Chapter Text
Darkness shrouded the hallways as the candle lights were put out hours ago.
There is something amiss in the castle and Valerie just can’t pretend that she didn’t notice the creeping presence. This is the second break-in that has happened since she started working as a cook for Lady Dimitrescu.
The previous time, the intruders were handled by the Dimitrescu daughters so Valerie didn’t have to worry much less lift a finger. But this time, these intruders that wormed their way into the castle seem to be sneakier than most.
They managed to enter the castle undetected by the keen hearing that the Dimitrescu family possessed.
However, a few pesky trespassers didn't have much luck bypassing Valerie’s heightened senses that would alert her to danger close by. Call it a locating system that allows her to not have a need to see or hear her targets to be able to pinpoint their location.
Though, frankly speaking, Valerie doesn't have to do what she’s about to do. She could have just remained in her room and allowed her Lady and her daughters to handle these pests.
But she’s started to think of this castle as her home and come to love the Dimitrescu family that made her feel normal.
So she got out of her bed and calmly stalked through the castle, wearing silence like a cloak specifically tailored for her. Treading the dim hallways as easily as a crocodile in murky waters, she finds her first target.
Peeking around the corner, Valerie spotted the broad back of a tall man with a machete in his grip, walking down the halls. Stealthily maneuvering behind them, she covers their mouth with one hand while their head gets locked by her other arm.
The man struggles for a while before going limp in her arms. She drags his body to the side before continuing down the halls in search of the rest.
The next one she encounters has a shotgun and is trying to break into the wine room. Knowing that it’d be better to rid this one before they create any noise with that gun, suffocating them is not an option.
She must kill them with one motion.
Pulling out a knife from beneath her nightgown, she gets up right behind him, stabbing him in the side of the neck once, then twice, and ripping the gun from their grasp at the same time.
The man falls and she manages to catch him with her foot before he makes a loud thud. Valerie had him propped up against a wall so that his blood would pour onto his clothes instead of creating a pool on the floor.
That’s two down but she knows that there’s more.
Quietly, she makes her way forward, finding a pair making an absolute mess of the kitchen. A scowl makes its way to her face.
The kitchen is her safe haven. It’s the place where she feels the most at ease. Yet these foolish men are disrespecting the place and making a wreck of it.
Valerie is also very sure that the sounds they’ve made have already woken someone up.
Therefore, she must hurry and deal with them lest she get caught in the middle of getting rid of them. She throws her knife at one of them, imbedding it deep in their skull.
The other one didn’t notice as they were busy trying to steal the silverware. Rushing forward and grabbing onto the thief, twisting their neck.
Effectively dealing with them, Valerie retrieves her knife from the slumped over man’s head. The pressure is on because of the knowledge that someone has been woken up by the ruckus in the kitchen, she leaves them as they are, rushing off to find the last one.
Giving the main hall another sweep through as well as the hallways, she finds no one. Taking a few more turns, she spots the last intruder. He’s standing in the entrance hall with a rifle in his hands.
Valerie comes up behind him and disarms the weapon, stabbing him in the back of his neck, another stab to the side of the neck. When he loses all tension in his body she then drags him down to the cellar.
She must make haste. There are places that need to be rid of blood and she must throw the weapons into the pile of confiscated ones in the cellar. But it seems that she wasn’t swift enough as a sudden unease crawled up her spine.
She held back from throwing the knife at the person behind her. It's one of her Lady's daughters. Deciding it was the safer option to pretend that she didn’t know instead of turning around to greet them. She hopes that they’ll keep watching instead of killing her right now.
After Valerie got all the bodies and weapons thrown into the cellar, she cleaned the floors and made sure the scent of blood didn’t remain. Then moving on, towards the kitchen with a sack in hand.
She kneeled down with the cloth sack and stared at the scattered pieces of broken ceramic. There weren't just plates to dispose of, there were also ruined ingredients strewn about the kitchen floor. It made her almost wish that she took her sweet time torturing those two.
Doing her best to make everything seem untouched took a lot of effort and the broken plates will definitely be an undodgeable problem that her Lady is sure to question her about.
No doubt the lack of plates will be mentioned as soon as the next meal time comes around. And since she really enjoys working here and would love to continue doing so, she hopes that her Lady will be in a good mood tomorrow so that she wouldn’t end up getting bottled into wine.
Valerie ties up the sack filled with shattered shards and leaves it in the corner of the kitchen while trying her best to retain her mask of unawareness towards the gaze watching her from the darkness.
Considering how she’s still standing and hasn’t gotten pinned to the ground yet, she can tell that it’s Miss Bela that’s watching her. The Dimitrescu heiress has always been more calm and observant compared to her sisters.
Since Valerie had Lady Luck grace upon her with the daughter who ended up catching her hands red with murder, she decided that instead of rushing to get back to her room, she will grab a cloth to wipe the kitchen counters one more time. Putting on a show of ensuring her workspace is spotless as a cover up for her pretend unawareness.
Once she’s done with that display of nonchalance, she washes the cloth thoroughly with vinegar before hanging it up to dry. Valerie also checked her hands for any lingering scent of blood, finding the the sharp acetic smell of vinegar covering her skin, she deems that she'll be safe from the Dimitrescu's heightened sense of smell.
Valerie gives the kitchen one last look before closing the doors and returning to her room. There’s a few hours before dawn. Hours that she could use to rest or come up with excuses to prevent herself from getting killed for the broken plates.
Though most importantly, an answer that she’ll eventually have to give when her Lady questions her about these abnormal skills she possesses. No common individual would be that comfortable handling meat that came from a human and much less likely to be so fluent in executing the humans with this level of efficiency.
Suspicion had been brewing since the moment Valerie arrived at the castle doorsteps and persisted with every step she took within it's walls. The initial doubt from the Dimitrescu family may have lessened over time but it still surrounded her like a thin veil made of air. This intangible veil might very well come to suffocate her the next day if she's unable to form a reasonable response.
Valerie knows she can’t just simply reveal who she is. That will probably send her head flying. Just as much as the Castle's residents have their uncertainties about her, Valerie won't believe that they'll accept her so easily either. So she spent those hours coming up with as many reasonable excuses to save her own hide.
Though if things don’t go well, she could always force her way out of the castle. Yet the thought of potentially harming the Dimitrescu family has her struggling with the idea of fighting them.
With a mind filled with endless scenarios, Valerie endured a sleepless night.
Soft knocks momentarily divert Lady Dimitrescu’s attention from her paperwork.
“Enter.”
Bela, her eldest daughter, walks into the study. She eyes her daughter from over the top of her glasses.
“Mother, can I have a word with you?”
“Yes, Bela. What is it?”
Picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip from it, waiting for Bela to speak.
“Yesterday night, I heard something in the hallways so I got out of bed to check on it. And... “
“And what, darling?”
Lady Dimitrescu was expecting it to be about her younger daughters since they love to cause trouble and Bela would always report to her about their antics.
“I saw the cook stab someone.”
The teacup in her hands was almost sent flying but she managed to still her hand.
“What?! A mere cook dares to murder my servants?”
Anger laced Lady Dimitrescu’s voice and her eyes glowed with fury.
“She didn’t hurt a servant, Mother.”
“Then who.”
Now she’s thinking that the cook stabbed one of her daughters and the handle of her teacup cracks at the pressure.
“An intruder.”
Once again, not something she expected to hear. Lady Dimitrescu’s eyes widened at that but remained silent. Willing her daughter to continue speaking.
“I trailed after the cook as she carried the man-thing into the cellar. She did the same for the others.”
A subtle quirk of her brow. She places her teacup back onto the oak desk.
“How many?”
“I counted five.”
Her lips form a thin line.
“Did your sisters handle the others?”
“No, Mother. Cassandra and Daniela were still sleeping in their rooms.”
Bela starts fidgeting, showing that she feels uneasy about what happened.
“Hmph, this little cook is more interesting than I thought.”
“Should I get rid of her?”
“No, leave her for now. Keep a close eye on her and don’t tell your sisters yet.”
“Understood, Mother.”
Bela turns and leaves the room, already making her way to wherever the cook is. She will not fail the task her Mother has given her.
In the study, Lady Dimitrescu retrieves her quellazaire, lights it and takes a drag. Things have become incredibly interesting in her castle.
Exhaling the smoke, she smirks. She knew that she caught something special when that woman showed up at her doorstep asking to be employed as a cook, four months ago in summer.
During the summer, on a late morning, Lady Dimitrescu just got back from a meeting. As she was about to walk to her study to have a bit of wine and relax, a knock on her door came through. Her brow twitched as she turned around to grab the door handles, pulling the large double doors open.
At the doorstep of her castle stood a woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties, donning a deep green dress to match her eyes. Wavy scarlet hair with the fringe towards one side, obscuring a part of her face. The long length tied into a pony tail, as well as a short braid over her left shoulder. A suitcase in each hand, eyes sharper than any knife, standing firmly with a neutral expression.
“What do you want.”
“To be the Dimitrescu family’s cook.”
“What makes you think you’re qualified to cook anything for my family.”
“I can cook anything and everything you desire. I guarantee the taste will be satisfactory.”
Not a single hint of fear could be found as her forest green eyes met those of a golden glare.
“What’s your name.”
“Valerie. Valerie Roux.”
“And what of your family.”
“Travelling the world, My Lady.”
Eying the woman from head to toe once more, a spark of intrigue was born.
“We’ll see if you can keep that privilege of calling me that.”
Deciding to put her to the test, she told Valerie that there are no kitchen staff and she would have to prepare everything on her own.
Valerie assured her that she is capable of handling an entire kitchen and meal preparation by herself. Thus she allowed the woman into her kitchen to prepare their lunch.
When the kitchen doors swung open, she fully expected Valerie to turn around and run, prompting her to allow her three daughters to go for a hunt. But the woman just set her suitcases down by the door and walked around the kitchen to assess what she needed to work with.
Alcina raised a brow at her behavior. She followed Valerie’s movements as she scanned the human body laying on the counter before turning around and grabbing a cleaver from the knife block. After she expertly separated everything, she reached for a carving knife and began slicing the flesh.
Thinking that she’s seen enough, she left the woman in the kitchen and entered the dining room. She sat at the head of the table and called for her daughters. They arrived a moment later, confusion clear across their faces since lunch wasn't till two hours later.
Gesturing for them to sit, she relayed to them that she might be hiring a cook given how their meal will taste. Her three daughters were shocked. They've never had a cook to prepare their meals since no one could.
They consumed human blood and flesh. Something which appalled humans. So if the human that's preparing their food actually does a good job, they'll be hired without another thought.
She listened to her daughters’ idle talk as she waited for the results to show.
Less than an hour later, Valerie peeked her head through the doors and found her gaze. Valerie gave her a small nod. Seems that she's finished cooking and will be able to serve the dishes so she gives the woman a nod and watches her turn around.
Valerie returns from the kitchen with a cart that the many dishes sat on.
She noted that the dishes held a carefully selected spread of organs and meat, garnished with droplets of blood. Looking absolutely mouthwatering as they were delicately placed onto the table. The fragrant smell of spice and the beautiful plating served to enhance the quality of the dish.
Unable to wait a second longer, everyone picked up their forks and knives and began eating, hums of approval followed each bite. The sweet juices from the succulent flesh coupled with the light burning sensation from the spice flooded their taste buds.
Valerie went back to the kitchen after setting down the plates and returned with four wine glasses along with a bottle of wine. She poured each of them a glass then stood by the side, near the door to the kitchen.
All the while through the meal, Lady Dimitrescu’s eyes followed her movements. Watching her graceful mannerisms when it came to serving their meals and even obediently waiting by the side of the room for any commands. Her actions brought a small curve to the Lady’s lips.
Safe to say that she was hired right then and there.