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It was the time of day where usually Alcina was able to enjoy a moment of quietness.
A good book, a glass of wine and relaxing on her bedroom couch.
Unfortunately her moment of peace didn’t last long.
“No, I found it so give it back!” She heard Cassandra’s voice echo through the halls.
“Oh no..” Alcina said to herself. “Here we go.”
And then her bedroom door flew open.
“Mother! Look what I found!” Daniela stumbled inside, losing her balance and crashing to the floor.
“Easy there my little bug.” Alcina immediately got up to help Daniela.
“What did you find?” She asked as she sat back down with her youngest on her lap.
Bela and Cassandra stormed in right after, sitting down in front of their mother.
“Actually I found it!” Bela pouted and knelt down on the hem of her mother’s dress.
“Stop trying to be mother's favorite!” Daniela hissed.
Cassandra wanted to speak but her mother just shook her head.
“Darlings, just agree you all found it and before we discuss this further, perhaps tell me what exactly you found?” She stroked Cassandra’s hair.
“This!” Daniela gave her mother a small flat piece that was shaped like a square.
“Oh!” Alcina said as she took what turned out to be a CD.
On the cover it said:
‘Miss D & the Pallboys’
Alcina chuckled.
“Oh dear where did you get this from?” She turned it around in her hands.
“We actually found it down in the basement.”
“Is this you mother? And who are these Pallboys?”
Alcina sighed.
“That is indeed me and these are my older brothers.”
The girls gasped.
“Brothers?!” Daniela said.
“You sang?!” Bela added.
“Storytime!!” Cassandra shouted.
“I had four brothers. Alexander, Henry, Lucian and Adrian Dimitrescu. They were older than me.”
“Where are they now?” Cassandra asked.
“Unfortunately they are all dead.”
“What happened? Tell us about it.” Daniela said.
“My brothers were always very kind, they loved me dearly even though I was just their half sister.”
“Half sister?”
“Stop interrupting her Dani!” Bela complained.
“I’m not!”
“Girls!” They knew that was their first warning.
“Sorry mother. Please continue.”
“I was indeed just their half sister. My Mother was a maiden my father had an affair with when his wife was very sick.”
“What was your mother’s name?” Bela asked immediately.
“Bela Cordelia Belmont.” Alcina smiled.
The girls gasped.
“You named me after your mother. That is so beautiful.” Bela cried.
Alcina nodded with a slight smile and continued.
“After I was born, they immediately got rid of my mother. My father knew the perfect story to explain why there was a new child in the family - they said that my birth was a blessing because they always wished for a daughter. That the gods blessed them with me through their kindness. They were rich after all so no one questioned them.”
She paused for a moment.
“Kindness wasn’t something he was good at though. He was cruel, mean and an alcoholic. My stepmother died when I was eight years old and after that the nightmare began. Father didn’t marry again, he used other maidens as his playmates and when he wasn’t doing that, then he either passed out somewhere or beat me.”
“You?” Daniela stared at her in horror.
“But you were a child?” Bela stuttered.
“He didn’t care, he did as he pleased. It took me a long time until I told my brothers, thankfully they protected me after that. They never left me alone, one of them always was by my side, even when I had to go to bed. Alexander was there mostly.” She smiled.
“They were all sweethearts, you would have liked them. They also played music together. Every Thursday night they played in front of a huge crowd and I always dreamed of joining them when I was older even though I didn’t play any instrument.” She chuckled.
“Did they teach you how to play one?”
“Indeed! Adrian showed me how to play the piano and Lucian how to play the violin but Henry insisted I should sing, because he loved the melody of my voice and it would add perfectly to the band. Henry was prepared, he was the one to suggest the new name for the band.” She held up the CD.
“Miss D & the Pallboys.”
Alcina’s eyes lit up with joy.
“We had so much fun and as I got older, we had more and more shows and played to full halls.”
“That’s amazing!” Daniela beamed.
“Can you sing for us? And play the piano for us? Oh and the violin too?” she said eagerly. Her older sisters agreed immediately.
“I will.” Alcina placed the CD on the little side table.
“And what is the story behind the ‘ for my dearest love C..’ ? Written on the back.” Cassandra asked.
“This CD was dedicated to the first woman I ever truly loved.” their mother smiled sadly.
“She was one of our guards.”
“Women were allowed to be guards too?” Bela threw in.
“No unfortunately not, she lied and pretended to be a man. It was her dream to be a guard, she didn’t want to be a maiden. She wanted to be a hero. There wasn’t a war going on but assassinations on rich people were pretty common.”
Alcina closed her eyes and smiled at the thought of her lost love.
“I remember her first day. I was twenty when we met. She was so clumsy but it was adorable. The armor was a bit loose so sometimes she stumbled a bit, which was once again very adorable.”
Her girls giggled at the thought.
“She brought me flowers every day, in between them were always small love poems.
And no matter what season we had, we enjoyed walking through the mansion's garden. We danced through the flower fields outside the mansion's walls and I often played the violin for her. Even when we couldn’t be together I knew she was somewhere and listening to me playing just for her.”
She let out a small breath.
“On a winter’s day, she brought me fresh brewed tea to my room after I lied and said I felt sick. On the plate were freshly baked cookies and once again a flower with a little poem. I asked her this time to stay for a while because I thought it was time to confess my love openly to her. I was so nervous and I stuttered a lot until she had mercy and kissed me. It was a beautiful moment.”
Her gaze dropped down to her daughters and they saw tears in her eyes.
“Mother?” Daniela asked, gently caressing her hand over her mother’s cheek.
“After two years my father found out. A guard saw us share a kiss and told my father. It was too good to be true. We thought we were safe. Of course he was angered, he told me that I’m disgusting and that I should be hanged for it. That I was now worthless and damaged. I should call myself lucky if some gentleman shows kindness and marries me. And of course, it was the last day I saw her.”
“We’re so sorry mother.” They said, pressing against her mother tighter to give her as much comfort as possible.
“What was her name?” Bela asked.
Alcina smiled.
“Cassandra.”
“You named me after her?” Cassandra's eyes lit up.
“Yes, you were named after the guard and the woman I loved so dearly.”
“That’s so sweet and such a beautiful way to honor her!” Cassandra wrapped her arms around her mother’s torso.
“What about me, mother?” Daniela asked quietly.
“Oh you were named after my dog.” Alcina grinned mischievously.
Bela and Cassandra giggled but Daniela’s face dropped.
“Oh my dear I’m sorry! That was just a joke.” Alcina placed a hand on her youngest’s back.
“When I was twenty four.” Alcina began.
“My father made sure to execute Cassandra after he found out about us. Not too much later he forced me to marry one of the sons from a very rich family. His name was Richard and he was a huge asshole.”
“Sorry.” She coughed, as a curse word left her lips.
“We were married for three years and in those three years I gave birth to a little girl. She was my treasure and the only thing that made me stay alive. Her hair was red like her fathers and her eyes as bright as topaz - but that was something my father couldn’t accept. He thought my child was possessed by evil, that the yellow eyes meant only tragedy and evil will come upon us. Even when the healers said that they would change color once she is older, he didn’t believe them and once my daughter turned one year old, he sacrificed her. He took my child away, to sacrifice her and make sure only good would fall upon us.” Alcina’s eyes burned.
She fought hard to hold back her tears.
“And my daughter's name was Daniela.” her voice cracked.
Daniela stared at her with wide eyes.
“So when you first opened your eyes after being reborn, they had the same color as hers. I knew exactly what name you should have.” tears fell down as she looked at her youngest daughter, who had already burst into tears.
Alcina hugged her three girls and pressed a kiss on each of their foreheads.
“That’s why I always want you to remember that I love you all so much, that you’re all my favorite and that you’re all my sweet little bugs. Mother is always here for you all.”
“We love you too mother.” They buzzed calmly in her mothers arms.
“And don’t fight!” She warned. “Don’t forget, we share and care in this household!”
“Yes mother!”
A small knock on the door made them look up.
“Yes?” Alcina said loudly.
A tall figure poked her head inside.
It was Helen.
“I don’t want to disturb your time together.” She smiled.
“But dinner is ready.”
As soon as the word dinner left Helen’s lips, the three girls swarmed outside and down the hall, of course pressing a kiss on Alcina’s cheek and on Helen’s before they left.
Helen chuckled.
“You always make them happy with that.” Alcina smiled, placing a hand on her wife’s back.
“Well I hope I make them happy with other things too but mostly, I hope I make you happy.” She leaned against Alcina.
“You always make me happy and I hope you feel the same way too” Alcina hummed, bending down to press a kiss against her wife’s lips.
“I would never trade this for anything in the world.” Helen whispered after she pressed another gentle kiss on Alcina’s lips.
“But you would make me even happier if you join us for dinner now before the girls eat everything including the tableware and table itself.”