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Donna doesn’t sleep.
It’s a trait that sets her apart from the other Lords and their respective attachés, should they have them. Her cadou has rotted her from the inside out and left her a husk of a person with no basic needs. It isn’t a terrible fate. She has a lot more free time than most, but it does make the nights drag on if there is nothing for her to do.
And there is nothing for her to do in the Dimitrescu Castle at night, spare putting up with being the central figure in a mass of limbs and snores.
Lady Dimitrescu has the most prolific library in the village and Lady Beneviento travels to peruse it from time to time. It has a helpful section completely dedicated to plants. Donna is always looking to learn. The library and she are a match made in heaven. And, of course, this is the only reason for her monthly visits. Lady Dimitrescu’s three daughters, despite being curled around her in one of the largest cuddle piles manageable in the village, have no impact on whether or not she visits. None, at all.
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that,” Angie snorts across the mattress.
Donna lifts her head, narrowing her only eye at the doll wrapped up in Cassandra’s arms. Angie shows no shame in being quite comfortable where she is, but the doll is better at dealing with people than Donna is in general. That includes physical contact.
“You’ll wake them,” Is all Donna can manage as a retort before dropping her head back to the pillow.
It started with Daniela wandering to her room one night during one of her visits. It had been innocent enough. They had a lengthy discussion about what Donna was reading and what Daniela liked to read. By ‘they’ Donna means Angie and Daniela did. The perk of having a doll who can talk for you is you often don’t have to contribute any attention to anyone, but then Daniela came back the next night. And then the next. And again when Donna visited the next time. It got to the point where Donna had to acknowledge the redhead.
Acknowledging her seemed to set off a domino effect. As conversations turned more personal, more personnel started arriving.
Bela joined them next. She didn’t talk nearly as much as Daniela did, but she wasn’t nearly as quiet as Donna was. Her reserved personality didn’t have much of an influence on Daniela’s, however. If anything, it made the youngest Dimitrescu bolder. Donna could understand that. She has some vague memories of acting out a little in front of Bernadette in an attempt to gain approval or attention. Bela seems to be a much nicer older sister.
A few visits later and Cassandra showed up too. She never failed to sit somewhere near Angie. The raven-haired girl found Donna’s doll fascinating in the same way you find the damage done to the human body after a snake bite is left untreated fascinating. Cassandra usually spent the night pestering Angie with questions or practicing her hand at conversation with choppy sentences and bounced around topics.
At least Angie has a lot of experience conversing with people who have no social skills.
These late-night visits went from conversation and each girl tiredly making their way back to their rooms to passing out in the guest bedroom after goading Donna into reading them a story. Yes, Donna. Not Angie. It had taken months of effort from each Dimitrescu daughter, but with a lot of patience and kind words with reassuring smiles, they got Donna to read to them. It took even longer to get her to hold a conversation before reading to them. And then even longer for her to be comfortable enough not having her veil on, but after that point, it had been easy enough in comparison to get her to cuddle.
After all, bedtime stories are best read when already in bed. And if a Dimitrescu daughter happens to fall asleep halfway thrown over the narrator’s lap or leaned against the narrator’s shoulder, then it would be rude to move them. Right? Donna thinks it would be rude. That’s the only reason she puts up with it. It definitely isn’t because it feels nice or warm or anything like that.
Angie snorts again and Donna shoots a few threatening thoughts her way, but not much else because the sisters react to the sound in their sleep. They all shift to move closer and ensure their ‘buddy’ is still there. A few times, Donna had the opportunity to slip out of the hold without disturbing them. Each time it ended up the same way, with a bleary-eyed Dimitrescu tracking her down after some time and mumbling something about waking up alone. They sounded so sad when they found her that she stopped doing that even when the opportunity arose.
Instead, she either brings a second book to read throughout the night after the girls have fallen asleep, or she just...relaxes. Donna doesn’t get to relax often, but it’s hard not to when surrounded by people who care. She shifts her free hand up to run her fingers through Bela’s hair and the blonde nuzzles closer to her, burying her face into Donna’s shoulder. Donna tilts her head to check on Daniela spooning her. She can feel the redhead’s steady breathing on her back and shifts slightly to get a better look at Cassandra on the other side of Bela, whose only connection is her hand tangled with Donna’s and her other arm wrapped around Angie. Donna squeezes her hand just to reassure her she’s still there before resting her head again.
Donna doesn’t sleep, but it isn’t such a terrible fate. She’d have to wait till morning to see these girls again otherwise.