A Thief's Tale [lady dimitrescu x fem!reader] [COMPLETE]

Chapter 11

"Can I help you three?"

"Tell us the truth," Cassandra demanded, gripping the cell bars. "What the Hell was wrong earlier?"

A low sigh passed your lips followed shortly after by a dry laugh, your gaze hardening. The three shared a look before watching you closer, Bela keeping a hand on her sickle just in case you tried anything.

"I was just reminded of my hatred for other humans," You drawled out with a bittersweet smile on your face. "They're so cruel to everything. Animals, nature, monsters, and other humans. A lot of humans won't hesitate to tear other beings down to make themselves feel superior. They'd rather punish a starving orphan than help it survive. So forgive me if I come across as cold towards other humans."

Their eyes widened as they conversed, occasionally glancing over at you before deciding to open the cell. When you arched a brow at them, Cassandra glided over to you and pulled you to your feet.

"Come with us, dummy." She grumbled, guiding you out of the cell. "We wanna know more about your past."

"I'd rather not—."

"Would you rather go back in the cell?" Daniela huffed, swarming to the exit.

You tilted your head in contemplation, letting out a quiet grumble when Bela lightly smacked your arm. You also noted that she was gentle about the hit instead of being careless and not worrying about hurting you.

Bela and Cassandra grabbed your arms as their feet turned into swarms, the two of them carrying you through the castle after Daniela — stopping in the opera hall. Your gaze lazily drifted around the hall, noticing that nothing looked like it had been cleaned.

"Who the fuck was supposed to clean this for me?" You groaned out, clenching and unclenching your jaw as you glared at a blood splatter on one of the walls.

"A ei trebui să-i spunem?" Bela whispered, making your head snap towards the sisters.

"You do realize I can understand what you're saying, right? Why wouldn't you want to tell me?"

The action made them jump — which amused you greatly — before Bela cleared her throat, regaining her composure.

"We don't want you harming or killing the other servants."

"Right." You sighed out, rolling your eyes at them. "That's your job, got it. Can I at least go get some cleaning supplies? I can talk and clean."

"I'll get them!" Daniela giggled, swarming out of the hall.

Cassandra looked at you expectedly, glancing towards the piano when you gave her a confused look. You clicked your tongue in understanding as you maneuvered to the piano, lifting the fallboard and setting your fingers on the ivory keys. When you pressed down a few to get used to playing again, a faint smile tugged at your lips. Nostalgia flooded you as you sat on the bench and began to play — no song in particular, just pressing random keys.

That didn't stop Bela and Cassandra from giggling and becoming very intrigued. Once you felt you had warmed up enough, you began to play Gymnopédie No. 3, ignoring the sound of the opera hall door opening and closing. You noticed the sisters surround the piano as you played — you simply trying your best to remember as much of the song as possible.

The clicking of heels filled the air and you paused to look up at the girls, noticing the pouts on their faces. Before they could say anything or complain, the door to the opera hall opened and their mother ducked in, her predatory gaze on you immediately.

"Playing instead of cleaning?" She inquired, gaze shifting to her daughters. "What is going on here?"

"We asked her to play, mother!" Cassandra stated, fidgeting with her sickle and effectively making her mother raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? And why would you ask that?"

"She heard me play!" Bela blurted out, standing slightly in front of Cassandra — which seemed to ease the nerves of the younger sister. "She promised to play for us since she heard me play... It was only supposed to be until Daniela came back with the cleaning supplies."

"Y-yeah!" Daniela chimed in, gloved hand grabbing Cassandra's cloak gently. "But we... Got distracted by her playing. She was going to clean and tell us some stories of her past."

They all fidgeted under their mother's gaze, Bela making sure her sisters were behind her in case their mother blew up at them. Even if you were sure she wouldn't — and you were sure they knew that too — it broke your heart a little to see them that nervous. You slowly stood up, handing moving to close the fallboard.

"I didn't tel you to stop, did I?" Lady Dimitrescu called out as her gaze shifted back to you. "What were you playing?"

"Gymnopédie No. 3, my lady." You responded immediately, bowing your head to her.

"Without sheet music? Impressive."

Your face began to heat up at the compliment, making you stutter over your thank you to her — which in turn made her daughters giggle. Her large hand came to rest on your shoulder before she gently pushed you onto the bench, a faint smile on her face.

"Play something else for us. Afterwards, you may clean and tell us stories."

"Any requests?" You asked softly, taking a deep breath when they all shook their heads.

Your fingers glided to the keys as the memory of your father playing came back to you. He had taught you to play one full piece before losing his sight completely — which made it harder for him to teach you but, he still managed before you were captured. That piece just so happened to be a romantic piece — he had said he wanted to teach you it so you could make someone swoon and fall in love with you, you doubted that would ever happen.

But here you were, playing Nocturne in E flat major for your boss and her daughters. You didn't dare take your eyes off the keys in fear of you messing up, and also not wanting to see their reactions until the piece was done. That didn't stop you from hearing their quiet gasps or their whispers of awe which filled you with a sense of pride.

It made you curious to know lady Dimitrescu's reaction — seeing as how she had been silent through the piece so far — but you refused to look up. You refused to break your concentration and ruin the piece. Not like that mattered because a loud crash was heard in the hall, making you flinch and mess up the song.

The girls all hissed at the door, swarming over to it and yanking it open. Your gaze shifted to your lap as you let your hands fall to it, a frown on your face. You weren't sure why you felt so disappointed that you had been interrupted but, you were.

What is happening to me here? Why do I care so much about if they enjoy my playing?