Chapter Text
Stumbling over the uneven cobblestones, she cursed silently, wincing as her already bruised and aching toes throbbed in protest. The biting cold only amplifying the pain gripping her body rather than numbing it. Heart pounding, breath ragged and wheezing from the constant running, she thought back to how she’d made it here. One short sentence, an honest admission was all it had taken to unwittingly abolish everything she’d not truly dared to hope but still prayed she could rely on.
She could still hear angry shouts in the village down below them, see the flicker of torches in the cold gloom. There was no way she could go back there safely again. All sanctuary that might have existed there at one point was now lost to her. The villages outside of this one would be no more welcoming, especially to a stranger such as herself, and she had no idea how she could even get to anywhere outside of the villages with the state she was in, much less how she would survive once she arrived. She had one option as she saw it. Throw herself on the mercy of those who lived above, and pray.
She pushed it to the back of her mind.
"Can't focus.. on.. that.... right now... Keep….Moving." She panted as she ran.
And yet the unwelcome, intrusive thoughts keep breaking through. Did they even understand mercy? Was it a concept they knew, or would even the suggestion of such a thing be anathema to such creatures? She knew the rumours as well as any other member of the village did. Those taken for either food or service at the castle were often never seen again; or in the case of those who had given exceptional service for many years, returned as changed people, often with wild looks in their eyes and an unwillingness to divulge too much about their time there.
"You.. . Don't.. have a... Choice... Move!"
She emphasized the last word as she forced her tired and battered body forward despite its creaking protests and the awful, raspy breaths dragged into her lungs before heavily expelling it again with a worsening, wheezy sound. She couldn’t take much more of this before her body would force her to stop, the threat of the piercing cold and what was behind be damned.
"Move!"
Practically infusing the air with what little heat remained she pushed out the word, over and over, gradually struggling towards the gates leading to the castle courtyard. Twice the height of a grown man as they were, sporting the ornate symbol of house Dimitrescu at the top with twisting bars forming a strangling vine motif, they didn’t inspire any belief that she would find the welcoming reception she was hoping for.
Ice had formed a tight crystalline cluster at the bottom, freezing them shut. Pushing against the glacially cold metal burned her hands. Cursing in pain, she aimed a kick at the ice encircling the bottom of the gates. In her delirious state she didn't think to plan her footwork. The ice cracked and her foot forced the gate open far faster than intended. As she slipped and hit the floor she felt the pain in her chest worsen with the thud and cursed herself for a lack of foresight. She’d fallen like this before. She knew to check before doing something so physically unwieldy. “Why didn't you? Why?....”
Now wasn't the time to berate herself. She could do that later, if there was a later. Slowly pushing herself up, grimacing at the cracking of the skin on her knuckles as they succumbed to the frigid ground and it’s hunger for her warmth. Rising back up to her full height she fought back the well-known dizziness that threatened to claim her consciousness, once again placing one foot in front of the other, spluttering out her mantra as she moved from the gates, across the ornate courtyard and closer to the castle doors.
"Move... Move... Move"
Imposing statues and immaculately carved evergreen hedge shapes loomed over her, their shapes blurry in the heavy sleet, giving them an altogether unnerving quality. If she hadn’t known better she would have thought they were watching her struggle, silently judging and mocking such pitiful efforts at survival.
Focusing on the words helped to disassociate her from the torment, if only a little. At least those who were hunting for her would not likely trespass here. For all their anger at her they knew the consequences of such wilful disrespect.
She dragged herself past the last of the hedgerows and into the overhang of the grandiose stone awning before the castle doors. They towered over her with a sickening menace as the reality of the situation made her stop and look up at them before acting. She knew staying outside any longer meant death to her frail and damaged form. Yet, as she observed the heavy iron framework and intricately carved figures adorning the door she faltered. Was this really an option she could take? Or just a way to prolong life a little longer before an inevitably slow and painful demise? The robed figures on the door offered no answers, hiding their faces under their polished oak hoods, standing as sentinels to mark her passing through this entrance. Nothing more.
The pain in her chest returned to the forefront of her mind as she coughed from the freezing air painfully tickling the back of your throat. "Get inside you bloody fool, before your lungs give out" she though. Shoving her weight against the left-hand door she pushed with the last of her strength, feeling it swing on its hinges, not meeting any resistance from the floor beneath it. Warm air flowed into her, mingling uneasily with the cold of the outside and herself as she breathed it in. Stumbling inside she turned and pushed the door back in its place to keep out the cold. It wouldn't exactly leave a good first impression on those she needed assistance from by letting all the heat out on a night like this.
Having finally allowed herself to stop moving, her adrenaline wearing off, the pain she was in finally fully hit, spurred on by the warmth that now flooding over her. Reactivated pain receptors that had previously been shut down by the cold made her fall onto her knees, then double over in pain onto her side, with choked sobs wracked by still worryingly wheezing breaths. The hard tiled floor seemed to push itself uncomfortably into her torso as she shuddered uncontrollably. She barely noticed the woman standing above her until the hem of her dress came into her view.
"We don't usually have guests coming in via the back door"
Struggling to push her torso up enough she attempted a courteous bowing of the head as the lady, blonde of hair with winged insects flittering around her continued.
"They always come in the front, as if taking the most grand route will make them look important enough not to eat" She giggled, eyeing her with curiosity. Attempting to speak, the woman’s throat caused a stabbing pain and she managing to splutter out a short string of incomprehensible consonants before the lady gently put a finger to her lips.
"You're barely breathing. Stop trying to talk. I'd prefer it if you lasted a little longer than the next 10 minutes. You little ones are much better fresh"
Her tone of voice was closer to that of a child mildly intrigued by a curiosity it had found rather than one of concern for someone’s well-being. The woman on the floor sobbed gently as she let her torso collapse back onto the floor, ashamed at the weakness she was displaying right now. She’d hoped to at least be able to form a dignified, if tired, introduction. A reason for the beings that lived here to let her stay as a servant. Yet here she was sobbing on their floor, barely able to breathe.
As she continued to try to calm her wheezing she heard further buzzing sounds draw closer. Struggling to lift her head once more she watched in horrified curiosity as two swarms drew next to the woman and formed into two more women in similar garb.
"Mmmmm, man-blood" the red-haired one murmured.
"Can we eat him now?" the brunette giggled.
"We should bring him to mother first" the blonde one counselled. The constant use of him made her clench her fists despite it pulling at the wounds from earlier, more blood seeping out from them.
Two of them picked her limp, still shuddering form from the hard, unforgiving floor. She felt herself being dragged down a corridor at a speed that made the air push itself distressfully into her mouth and nose, causing her breath to hitch as a wave of panic to set into her. The feeling of not being able to take full breaths right now was not what she needed and the wheezing increased in volume alarmingly.
"Shhhhh little one" the blonde haired lady murmured. "Won't be long now"
She wasn't wrong as the woman was soon unceremoniously dumped onto a plush scarlet carpeted floor. The light in here was a change from the darkened entrance hall. Here a fireplace softly crackled, giving a gentle, cosy light that danced over the feet of the furniture visible. She didn't dare move too much to look around any further however, as her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest and leave an unpleasant stain, tainted by pain and embarrassment as a monument to her foolishness for coming here.
"Mother, fresh prey has come to us for once."
There went any grandiose ideas of survival and servitude she thought, while simultaneously criticizing herself for still utilizing such overly formal language in her head while death stared her in the face. Was this really the time to be fussing over the proper way to be wording such a predicament?
"Man-flesh mother, freshly chilled"
"A shame it could not have come earlier while we were still preparing dinner, still my daughters, you are so very kind to bring him here nonetheless. Let's have a look at him"
She felt herself hauled up under the arms again as her torso was raised up, constricting her chest again and forcing out a pained whimper. She raised her head slightly and blanched at the sight. A fourth lady in a cream dress and large black hat towered over her, casting the area in shadow merely by dint of blocking out the light from the fireplace. The tales of the height and presence of the lady of the castle had not been exaggerated. If anything they had been toned down, probably to assuage the fears and inadequacies of the men who looked down upon such tales being told in public.
Lady Dimitrescu regarded her with the aloofness expected from her, being of this strata of society, casually looking the woman on the floor up and down while she continued to struggle to breathe. She wrinkled her nose in what she assumed was mild disgust at the stench of sweat and mud she knew she must be radiating and tilting her head slightly.
The woman wasn’t prepared for what happened next however. The lady lent down, her well toned frame dwarfing her, and gently sniffed her neck. The intimacy of it made her breath hitch slightly as she gently turned her head to try and face hers. She withdrew however and took up the woman's left hand, intently observing the broken and bleeding knuckles from the fall earlier with unexpected interest. She flicked one of the wounds, making her wince and judder, a mixture of blood and weeping clear liquid oozing from the re-opened wound. She squeezed gently, forcing more blood rise to the surface before her tongue darted out and licked up some of repulsive mixture. She sampled it with a detached air, not caring about the pain she had just inflicted upon the woman's battered and failing form. She swallowed, then fixed her with a piercing gaze. A questioning look found its way onto her face as she inclined her head slightly to the side. She held the woman's attention for what seemed like eons before finally asking
"Pet. Why does your blood taste of oestrogen?".
Despite the cold and agony still affecting her a blush crept its way into the woman's frostbitten cheeks. A small smile drew across Lady Dimitrescu’s face as the woman looked down, trying to hide from the intense aura she was emitting as she non-committally mumbled.
Her eyes widened as the lady placed a finger gently under her chin, pushing her head up so she'd look into her eyes again. "I don't like having to repeat myself" She said with a hard T on the end of repeat, cementing that she would tell her what she wished to know, or soon come to regret it. "Your blood has a lingering taste of stale oestrogen, your skin, despite it's frozen and bruised state still reeks of cheap perfume, it's the middle of the night and I have observed from my window above a small group of torches attached to angry voices scouring the countryside near my castle. You have arrived half dead, coughing up your lungs, frozen and battered on a night when any sane person would have stayed inside and barred their door against the cold. I want to know why"
The woman took a few more deep breaths, desperately trying to calm herself before responding.
" I..I came here to ask for your help my lady. I got chased out of the village by my father and a few of his men. I...I'm not a man, I...." She trailed off, the enormity of saying the same phrase that had her chased out of town earlier overwhelming her fragile control, making her silently weep. This was not what she'd envisioned. She'd wanted to explain about how she'd snuck out the perfume from a relatives possessions, the oestrogen she'd scavenged from unused contraceptive medication she'd rummaged through the discarded and expired piles behind the doctors house to find, the suffocating presence of the gendered expectations placed upon her at all times. But she couldn't. She just hung there, limply held up by the two ladies next to her, the emotions finally catching up and overwhelming her entirely.
She could feel the four of them looking down and staring as she openly wept at their feet. The lady removed her fingers from under her chin and a hand delicately placed itself on her cheek, wiping away the tears as they fell. Lady Dimitrescu looked at her with concern and understanding in her eyes. The unexpectedness of it wasn't able to completely stop her tearful sobs but it stemmed them enough for her to be able to look the lady in the eyes, even if only briefly, before looking to the side, ashamed of her behaviour.
"Bela, run a hot bath in my chambers, place several handfuls of Comfrey and calendula into it when I get there. Cassandra, prepare the usual guest bed and a nightgown. Daniela, go and wake up one of the maids and tell them to make a small hot meal, then please bring a first aid kid to my bathroom."
"Yes mother"
They spoke in unison, then dissipated into winged insects, the three swarms leaving the room and breaking off to attend to their separate tasks leaving the woman alone with the lady of the castle.
Lady Dimitrescu picked her up as if she weighed nothing and cradled her close to her chest as she carried her from the room. The tears and the filth coating her from the outside would be ruining her dress she though but Lady Dimitrescu didn't seem concerned. The lady's face had hardened into that same look her mother used to have when she had to power through cleaning up the aftermath of another of her father's rages. Stoic, but still betraying a modicum of worry.
Despite the fear she'd felt in her presence earlier the woman couldn't help but breathe a little easier as Lady Dimitrescu briskly walked through the castle corridors with her safely held in her arms. A small part of her still fragile psyche allowed itself to hope that she might still find the sanctuary she sought in this dwelling of miscreations; where aberrations carved and crafted terrors to stalk humanity in waking and sleep both.