded away. A few shaky breaths and the maid had mostly calmed down. Mostly.
Thank God for the Lady watching. Oh. Oh… The Lady was watching. The maid looked up at the window, praying the countess had gone. Alas the woman still stood at the window. To make things worse, Y/n made direct eye contact with those golden eyes. The maid gave her a shy, and very wobbly, smile and waved before promptly standing up and turning heel, slamming the castle doors behind her.
‘What maniac waves at the lady...? One with a death wish,’ This roused a dry chuckle from the maid.
In her haste she didn’t catch Alcina returning her wave.
~
The warmth and light emanating from the hearth painted y/n’s face in soft hues of yellows and oranges whilst the shadows seemed to dance across her features. The flamed kept the cold at bay, something the maid was thankful for. Occasionally the light would bounce off of whatever silverware she held and flicker across her skin. Y/n sat on the ground between the fireplace and a grand sofa made with he Lady’s height in mind. She was surrounded by decorations and ornaments all made of silver. It looked like a fantasy picture of a goddess hemmed in by her beloved followers. The maid was sat in one of the various drawing rooms of the castle. By far the least used one to entertain guests. It made her job peaceful, allowing her to get on with the tasks at hand. No other maids needing her help. Just quiet and calm. Something that had always been a rarity in her life, even before joining Castle Dimitrescu’s work force.
She hummed a little tune with an upbeat rhythm to occupy herself as she went in with a rag and a tub of paste to polish the metal. The maiden was meticulous with her work, and only moved on from one item to the next when it was cleaned to perfection. The click of a door when the handle was twisted brought her focus away from the cleaning, whatever new girl it was must really need help if they went out their way to this secluded room. With that thought y/n mused on how long she had been working for. Several months now, seven or eight seemed about right. She wasn’t one of the longest lasting maids, but she had been kept on longer than most. She was also good at what she does, resulting in many a maid seeking out her help. Black took up most of the door frame before the Lady of the castle cleared it and reared up to her full height. Her wide brimmed hat perched on her head at an angle.
‘The back pain must be hellish…’
“My Lady,”
Y/n met eyes with the matriarch and squirmed a little under her gaze. The height difference between them when both stood was significant. It was more so now with the maid sat on the floor. A second spent studying the Lady’s eyes revealed a surprising softer and tender look to them. The countess gave the maid a mirthful smile. Briefly y/n humoured the thought of how nicely the Lady’s painted lips accented her skin.
Lady Dimitrescu cocked her head just a touch and took her sweet time eyeing the maiden up and down. An indulgent hum of satisfaction came from Alcina’s throat. Her smile had turned from mirthful to coy. The maiden swallowed, her fingers toying with the cloth in her hand.
“Pet,” She acknowledged the maid sat on the floor and waited a beat before speaking again, “You may continue,”
With a healthy side of caution the maid tore her gaze from the vampire and resumed her cleaning. Painfully aware that her back was facing the majority of the room. She didn’t like that she couldn’t keep tabs of the Lady. She felt her nerves clump in her stomach whilst the clack of heels resounded off of the wooden floor. A silence that was neither awkward nor pleasant settled amongst the two.
To occupy her mind y/n had taken to counting to four in time with the muffled ticking and tocking of a grandfather clock. The repetitiveness worked in calming her and keeping her grounded as she got engrossed in the silverware. The maid had fallen into a comfortable rhythm.
‘One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, thr- ‘
“It seems, my little darling,” The countess’ smooth voice interrupted the maid’s thoughts, “that I have developed quite an appetite,”
Y/n’s head perked as she shuffled a little to better face Lady Dimitrescu. Alcina was sat leaning back into the settee facing the hearth. Her legs crossed with her fingers resting on her knee, fingers interlocked. The maiden shrunk in on herself a little, was the countess just… watching her? Y/n’s eyes flicked over to the clock in the far corner behind Alcina.
“Do I bore you, sweet?” The Lady feigned hurt.
The maiden’s eyes shot back to Lady Dimitrescu, her cheeks flushing from embarrassment, “No, my Lady,” Her response was quick, perhaps a little too quick, “My apologies,”
The matriarch did not move or speak, she simply watched the maiden with half lidded eyes. Y/n had set down the candlestick she had been cleaning alongside the cloth to fiddle with the hem of her skirt instead, she was clearly on edge much to Alcina’s delight.
“May I ask what you wish to eat?” The maid spoke slowly, and carefully.
The Lady squinted her eyes the slightest and leaned forward a little. She spoke clearly, at a relaxed pace.
“You,”
~
Ripples disturbed the water’s surface. The blade of a straight razor was dunked into the water and shaken around. Dispelling the shaving cream and hair from it into the water. Marius dried the razor and folded it before using he same towel to dry his face. He looked at his reflection, moving his mouth around to examine the few nicks he gave himself. He hadn’t noticed the small changed to his face over the past few months. But his wife noticed how the hollows of his cheek filled out, she noticed how his weather-beaten skin no longer held such a sallow hint to it, and she noticed how his eyes had dulled and lost their shine to it.
Seven parchment envelopes lay on Marius’ bedside table. Cristina placed an eighth one down, her hand lingered on the paper for a second. Her eyes lost in thought as she studied one of the broken wax seals. Her husband’s heavy footsteps brought her back to the world. She pulled away from the bedside table and headed into the kitchen. The balmos had finished cooking. She could hear the loud chatter of her children who all sat around the table already. She entered the small, cramped living room and placed the oven dish down in the middle. Marius entered the living room, his eyes met Cristina’s. He said nothing as he headed to the door, slinging his jacket on, he left without a glance back.
“Mama-?”
“Hush, eat before the food goes cold,”
~
The sun had dipped below the horizon and left the village under the moon’s care. Most houses had retired for the night. Candles and torches blown out as the inhabitants rested for the night in wait of another day. The tavern was one of the few sources of light at this hour. Marius stood outside, embracing the cold air. The muffled ruckus of drunkards serenaded his thoughts. In the sun’s kiss Castle Dimitrescu appeared as an impressive fortress. Under the moon it suffocated the village and stood tall as a menace. The sight of the castle at night could haunt a man’s dreams.
The February air stung his knuckles, the fingers wrapped around the tankard had lost all feeling. Occasionally when he flexed his fingers, the wedding band he donned would scratch against the metal cup. It had been just short of an hour that the farmer had stared up at the castle, his body ached and yearned for movement to relieve the pain. Castle Dimitrescu haunted a man’s dreams, but taunted Marius as it leered at him atop its perch over the village. Much like an agitated bull would huff at the red cape proffered in its face, Marius let out a harsh exhale, his sights burning holes into the castle from miles away.
“Mar, get inside. It’s too cold to be outside,” the voice was accompanied by a heavy hand on his shoulder. It grounded him, for now.
“Hm, sure,”
With a final glance over his shoulder at the Dimitrescu residence he followed his friend inside. Mind now occupied on a fresh tankard of mead to wash down the rising anger in his chest.
~
The air seemed to freeze between the two of them. The maiden opened her mouth only to shut it again. Opting to remain silent until she fully processed the Lady’s words. Or rather, word, singular. It was late in the night but even fatigue couldn’t cause her to mishear such a simple and concise request. Her brows knitted together; lips pursed as she looked to the side. Still thinking. Y/n’s face flew threw a series of expressions. Confusion riddled her face before giving way to disbelief. Which in turn morphed to exasperation. It seemed she was having a full conversation with herself. Silently, and very animatedly. Having seemingly forgetting who’s presence she was in. The maid looked defeated as a mix of perplexity and mild concern settled on her face.
Almost sheepishly she spoke up, “My Lady, apologies but I simply fail to understand- “
A strong hearty laugh interrupted the maiden. It was a kind of laugh that came from one’s stomach. No ounce of ingenuity to it. Alcina had thrown her head back, exposing her thick neck as her laugh ceased. Ah… what a lovely sound… With a breathy sigh she lifted her head, crows feet stemming from the corner of her eyes. Alcina’s lips came together slowly and formed a wide smile as she focused back on the maid. The Lady’s gaze held something that y/n could only describe as… adoring? Don’t stop laughing. Please…
“Come, I’ll teach you,” The countess purred, “So you know for next time,”
A single gesture. The lady’s hand faced palm up, her index finger only curling in towards herself once. Y/n scrambled to her feet and took the few steps towards the settee. She stood straight; hands clasped loosely behind her back. She looked into those pools of honey; her own eyes held a degree of apprehensiveness to them. The Lady of the castle squinted her eyes ever so slightly, as if daring the maiden to speak the thoughts that were behind her suspicion.
The maid noticed the role reversal, even with Lady Dimitrescu seated, and herself standing. The height difference was still rather large. She would say there was perhaps a good foot or two between them.
The maiden’s body seemed to vibrate with anticipations as a tangibly charged silence fell between the two women. Surprisingly, it was Lady Dimitrescu who broke the eye contact, the maiden celebrated mentally. But soon that was shunted to the side in favour of embarrassment. The countess had taken the liberty to slowly eye up the girl, taking her sweet time and very blatantly enjoying it. Perhaps a little too much. A small shiver ran up y/n’s spine. The movement earned her a sly smirk from the countess.
“Closer,” Alcina’s voice came as a husky whisper.
Lady Dimitrescu caught the hitch in the girl’s throat, and could practically hear the maiden’s heart fire up, thrashing in her chest. Oh, how she simply adored the sound. She raised one perfect eyebrow after a second or so had passed. The maiden pinched hers together in silent response. Her mind had gone someplace, where? No one could know. But it wasn’t in castle Dimitrescu, that’s for sure.
“Darling, I do not appreciate idleness,”
Y/n kickstarted at this, muttering profuse apologies as she trotted closer to the sofa. The edge of the couch pressed against her hips, having been made for the Lady specifically. She kept her eyes down for once, keeping them trained on the edge of the sofa, the Lady’s body in her peripheral. The suddenness in which the countess leaned forward with caused the maiden to flinch. Lady Dimitrescu allowed the girl to jump back before dwarfing her waist with both hands. Her touch was light, her hands were more resting on the maiden’s sides than they were holding her. And yet the maiden’s chest rose and fell with exaggerated movement. Alcina savoured the sight of y/n’s throat tensing and loosening in her attempts to stay still and resist her body’s urge to tremble. The maid’s legs felt as if they were pulled from underneath her. Embarrassingly, she found herself relying on the countess’ hands to keep her upright, to stop her from falling to the floor.
The maiden felt very much like a cat being picked up against its will. If she wasn’t fretting for her life, then her face would most definitely have resembled that of a disgruntled feline. She wished her feet remained on the ground but there wasn’t anything she could do protest. The countess placed y/n on her lap, her strong legs still crossed.
Y/n adjusted herself so she perched on the leg that lay against the sofa, her side resting on the Lady’s other leg that was crossed over. The contact felt weird but wasn’t unwelcome in the slightest. Even through the layers between their skin, the maiden could feel how cold the matriarch’s skin was. Fleetingly she pondered on fetching a blanket for Lady Dimitrescu.
“Sit properly pet,”
Y/n glanced down at her legs, she was sitting in an acceptable pose, her legs were together, mimicking a picnic style position, or a side saddle. Should she sew them together?
“Lady Dimitrescu I- “
Alcina’s gloved hand had left y/n’s waist and travelled to the end of her thigh, at her knee. Slowly she ran her fingers along the outside of the maiden’s thigh. The skirt of y/n’s uniform ruffled up, just enough for the hem of her stocking to show. The maiden’s ears prickled with heat as she felt her neck flush. Her breathing became heavy. Whilst her heart pounded away. A sultry chuckled accompanied the Lady’s hand as it lingered on y/n’s hip before making the journey back down her leg. Alcina wrapped her hand around the maiden’s thigh near the middle, quite easily covering almost half of the circumference. Y/n felt the muscles in her abdomen tense, and her back straightened up a little. The movement earned her a soft look from the Lady.
“What- “
“Hush, you’re such a sweet thing. I wont hurt you,” Alcina spoke with a gentleness to her voice.
Y/n hoped the Lady was a woman of her word. She made a conscious effort to clam her breathing. Which was pointless. In one swift move, Alcina uncrossed her legs and had the maiden straddling her. Y/n was sorely aware of how close their bodies were. On her lap, the maiden was only a wee bit smaller than Alcina. This new development had the maiden’s breath being drawn a little shorter than normal, Alcina supressed a purr at the faint little gasps.
The maiden found the wight of Alcina’s hands on her hips was very comforting, she enjoyed the feeling. Even if it was on the colder side. Y/n finally looked up at the Lady’s face, meeting her gold eyes. She didn’t ponder too long before she found herself studying the countess’ face. The smooth alabaster skin looked so soft to touch. Are her cheeks… squishy? I wonder. The maid’s eyes trailed over red lips, not noticing how they were pulled into an amused smile. Her eyes caught on to the tiniest little smudge of red, without thinking she lifted her hand to Lady Dimitrescu’s face and used her thumb to gently wipe away the stray lipstick. Her skins so silky.
Alcina was the picture of composure and elegance, up until the maid touched her. The vampire’s face went from a look of endearment to pure surprise, and was that… a trace of fear? Y/n was still very much in her own mind as she stroked the Lady’s cheek with the back of her fingers. The maiden was gazing at the spot she was caressing, she missed the countess looking down at her still with that startled expression. Alcina recovered quickly and cleared her throat. To her utmost displeasure the maiden practically sprang off of her lap, had it not been for her hands holding the maiden.
“My Lady I wasn’t thinking, please forgive me. You have my utmost apologies,” The tremor could be heard in y/n’s voice.
Her chest felt as if it had seized up. She had also squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of a punishment. Of a violent sort.
Alcina’s heart swelled at the feeling, they were plush against her own. The countess felt herself practically melt into the touch. Her gloved hands travelled up y/n’s frame to hold her face. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling.
The maiden’s eyes shot open the second contact was made. A lashing or a beating was what she had expected if she was lucky a simple berating or a cut in this month’s wages. Alas here she sat, straddling the castle’s matriarch’s lap. Their lips pressed together. After a second, she relaxed and with some reluctance leaned in. She let her eyes close, and gingerly rested her hands against the Lady’s collar bone.
The kiss was sweet, it was innocent, chaste. And it was pure.