“Is that all of your belongings?” Cassandra asked curiously when you left the village. You shook your head and replied, “No, I have a few things stashed away in case of an emergency, or if I have to quickly take my leave. Although I don’t think that that will be necessary in the near future.”
“Mother really likes you.” Cassandra giggled and you could feel yourself blushing, “I can understand that though. You are…different.”
“Your mother isn’t like anyone I ever met before. I never felt such a… connection to someone I don’t even know. It’s weird, and I feel like I shouldn’t trust her as much as I do. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s just… Uncharted territory for me. Trust doesn’t come easy for me, but with your mother, and you three it’s just… there.
Everything is really confusing, if I am honest. I fell as if I should be scared, but I am not. Everything just seems right, you know. Sorry that I dumped all that onto you, it just feels nice to talk about it. I mean, I just met your mother yesterday, but it feels as if I have known her for longer than that. I feel… safe. Probably for the first time ever.” You said and startled when Cassandra took your arm again.
“Maybe you should stop overthinking things and start enjoying them. Truth be told, Mother never acted like that towards a stranger, so I understand your feelings of confusion. But I trust her, as do Bela and Daniela, and now that I know you a bit better, I can partly understand.” She said gently and you smiled, “A dead give away is the fact that you can snark at mother and still live to tell the tale. Even we get punished for it sometimes.”
“I hope your mother realizes that I don’t do it to antagonize her. I enjoy a bit of banter here and there, and sometimes she makes it really easy.”
“I’ll tell you a little secret… Mother loves teasing other people. I am sure she has just as much fun as you.” Cassandra chirped and you blushed. You were worried that you would be a bit over the top. It wouldn’t do to lose the favor of your Lady. Since she is one of the few people who is so accepting of you and your nature. You greedily absorbed every new information that you got on Lady Dimitrescu and you wanted to find out more about her.
“I know your mother took me in because I am useful to her. But… Do you think that was all there is to it?” You asked cautiously, looking to the ground. You totally missed Cassandra’s sad smile when she said, “It gets lonely. I can’t make any promises of course, but I don’t think that mother will let go of you very soon.”
“That would honestly mean a lot to me… It’s hard to explain…” you said, and Cassandra tightened her hold on you. The rest of the walk was spent in silence, both of you lost in thought.
***
Soon enough though, the imposing castle gates came into view and with a creak that could wake the dead you opened it. First thing in the morning you would get some oil and fix that problem. When you opened the door to the entrance hall, Lady Dimitrescu was already waiting.
“Perfect timing. Our guest should be with us any minute now. Cassandra, would you be so kind as to bring y/n’s belongings to her room?”
“Yes, mother”, Cassandra said dutifully and left you, smiling brightly.
“Why is there blood on your sleeve, my dear?” came the deadly quiet voice from behind you. Damn, when did she move? She grabbed your arm and held it up to her face and she was so close that you completely drowned in her intoxicating perfume. She gave a small growl in warning and you immediately answered, “I don’t want to betray the trust Cassandra puts in me, my Lady. All I can tell you is that I punished someone for his unnecessarily rude behavior towards you and your daughters.”
The Lady tsked but didn’t move, her hand gentled considerably though. To your shock, she gently started caressing your wrist while saying, “You are just as much of a troublemaker than Daniela is.”
“I’m sorry, my Lady.”
“Don’t be. But the next time something like that happens: Fight with your words, and not with your fists. No matter how honorable your intentions are, it won’t do to attract the anger of the village.” She said and let go of your hand. You immediately missed the contact.
“Now go and clean yourself. When you meet Cassandra on the way, please send her to me.” Lady Dimitrescu said with a gentle finality and you nodded, speeding away. Your wrist still tingled where she touched you and you cradled it to your chest, blushing madly.
“What happened to you?” Cassandra asked with a concerned voice when you almost ran straight into her.
“I- uhm- y-your Mother wants to speak to you!” you stuttered and ran for your room. How could one single touch make you feel like you were burning from the inside? You closed the door behind you and sank down to the floor. Why were you so weak on your knees? What was happening? Were you really that touch starved? How could she have such a power over you, that a single touch made you so weak? She just held your wrist, god damn it! Pull yourself together!
You took some deep, calming breaths and got back to your feet. Almost on autopilot you stumbled into the en suite to clean yourself up. After you splashed your face with some cold water you felt considerably better and went over to your bags, pulling out some fresh clothes.
***
“Tell me when something like that ever happens again. I won’t let them make you feel insecure about who you are…” you heard the gentle voice of Lady Dimitrescu and when you rounded the corner, you saw her embrace her three daughters with a gentle smile. You didn’t want to disturb their private moment, but it tugged at your heartstrings, seeing them so soft with each other. You could see and feel the love they had for each other, and you envied them a little bit for it. No one had ever looked at you like that, your mother died when you were born, and your father would have never showed you any kindness. Even after you were found, kindness and affection were something rarely shown to you by physical means, and you just craved it.
So, it came as quite a shock when Cassandra left the embrace of her mother to hug you tightly, muttering her thanks. You gave her a crooked grin and patted her back lightly, enjoying the moment. Her touch didn’t affect you quite as much as that of her mother, so it must be Lady Dimitrescu that made you feel so… much.
“Are you alright?” Cassandra sked concerned and held you at arm’s length. You scratched your neck in embarrassment and said, “I’m not really used to affection, so it always feels kind of odd. Not in a bad way though!”
You felt another, much bigger hand gently touch you shoulder. The effect was the same as before: You flushed, your heartbeat increased and your whole body was growing hotter and hotter. The hand stayed, holding your shoulder a bit tighter and Lady Dimitrescu said, “Had I known of the circumstances I wouldn’t have reprimanded you for hurting that stupid man thing.”
“It’s okay. Like you said, my Lady, you didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean that you were wrong for telling me to be careful.” You whispered and closed your eyes. You completely forgot your surroundings, the touch of your Lady the only thing grounding you. The smell of her perfume hit your nostrils again and you unconsciously leaned into her. But just because you didn’t notice, didn’t mean that everyone else in the room was unaware. Cassandra, being the closest to you and Lady Dimitrescu, noticed immediately and smiled knowingly.
The moment between you and Lady Dimitrescu came to a sudden end though when you heard neighing in the distance. Her hand left you slowly, as if unwilling to go, and you came back to your senses, to see Cassandra grinning at you with a suggestive gaze. You blushed impossibly brighter and heard a small laugh from your lady.
“I find it quite fascinating that you can blush to the tips of your ears, my pet.” She said and you wanted to crawl into the next hole. Did she just call you ‘my pet’?
“I think the word you are looking for is ‘adorable`, mother.” Daniela chimed in with a shit eating grin and you whined, “Could you please stop messing with me? There’s only so much teasing one can take before exploding!”
The daughters started laughing while the Lady just shook her head and walked over to the door. Sure enough, a mere minutes later you could hear a carriage pull up to the door and you straightened your poster. Lady Dimitrescu wanted you to meet this stranger, so you would make sure to be at your best behavior. All that flew out of the window, however, when you recognized the voice at the other side of the door.
“DUKE!”, you yelled in surprise and almost ripped the door straight out of its hinges when you hurried to open it. You practically flew into his carriage to give him a small hug from behind. He laughed at your antics and patted your arm gently, while saying, “Ah, if it isn’t my little Fledermaus! I had a feeling I would meet you here!”
“Well, bis surprise, when you were the one suggesting I go to Romania to find some answers.” You deadpan and let go of him. While the Duke had cared for you when I found you, he wasn’t the affectionate sort, and you could respect that. It was just so good to see a familiar face during this confusing time.
“Apparently I don’t have to introduce you to each other after all.” Came the voice of your Lady and when you looked at her, her brow was creased in confusion. There was something else burning in her golden eyes, but it was gone before you could name it, replaced with cold indifference.
“Duke was the one that found me when I was a child. I’m sorry that I didn’t reveal his identity sooner, but as you may know, the Duke isn’t necessarily the most popular man.” You rushed to answer, squeezing out of the carriage next to the Duke. That look in her eyes softened a bit at that, but there was still clear distaste for the man in front of her. You couldn’t be mad at that though.
Even though the Duke took you in and liked you somewhat, you were pretty sure that he did it with some ulterior motive. Sure, you were his number one hunter for everything that might interest him, but he always seemed to know something that you didn’t. You would be forever grateful to him though and you cared a great deal about him since he was the first human to ever treat you decently.
“Lady Dimitrescu, as always, it is an honor to do business with you. Alas, I would like to request a few minutes alone with y/n, to have a word in private.” Duke said and Lady Dimitrescu sneered. You didn’t need to be a genius to see that she didn’t like the idea of leaving you alone with the Duke, but after you gave her a gentle smile she nodded stiffly. With a flourish she turned around and entered the castle, with her daughters in tow.
“What’s up
Duke? Did something happen?” you asked carefully but he just motioned for you
to enter his carriage again. His posture had changed considerably when Lady
Dimitrescu left, and you could see something akin to concern in his eyes when
he looked at you. Something wasn’t right.
***
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