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A foggy morning, cold and white, was not any deterrent for the dutiful head housemaid of Castle Dimitrescu. Despite the freezing cold, she ventured outside nonetheless, her wood ax in hand and a simple shawl shielding her from the snow. It wouldn’t do to let the ladies of the house awaken to a chilly castle like she had, after all.
Edel Ambrosius did this every morning. Her physical… irregularities made it much easier for her to withstand the cold than the other maids, and so every morning she chopped firewood and traveled back to the castle to light the fires in every room. Ever so dutiful.
This morning, the ax lifted and fell on the logs in the yard just as it always did. Edel’s strong arms made quick work of the job, but it would still take at least an hour, which is why she always made certain to awaken early, far before the ladies Dimitrescu would be up. There were fires to be lit, and then she needed to ensure breakfast was ready. Once the ladies were sat down to eat, she would need to set out their outfits for that day and assist Lady Dimitrescu in dressing, alerting the mistress of her meetings and arrangements for the day. Then, she needed to inspect the maids cleaning job after breakfast… and then came time for midday lunch. It was a good thing she ate breakfast and had her coffee when she first woke up. Such was her daily schedule, but she didn’t mind. She’d become accustomed to it. It’d been about two years since she began working for Lady Dimitrescu, and this was normal to her.
Most maids did not last that long in the castle. It was widely spoken about as a place of death and loss, where most who were employed either escaped or died trying. Edel, however, was different. Very different.
For one, Edel was already dead.
Years ago, after a tragic incident, Edel died and was reanimated by a strain of peculiar mold. She didn’t quite remember everything about it, or what exactly had happened, but she did remember finding Mother Miranda, and she remembered the experiments the strange woman had done on her after the encounter. These experiments led to Edel’s mold making her a very peculiar woman, a woman who did not really feel pain, among other things. Her peculiar traits made the castle Dimitrescu very normal for her.
Despite the otherwise normal nature of the morning, though, about half an hour later Edel felt something seemed… off. As she chopped wood- yes, she distinctly noted that the morning was not as silent as it usually was. If she stretched her hearing, she could make out the sound of footsteps in the snow, hushed voices approaching.
She removed her ax from the wood where it lay and crept to a nearby ladder. It led up to a low balcony, but was still high enough to see over the hill where the fireplace lay. Yes, surely enough, there were people approaching. A group of six, burly men and women marched towards the hill, carrying a cart of guns and torches. How… quaint, really. Did they intend to slay Lady Dimitrescu with guns? Simple manufactured weapons would never do a thing against her. She made a note to lock the windows and direct the daughters away from them when she alerted her employers of the trespassers.
…as they drew closer, though, she noticed a faint glint, and strained her eyes to see what it was.
There, in one of the men’s hands was a dagger that she knew well. The lady had never told her about it, but she’d found the book detailing it ages ago, and studied the picture for hours. Morbid curiosity, she supposed. She decided afterwards she had no intention of seeking out a dagger that could kill Lady Dimitrescu, due to personal feelings she did not know how to sort out, but evidently, this party did not feel the same. They possessed the dagger, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they intended to do with it.
Edel watched a while longer, analyzing the situation to try and think of how to handle it without bothering the mistresses. Surely, she could handle this quietly and in a timely manner. She checked her pocket watch- half an hour until the misses would be waking up. It’d be cutting it close, but…
With a sigh, she adjusted her ponytail and took hold of her axe, then dropped down from the balcony. She landed in front of the seven trespassers, who looked a little surprised at how rapidly they’d been intercepted. They thought they might have at least made it inside before being stopped… and also stopped by someone a bit less normal looking. Despite her grim appearance, Edel did in fact look relatively human compared to the ladies of castle Dimitrescu.
Still, she was clearly an enemy to them, and so no time was wasted when they grabbed hold of their guns and torches. Edel, however, also wasted no time, and while they loaded their guns, she put that ax of hers to work.
————
Half an hour was indeed cutting it too close for comfort. By the time Alcina Dimitrescu and her three daughters had woken up, it was still uncomfortably cold in the house. Lady Dimitrescu was not pleased, to say the least. The housekeeper was never off schedule on things like these, so just what could possibly be keeping her this morning? Alcina instructed one of the other maids to use what little wood was left indoors to light a fire in the dining room and hurry up with breakfast. At least a hot meal would serve to keep them comfortable enough until Miss Ambrosius returned.
Further ruffling the lady’s feathers was the fact that it took nearly another half hour for the head maid to return. When she heard the door in the entry hall open, she was deeply upset. Excusing herself from the table and leaving her daughters to talk amongst themselves, Alcina exited the dining room and stormed towards the footsteps of her maid through the infuriatingly cold castle.
“There had better be a good excuse for your tardiness, Ambrosius, because I am not a patient woman- hm.”
Edel stood in the foyer, her apron and face stained red with a copious amount of blood. She looked surprised, and then ashamed at the sight of Lady Dimitrescu. Quickly bowing low to the floor, she folded her hands in front of the bloodied apron as if to hide it.
“My sincerest apologies, my Lady. I meant to have this taken care of and cleaned up before you awakened, but I severely underestimated how long it would t-” Edel was cut off by the vampiress taking hold of her chin, a finger swiping over her face.
“This isn’t your blood.”
“No, my lady.”
“Whose is it?”
“Intruders, madam.” Alcina quirked an eyebrow, and Edel stood tall again to give her report. “I believe they were intent on slaying you. I stopped them before they could make it inside. I should have called for another maid to take over my duties while I handled it, so I apologize that your morning was thrown off.” She reached into her dress pocket, and produced something wrapped in cloth.
The lady of the castle did not accept her apology just yet, but did take the clothed item. “I suppose the reason is suitable, though I’m far from pl-“ She cut herself off, staring at the object she unsheathed in her hands. The dagger, fabled to be able to kill her… was now in her hands, safe from anyone else.
“…how did you get this.”
“I killed them and took it, my lady. I assumed you would want it.”
“…” She stared at it for a very, very long time, then lifted her hand to dismiss Edel. “Consider your tardiness excused. Go light the fires and make yourself presentable, Miss Ambrosius.”
The housekeeper nodded and bowed out of the room, leaving Alcina to consider the poison blade in her hand. Rarely did Lady Dimitrescu feel uneasy- she was usually the one making others feel uneasy. Yet, now, as she stared down the one thing that could so easily end her life, handed to her by an undead woman… yes, she certainly felt unsettled. She covered the blade back up and moved to take it away from any prying eyes. She had to hide this somewhere where it would never be found. She… was able to hide it somewhere it would never be found.
Why had Edel given her this? Alcina pondered that question as she wandered through the halls of her home, her intense golden eyes boring holes through the cloth. The sight of Miss Ambrosius standing in the foyer, covered in blood that was not her own certainly stirred some emotions in her. It was… enticing, admittedly. The housekeep was not a bad looking woman in the slightest, and a fine lady drenched in that sweet shade of red just made the view that much better, even more so seeing as it wasn’t her own blood. A woman unafraid to get her hands dirty… and for her sake? Going so far as to deliver to her the one thing that could kill her? She knew full well what the maids in this castle thought of her. Some were in awe, some finding her beautiful, but all found her terrifying, and many longed to leave, fearing that cellar that lay below their feet, threatening them at all times.
…But Miss Ambrosius did not fear it. She did not fear her. The undead woman, composed of something other than simple human flesh, had long lost her fear. Perhaps that was why she was the head housekeeper. No simple woman could do the job. It took so much more to survive long enough to hold any sort of position of power. When Miss Ambrosius had a job to do, the job got done. Be it something as simple as sending a stray maid to the cellar where she belonged… or something like protecting the ladies she served in this house. How fascinating. She had never seen someone quite so devoted to her. Surely it wasn’t out of a need to survive, because it was not a maid's duty to protect the masters. Had the ladies not been killed, Edel would not have suffered any sort of punishment if she kept her mouth shut about seeing the intruders. This could only be…
She shook her head, and made her way into the Hall of The Four. Behind this puzzle, it would truly take a resilient soul to find this dagger. No one could live long enough to make it into the private chapel unescorted by the Lady herself.
Yes, what a suitable gift.
--------------------
The fires now tended to and lunch preparations set in motion, Edel ducked away to her quarters to make herself presentable again. Her bloodied apron was set aside in favor of a clean one, to be washed when she had the time, and seeing as she didn’t have the time to draw a full bath, she went to the basin in her room and scrubbed her face clean, soaking her jet black hair as well. A matted bloody mane was not suitable for her line of work.
Her hair was towel dried and pulled back, and with that, she returned to the main house to oversee the rest of her duties. A quick trip to the kitchen showed that the trespassers were being prepared for dinner- she had to admit, when she’d first arrived, she had admired the strong stomachs and ingenuity of the castle chefs. She hoped the feast was up to Lady Dimitrescu’s standards.
Frankly, she wanted to impress the woman. When she had first come here, she had nothing and no one at all. Her family died when she did in an explosive fire that consumed their summer home, and fortunately for them, there was nothing left of them for the mold to take root in. The mold that transformed her body, turning her into a walking corpse, left her unable to die as she wandered the cold wasteland she’d woken to. Being found by Mother Miranda seemed a blessing at first, but she quickly found it to be a curse. Experiments seemed to last months on end that, while not painful, left her weary and afraid. Over time, she resigned to her weariness, and the fear ebbed away. In fact, along with her pain and fear, nearly all emotions disappeared. What could be the point of them? She felt apathetic about her situation as she accepted that she was dead, and this was surely some form of purgatory.
And then, when Mother Miranda was done with her, she was called to her side to be introduced to none other than Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. At first, there was still no feeling. She was assigned to be the head housekeeper, and carried out her job with monotony. It was just never ending tasks to be done, like a rat in a maze.
The lady took an interest in her, though- not the same way Mother Miranda was interested, either. At first, yes, some of Edel’s inhuman traits intrigued Alcina, but most questions directed towards her were about what she liked to do, or her history prior to coming to the village. Questions about… who she was. Not what she was. It was gradual, a slow march back into the feelings she’d discarded, but she came to admire Lady Dimitrescu. She could not deny what a remarkable woman the countess was, and she was no fool. The way the lady invited her to afternoon tea, or out to the garden for croquet? It was clear Alcina enjoyed her company as well. Yet still, because her emotions still felt so unclear, she had not acted upon them.
Perhaps she was still stuck in that purgatory, not quite suitable for the living yet.
Edel exited the kitchen and made her way into the main hall, where she was suddenly greeted by none other than the lady herself. Dimitrescu reached out and stopped the woman in her tracks with one large hand.
“Do you need something, madam?”
She did not react in the slightest as Alcina bent down to examine her face, noting that the vampiress’ nose twitched just a tad. After a moment, she stood back upright, beckoning Edel along wordlessly. Of course, the ever so dutiful housekeeper followed.
She followed behind her all the way to Lady Dimitrescu’s personal chambers. She’d been there many times- one of her duties was assisting the lady in the morning. While there would usually be a separate maid assigned to the ladies' chambers, the turnover on staff was always so irritating that Alcina preferred the one constant in the staff to do the job. She would have been here that morning, had it not been for the incid-
Her line of thought was interrupted by Alcina taking hold of her chin, as she had done earlier that day. Edel looked up to meet her eyes… only to close them as she sniffed up her face.
“I thought I told you to make yourself decent.”
“Yes, and I did.”
“Wrong. You still reek of blood, Miss Ambrosius.”
“I was unaware, my lad-“
“Alcina.”
Edel blinked. “Pardon?”
“Enough “my lady”. Everyone calls me “my lady.” You… you deserve to call me something special.”
“…do I, now?”
She felt excited, and realizing that she felt excited made her more excited. It didn’t show on that ever stoic face of her, but the rush of emotion she felt at being special to Alcina was euphoric. “Right. I was unaware, Alcina, that I hadn’t cleaned myself to a satisfactory degree. Allow me to rectify this.”
“No need. I’ll do it for you.”
Edel opened her mouth to say something, but was once again cut off, this time by Alcina taking hold of her shoulders and guiding her to sit on the bench which sat in front of a large ornate chair. “Take your hair down,” She instructed, moving to the other side of the room to fetch a basin, a towel and a cloth. Edel did so, watching the countess curiously as she returned to her side. The basin set on the table next to the chair and the towel hung on the wall hook behind her, Alcina sat down in front of the other woman and, before she had time to respond, took hold of her again and set her so that she was on the floor in front of her, her head positioned to lay in the taller lady’s lap looking up at her.
Edel did not know how to react to this. Rarely was she ever shocked by anything these days, and she had seen some truly shocking things, but this was something she could not have seen coming, even knowing how Alcina was sweet on her. Her expression remained the same, stoic and apparently unbothered… but a blush crept onto her face, one that did not escape the vampires' notice.
The two remained quiet as the lady gently, slowly, painstakingly scrubbed the others’ pale face clean of blood, tracing the wet cloth over her jaw line and up to her forehead. Edel did not break eye contact, and after a moment, realized she wasn’t even blinking. No, she was staring directly into Alcina’s entrancing yellow eyes, eyes that scrutinized her bloody face and saw every last trace of blood Edel had missed. Edel never wanted this to end. She wanted this womans’ attention on her forever and always, staring at her for the rest of time.
Unfortunately, the eye contact broke when she was moved again. Much to her delight, though, she was repositioned to lay entirely across Alcina’s lap, her head now laying over the armrest and her hair moved to soak in the basin. One hand worked slowly through Edel’s hair, and the other slowly traveled lovingly up and down the side of her face. At long last, the silence between them broke.
“You could have killed me so easily today, Edel.”
“Is that so?”
“Don’t play dumb. You had it in your hands. You could have ended me there and then, miss, and you didn’t. Why?”
“I didn’t want to.”
Alcina gave a wry laugh, still scrubbing through the wet black locks of hair. “Didn’t want to. How very peculiar, miss. You know almost anyone around here would give anything to kill me?”
“If I killed you, I’d never see you again. Not even in that great beyond.”
“And that’s something you wouldn’t like?”
“Quite so, Alcina. I don’t get to go to the great beyond, be it Heaven or Hell. If you were to die, I would find…”
“What would you find?”
“...I would find myself quite lonely.” She closes her eyes, finally, as if she’s embarrassed to admit it. “I don’t believe anyone understands me quite as you do. I have no place among the living, and I can’t fully enter our Lord’s embrace. You… you live in that same place between the dead and the living as I do. You make it oh so beautiful, a gilded purgatory so much better than the gray nothing I know.” Her gloved hand lifts to rest atop Dimitrescus, no care for any pretense of professionalism now. Another chuckle leaves Alcina’s throat at this.
“What a devoted woman you are, Edel Ambrosius. I’m lucky to have someone such as yourself by my side, aren’t I? Someone who doesn’t fear me, yet is loyal all the same… that’s the best sort of loyalty, isn’t it?”
Edel said nothing, merely relishing in this moment. The quiet resumed as Alcina removed her hair from the basin, setting it aside and collecting the towel hanging off the hook beside her, to dry her precious head maid’s hair and face. When she opened her eyes again, she stared up at Dimitrescu, who seemed not to notice her expression just yet, eyes wide as something came to mind.
“My- Alcina.”
“Hm? Whatever is it?”
“...I have brought you the blood of seven others, but before you consume theirs, I-” She swallowed, steeling herself for what she was about to ask. It was a dreadfully intimate thing, in her mind, even though she had seen several maids far less close to Lady Dimitrescu have the same thing happen. Perhaps it was the act of asking for it, wanting it.
“I would ask you to drink mine.”
Now it was Alcinas’ turn to look surprised. “You want me to drink your blood?”
Edel nodded quickly. “I do. I would love nothing more. It wouldn’t hurt. I don’t hurt.”
“...You are insatiable, aren’t you, Edel?”
“Please.”
She laughed again- this time more amused. Still, she didn’t deny the maiden’s request. “I suppose you are deserving of a reward after such a beautiful display this morning.” Her gloved hands took hold of Edel’s wrists, gently pulling her upright and repositioning her, so that she now sat with her knees folded upon Alcina’s lap. She removed her gloves, setting them aside next to the basin, then wrapped her fingers around the smaller womans’ chin.
“Red is such a stunning color on you, anyhow.”
Edels’ breath hitched in her throat, and she eagerly lifted her chin to provide access for the woman she oh so desperately wanted. Her heart soared as she felt Alcinas’ lips press firmly against the pale skin on her neck, the womans’ red lipstick no doubt leaving a stain there. A large hand pressed firmly against Edels’ back to hold her up, and finally, large fangs sweetly pierced her neck.
It didn’t hurt. Nothing ever really hurt anymore, no, but she did feel it. The lightheaded sensation from her blood traveling to meet Alcina’s fangs. The weight of the woman she so adored having her mouth buried in her neck. The hand lovingly tracing circles on her back. The slight humming against her skin from the countess. Oh, how wonderful. She felt more alive than she had in ages. She didn’t feel like a simple walking corpse as she was held flush against Dimitrescu- she felt aglow with life, and she wanted to give it all to Alcina.
When she felt the fangs leave her flesh, she sighed, partially in relief and partially in disappointment. Blood dripped down her neck, and she shuddered as it was licked off of her skin.
Alcina hummed a bit louder now, selecting the cloth from the table again and pressing it firmly to Edel’s neck. “How beautiful,” she remarked, licking her smirking lips. “How delicious. What a wonderful gift, my dear. Thank you.” She had half a mind to shower Edel with gifts of her own. Lavish things, beautiful furniture and dresses. She once lived in wealth, hadn’t she? Yes, a woman as remarkable, as outstanding, as bloodied and insatiable as Edel deserved wonderful gifts. She’d always been pleased with the housekeeper before, but now, oh, she was delighted. No one ever appreciated Alcina quite as much as she had.
The cloth still held against her neck, Alcina tilted the womans’ head back upright and promptly pressed a kiss to her pale lips. Edel now felt positively dizzy with excitement- when was the last time she had felt so much in rapid succession? She thought that she may very well faint, but the hand returning to her back prevented that.
Before she knew what she was doing, Edel lifted her hands and took hold of either side of Alcina’s face, kissing her back intensely. Yes, she was insatiable just as the vampiress had said, but that just made them all the more suited for each other, right?
Alcina knew she herself was insatiable as well, she wouldn’t have paid so much attention to the head housekeeper if she weren’t- she wouldn’t have made excuses to touch her, to inspect her uniform so closely time and time again, to make inane requests just to speak to her. She wouldn’t have watched every time Edel disposed of a useless maid, staring from the balcony as the maids were dragged beneath to the dungeons by those strong arms. She saw red every time she looked at her in the most wonderful way.
At long last, the two finally pulled away from each other, ghostly pale faces decorated with deep crimson. Edel stumbled off of Alcina’s lap, only for the larger woman’s hand to take a hold of her shoulder, leaning in to examine her lover’s neck.
“Already clean, already healed… Edel Ambrosius, you are just magnificent,” she breathed, drawing up from her chair to her full height. Her hand moved from her shoulder to grasp her shirt and lift her tall in the air, staring into her eyes. “I could never part with you- you are a more beautiful treasure than any of the gold I have in this castle, do you know that? I never want to see you go, Edel.”
“I won’t go,” came the curt reply. “You could never be rid of me. You could kill me now, and years later, when I am finally whole again, I would come back for you. Alcina, I will haunt you.”
There it was again, that chill that only Edel could give her. Alcina set her down and kissed her hard once again, then stepped away and turned to face her mirror. She was deep red. Oh, how long it had been since someone managed to fluster her like this. It was taking everything in her not to ask Edel to marry her right then and there. “Right- right. That is all. I apologize for having kept you so long. You may take the day off, Edel. Have one of the other girls handle your duties today. I am certain your blood will take a bit to regenerate even if the wound has closed.”
“And it isn’t just because you want me available later?”
“Are you teasing me-?” She turned to look in shock at the woman, but Edel was already turning to leave. If she wasn’t mistaken, she was sure she could hear the woman chuckling.
“…” Alcina shook her head and put both hands on her vanity.
“What a woman..”