“it only takes one spark for two to fall apart” Lady Dimitrescu & Daughters; end of drabble.

“it only takes one spark for two to fall apart” Lady Dimitrescu & Daughters; end of drabble.

Summary: Bela Dimitrescu lives and breathes for her Mother’s praise and approval… To the point where she, sometimes, forgets about Cassandra and Daniela in her quest to be perfect in their Mother’s eyes. What happens when Bela forgets an important promise she made to her sisters?

Warnings: mild swearing, thanks Cassandra.

You can find the complete version on my ao3 as well!

Chapter II: A reconciliation painted in yellows, browns, oranges and blacks.

“You— Don’t you love us anymore?”

Her fingers shook.

“You cannot get our fucking hopes up and then crush them under your heel as though our feelings didn’t fucking matter.”

The pencil splintered beneath her fingertips.

“You know why you never noticed any of this? Because you’re never here.”

For a moment, her hold on the pencil wavered. It moved upward faster than she’d expected it to, out of control and ruining all her progress in a matter of seconds.

“I wanted to surprise you with something, so I learned how to play Canon in D for you.”

Tears leaped from her functional eye, falling upon the paper and blurring sketch-Cassandra’s face. Daniela’s was ruined by a charcoal gash that could probably not be erased away in its entirety.

“Because you’re a daughter before you’re a sister.”

With a strangled cry, Bela crumpled the sketch and threw it across the bedroom. It rolled along the floor before hitting one of its many twins. If she were to look at them, Bela would find sixteen balls of paper staring right at her. Laughing at her misery and poor attempt at making amends with her sisters.

“We’re left behind all the time by your need to be the perfect daughter in Mother’s eyes.”

A guttural sob crawled up her throat and erupted from her dry lips.

“Hm. Why am I not surprised?”

Bela shook her head, her claws digging painfully into her thighs. The sweet, alluring scent of blood soon filled the room, but Bela couldn’t bring herself to care anymore .

She just wanted it to stop.

“I’m so-sorry…” The immense guilt she felt had her trapped in a chokehold, squeezing the life and air out of her bit by bit. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to— Please— I’m sorry. ”

Amidst her whimpers of helplessness, she heard a knock on the door. A few seconds went by before the doorknob wiggled slowly. Then, a moment later, her Mother was grabbing the doorframe with one hand and ducking inside the room.

“Oh, darling.” The sympathy in her Mother’s voice made her whimper again. She didn’t deserve it, not after what she’d done to her sisters. “You cannot stay like this, dear. You’ve been locked up in here for four days.”

Good, she thought as the tears kept falling. It’s what I deserve.

“And you promised me you’d eat something today.” 

Bela couldn’t look at her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Always making promises I cannot keep. I’m a disappointment, that’s what I am. An awful daughter and an even worse sister.

“If and when I finished the sketch, yes,” Bela breathed out, staring at the splintered pencil in disgust and defeat. The chips seemed to laugh at her, mocking her inability to get a simple sketch done without breaking down like the pathetic, little lost girl she was.

And if she couldn’t get the sketch right… What about the painting itself? 

“Bela, look at me.”

Terror filled her aching lungs as her mind spun in circles. Her mouth dried up in an instant, her pulse skyrocketed to speeds unknown in a heartbeat.

“I cannot do that, Mother.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, disappointing, disappointing, failure, stupid failure, stupid disappointment. Everyone would be better off without me!

“Bela, please.”

Taking a deep breath, Bela slowly faced her worried Mother. The woman smiled at her, all soft edges and fondness shimmering in her eyes.

Her guilt increased tenfold.

“There you are,” Alcina whispered, reaching a hand out toward Bela. It lingered slightly above her head, motionless yet inviting, until Bela leaned into it with a soft whine. 

“I’m sorry,” Bela said, looking away from her Mother’s vibrant eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Alcina scratched her scalp gently, eliciting a tiny yet sad purr from her daughter. “What for, darling?”

Everything. I’m a disappointment, a failure, an experiment that shouldn’t have been successful. Maybe then everyone would be happier. 

“I hurt my sisters,” Bela murmured instead, tears welling up in her eye again. “I made Cassandra cry. Cassandra! ” Her voice dissolved into a pitiful string of sobs. “Cassandra never cries, but I— I hurt her— I made her cry, Mama! I made them cry!”

Shaking her head, Alcina moved her hand away. Bela whined at the loss of contact, but Alcina quickly cupped her cheeks instead. 

“Do you know what happened after Cassandra and Daniela brought you back to me? When the Winters manthing was prowling around our home?” Alcina asked carefully, wiping the tears away with her thumbs. 

Bela sniffled quietly. “I passed out, so no, I do not remember.”

Chilled to the bone and full of bullet-induced holes, Bela had fallen unconscious in her Mother’s arms embarrassingly quick. Due to the exertion and damage that she’d undergone during her fight against the manthing, her body had stayed shut down for a few days.

At least she’d woken up to her sisters, who had been purring up a storm by her sides.

“Cassandra was enraged,” Alcina said carefully, a mist taking over her eyes. “So enraged that, once we had finally hunted him down, she broke into tears.”

The news shocked Bela.

Cassandra… crying because of her?

Well, her sisters did love her, she supposed. They even wanted to spend their precious time with her for whatever reason… But she never would’ve guessed that Cassandra had cried over her.

“Your sister cares about you, Bela.” A thoughtful pause fell upon them. “They both do. Daniela was a wreck after you fainted. She thought of ambushing the manthing in the library because it was something you would do… But things didn’t go her way.”

And that brilliant idea left her mentally scarred. Daniela cannot go near the library without getting chills and terrifying flashbacks. And it’s my fault. She was imitating me, doing something I would’ve done. I’m the one to blame for my sister’s post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this up until now?” Bela sobbed, trying not to dig her claws into her thighs again. Her guilt was eating her alive. “Why didn’t they tell me anything?”

Alcina sighed. “You… Darling, look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t have blamed yourself for that.”

She couldn’t do it because, as always, her Mother was right. After all, once she’d woken up from her slumber, she had taken full responsibility for what’d happened in their home. She had captured the manthing the first time and she should have captured him again after he escaped Cassandra’s claws.

“Cassandra is too stubborn to make the first move,” Alcina continued softly, caressing her damp cheeks in soothing circles. “And Daniela thinks you don’t want anything to do with them because you’re all locked up in here.”

Bela wanted to claw her throat open and rip out the damn knot that kept tightening and tightening, leaving her a pitiful mess.

“But that’s— I— That’s not true, Mama!” Bela cried, blinded by guilt and despair. “I just— I need to— I want to do something for them! To apologise and… and…”

“And show them that they’re indeed worth your time?” Alcina said helpfully, cracking a fond smile when Bela nodded. “What’s holding you back then, dear?”

I’m awful at drawing. I’m no artist, not like you or Cassandra. A failure. A disappointment who cannot do anything right. That’s what I am, that’s what I’ll always be.

“I want it to be perfect. It has to be perfect.” 

Because if it wasn’t perfect, Cassandra would find it laughable. Her sister took art quite seriously, to the point where everything she did had a certain artistic element to it.

And Daniela… Daniela would think she’d rushed it because she didn’t want to invest time in them, thus proving her fears ‘right’ again. 

She couldn’t do that to them. If she did, that’d make her no better than Mother Miranda. Toying with other people’s feelings and fears? Breaking their heart only to provide temporary, half-assed comfort? She wasn’t like that. She refused to be like that.

“Darling, breathe .”

Alcina’s gentle, though worried voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Blinking away countless black spots, Bela looked at her Mother with tears in her eye. Her heart was beating even faster than before.

“Mother, I—”

 “Hush now,” Alcina chided gently, bringing a hand to her head again. “I want you to listen to what I’m about to say very carefully. Can you do that for me?”

Bela nodded weakly, her pointy ears dropping a bit.

“Your sisters wouldn’t want it to be perfect.” Clearly sensing Bela’s incoming rebuttal, she gave her the look. The argument instantly withered away at the back of Bela’s throat. “They wouldn’t want it to be perfect. They’d want something that feels like you, like their older sister.”

A whimper danced off her quivering lips.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

Yes, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why would they want something that feels like me? Why that? They could have so much better. I could make them something so much better than that. It doesn’t make sense. Why would they want something that feels like a stupid, disappointing failure?

Instead of saying that, she bit her tongue and nodded. “Yes, Mother.”

“What are you going to do now, darling?”

Bela swallowed past the lump in her throat and looked at the notebook beside her. An idea crossed her mind, a brilliant one at that. Why make something that felt like her when she could make something that felt like them ? Like the three of them? 

“I’m going to finish this drawing—” Bela stopped for a moment, wondering why she’d said finish when she hadn’t even started it yet, and cleared her throat awkwardly. “—And I’ll apologise to them as soon as I can.”

Alcina nodded, seemingly pleased with her answer, and looked at the plate of food she’d left at Bela’s dresser upon entering the room.

Bela took the hint and grabbed the plate, eating as much as her upset stomach allowed her to. Once she did, her Mother smiled at her and walked toward the door.

“I know you can do this. You’re my brave little girl and I’m so very proud of you,” Alcina said before leaving, knowing very well that this was a battle Bela had to fight on her own.

After cracking her fingers, Bela picked up the pencil with renewed confidence. Her lines were deliberate and slow, nervousness making her grip on the pencil falter here and there, but she didn’t stop.

Bela didn’t stop until five or six later, once the paint of the final product was definitely dry. She looked at the painting and smiled, pride blooming in her chest like her Mother’s beautiful rose bushes in spring. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but something about it felt right.

She glanced at the clock, which marked eight in the afternoon. One hour until dinnertime. If she found her sisters quickly, then she’d have at least forty-five or fifty minutes to apologise and make things right between them. With trembling fingers, put on clean clothes and smoothed her hair a bit. Time was against her, but nothing would stop her from looking as presentable as possible in her own house.

The moment she stepped out of her room, fear gripped her heart. What was she going to say ? Her legs trembled at the mere thought of becoming speechless in front of them again.

“Cassandra was enraged.”

Taking a deep breath, she willed her legs to move again.

“She broke into tears.”

Her steps became more and more confident.

“Your sister cares about you, Bela… They both do.”

Upon hearing two faint voices within their hall, Bela’s eyes fluttered up and down. Placing a hand over her heart, she took another steadying breath and nodded to herself.

I can do this. I am a Dimitrescu. It’s time that I act like it.

Straightening back, which made all her bones get into place in a quick succession of cracks and pops ; she knocked on the door. Waiting for an answer wasn’t on her plans, so she just allowed herself in before her sisters could say anything from inside the hall.

“Oh, it’s you.”

Bela ignored the words, focusing solely on the looming hope and curiosity that dripped from Cassandra’s voice. Daniela’s surprised yet happy expression gave her a much-needed boost in confidence.

“Am I interrupting something?” Bela asked, deliberately keeping the painting behind her back. The action caught both her sisters’ attention, whose eyes widened and zeroed in on the object hidden behind her body.

Daniela shook her head. “Cass was telling me about her day in the cellar. A manthing tried to escape today.”

Cassandra snorted derisively, cracking a prideful smirk. “Emphasis on tried , please and thank you. His skinny legs didn’t take him anywhere.” She paused to look at her claws. “Though he did scream nice and loud, I’ll give him that.”

Bela rolled her eye fondly at her sister.

“What do you want, Bela?” Cassandra asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

A shy smile tugged at her lips. “I wanted to apologise for…” Her expression fell as she struggled for words. “For being a shitty sister. I’m really, really sorry I made you feel ignored and forgotten. It wasn’t my intention.”

Cassandra’s ears, mostly hidden beneath her mane of brunette hair, twitched at that. Subtle yet evident enough for Bela to see. 

“Do you mean it, Bel?” The liveliest of fires couldn’t hold a candle to Daniela’s overjoyed expression. Nor could the sun whenever summer was at its peak. “Do you really, really mean it?”

Weighing her options, Bela approached the couch where Daniela was sprawled on. In the blink of an eye, her sister sat up and patted the space next to her with a wide smile.

She would sit next to her sister, yes, but first…

“I— I made something for you. A peace offering, if you will.” The curiosity in Cassandra’s and Daniela’s eyes increased tenfold once more. Their Mother was right; they did act like kittens on occasion. “That’s why I’ve been locked up in my room these past days. I hope you like it. I’m not as good as Cass or Mother… But I think it’s good.”

Her hands trembled as she revealed the painting.

The canvas was small, an A0 at best, and the drawing wasn’t all that good… But her sisters’ eyes brightened upon examining its contents; a memory-turned-painting of them in the library, sitting by the fire as Bela read Village of Shadows to them. That must’ve been a few months after their rebirth, when their Mother had left them alone for the first time because of a business-related trip. Since her sisters had grown restless and unhappy, Bela had guided —more like had dragged — them to the library. The local tale had been like a soothing balm to her sisters’ aching worry.

“W-Well?”

Daniela snatched the painting off her hands, placed it on the coffee table, and pulled Bela down into a bone-crushing hug. Literally. Bela could hear a few bones cracking under the sheer strength of Daniela’s embrace. Her happy purrs filled the hall. “It’s beautiful, Bel. I love it! Thank you so much!”

Bela risked a glance at Cassandra.

Her sister grabbed the painting and examined it closely, her brow furrowed in concentration. Anxiousness filled Bela’s veins like a powerful, untameable torrent at the sight. Daniela seemed to purr louder at that.

Cassandra inhaled audibly and looked at Blea with an unreadable expression. “I guess I, too, should apologise.” She rubbed her hands together, interlaced her fingers, and moved them in a back-and-forth motion. A tic she’d developed after the incident. Little cracks echoed across the room, nearly silenced by Daniela’s happy sounds. “I said things in a way I shouldn’t have.”

Bela’s heart melted at her sister’s apology. Her stubborn and overly prideful sister that, more often than not, refused to apologise for her mistakes.

“I was hurt and I wanted you to feel the same way,” Cassandra continued, leaving the painting on the coffee table again. “So… Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” She glared at Daniela, who was now cuddling Bela like there was no tomorrow, and sighed. “Daniela, for fuck’s sake, stop hogging Bela. She’s my sister too.”

Daniela giggled and moved away a wee bit, leaving enough space for Cassandra to join in. Her content purrs weren’t as loud as Daniela’s, but Bela heard them all the same. She could also feel her ears wiggling up and down a bit. 

“I’m sorry,” Bela repeated as tears welled up in her eye again, hugging her sisters close. “I’m sorry I let my devotion blind me. I’m sorry I hurt you and made you feel like that.”

“It’s okay, we forgive you,” Daniela said against the crook of her neck, breathing a happy sigh. “Just don’t do it ever again. It sucked a lot.”

Bela laughed weakly, scratching Daniela’s head the way she liked. “Of course. If I ever do that again, you’re free to smack me with the swatter Uncle Heisenberg gave you for our rebirthday.” 

Cassandra hummed happily, snuggling up to her a bit closer. “I’ll take that offer into consideration. Just don’t go complaining about it later on, though.”

“I would never.”

And that’s how Alcina found them half an hour later; cuddled up together around Bela on the crimson sofa, purring up a storm whilst sporting happy, carefree smiles. When her eldest looked up at her, alarmed by the sound of the door creaking open, Alcina saw sheer calmness in her golden eye for the first time in ages. 

Things were going to be alright.