(OMG, THANK YOU FOR OVER 20K READS! I am so grateful you have no idea!!!!  I hope you enjoy today's chapter, I know it has been a while, and I apologise; I was just taking some time off :). I hope yall can understand <3 But yes, enjoy! Bad Grammar warning <3) 

You gave your mistress time for herself before you dared approach her study. Cassandra had been since been freed from her mother's study with tears and mascara running fresh down her face, but it was followed by a crimson lipstick print on her forehead marking and another on her temple; it was also visible how she had tried to rub it off but with no success. Lady Dimitrescu was sometimes harsh but not cruel, and it showed in her undying love. 

As you knocked on the hard mahogany door, a slightly uneasy feeling arose in your stomach as you went over what you would say in your head as the early moments in situations like this were like walking on eggshells, never knowing how she would react or respond to certain things. 

The silence that followed the knocking was so loud like an ear piercing siren; you waited with anticipation and anxiety from the unknown. "Come in." Her voice was cold and unfeeling like the shell of the woman you knew was hiding, only to be replaced with her angry counterpart. 

"Mistress, I just wanted to make sure you were ok," you stuttered slightly but managed to make eye contact; your mistress always appreciated someone who approached her without fear but with confidence. Her face looked puffy, and her long cigarette was lit and perching in her ashtray, waiting for its subsequent usage, along with a full glass of her red wine, the glass covered with red lipstick prints showing that this was not the first glass. 

"I'm alright." She looked away from you and out her study window overlooking the garden in all its beauty. The forlorn excretion on your beloved face struck a raw nerve inside you pulling your heartstrings to who you loved most. Approaching her with caution, not wanting to go where you were not wanted.  

"You sure?" She looked at you, picking up her cigarette, taking a long drag as though she was contemplating her answer. She was holding something inside, and it showed; there was a lot she held from you, everything she kept within herself that dug inside her, creating the woman she was. 

"Y/N am I... A good mother?" her voice hitched as she looked back down at her desk, the tears that formed in her eyes as the insecurities of this woman just unfolded in front of you; you instinctively when to comfort. 

You crossed the boundary line as you headed behind her desk, seeing Alcina hunched over her desk, hiding her face in her hands as the quiet sobs exited her body breaking you from the inside out. "Alcina my darling there is no doubt in my mind that you're a good mother," you clambered up onto the wooden desk, moving your legs on either side of where Alcina sat covering herself, and you hugged her. Wrapping your whole body around her embracing her as much as your petite body could around her. Stocking her head, hearing Alcina's cries increase. 

You didn't let go. You would never let go. 

Lady Dimitrescu hid herself in your body, gripping your thighs and pulling you closer into her. Whatever Cassandra had said to her must have really hurt her, like broken her deeply. A surge of anger flooded through your veins as you imagined what Cassandra could have said to her. Shuddering at the ideas that came to mind. However, you pushed them away as there was something that was much more important to take care of, such as the crying woman you considered to be your wife that was clinging to you. 

"Alcina, my darling- it's okay, look at me," You looked down and took hold of her face in the way she had held you from the first day you met. You pulled her to look at you; she hesitated at first but then gave into you, letting you cup her face with both hands and kissing her forehead and nose. 

She physically relaxed within your hold as time went on, you whispering sweet nothings into her ear all while kissing and squeezing her, making sure she felt loved and secure. You continued to caress her head, touching her tight black curls behind her ears and watching them spring back into place for you to push them back again. 

"Thank you, dear." Your mistress lifted herself from your hold, you hesitated her leave but respected it none the less. The missing heat and connection from her were almost painful, but you only smiled back at her, leaving a final kiss on her forehead; you didn't get enough time during the day when she was at your height level to really show her this type of affection; something new to the list. Grow!

"Are you feeling any better?" You ask with your tender voice, wondering if you would get the full story of what led to this outburst of painful emotions and if you needed to beat Cassandra's ass. Your mistress only looked at you with her tired honey eyes and caressed your cheeks with a knowing smile as if she could read your mind. 

"Much better," you were relieved but still curious and worried about her she was so upset that her whole mental barrier came crashing to the floor in front of you meaning something massive must have taken place. Lady Dimitrescu was the type of woman who showed no emotions other than anger and disgust to the plane person, when you worked up the ranks to someone in trust you may see happiness but nothing more than that. Her sadness was hidden through the many layers and years of life that she had endured. 

"Alcina may I speak freely?" you held your breath awaiting an answer, feeling your ribs hurt and thighs weaken. Your mistress knew what you wanted to know, and you supposed she was just mentally preparing herself for it.  

"You may Draga mea," she sighed, slumping back into her tall backed chair that supported her; at this point, her cigarette had gone out and you had taken her hat off her head before it fell off. She took a sip of her wine and once she was comfortable you began to speak once more. 

"From a woman who keeps her composer and is incredibly self disciplined I can only horror at what made you feel this way... or who. Mistress, I am too a very protective person of my loved ones and you now fit that category and I will not allow you to have this done to you without mass consequence to those involved so I would like to know what happened or what was said. Only if you feel comfortable." Lady Dimitrescu looked at you for a moment then at the table and smiled. 

"Y/N, you're adorable." She chucked, "And if you must know, the argument between Cassandra and me got quite out of control and things were said that I regret from my part along with some very... very hurtful things from her. Things that are so painful for a mother to hear." she collected herself whipping the inner corners of her eyes preventing more tears from falling. 

"I just feel awful," she finished, you took her hand and squeezed it, giving her a knowing look that told her that it would all be ok. 

"I know that what you said had no vindictive root behind it so you know it was purely from the heat of the moment and Cassandra will know this to whether she will accept that is another issue. She will come around, and you will be fine I promise you." you knew this to be true as Lady Dimitrescu was the most loving mother you had ever come across always putting her babies before herself as a common practice instead of thinking it as selflessness. 

"You are probably right, but as I know my Cassandra she holds grudges and uses them to her advantage so I do worry that this encounter will cause her pain and distress." Your beloved exhaled deeply before pulling you onto her lap securing you around her waist. 

Your heart jumped at the sudden contact, making you giddy inside and out, avoiding the obvious blush that crossed your cheeks and building heat between your legs. 

"You should check on her," you suggest knowing that time had passed, so both of them had calmed down, so it was now a lot easier to smooth this whole palava into a distant memory. your mistress stiffened and tilted her head back, only slightly before replying. 

"Could you check to see how she is before I see her just to make sure that my presence doesn't cause another uproar?" you nodded happily before remembering who you would be crossing one on one. Cassandra had told you that if you approached her that she would slit your throat before you could say anything. 

Shuddering at the invasionary, hopping of your mistress's thighs missing their feeling already but by the look in Alcinas eyes that was not the last time you would feel them. Your mind was a dirty field of urges and temptation from your undenying adoration and desire for your countess, a place you hoped would never see the light of day from the fact of its content being so vivid and detailed. 

"I will be right back," you gesture to the door then kiss her hand before taking your leave, sprinting down the corridor almost bumping into a priceless vase and honestly nearly crying at the consequence of it. Your ass would never be able to sit again or maybe you would lose your ability to walk from the severed nerves in your ass. 

Your heart stopped when you got to the girl's quarters, the section of the castle with the least windows besides from a few. All their bedrooms were in this part of the castle and were known in the maiden's lingo as dead girls' land from the fact there were always eyes or bugs watching your every move. One single mistake could end with you in the basement rotting and drained in one of those wooden barrels. 

Cassandra's room was open by a slither, so you took this opportunity just to peek inside; the sight you were met with actually upset you. This girl you had hated for years and had been at your throat ever since you got here looking so vulnerable curled up on her bed, head in her pillow to muffle her cries. You couldn't help but see yourself in her, feeling painful memories fill your head. 

Stepping back from the door turning around to go back to your mistress.  

(Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed and I promise smut will be returning very very soon but as it had come to me story building is important <3)