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alxndryngs · 6 months

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A Day Off

A/N: Since I am in desperate need of comfort/fluff, I came up with this. Enjoy!

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Alcina’s favourite maid has a bad day.

———

Alcina, sitting in her atelier, was focused on her newest art piece. She only recently had gotten back into painting, and upon her new oil paints arriving, she had pushed work aside for once and hid away in her art room.

She even asked for her daughters to stay by themselves for the day, and put Bela in charge. Alcina wanted to dedicate herself to the work in process fully, without distractions.

The smell of fresh paint and sounds of birds chirping outside had fully consumed her, and hours passed without her noticing.

It was only when the feeling of hunger clawed at her throat that she noticed how much time had passed. Alcina called out, loud enough for the maids to hear.

“Yes, my lady.” Ingrid asked upon entering, her hands folded behind her back.

“Let y/n know I’m in desperate need of a glass of wine, and perhaps a small snack. She’ll know what to make me.”

Y/n had been her personal maid for almost three years at this point, having proven herself more than capable and worthy. Alcina took a liking to the girl, despite her wanting to admit it. She acted with grace, was humble and kind. Everything Alcina thought she herself was not, despite acting with grace.

The maid had left soon after, nodding before dismissal.

“Thank you, my-“ Alcina’s words ceased once her head turned and she was met by the image of Helena, and not y/n. “I asked for y/n, if I’m not mistaken.” Her tone now had a sharp edge to it, already feeling the annoyance bubbling up inside of her.

“Yes, my lady, I’m aware. But I was available, y/n isn’t feeling well today.”

Alcina paused, the paint covered brush slowly being lowered before placed down. It had surprised her that her little maid was feeling ill. In the years y/n had worked at the castle she might have fallen ill three times in total. Nothing could shake her, not even the freezing temperatures of the winter. Instead of freezing and sitting in front of her fireplace, she insisted on Alcina’s daughters receiving her firewood. ‘She didn’t need it’ she said.

“Well, send her the castle nurse. She will fix a remedy for whatever it is that is causing her to feel ill.” Alcina nodded, convinced this idea would be the solution. As the maid stood still, her mouth opening and closing to fish for an answer, Alcina snapped.

“Stop gawking at me like a dying bubble eye fish and do as I said! What am I paying you for?”

The maids mouth now stood agape in fear, and she stuttered for an answer. “I’m- my lady. I’m ever so sorry. A remedy from the nurse won’t help her. She’s just.. not feeling well mentally today.”

The maid paused, then adding in a panicked tone. “I apologise. I’m not sure if I was allowed to share that with you, Lady Dimitre-“

“I’m your employer, you’ll share with me when you last bled if I wish for you to.” Alcina growled, now standing and pushing the maid aside as she left her atelier.

As she strut through the castle, an anxious feeling overcame her. Y/n had always been collected and happy, and it seemed out of order for her to put work on hold. She had seen people die and burn because of Alcina’s wrath. People burning and screaming, being gutted, and managed to sleep like a baby. It confused Alcina.

She had slowed once entering the hallway leading towards the maidens rooms. Her heels thudded against the carpet, ceasing once having approached y/n’s room.

“Y/n?” Alcina called out, waiting for a response before gently knocking on the door with her knuckle. “Y/n, darling. I’ve heard that-“

Alcina stopped herself as the door opened. She fought the smile threatening to spread across her lips when y/n looked back at her.

“My lady.” She greeted, the same smile as always on the girls lips.

Alcina stood confused, licking her lips to moist them before pushing a smile back.

“Do you need me to wash your dress?”

Alcina’s brows furrowed “Pardon?”

“Your dress, my lady. It’s covered in paint.”

Alcina didn’t bother looking down at herself. Instead she shook her head and began to lean down, moving to step into the room as y/n stepped back to allow her to.

“I heard you were ill.” The stutter in y/n’s heart didn’t miss her. Alcina turned to look at her, waiting until she had closed the door before speaking again, her tone softer this time.

“You have always been by my side, ever since you came to Castle Dimitrescu. You’ve listened to me rant about my incompetent brother, complain over my business and daughters. You even dried my tears and blood for me. It is my turn to return the favour, my dear. Sit, and speak to me. What’s causing your little heart to beat this way?”

Alcina lowered herself onto the bed as she spoke. Y/n wasn’t sure if she had ever seen the kindness in Alcina’s eyes like there was now. It was inviting, comforting.

She obeyed, taking a seat next to her lady. It didn’t take long for the words to pool out of her, and all of a sudden, she had displayed the world to Alcina. Every single one of her concerns and problems laid splayed out before her, for her to look at and judge.

But instead, Alcina remained silent the whole time. Not once had she budged in to ask a question, even though there were multiple that burned on the tip of her tongue.

For comfort, Alcina removed the cream coloured handkerchief from her pocket. The Dimitrescu sigil was stitched into the corner.

Carefully, she had dried the maids tears. Her large hand cupped her cheek, and with the other she dried her tears.

Y/n cried, her face flush because of it and the embarrassment of crying in front of someone like Alcina. A wave of guilt overcame her for so freely unloading her problems onto Alcina.

“I’m sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t have burdened you with my problems, I-“

“Shush.” Alcina snapped, her voice immediately softening after. For a moment she hesitated, but then gently pulled her into her lap. She had to lift her slightly to her height to give her a proper hug. Alcinas gloved fingers ran through her hair, holding her close enough to feel her heartbeat against her own chest.

“Don’t ever say that. You are not a burden, or burdening me by speaking about your feelings. Your feelings are more than valid, especially in topics like the ones you have shared with me just now. I am beyond proud that you shared your concerns. It takes courage to speak up about one’s concerns. And from what I can tell, this has bothered you for a long time.”

Alcina gently peeled the maid off of her, only enough so she could look at her. Y/n had leaned on her only after moments, quietly crying into the woman’s shoulder.

Her hands cupped her small face, and Alcina spoke quietly.

“I want you to know that I always will be someone you can trust, and confine in. I’m here, and I’m listening. Do you hear me?”

A small sob bubbled out of her, and she nodded. Y/n’s eyes closed as Alcina pressed the most gentle kiss to her forehead, letting it linger enough for both of them to have time to relish in it before pulling away.

Her lips had left behind a red mark which she would make sure to remove later on. But for now, she was returning the hug y/n had given her. She had thrown her arms around the older woman, holding on tight as her walls began to fully break down and crumble beneath them both.

Alcina closed her eyes, holding her close as she swayed them from side to side. Whispering sweet nothings calmed y/n after a few minutes, and Alcina made sure to show her appreciation of the girl for the rest of the day.

“I started a new art piece.. would you like to join me in the atelier for the rest of the day?” Alcina offered with a smile which intensified upon seeing y/n smile at the suggestion.

She wondered if the girl would notice that it was her Alcina was painting. Taking a stroll through the Dimitrescu garden at midnight, the moon shining down on her.

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willalove75 · 7 months

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Alcina's New Maid Pt. 18 Lady Dimitrescu x Reader

Summary: Things at the meeting get out of hand and Alcina loses control.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI. Canon violence, blood

Tags: angst, hurt, some comfort, the tiniest dash of fluff

Notes: Part 18! Shit gets real!

Click here for the rest of the series

Gif source

A soft click echoes through the dilapidated chapel when the door closes behind you. Alcina strides forward into the center of the room and you follow behind her right hand side.

"Donna, how have you been?" Alcina asks Donna who is sitting in a chair to the left of the small stage in the back of the room.

"Very well, and yourself, Lady Dimitrescu?"

"Excellent. I've been well. You remember my new handmaiden, yes?"

"Of course. Good morning." Angie's mouth moves but Donna's voice is what comes through.

"Good morning Lady Beneviento." You say with a bow.

"Hey! What about me?!" Angie says in her own voice.

Alcina rolls her eyes at the doll and waves her off.

"Yes, good morning to you too Angie." Alcina mumbles.

"That's what I like to hear! Your new bloodbag is cute, wonder how long she'll last!" Angie says before cackling loudly.

The doll hops off of Donna's lap and walks right up to you and looks up as she circles you.

"Hm, I guess she's okay. Probably won't last too long." She says before shooting you a wink and climbing back into Donna's lap.

"Good morning Miss Angie." You say with a bow.

"And she has manners! Who would've thought?!"

Alcina rolls her eyes again and turns towards the other side of the church. As you look around you notice that the chapel is in worse shape than the hallway that led the two of you here. The back of the room is being help up by what looks like makeshift scaffolding and there's a gaping hole in the ceiling.

"Ah, Salvatore, good morning." Alcina says.

As you look up you see a hunched over man with a rather large hump on his back. He's wearing a black leather jacket that looks more like a cloak draped over him with a crown of, are those bones? Fastened to the hood. Strands of black scraggily hair dangle just below the multiple tumor-like lumps on his neck and face.

Moreau looks up at Alcina and waves with a purple-grey webbed hand.

"Good morning Lady." He gurgles.

"Salvatore, I would like you to meet my new handmaiden." Alcina says, gesturing to you.

"Good morning Lord Moreau." You say with a bow.

The man lets out a noise that almost sounds like a sob. When you look up you see a mouth full of rotted and crooked teeth, most of which are nearly pointing outwards towards you. It's then you realize that he's laughing. A feeling of uneasiness washes over you and you look up at Alcina to find her narrowing her eyes at the man.

"Oh this must be the one mother was speaking of!" He says as he excitedly claps his hands together. "Mother said she has many fun things planned for you!"

"Has she now?" Alcina says as her stare intensifies.

Moreau looks up at Alcina and the glee in his eyes quickly fades. He begins to stutter and she cuts him off.

"Well I certainly hope mothers plans on playing nice. We all know that I take pride in keeping what is mine in pristine condition and that I don't like when my property is damaged." She says through her teeth.

You watch as the ice laced in her voice causes Salvatore to shrink back into himself. He begins to tremble under her stare and just when you think the man before you is going to fall down to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, the back doors swing open with a loud "BANG."

Everyone turns and looks towards the direction the noise came from to find Heisenberg strutting through the doors with his hammer slung over his shoulder.

"Heisenberg. Do you have any manners?" Alcina hisses as she walks towards him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not like this dump could get any worse."

"You're late."

"So is the bird bitch but I bet I won't see you saying shit to her about it." Alcina glares at him and his gaze shifts to you. "Hey kid, gotcha something."

He tosses something at you and you're able to catch it even though you were caught off guard. Alcina eyes what's in your hand as you unravel it and you realize it's a dagger in a leg holster. You slide the dagger out of its holster to take a look at it. Right away you notice the Dimitrescu coat of arms engraved into both sides of the hilt. The dagger is lightweight but razor-sharp, it's beautiful.

"Thank you very much, Lord Heisenberg. It's wonderful, your craftsmanship is excellent." You say with a bow.

"Don't thank me yet. You can thank me when you know it works." He shoots you a wink and Alcina's glare towards him intensifies. "Go ahead, slap that baby on!"

You look up at Alcina to see that her eyes are still aimed at Karl. Her gazes drops down to you and she sighs and gives you a nod. Stepping aside, you turn away from everyone and strap the dagger to your thigh so you can easily grab it with your dominant hand. After making sure it's secure and easily accessible, you smooth out your dress over it and turn back to the two of them and give them a nod.

Karl gives you a nod and Alcina places her hand on your back and begins to guide you towards her large chair. Karl sits in the pew opposite of her and you stand to her right just a touch behind her.

"Sal, Donna, china doll." Karl says, nodding to each person.

"HEY! I'm not china doll!" Angie screeches.

"Might as well be, Frankenstein." He drawls.

"Listen you! Keep it up and you're gonna regret it!"

"What are you gonna do? Give me a splinter?"

Donna has to restrain Angie in her lap so she doesn't jump out and run over to Karl.

"I'll show you what I can do!"

Alcina pinches the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her temper from getting away from her.

Just as Karl is about to retort and Alcina's patience nearly runs out there's a burst of black feathers in the center of the stage. Mother Miranda steps out from the black cloud in her usual garb. Alcina releases the breath she was holding and Angie and Karl's bickering immediately stops.

"My children, good morning."

"Good morning Mother Miranda." You all say in unison.

"I hope this morning finds you all well." She says, looking at each person in the chapel. Her eyes wander from Karl, to Sal, to Donna and Angie, to Alcina and finally land on you. You watched as each person, Angie included, met her gaze and bowed their head so you do the same when she catches your eyes. "Ah, y/n. So wonderful to have you with us today."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mother Miranda." You say.

"You will be taking today's notes, is that correct?"

"Yes Mother Miranda."

"Excellent." She walks over to you and places a book and a pen into your hands. "I look forward to reading your recordings. Please, pull up a chair." She says, gesturing to a knocked over chair behind you.

Looking at Alcina, she gives you a nod and you move to pick up the chair, placing it in the exact spot you were standing; on Alcina's right side just a little behind her. Mother Miranda watches your every move until you're seated and have the book open in your lap. After looking you over once more she makes her way back to the center of the stage.

"It has come to my attention that there have been hunters in the vicinity of the castle, is that correct Heisenberg?"

"Yes, my lycans have encountered nearly 20 of them in the span of just a few days. They seem organized and heavily armored. Two were also spotted a few miles south of Potter's Field as well as two more south of the reservoir. My lycans went out to find more and to follow them back to their base but they haven't seen any more since the last encounter."

"And did you meet with Alcina like I had asked of you?"

"Yes, we met the other day to discuss a plan. I am increasing the amount of lycans I have patrolling the castle grounds. I am also sending out extra lycans to both Potter's Field and the reservoir to patrol."

"And I plan on patrolling the castle grounds myself this week to see what I can find." Alcina adds.

"Excellent. Were there any prisoners taken?" Miranda asks.

"My lycans were able to get one after the last fight, but the prisoner put a bullet in his own head before they were able to get anything useful out of him."

"Well, that's certainly interesting, isn't it?"

"Can't say it's happened before."

"And when the base is located, what is the plan?"

"We plan on taking some time to quietly scout it out. Get a rough layout, a headcount of the amount of hunters that are there, what kind of weapons they have and if we can get wind of their plans. Once the information is gathered we will act accordingly."

Mother Miranda, Karl and Alcina discuss the hunters more as you continue to take as detailed notes as possible. Donna and Salvatore chime in every so often with questions and suggestions. Donna said that if the hunters do end up entering the field she will use her cadou powers to get rid of them. Moreau seemed more worried and mentioned that he doesn't have as much control over his mutations as his siblings, leaving him more vulnerable. Karl and Alcina reassured him that they will take extra precautions to ensure his safety.

"Does anyone have any more questions or concerns?" Mother Miranda asks. When no one says anything, her eyes shift over to you. "Well then, it seems as though this portion of the meeting is finished. Y/n, if you could be so kind, could you please bring me your notes?"

You feel your body tense and your eyes shift towards Alcina. Alcina's eyes are narrowed towards Mother Miranda. Miranda returns Alcina's look and Alcina turns her head towards you and gives you a nod. There's a worry in her eyes you can tell she's trying to hide. Maybe no one else can see it, but you can. Perhaps because you're trying to hide the same look from your eyes.

"Well, well, Alcina. Do you have this one well trained." Miranda says as she watches you move towards her.

The short walk towards Miranda felt like it was a mile long. As hard as you tried to keep your nerves at bay you could feel your heartbeat increase with each step towards her. You truly felt like you were walking into the lions den. Miranda extends her hand and you give her the book. She flips through it, skimming through the notes you've taken. After a minute she closes the book and holds it down. Angie jumps out of Donna's lap and grabs the book from Miranda and returns to Donna. Miranda takes a step towards you and you feel your breath freeze in your lungs. You do your best to keep your face neutral but your heartbeat is so loud it's drowning out the sound of everything else around you.

"Excellent job. Your penmanship is quite exquisite."

"Thank you, Mother Miranda." You say as you bow your head.

Just before you're about to pick your head back up you feel cold metal against your skin. Opening your eyes you realize Miranda has placed one of her talon-clad knuckles under your chin and lifts your gaze up to meet hers.

"So, you are Alcina's new handmaiden?"

"Yes Mother Miranda."

"What else?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand?"

"What else do you do for her?" She hisses.

"I do anything my Mistress asks of me, Mother Miranda." You say, trying to keep your voice from shaking.

"Anything, you say?"

"Yes Mother Miranda." You say before you swallow hard.

"What about you is so special? Why would she chose you, purchase you, a poor orphan? A useless wretch?"

You can hear Alcina shift uncomfortably in her chair and Miranda's eyes snap towards her. They slide back to you and an evil grin creeps across her lips.

Before you know it, the finger that was under your chin snaps down and she grabs you by the neck and lifts you up.

Instinctively, your hands grab at her wrist and your feet dangle just above the ground. Mother Miranda slowly presses the base of her palm against the front of your throat and she begins choking you. You start to sputter and your feet start to flail.

"Mother Miranda that is enough!" Alcina roars as she stands to her full height.

Miranda holds out a finger towards Alcina, signaling for her to wait.

"What is it about her that makes you want to protect her so, my daughter?" She asks while she examines you. "What about her is so special? So special in fact that you are unwilling to allow me to use her in my experiments?"

"Mother Miranda let her go!"

Miranda's grasp around your neck only tightens as she cuts off the rest of your airflow. Her sharp talons dig into your skin and you feel blood begin to trickle down your neck.

"Just how much are you willing to sacrifice, Alcina? I had to teach Karl a similar lesson all those years ago. I never thought you would be in need of one as well but perhaps I was wrong about you all along."

"Mother Miranda, please! She is not a distraction, I am still working diligently towards your goal, please just let her go!"

As you're struggling in her grasp you see Donna and Angie in your peripheral vision as your eyes dart around the room. Donna is as stiff as a mannequin but Angie has a look of horror on her face. You hear movement to your right and you look over to see Moreau staring at Miranda with a look of excitement on his face and Karl next to him with his hammer in his hand. You feel something move on your leg and you realize it's Karl wiggling the dagger, reminding you it's there. Your vision begins to blur as you gasp and the world around you begins to spin.

"Are you sure I don't need to teach you a lesson Alcina?"

"Yes Mother, please!"

An evil chuckle emerges from her lips. With her free hand, Mother Miranda digs her talon into your clavicle and pulls down as blood begins to pour down your chest. Her talon in your skin feels like a hot knife and you can't do anything but scream out in pain before she throws you to the ground.

You feel the impact of the hard stone but it doesn't register right away. The first thing you do is gasp for air as your hands go to your neck and chest.

Alcina begins to step towards you and you hear Miranda tsk at her.

"My, my, Alcina. I've never seen you care for such a disposable maiden before. Maybe you do need to learn a lesson after all."

"Mother no!" You hear Alcina shout before the ground next to you splits in two and a black vine shoots up towards the sky. Pieces of stone are sent flying across the room and the vine dives down towards you.

Mother Miranda cackles as the vine wraps around your neck again and lifts you into the air. You hear Alcina scream and when you look over towards her, her legs and arms are being bound by more vines.

The vines begin to choke you as they dangle you in front of Alcina, just outside of her reach. There is fear in her eyes, you can see the terror as she watches the vine around your neck tighten its grip. Alcina roars and rips her arm out of one of the vines when you reach out towards her. The vine holding you pulls you further away. A new vine tries to grab Alcina's free hand but her claws come out and she shreds it when it tries to grapple her.

Remembering the dagger strapped to your leg, you reach down and grab it. Even something as simple as grabbing the dagger that's strapped to you is harder than it should be. Your vision starts to get spotty and you put all of your focus into reaching for the blade. Your bloodied fingers are able to find the grooved hilt, they graze over the coat of arms engraving and you're able to grab it. With one quick swipe you manage to cut through the vine. When you're released from it's grasp you plummet to the floor and hit the ground. The noise of metal against stone rings in your ears as the dagger bounces away. Air once again floods your lungs and after a moment you're able to breathe.

Before you can catch your breath, another vine lunges towards you and you dodge it. The dagger isn't far from your grasp so you crawl across the dirt coated stone floor and grab it. Another vine comes at you and you roll away. When you're finally able to get back to your feet another, thicker vine shoots towards you and you parry it, slicing it with the sharp blade. More vines come at you and you're able to evade most of the attacks. Each time one wraps around one of your limbs you're able to cut it off and escape. Looking over at Alcina, thicker, stronger vines try to hold her back but her focus stays on you. She has both fear and rage in her eyes. You notice them widen when you make eye contact with her and she yells out "draga!"

By the time you see the vine coming towards you it's too late. It wraps itself around the hand your dagger is in and crawls up your forearm. In one hark flick the vine throws you across the room, the dagger flying out of your grasp.

You're thrown into debris and broken pews and Alcina screams. When you open your eyes everything is blurry and spinning. As your vision stabilizes and clears you see her shred through the vines holding her in place. She claws at every vine that comes her way as she runs towards you before she falls to her knees and scoops you into her arms.

Everything around you spins again and all you see are more vines coming towards you. Instinctively, you close your eyes and wait for the vines to wrap around you once more. Alcina's body violently twitches and she lets out a pained cry. A horrific tearing sound and the cracking of bones fill your ears as she cries out and holds you tighter. With one last twitch Alcina's shoulders slump forward, all of the noise fades and you notice that the light has dimmed through your closed eyelids. When you open them up again, you're met with Alcina's golden eyes. Looking around you see massive white, veiny wings surrounding you both. Alcina brushes the hair out of your face and you meet her gaze once more.

"I have you, draga mea. I have you." She whispers with a trembling voice.

You bring your hand to her face and stroke her cheek with your thumb. Alcina closes her eyes and leans into your touch. A slow clap pulls the two of you away from your moment and Alcina pulls her wings back allowing the light in. She turns with you in her arms and Mother Miranda is standing at the edge of the stage slowly clapping her hands.

"Well, well. That was quite a show. Your little handmaid is more dexterous than I would have thought. And you, Alcina, care more deeply for her than I ever would have imagined. You defy me, for her?" She says, her voice growing cold.

You can feel the rapid rise and fall of Alcina's chest against your body, you can practically feel the anger radiating off of her.

"I have told you before, Mother, she is mine. She is my property. You said you understood and that you would leave her be."

"You care for her?"

"Yes."

"You need her?"

"Yes."

"Then prove it."

Alcina's grip around you tightens and you look up at her and back to Mother Miranda. Miranda has a sinister smirk on her face and it's worse than unsettling. It's downright terrifying.

"Prove it, Alcina. Prove to me that you care for her, that you need her. Feed from her."

Terror flashes before Alcina's eyes and by the time you blink it's gone. She's nearly trembling as she stares at Miranda. It's mostly out of anger but there's something about her that makes you feel her fear. Whether or not Miranda can feel it too is something you're unsure of. For whatever reason, Alcina is worried about feeding from you and you don't know why. She's done it plenty of times before and there's never been any issues. There's something about this that's different, but you don't know what.

"If you do, I give you my word, I will leave her alone. For good." She says, her sinister smile curling upwards even more.

Alcina's wings flare at Miranda's statement and she looks down at you. Looking up to meet her gaze, you see how scared she is, but you also see something else, something you've never seen before. It's almost animalistic, feral even. The both of you know this is your only chance, but deep down you know that if Mother Miranda knew this would be easy she never would have suggested it. It worries you but you're much more afraid of Miranda than you are of Alcina, even if the look in her eyes is completely feral. This was your one shot, you had to take it.

You raise your hand to Alcina's cheek and stroke it with your thumb.

"It's okay, I trust you." You whisper.

Miranda chuckles and Alcina looks up and glares at her. She looks back down at you and you smile at her, nodding your head. Her grip on you relaxes and when it does you notice her golden eyes begin to cloud with white. Alcina lifts you towards her mouth and she leans down.

She inhales deeply through her nose into your neck and you can feel and hear a deep growl come from inside her chest. You've heard her growl before but this was stronger, more primal than you've ever heard before. Alcina begins to suck and lick the perfect spot on your neck. Each movement becoming more frenzied than the last. Whenever Alcina fed from you previously she was always gentle, she made sure it was as painless as possible every time. This time you can feel her control slipping and a bolt of fear shoots through you.

The moment you felt that fear it was like Alcina was able to smell it. Because the moment after it hit you she bit down into your neck harder than she ever has before. You clench your jaw to keep the yelp in but you still grunt in pain. After biting through your flesh Alcina takes deep gulps from your neck, her grip on you tightening once more.

This is the worst pain you've ever felt in your life and she isn't making it any better. Previously, Alcina would barely move as she fed from you, but today her head and neck are bobbing with each gulp. Every time she sucks down more blood you can feel her teeth sinking further and further into your body. You can hear them tearing through muscles and tendons, the noises make your stomach churn. Every time she bites through something else inside of you you can feel every inch of her teeth against parts of you body that should never be exposed.

Alcina has never taken this much blood from you and you realize that she's completely out of control. She doesn't realize how much she's hurting you, and right now, she doesn't care. This is why Miranda wanted her to do this. She knew she wouldn't be in control of herself. Miranda wanted Alcina to be the one that kills you.

Another bolt of fear shoots through you and Alcina becomes more ravenous.

"Alcina!" You say, trying to push her off of you. "Alcina! Stop!"

She grabs your wrist and pulls it away from her face, as if you're getting in her way. You start to thrash in her grasp as panic sets in. She's going to kill you. The harder you fight the tighter her grip on you becomes and the more she drinks.

"Alcina please! Stop! You're hurting me!" You cry.

You were trying to keep your tears from falling but now you've lost all control of them. As you continue to try, and fail, to fight her off you start to feel weak. Soon you physically can't fight back anymore. Tears stream down your face and you cry out to her.

"Alcina, please! Please stop! That's enough, please!"

Your begs fall on deaf ears. This isn't Alcina, you don't know who - or what - has possessed her but this isn't the woman you love right now. That woman is far gone and has been replaced with a bloodthirsty creature you've never seen before. The more she drinks, the more lightheaded you feel. You can feel her teeth scraping against the artery in your neck and the fear gets stronger. If she punctures it, that's it. You'll be dead in minutes. There has to be something you can do to save yourself, isn't there? You don't want to die, not like this.

Alcina, the woman you love, is going to be the death of you. She's going to be the one who kills you. It breaks your heart knowing how devastated she's going to be when she realizes what she's done. If you were going to die, you're glad it would be by her hand at least. You would chose being killed by Alcina as opposed to Mother Miranda any day of the week, but still, you don't want to die.

The world around you begins to blur and you think back to your training with Cassandra, desperately trying to remember if you learned anything that could help you right now. The entire time you were training was to help you defend yourself against Miranda, you never thought you would have to defend yourself against Alcina.

As the thoughts flood your mind you remember something Cassandra had said at dinner after your first day of training. You were too exhausted to really participate in the conversation but you remember she said something about how prey tastes better when it's afraid. The fear sweetens the blood.

A lightbulb goes off in your head. The room begins to spin faster and your vision gets blurrier but you do your best to completely relax in her arms. You stop fighting against the hand she has around your wrist and after a few moments she loosens her grip enough for you to slide out of it. Bringing it to her face, you begin to caress her cheek and whisper to her.

"Alcina, my love, please. That's enough. That's enough."

You know you can't handle much more, if she doesn't stop, that's it. As you continue to caress her cheek with the little strength you have left you realize there's a very good chance you won't be able to stop her. One nick to that artery and you're done. More tears fall down your cheeks as you make peace with the fact that this is how you're going to die.

"I love you, Alcina. I love you. Let me go, that's enough."

Just as you feel like you're about to lose consciousness, just as you feel her starting to bite down harder into that artery, she eases up. Mustering up the tiny amount of energy and lifeforce you have left, you continue to caress her cheek and whisper to her.

"That's enough my love, that's enough."

Alcina pulls away from your neck and you feel the blood pour down your shoulder and back. It takes a lot of energy but you manage to open your eyes. When you look up you expect to be met with Alcina's golden irises but instead you're met with completely white eyes. As if the gold was never there to begin with. Her impassive eyes stare down at you as you bleed in her arms from your neck and chest wounds. Alcina's face is covered in your blood, coating her chin down to her neck and chest. She looks like a predator that just had its way with its prey.

Her grip around you tightens and her breathing starts to increase and her eyes widen as if she's afraid.

"Shh, I'm okay." You whisper as you stroke her face again. "I'm okay."

She leans down and you close your eyes. You feel her nose against your cheek as she gently nudges you, like a mother animal nuzzling her baby. A whimper escapes from her and you open your eyes once more.

"I'm okay," you say as you struggle to stay conscious. "I'm okay."

Alcina's eyes dart up as Mother Miranda takes a step forward. A deep warning growl rumbles in her chest towards Miranda. Miranda takes another step forward and Alcina takes one large step backwards, baring her teeth and snarling at her, holding you in a protective position in her arms. Mother Miranda doesn't take another step forward and Alcina takes one more step backwards before kneeling to the ground and covering the both of you with her wings again. Your eyes open when you feel her nudge you again with her nose and after you make eye contact with her she nuzzles you.

Alcina leans in towards the wound and you try to lift your hand but you're too weak.

"No more Alcina, please."

She pulls back and nudges you again. A loud purr erupts from her chest and you can feel the vibration throughout your body. She leans in towards the wound again. You realize that she isn't going to feed anymore so you don't stop her. Alcina licks over the open wound, cleaning away the blood. It's still bleeding profusely but the more Alcina tends to it, the less it bleeds. The purring in her chest echoes throughout the chapel as she continues to clean you. When she's finished she places a soft kiss to the wound and pulls away, you open your eyes to see the white in her eyes slowly fading back into gold.

Alcina blinks a few times and a few tears roll down her cheeks. She puts her forehead to yours and holds you tight.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry draga." She whispers.

Her arms begin to tremble and she pulls away, wiping the tears from her eyes. Standing back up, her wings fold against her back, opening you up to the rest of the chapel once more.

Glaring at Mother Miranda, Alcina doesn't wait for her to speak.

"Are we finished here?" She says through bloody, gritted teeth.

Mother Miranda tilts her head as she observes the two of you for a moment.

"Very well. I suppose so. Meeting adjourned."

In a burst of black feathers, Miranda is gone. Alcina wastes no time opening up her wings and begins to beat them. After a few seconds her feet are off the ground and she's flying through the air and out of the hole in the chapels ceiling with you in her arms.

If you were more conscious you would be either terrified or amazed as she flies you over the castle grounds. Since you can barely keep your eyes open you focus on the feeling of the wind in your face and try to stay awake.

Alcina lands on the balcony of her chambers. The blood she took from you is starting to take its effect and she can finally let her wings disintegrate. It's uncomfortable but not nearly as painful as it is when they rip themselves out of her back when they form. She dusts off her dress and ducks into the room.

She lays you on the bed and cuts your uniform off of you and removes the now empty leg holster. After taking off her gloves - her hat had fallen off and was forgotten about during the fight - she grabs medical supplies from the bathroom and returns to your bedside.

Truthfully, you feel half dead, you probably looked it too. The blood loss you've suffered is making you a little delusional. You think you're in Alcina's room but you're not quite sure since the room is spinning and your vision is blurry and black spots are fading in and out of it.

The wound on your neck opened up again and continues to bleed. Luckily she never hit your artery but you're still bleeding too much. Alcina takes out gauze and places it over the bite mark, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. The feeling of pressure on your wound sends a lightening rod of pain through your body and you cry out as you try and move out of her grasp.

"Shh, I know it hurts draga, I know. I have to apply pressure to it, we have to get the bleeding under control." She pleads with you as you start to thrash under her grip. "Draga please!"

The more she tries to restrain you the more you scream and cry. You don't understand that she's trying to help, all you know is that you're in pain and you need it to stop.

The door to Alcina's room swings open and the three girls swarm inside.

"What's going on?!" Bela asks.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Daniela screams when she sees you, a bloodied mess, on her mothers bed.

"Hold her down!" Alcina yells at the girls. The three of them remain frozen in place. "Now, damnit!"

Bela flies to the other side of the bed and holds your arms down, Daniela and Cassandra each hold down one of your legs. Alcina continues to apply pressure to the wound and you shake your head back and fourth trying to get her off. A large hand cups your face and holds you still. Opening your eyes you see Alcina's golden eyes filled with tears.

"I know it hurts draga, I know. I have to stop the bleeding. Please, please relax."

Your body is still in fight or flight mode but your brain begins to register that she's trying to help. Staring into her eyes, you stop flailing and start to cry.

"It hurts." You say through tears.

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, just hold still, it'll all be over soon. I promise."

"Mama, was this you?" Daniela asks as her wide eyes stare at the blood soaked gauze at your neck.

Alcina can't bear to look her daughter in the eye. She turns her head as the tears she's desperately holding back threaten to fall.

"What happened?" Cassandra says through her teeth. Alcina keeps her head turned and Cassandras tone becomes ice cold. "Mother, what did you do?"

Looking down at Cassandra, you feel her grip on your calf tighten and you see the anger in her eyes directed towards her mother. As the panic in you fades, you realize just how angry she is at Alcina. For all she knows Alcina lost control and almost killed you on her own.

"Cassandra, please." Alcina whispers.

"You almost killed her!" She yells.

"It's not her fault." You say with a rasped whisper.

From Mother Miranda's hand and vines around your neck, your throat is in pain and you can barely speak. Cassandra's gaze shifts from her mother to you. Her eyes are just as intense but have less rage directed your way.

"It was Miranda's fault. She made her."

Speaking just that much was enough to properly exhaust you. You close your eyes and Cassandra looks back at her mother.

"Cassandra I didn't have a choice-"

"I told you she was evil!" Cassandra yells. "We've been telling you for years that Mother Miranda is horrible and you wouldn't listen to us! Now look what happened! You almost killed her! This never would have happened if you told that bitch to fuck off!"

"Cassandra Dimitrescu-"

"No! I don't care! I don't care if Miranda made you, this is your fault! Look at what you've done to her!" She yells, gesturing to your bloodied and bruised body. "Look at what you did!"

Alcina stares at Cassandra with her mouth open in shock. Out of the three girls Cassandra was always the one that talked back the most but she's never screamed at Alcina like this before. The room is so silent you can hear a pin drop. Looking at her daughter, Alcina reaches out to put her hand on her arm.

"Cassandra,"

Cassandra's arm turns to flies and Alcina's hand goes straight through it.

"No, I don't want to hear it. I don't care. I'm so sick of this bullshit!" She shouts before swarming out of the room.

Alcina's hand covers her mouth as she sits there in shock. She begins to tremble as she tries with all of her strength to keep herself from breaking down in front of you and her daughters. No matter how hard she squeezes her eyes shut the tears begin to pour down her cheeks.

Bela and Daniela sit on the bed frozen. Cassandra was always the most like Alcina, their tempers practically mirroring one another, but this was the only time they've ever seen her scream at someone like that that wasn't a maid. They never thought they would ever see her flip out on either one of them like that, no less their mother.

Shaking her head trying to rid herself of the tears, Alcina grabs more gauze from the medical kit and replaces it with the blood-soaked gauze on your neck. She's trying to busy herself so she doesn't break down but her hands are trembling with every movement and her eyebrows are knit so closely they've practically become one.

"Bela," Alcina says with a shaking voice. "Do you think her chest wound will require stitches?"

Bela looks at her mother with confusion and worry for a moment before examining the cut Miranda gave you.

"No, I don't think so. It doesn't look deep. If it's taken care of properly it shouldn't scar too badly."

"Good. Bandage it up please."

"Mother,"

"Bela, please. Do it now." Alcina says as she barely holds on to her composure.

Bela makes quick work of the cut, applying an ointment to prevent infection - that stung like a bitch - and bandaging it up. As she tends to your wound Alcina is focused on your neck. She continues to check to see if the bleeding has stopped and it hasn't, although it has slowed. The longer Alcina looks at the wound she gave you, the harder it is for her to hold back.

"Okay, it's done."

"Thank you. That is all girls," she says as her voice shakes. "you may go."

Tears begin to roll down her cheeks and her breath trembles as she inhales.

"But mom-" Daniela says.

"No, go." The girls say nothing but don't move. The thin rope Alcina was clinging to snaps and a sob breaks out. "Just go!" She shouts as she waves them off.

With one hand still applying pressure to your neck, her other hand rests on your chest. Alcina folds forward, her head laying on top of her hand and the dam breaks. Her shoulders shake as she cries into you, Bela and Daniela exchange looks and they both move off of the bed. Both of them give their mothers arm a loving squeeze before they leave the room, shutting the door behind them.

Your hand finds the back of Alcina's head and you run your fingers through her hair as you try and comfort her.

"It's not your fault Alci, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is. I'm a monster."