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A knock on the carriage gate alerts the residents of the castle, who in Mother Miranda's name would be knocking at this hour? The mistress of the castle, Lady Dimitrescu, grabs a shawl from nearest her bed and wraps it around her shoulders. She ducks under the door-ways, grunting to herself as her impossible size makes it difficult to navigate the small corridors. When she arrives at the gate, she finds her hand maiden already there to open the door, the lady gives a nod, and the maiden opens the door to find none other than Mother Miranda herself. She holds something in her arms it appears to be draped over her shoulder and covered in a blanket of sorts as she walks into the castle to escape the cold. Snow blows in, and the maiden closes the large doors the moment the priestess is through the flurries that managed to make their way in melt instantly from the sheer heat of the castle.
"Mother Miranda, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The lady asks.
"Dimitrescu, I have a favor to ask," Mother Miranda speaks.
"Of course. Anything."
Mother Miranda pulls down the blanket to expose a face hidden in the crook of Mother Miranda's neck.
"A child?" The Lady asks.
"Yes, another unfortunate failure to bring back my Eva, and I need you to care for her."
"Me?!"
"Yes you," the priestess sighs irritably.
The Lady is, for once, speechless as she shakes her head slightly to regain her consciousness before clearing her throat.
"May I ask why?" The Lady asks.
"Because I cannot have a toddler running amok in my lab, she'll be too great of a distraction to my work. You already have three children, therefore you have experience unlike the other lords. You also have the funds to keep her fed, clothed, and housed. In addition, I don't know what powers she'll have or how the cadou has impacted her. If she remains in tact, she may be another lord for the village or serve another purpose."
The Lady kneels down and opens her arms the child stirs and moans as she loses her warmth from the priestess and is transferred into the arms of the lady. The child is humorously tiny compared to the overbearing size of the lady, but the child curls up into the blanket and moans softly as she returns to her restful sleep. Mother Miranda turns and exits through the carriage gate door it slams shut and locks with a loud thunk that makes the child stir. The maiden approaches apprehensively, looking between the child and the lady quickly before straightening herself up.
"My Lady, is there anything I can do for you to assist you?" The maiden asks.
"No, you are dismissed, but meet with me later. I will need some supplies from the Duke."
"Of course, my lady," the maiden bows and retreats to her own chambers.
The lady stands and carries the child back to her personal chambers and lays in bed with her cuddled against her chest. The Lady doesn't sleep; instead, once the child is comfortable enough, she sits up carefully and pulls out a journal, marking down things she will need to care for a toddler. The child looks to be about 3, but due to malnourishment would fit in clothes meant for a 2 year old. Beneviento would be an excellent person to reach out to for toys and clothes; she'll need to educate the child too, so many things. The lady reaches over and gently cups the child, feeling around until she then writes down she'll need cloths to make diapers. The last thing that crosses her mind is a name. She can't keep calling her 'the child.' Does she have a name? When the child awakens in the morning, she sits up groggily, rubbing her eyes as she looks around curiously. Then her eyes land on the tallest woman she's ever seen, her eyes widening upon seeing the lady look to her smiling.
"Good morning," the lady says softly.
"You're tall," the child points out.
The lady chuckles softly, "why yes I am."
"Where's mother?" She asks.
The Lady stiffens.
"Do you mean Mother Miranda?" The lady clarifies.
"The bird lady," She answers.
"She's gone. You'll be staying here from now on."
"Oh," she says calmly, "are you mother now?" She asks.
The lady takes in an unneeded breath, she was hoping to ease into this but the child's eyes hold a maturity for someone much older than her physical age. She's seen much. The lady isn't a therapist, but she makes a mental note to be weary of what might cause trouble down the road.
"You can call me mother if you would like. Do you have a name?"
"Me Gloria."
"Gloria. That's a beautiful name," the lady pauses for a moment then looks toward the clock, "I bet you're hungry, let's get you some breakfast, and meet your sisters."
Gloria sits upright, her head perking up, "sisters?" She asks.
"Yes."
The lady scoops Gloria into her arms, keeping her close to her chest as she ducks through the doorways once more. The way Gloria instinctually grasps onto her makes a warm tingling feeling emanate up her body. She hasn't felt this way since her first daughters were reborn, and even then they were grown women with the mentality of toddlers. Now she has an actual toddler. Which means the castle will have to be child proofed, and now she realized she'll have to ease Gloria into their life style. She's young, and impressionable, it will become normalized to her quickly. The lady sits Gloria in her lap considering the chairs are far too big for her to fit in by herself, she'll need a booster seat at least for another two or so years until she's big enough to fit in the chairs. On cue her daughters appear from their swarms, Gloria huddles into the lady hiding her face when the bugs appear and form the grizzly sights of the women.
"Ooh what's this?" One of them coos.
"We've never had a child before" another adds.
"Knock it off you two, you're scaring her" a third chimes in.
"Daughters, settle" the lady commands.
Gloria peaks her head over her shoulder to look at the three women, their faces covered in red substance and their unsettling smiles make her hide her face again. The lady rubs Gloria's back soothingly.
"There's nothing to be afraid of little one, these are your sisters," the lady whispers.
Gloria looks up at the lady then looks back at the three women, still clutching onto her dress tightly.
"Daughters, this is your new sister Gloria. Gloria, these are your sisters Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela."
"A new sister?!" One of them asks excitedly, scaring Gloria to hide her face and tuck impossibly closer to the lady.
"Yes, which means she will need all of our help to raise her. I expect you three to set good examples of how to behave which means limit your discipline and activities."
"Awe" the three of them whine.
Breakfast is served, the maiden from last night is the first one out, handing the lady a glass with a thick red liquid and setting out a plate of human food for Gloria. The other daughters are served raw meat, also with thick liquid in glasses. Gloria shifts in the lady's lap and eats her food sloppily, shoving it into her mouth and nearly choking on it as she does so.
"She'll fit right in," snickers Cassandra who shoves a piece of meat into her mouth.
"Enough. Gloria slow down, no one is going to take it from you," the lady says.
Gloria whimpers quietly but slows her motion, taking time to chew and swallow before taking the next bit of food. The lady sighs and takes a drink of her wine, thankful the girl hasn't asked why her sisters are eating raw meat. The lady isn't ready for some of these harder topics, the poor thing borders on should know, and shouldn't know.
"Rachel," the lady calls.
"Yes ma'am?" The maiden answers, stepping forward.
"I made a list of things I will need from the Duke, please collect it and tell him he will be paid half now, and half when everything is delivered. Use the lei from my desk."
"Of course ma'am."
"Lilliana," the lady calls, and another maiden steps forward.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Please take a few others and start child proofing the castle. All breakables above hmm," the lady looks at the child then back at the maiden, "about 105cm, cover sharp edges, and make sure all doors are locked tightly."
"Of course ma'am."
The lady turns to her daughters, "Bela I want you to call Beneviento and request some things for Gloria, toys, clothes, anything else she's willing to provide. Daniela and Cassandra I want you to help Lilliana, which includes ensuring your own rooms are locked tightly."
"Yes mother" the three of them answer.
"And you" she looks down at Gloria, "need a bath."
After breakfast the lady carries Gloria to her chambers with the adjoined bathroom, the tub is practically a swimming pool compared to the small size of the child. The water only has to be filled a little ways before it reaches her belly button. The lady strips Gloria of her rags she calls clothes and dips her into the warm water where she scrubs off the dirt and grime. She drains and refills the tub until it runs clear, meaning Gloria is squeaky clean when the lady wraps her in a towel and holds her tightly. Thankfully Rachel returned with a handful of cloth diapers, and a singular outfit that will have to suffice until Beneviento can make something.
* * *
It becomes quickly apparent that the lady is a little in over her head trying to keep a toddler entertained from sunup to sundown. Rachel and surprisingly Bela become a blessing, taking over when the lady becomes overwhelmed by the sheer demands of an actual toddler. Rachel single handedly potty trains, having potty trained her four younger siblings it was second nature to her. The Lady will trust them when she has to go to meetings, and so far Gloria shows so signs of from her cadou implant. The only sign is a scar on her back which has veins expanding from the incision site.
Of couse the daughters and the lady can catch Gloria in an instant, but they let her run ahead and pretend she is faster than them. Which on more than one occasion has resulted in knocking over something antique and expensive. The first time the lady was furious, she wanted to unsheath her claws or curse but then she looked at Gloria's hands. They're so tiny, and it reminds her just how young Gloria is. Instead, the lady kneels to her height, scoops her up, and talks gently to reprimand her for it to not happen again. The older siblings on the other hand, were given very stern words for playing so recklessly in the castle when they know better.
There's a shift in the castle though, the daughters have all but abandoned the staff to spend time with their new baby sister. The staff works with a little more ease in their step that they won't immediately be cut in half in they make a mistake. The lady herself has become more lenient, she has to be; she was livid when Gloria spilled something on her antique furniture, or when she found tiny finger prints on the windows that were left open then she remembered how temporary it is. Her icy exterior has melted away. Furniture can be replaced, and she didn't know any better about keeping the windows closed.
Gloria loves every minute of it, she has the sole, undivided attention of her mother and her sisters. The moment she falls and becomes hurt they rush over to shower her with love and make her laugh until she forgets she was injured in the first place. Her favorite game is hide and seek. Gloria goes running into the dining room where a few staff members are cleaning and she hides herself underneath the table, making a 'sshh' sound as she does so. The staff giggle amongst themselves and continue to clean until the lady comes into the dining room, very obviously seeing Gloria and hearing her 'shushing' the staff.
"Hmm, ladies, you wouldn't have by any chance seen a small child named Gloria running past have you?" The lady asks jokingly.
"No, not in here my lady" one of the ladies answers in the same tone.
"Oh dear, I seem to have completely lost her then" the lady says as she walks around the dining room, "perhaps she's in here" she says, opening a cabinet that obviously would not fit Gloria.
Gloria giggles wildly and covers her mouth trying to quiet herself down when the lady gasps, "oh my! I hear giggling, but where could it be coming from."
She does this for another minute, pretending to check the dining room until she looks under the table, "oh there you are!"
Gloria giggles so hard she falls over, then she scrambles to her feet and runs out into the living room where she's cornered by Daniela who scoops her up and swings her around. Daniela then whisks her away to the library where they built a fort using books and blankets, then snuggle up until Gloria crashes on top of Daniela. After dinner, the lady carries Gloria to a different section of the castle rather than her chambers, Gloria looks around curiously until the door opens to a large room. There's a canopy bed, a chest at the end of it, a desk, a dresser, and another chest filled with her toys on the other side. Gloria wiggles free and explores the room, gasping at the furniture and already looking through her toys ready to play again.
"This is your room Gloria, you'll be sleeping here."
"Okay!" She says, not quite grasping the concept.
The lady chuckles and scoops her up from getting distracted by her toys, changing her into her pjs, and laying her on the bed. Gloria looks up at her mother expectantly, when the lady gives her a kiss to the forehead.
"Goodnight Gloria" she says softly.
The lady stands and heads toward the door when the most heart breaking sound stops her in her tracks.
"Mommy?"
The lady turns around and sees tears forming in Gloria's eyes, she sniffles and gets out of the bed, chasing after her and hanging onto the lady's leg, burying her face into her dress. She squeals as she begins crying, her shoulders shaking as she gasps and hiccups for air. The lady blinks and kneels down picking Gloria up and holding her on her shoulder, shushing her quietly and whispering soothing words.
"Mommy stay" Gloria begs.
The lady hesitates, she cannot fit in the bed meant for Gloria, but she puts Gloria back into the bed and lays her upper half the best she can. Gloria cuddles up to the lady's chest, sniffling quietly until she no longer sniffles and it's replaced with quiet breathing. The lady slowly removes herself and gives a soft kiss to Gloria's temple, brushing back some of her hair and tucking it behind her ear.