Pisica Mica

Over the course of a week, I learned as much as I could about Lady Dimitrescu and Mother Miranda. Lady Dimitrescu was an Alpha, the first lord and the only lord for nearly fifty years. She was Mother Miranda's favorite, and she can't afford to lose her trust or power. I learned about the Lady's three daughters as well, but I was told I'd learn more about them when I was there. The same was not said about the male lords. They were not to be trusted. Lord Moreau would do anything to get Mother Miranda's approval. Lord Heisenberg was the opposite; he'd set fire to the priestess himself if he could. His mouth and his rivalry with Lady Dimitrescu makes him untrustworthy. Since he strives to make Lady Dimitrescu annoyed, he would likely try something if I was to meet him. I hope I never do. I was assured that I would be kept far away from everyone if they had to come over. Scent proof rooms exist for the ladies of the castle since they are all Alphas. There is even a spare one for Lord Heisenberg just in case. Donna told me Lady Dimitrescu was going to turn a spare room into a heat room for me, just as a precaution. 

In-between the learning, I was also taught how to act. I have to call Donna and Angie using the title of Lady. I would also do the same for the Dimitrescu women, especially in a formal setting or when Mother Miranda was around. It didn't matter if I was given permission to drop titles down the line. It was always safe to just use the titles. I had to stay out of the way and be invisible for this to really work. The maids in the castle do not have titles obviously but it was still common courtesy to use ma'am and miss for them. Another thing regarding the staff, I was supposed to play stupid to any deep questions. I was an orphan that grew up with no place to live and then Donna found me trespassing on her property and she cleaned me up and gave me as a gift to Lady Dimitrescu. That was the story I was supposed to tell. Nothing more, nothing less. 

I also had to pack my things. I couldn't take everything in the one trip, but Donna said she'd bring the rest of it after I'm a bit more settled. Every day, I had to fold my clothes and pack them away. I had my clothes laid out for the week. My last week home. I cried more than I should have. Donna was trying to protect me. She said that if Mother Miranda barged in here to take me, she would be powerless. Lady Dimitrescu would protect me and treat me well. I was leaving everything I knew and loved behind. So many memories were here. The portrait in the main part of the house was covered for the longest time. When I was about six years old, I had accidentally uncovered it and asked who that was. It laid the groundwork for Donna to show her face to us a couple years later. She claimed I was too young to see 'the horrors' of her face. When I was twelve, I got stuck on the roof of the house. I had been determined to find the best hiding spot. I was tired of losing. It was a spot so good my mother and Donna started looking for me. When the year anniversary of my mom's death came around, I was in the same spot. Donna was able to find me. We sat and talked all night. And we cried. We cried so much. All of my memories of my mother were here. And I'm supposed to just leave them all.

I didn't sleep well the night before. I was tired and anxious. I cried as I walked out of my now bare bedroom. It was my room for nearly twenty years. I had to compose myself. I had to put on an act. Donna said Lady Dimitrescu wouldn't make me work for the first week so I could get adjusted. I'm not sure if I will ever adjust. We took a carriage Lady Dimitrescu had sent. It was large. I know she was supposed to be very tall, but this was just too big. Ten people could fit comfortably in here. The ride through the village wasn't anything special. I didn't know anyone. I stopped going when my mother died, and no one really talked to us anyway. People stared at the carriage though, like Death was riding in it. The castle was huge. It felt familiar even though I had no memory of being here. The towers were so tall. Why anyone would need a place so large was beyond me. I can't imagine how many employees work there to keep the place clean. I helped Donna out of the carriage when we arrived. Donna held Angie who held on to the leash. Maids escorted us from outside in. Some stayed behind to grab our bags. All of my belongings were condensed to two bags: one for clothes and one for other stuff. Donna had brought a bag so she could stay with me comfortably. I couldn't walk next to Donna since she was my Lord, my superior and this act had to go flawlessly.

I nervously fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. I had convinced Donna at the last second to let me wear pants and a dress shirt. My hair was left down, and she spent hours making sure I looked the part. I thankfully convinced her to not paint my face with makeup. I am wearing some but only enough to accentuate my features. I was trying not to touch my face too much. I didn't want to accidentally smear anything. I wanted to do something, anything with my hands. I needed the distraction. I could only find comfort in fiddling with the bottom button of my shirt and staring at Donna's shoes as we walked. I didn't make eye contact with anyone. 

The maids led us to massive doors. They excused themselves and left us alone. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. "Just remembered what you learned," Angie said as we approached a pair of doors. The doll spared a glance at me. What was behind those doors would seal my fate. It was perfectly reasonable to be scared.

"Yes, do tell. What did you learn?" A voice came from directly behind me. She sounded cold, as if she knew I was going to answer wrong, and she was already thinking of some way to dispose of me.

Dread washed over me. I always thought Betas were supposed to have soothing scents. She smelled sterile or too clean. It was as if she had been kept away from scents and did not have one of her own. Perhaps it was the fear that made it seem like that. I didn't need to turn around to see who it was. Hearing her voice once was all it took to engrave it into my mind. I turned to look at Mother Miranda, finally pairing a face with the voice. It made my stomach flip as I looked at her. She was beautiful. The priestess wore a long, feathered gown that was as black as a moonless night. The feathers were the most noticeable on the long sleeves of the dress. The feathers were large enough for me to see the individual ones. Was there even a bird that large or did she painstakingly hand make fake feathers? Gold fabric covered her shoulders, and the same shade of gold was also on her face and behind her head in the form of a mask and headpiece. The gold mask was very obviously a bird mask, which did fit with the feathers. Pale blonde hair was slicked back under a feathered hood that was barely covering her head. I couldn't see how the head piece was attached to the rest of her outfit, but it didn't matter much. I was trying to absorb as much about her as I could. I truly hope this will be the last time I will see her for a while. Donna mentioned the priestess liked to shapeshift into other people or animals to spy on everyone. She must be a motivated woman. 

I wasn't paying much attention after I turned around. An angry expression peeks out from behind the mask, and she was suddenly holding my face. Golden claws threatened to break the skin on my face. "Have you gone mute since we talked on the phone?" She barked. I couldn't avoid her eyes if I wanted to. I was forced to hold my gaze. Her eyes were a delicate light blue. It was weird to see such a light shade on someone who will kill me. The shade of blue made me think of clear skies and summer air. 

The tips of her claws dug into my skin. They snapped me out of my daze. "M-my apologies! Mother Miranda, I didn't mean to stay silent. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to look at your glory from so close," I said, feeding her ego and playing into the part of a humble religious girl. Donna had said she'd like that. 

Mother Miranda forced my head to move side to side, examining my face. She still looked angry. Maybe she was trying to snap my neck. "You look like her," she sneered. The feathered woman let me go. I rubbed my face, hoping there were no marks. "It seems your mother turned her back on her heretical ideals when she had you. What a delightful development," she said, not sounding as pleased as her words suggested she'd be. "I still must examine you. I have no idea who your father is, and such a thing is important for my studies. I suppose I'll let Alcina meet you first," she stated plainly before vanishing in a cloud of feathers. 

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. "What the fuck," I whispered, turning back towards Donna and Angie. 

"At least you're still alive?" Angie said with a shrug. Donna turned her head towards the doll but remained silent. "Come on, it's this room over here. Don't want to keep them waiting." 

Large wooden doors led me into the belly of the beast, so to speak. Donna and Angie kept insisting that nothing bad would happen to me while I was here. All the rumors I had heard were true, but Lady Dimitrescu was family to Donna and the favorite among their false siblings. She had promised to protect me as a favor for Donna. I didn't feel better about that. Maids were standing in front of the large doors. As we got closer, the maids opened both doors for us. No going back now. Giant walls covered with books were the first thing I saw. The ceiling was set higher than necessary, but the library had those ladders attached to them that rolled. Perhaps that's why. I could tell a lot of these books were old just from the smell of the room. I allowed myself to look at the women before me. I could tell who was who based on the physical descriptions and the photos I've seen. To the right, I saw Mother Miranda. She was dressed the same as I saw her in the hall, but she seemed relaxed. Her legs were crossed, and she sat up too straight to be comfortable. I couldn't see her expression. To the left, three women about my age or possibly younger sat. They were dressed identically, and I knew they were Lady Dimitrescu's daughters. I'm sure they have other defining features besides their hair, but that's the only way I was able to tell them apart. Donna told me their names but not who was who. It didn't help that they were also all Alphas. I couldn't even use that as a defining trait. Sitting in between the daughters and Mother Miranda was Lady Dimitrescu. She really was tall. The Alpha Lord was nine foot six inches tall, but I guess that didn't process until now. Her daughters also seemed tall compared to Mother Miranda's height. She was only slightly taller than me. 

As we walked closer, I could really pick out their scents. Donna said her ability had muffled my sense of smell. I wasn't able to pick up on slight scent changes. It was just a side effect of always being in the presence of her powers. Leather, chocolate, coffee, and tobacco were the strongest scents I was able to pick out. I couldn't tell if I was smelling the room or if the Dimitrescu women just smelled like this. It had to be the room. 

Angie struggled in Donna's hold. The dollmaker went to sit in a chair, opposite of where everyone was sitting. I didn't dare sit down. Donna let her go and the doll went to stand in front of me, bringing me closer to the most dangerous women in the village. 

Lady Dimitrescu uncrossed her legs and sat up straighter once we were an arm's length away. "How thoughtful of you, Donna. She's leash trained and she doesn't even look uncomfortable. I do hope you haven't broken her all the way. You know how much I like it when they fight back," she grinned. Her smile was so unsettling. Did she lie to Donna? She seems a bit too happy to have me here. No, Donna said she wouldn't hurt me. My eyes darted to Donna then back to the taller woman. She had to be acting. I had my part to play and so did she. I clenched my jaw to keep myself grounded.

Angie gasped and jerked her hands around while she spoke. "We like you, dumbass! What kinda friend would we be if we gave you a virgin who was broke all the way in?! She wouldn't even be a virgin!" Thankfully, the leash was long enough for me to stand comfortably. I would've hated it if it was too short. This was already kind of humiliating and that would've been worse. 

The Alpha laughed. "No, I suppose she wouldn't be. Bring her here. I want a good look at her before her physical," the lord said, snapping her fingers. Her palm laid open, waiting for the other end of the leash. 

"Of course! She's a bit funky with touch cuz it's just us," Angie said, her tone slightly betraying the role she was supposed to play. We took a few steps closer, and the leash was out of Angie's little wooden hands. 

I could feel my heart race. Her hands were so big. It looked like she was holding a bit of string. If circumstances were different, perhaps I would've laughed at how silly it looked. This was no time for laughter. I held my breath as her large hands slowly went for my waist. I stood as still as I possibly could. I was lifted up and placed on her lap, facing her. I'm so glad I was wearing pants instead of the dress they tried to put me in. My legs were on either side of her lap. If I was wearing that dress, I would have been exposed in a way I was not comfortable in. Being in her lap really made it click how large she was. I was eye level with her breasts. I couldn't hear anything over the sound of my own heartbeat. I looked down, scared of meeting anyone's eyes. Her dress felt soft. Slowly, she reached down and tilted my head up with the same gloved hand that held the leash. 

She was beautiful. Of course she was but my heart seemed to race for a different reason since we were so close. Black hair was curled and framed her pale face so beautifully. Is this what my mother meant when she said women were to be treasured? Red lips pursed as she moved my head. She was looking at me? Gold eyes bore into mine. It was as if she could see right through me. I swallowed as she got a lips distance away? Was she going to kiss me? Would it be nice? My mother always said kissing a woman was different from kissing a man. That her lips would be soft and sweet. Would Lady Dimitrescu's lips be like that? 

Wait, what am I doing? Who thinks about kissing a stranger? Not me. It was just a strange train of thought. That's exactly what it was. 

I wanted so desperately to hide or close my eyes, but I couldn't. The larger woman's hand left my chin, and I could've looked away. I didn't. 

"Such an obedient thing. Good girl," she cooed, as she leaned back in her chair. 

I felt my face heat up and my jaw go slack. I felt warm? no, that felt like the wrong word. She seemed to be staring at me as if this was the last time she'd ever see me. It was like she was staring at a painting she adored in person for the first time, taking it all in and committing it to memory. No, that can't be right. 

An obnoxious laugh pulled me out of my head. "Seems like she liked it when you called her that!" One of the daughters laughed loudly. I could see red hair poking out from her hood. 

I felt Lady Dimitrescu's body move as she laughed. My eyes instantly went back to hers. "Such an eager thing. You say she's in her mid-twenties with no sexual history? I plan on changing that once I have her to myself," she said, sitting up. 

She slowly got closer and closer. I felt so surrounded by her. Under the base scent of tobacco and iron, there was a third scent that was so much stronger since she was so close. I wanted to bury my face in her neck. I wanted it all around me. I wanted to grab her dress and keep her close. I could feel her breath on my neck. It sent a shiver down my spine. If I could smell her, she could smell me. Did she like my scent? I felt her lips press so gently against my neck, right where my scent glands were. A wild thought crossed my mind: what if she bit me? What if she truly claimed me in front of everyone? My insides felt so warm and tingly. 

"Such a sweet little thing," she rumbled. "If you weren't a gift, I would make you into the finest bottle of Sanguis Virginis I've ever made. I think keeping you as a little cock sleeve and blood bag is just as good." I couldn't focus on anything else besides her. Her lips left my neck, and I was face to face with her again.  

An exasperated groan came from my right. “Is this how you acted when I let you use the rejects? How unbecoming of you,” Mother Miranda huffed. I didn’t dare look at her. I let my eyes drift down until I was staring at my hands again. “I can’t have you forcing her into a heat. We still need to run a few tests on her. I don’t want you to corrupt her if she’s a perfect vessel,” she barked.

Vessel? Tests? What was she planning? I doubt it’s something as simple as a check up. That same dread made my stomach flip. My mind raced as I thought of the worse case scenario. Flashes of bright rooms and lights flooded my head. The imaginary pain from imaginary needles made my skin crawl and my heart race. Would she have me tied down as she injected me with strange, burning chemicals? Starve me? Beat me? The images in my head were so vivid. I didn't like it. It was too real. I must’ve read things like that in a book as a kid.  

I’ve never had such emotional whiplash before. Is this what I missed out on growing up? I don’t like it. 

Large hands grabbed my waist and turned me around. I could see Donna and Angie again. I wish I could talk to Donna. It must've been weird to hear Lady Dimitrescu say those things about me. She’s known me since I was a little kid. And she’s known the other female lord longer than that. 

“My apologies, Mother Miranda. You know I would never do anything to compromise your experiments. Do you not get excited when something delightfully unexpected happens?” Lady Dimitrescu asked the masked woman. 

The priestess glared at the larger woman. “I do not make an utter fool of myself. Enough wasting time,” she snapped. Oh, that pissed her off. “Bring her to the lab. I won't wait any longer,” she barked, standing up. 

Lady Dimitrescu followed her lead and also stood. She cradled me in her arms like a child. I hoped Donna and Angie were following but I couldn’t tell. Oh, I was close to her breasts. I tried not to think about that. It didn't work. The larger woman followed the smaller one out of the room.

Long strides and two distinct sets of heels clicked on the floor. I feared accidentally catching someone's gaze so I kept my eyes on my hands. I was told Castle Dimitrescu has close to a hundred girls employed at any given time. I didn't pay attention to where we were going or how we were getting there either. I don’t think I'm supposed to know how to get to this lab anyway. I focused on what I heard instead. I was able to pick out which sounds belong to which woman based on their walk pattern. I was able to match the longer, heavier clicks to Lady Dimitrescu and I knew the other set of lighter sounding heels belonged to Mother Miranda. 

Several flights of stairs and three doorways later, we were in a bright, sterile room. It made me uncomfortable. Lady Dimitrescu placed me on the cold metal table in the middle of the room. It reminded me of the workbench Donna had for life size dolls but scarier. 

Lady Dimitrescu moved to stand next to Mother Miranda, who was opening cabinets and grabbing things. I looked at my hands. My nails were trimmed. If my anxiety got bad, I would start biting them and the skin around my nails. Donna had to trim them so I wouldn't accidentally do it in front of anyone. I've had that habit since I was a kid. I started nervously scratching the back of my hand. 

A gloved hand smacked my own and I could only look at the offender in pure shock. “Nervous, self-destructive habits,” Mother Miranda said with a disgusted and disappointed tone. She looked so different. I had only looked at my hands for a minute, maybe two. She had changed into a long white lab coat. Her mask and feathers were gone. Her pale blonde hair was slicked back in a ponytail. How did she change so fast?

“Mother Miranda, don’t you think hitting was a bit extreme? Donna said she was trained,” Lady Dimitrescu said to her immediately. 

The shorter woman scoffed. “If she was trained better, I wouldn't have to hit her. Doesn’t your current pet behave better if she thinks she’ll be punished?” She asked.

The Lady sighed. “I don’t see how that is relevant,” she said, her voice low. 

Mother Miranda waved her hand dismissively towards her. “I’m sure your training will be better for her. I doubt Donna was able to truly train her in such a short time frame. You have plenty of time to train her while we run the tests,” she said, grabbing a clipboard. 

I don't like that. I pulled my knees up under my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. 

Two sets of eyes watched me. One set softened and looked away. The other hardened and came closer. 

"You aren't as rebellious as your mother but you're still a brat," Mother Miranda spat. “Undress, brat.” Her voice was filled with authority and power. 

It made me flinch. 

I had to shove aside any and all discomfort about undressing in a room of strangers. I was handed a gown to put on when I had stripped to my underwear. At least she didn't have me be completely nude. It feels like I wore nice clothes for nothing since I had to take them off. 

Mother Miranda wasted no time. She took my blood and looked at my body, more specifically my teeth and eyes. She briefly mentioned that I have extra teeth and my canines sit farther back than they should. I didn't look at my own teeth much, like really look at them. Perhaps there are a few too many. I thought it was normal. I remember my mother helping me brush my teeth as a kid. She had teeth like mine. I didn't see Donna’s teeth. Was it really weird? 

She also said my reflexes were slow and that Lady Dimitrescu would have to work on that. She had tested that by slamming a knife through my hand multiple times. Another comment came from that so-called test. The priestess said my healing was faster than my mother’s. How would she even know? Did Mother Miranda know my mom? Is that why she was so adamant about seeing me? I had so many questions. I forgot them all with each test. 

I wasn’t awake for the next few tests. Mother Miranda insisted I had to be unconscious for the next ones. That doesn't mean I didn't feel anything. It was like every nerve ending in my body was on fire. It felt the worst in my abdomen. It was like I was being thrown into the sun while my very bones seemed to snap and break out of my own skin. I think what she used to knock me out might have also given me those awful dreams. 

I was grateful to wake up on a soft surface with a familiar blanket over me. At least that nightmare was over…