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Runs In The Family

Chapter 7: Ain't A Family

Summary:

It's a gamble he has to take, but not one he wants to. At all. Somehow, he can tell that he's going to be making a lot of poor choices in the next few days.

Notes:

tws for this chapter:
-kinda ish strangling? karl yanks alcinas necklace hard enough to choke her
-ments of wrist cuts. the one alcina did last chapter

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Karl paces when he's stressed.

The soles of his boots (and socks) are all worn in the heels from the repetitive circles. Pair that with his lip biting habit, and you've got some certified, grade A anxious habits. And right now, he is doing both.

Cassandra watches him pace outside the bedchamber hall door, Karl gnawing on his lip with a canine tooth. He tastes iron. It's been several minutes since Alcina went in with a bottle of wine in her hands, Ethan should be out here by now. What the fuck is taking them so long? Is she getting him fucking drunk? "Cassandra."

"Yes, Uncle?" Cassandra looks up from her perch on the main hall steps.

"Why was Mother Miranda here?"

Cassandra blinks. "I have no idea. She wanted to talk to Mother, I think?"

"Of fucking course," Karl grumbles, taking his hat off to rake a hand through his grey-streaked hair. He knew the minute he saw Miranda's name in the guest book (dated yesterday) that something was fishy. His hypothesis is turning out to be correct, and he's this close to breaking into Alcina's little meeting room and pulling Ethan's dumb ass out of here by the earlobe.

Ethan's a fucking moron. Karl's just as dumb. Karl's really, really hoping he didn't walk him straight into a trap.

"Is something wrong?" Cassandra asks, leaning forward and crossing her arms over her knees. "You seem awfully protective of an outsider that showed up only two days ago."

"And you seem awfully nosy for being my favorite niece."

Cassandra laughs. "Don't let Bela and Daniela hear you say that!"

Karl just makes a hm noise in response. What the hell is Alcina doing in there? Having a leisurely chat? "Are you positive you don't know what Miranda was here for?"

Cassandra shakes her head. "Nope. I think it was something about the ceremony? Or maybe Lord Winters? We weren't allowed in the library while she was here."

"So nothing? Fuck." Karl steps over a slight indentation in the floor and nearly trips.

That's when it clicks.

How did he miss it?

Castle Dimitrescu has always been a maze of medieval puzzles, many of which involve reading ridiculous riddles and sticking a thing into another thing. Normally, Alcina leaves them solved for ease (and to make it quicker to find the poor maids she wants to torture). But the four creepy ass angel statues that are usually in this hall are not present, and the braziers aren't lit either.

"Uncle? What are you doing?" His niece stands, watching as Karl makes a mad dash for the bronze door. He slams into it with his shoulder and grunts. "Uncle?"

It doesn't budge.

"Fuck!" He shouts, slamming his hand on the door. Mask the angel's blinded gaze, only then you will be saved.

It's a test. Its a fucking test.

He should've known Miranda would convince Alcina to use her castle as an experiment. If Ethan had come alone, he'd be stuck, only to have to figure out the maze of the castle himself. If he survived, he's strong enough to be part of the bullshit family cult- if he dies, well, free pest control. Karl isn't sure which fate is worse; Cadou, or death? The million dollar question.

Miranda's plotting something, and now Karl's gotten involved and messed it all up.

Actually, that's a good thing. He's always happy to ruin Miranda's fucked-up plans.

"Cassandra. Take me to your mother right fucking now."

"No need, brother of mine," comes the exact voice Karl both wanted and loathed to hear.

Karl turns on his heel, glowering at the Mega Bitch. Alcina stands just outside the hall door, hands on her hips and smiling instead of her typical scowl. It's extremely disconcerting- Alcina only smiles if she's being sadistic.

Not that Karl's much better with the sadism, but at least his toys are dead.

Daniela and Bela follow their mother in, the two sisters also grinning. Ethan is conspicuously absent.

"Alcina. Where is Ethan?" He demands.

She doesn't answer, waving a gloved hand. "Cassandra, escort Lord Heisenberg out of my castle."

He gives Cassandra a warning look, and she flinches. Karl follows his sister into the main hall, both of their heels clicking on the wooden stairs. "What did Miranda put you up to this time, oh dear sister?"

Alcina glances down at him with vibrant yellow eyes. Unless it's a trick of the chandelier light, there's a dark smear of red at the corner of her lips. Didn't Miranda teach her to eat neatly? "What makes you think Mother put me up to anything?"

"I'm not a child, Alcina."

"Could've fooled me."

"Ha, ha. The statues? I'm guessing you hid all the door keys, too. Trying to find new ways to outdo Moreau at grovelling?"

Alcina whirls around, robe flaring as she does. Karl nearly gets a faceful of lace. "What do you care? Have you gotten attached? Might I remind you what happened to the last ones?" She points at the small coin necklace around his neck.

Andrei looks at him shyly as Maricela smiles encouragingly. "I made you something. It's just a Lei coin on a chain but...it's the one you gave me when we met."

"It was my idea," Maricela says, sapphire eyes warm in the setting sunlight. They're in the fields outside his factory, and Maricela's straw colored hair almost blends with the grass.

Karl smiles and runs a thumb over the Lei, heart bursting with more love than he thought was possible. The coin sparkles in the setting sun. "God, I could kiss you both right now."

Andrei quirks an eyebrow, smiling that beautiful mischievous smile. "What's stopping you?"

A flare of rage makes his chest and face hot. How fucking dare she? "Oh, throwing the dead's name around now, are we? I thought you royals had better manners."

"And I thought you had learned your lesson already. Clearly, I was mistaken."

Karl clenches his fists. A nearby fork on a table rattles. "I'm not going to ask again. Where is Ethan?"

"Lord Winters is...preoccupied," Alcina responds tartly.

The hot ball of rage in Karl's chest is only getting hotter. This always happens, doesn't it? The two of them at each other's throats?

"Listen. I don't give a fuck about whatever demented fantasies you're playing out in this gaudy shithole. Grovel all you want, Miranda doesn't give a rat's ass about you."

Alcina curls her lip, clenching her fists. He's hit a nerve! Good!

"What'd she promise this time? Approval? More girls to make your fucked up little experiments? Oh wait, she killed everyone. Oopsie."

"You'd best not speak about Mother Miranda that way!" She barks. A door opens somewhere behind them, but Karl's vision is too red for him to care. "Daughters! Escort this filthy rat out of my castle!"

Alcina goes to walk away, but stops short as the golden pendant of her necklace yanks backwards, nearly choking her. She gags, glaring at him like he just kicked her puppy. Karl's sure his expression is one of feral rage, of shit eating grins and narrowed lycan-like eyes. Just for emphasis, he tugs her down further.

"Or what? You'll slice me to ribbons or whatever the fuck bullshit threat you wanna use today?" He growls.

"Let go of me, you insolent brat! You're lucky Miranda still sees a use for you, you pathetic excuse for a Lord!"

"I think you and I both know that Miranda's going to ditch us the minute she gets her hands on her baby." He pauses, tipping his glasses down his nose with a finger. "So put on your big girl panties and stop sucking up to the bitch who could give less of a shit about us!"

With that, he releases her necklace. Alcina rubs at her throat, and Karl just grins.

Alcina fucking snarls like a cat. She kind of looks like one right now, a lioness bathed in gold and lace, hackles raised and teeth bared. There's blood on her teeth too. "Karl Heisenberg, you'd best shut your mouth and exit my castle before I slice those useless vocal cords out of your throat. You are not to let your feelings get in the way of the ceremony, lest you wish to regret it!"

Karl rolls his shoulders back, staring back at her. As much as eye contact pains him, he makes as much as possible, if for nothing more than to piss her off more. "Or what? No matter how hard you and Miranda try, this ain't a fucking family."

Alcina harrumphs and continues up the stairs, off to her wine room.

"Damn, and I thought we were just getting somewhere!" He shouts after her.

"Silence, vermin! I have had enough of you!" She barks back, slamming the wine room door behind her.

Karl watches the door for a moment, letting the overflowing pot of anger in his torso simmer to a boil. He gently touches the coin necklace. Andrei had always said he had a temper, but loved him despite it. Maricela had matched his temper with her own. How dare you use their names as a weapon, when you were the one who got them killed.

He takes a deep breath before turning and being met with three pairs of wide golden eyes.

Daniela whistles. She speaks quietly. "Holy shit. She's going to be angry about that for ages."

"Good," Karl smirks, craning his neck to see into the Hall of Four. The four statues rose from the floor at some point during their screaming match, and he can see someone peeking out from behind a tucked away door. Ethan? "Excuse me girls."

"Mother wants you out of the castle!" Bela chirps. Karl waves her off and makes a beeline for the door.

"I guess you three will just have to keep me a secret, then?" He says with a wink. He doesn't hear the response before he's jerked into the room by his sleeve.

Ethan's wide brown eyes look positively petrified. He's clutching Karl's biceps like a lifeline and it kind of hurts. "K-Karl. We need to get out of here. Rose isn't here, Lady Dimitrescu, she-"

Ethan takes a shaking breath that's more like a gasp, running shaking hands through blond hair. "Rose isn't here, this was a waste, ow-" He stammers.

Ow? "Ethan. Breathe for me, okay? I can't understand what you're saying."

Ethan just nods and crumbles to the floor, head between his knees. Karl goes down with him and places a hand on his back. Ethan flinches.

"Sorry." Karl leans forwards on his knees, waiting a moment for Ethan's breathing to even out. Is this the right thing to do? He's never had to comfort someone else. Never been comforted either. Do you just sit and wait it out, or?

Ethan whimpers. Fucking whimpers. Even when Karl stabbed him, Ethan didn't whimper.

What the hell did Alcina tell him that has him like this?

After what feels like an eternity, Ethan speaks. "Your sister's a bitch."

"No shit, Ethan," Karl sighs. There's no real bite to his words. Ethan combs his hands through his hair again and- wait? Is that-?

"What did she do?" Karl snaps, grabbing Ethan's hands in his. Ethan's nice leather gloves are gone, replaced by two jagged lines in his hands. They've already healed to dirty-looking scabs, but Karl can guess what happened just by the cuts. Alcina's always had a strange love of hooks. Before he can muse on that, he spots a cut on Ethan's left wrist, and shoves his sleeve up.

There's a neat line across his wrist. Alcina picked a good spot, right above the delicate veins of the wrist bone, the spot most people would bleed out from. "She fucking tasted you?"

Ethan nods. "It was horrible."

He's going to fucking murder Alcina, and then Miranda, and then dance on their fucking graves.

Mia's going to kill him.

He digs in his pockets and pulls out a wadded up bandage. Ethan hands him a bottle of antiseptic from his little man-purse, Karl dumping it over the bandage before gesturing for Ethan to give him his hands once more. Ethan keeps giving him weird looks as he dabs the antiseptic on the wounds, and Karl does his best to ignore the way his stomach flips.

"Might I remind you what happened to the last ones?"

Fucking bitch.

He watches, silent, as Ethan's skin weaves itself back together, leaving nothing but fresh baby-smooth skin. God, he'd love to get this man in his factory, record some observations. Nothing invasive, though. He has some ethics.

"What happened out there?" Ethan asks. His voice is a low murmur. "I heard you two yelling."

"It doesn't matter," Karl spits, maybe a little too defensively. "What matters is us getting out of here. Those angels are the key."

"Mask the angel's blinded gaze, only then you will be saved," Ethan furrows his eyebrows in his classic thinking face. "The masks must be spread around the castle."

Karl nods. "Bingo. You're smarter than you look, Winters. I can remember where a few are. Ones in the library, and one's on the roof, on these godawful statues."

"I read some of the inscriptions. The angel of pleasure best appreciates art kept behind a gilded door."

"Alcina loves her riddles. It's probably behind one of her fucking decorated doors. Absolutely useless and a waste of fine metal."

Ethan raises an eyebrow, rubbing at his newly healed palms with curious eyes. "It's an old castle, Karl. It's going to be fancy."

"Still a waste." He grumbles, and Ethan snorts. "Anyways, I think the last mask is probably in the dungeons."

"Hm. Wanna split up?"

Karl stares at Ethan like he's grown a second head. "Are you out of your mind? Alcina's got a lot worse up her ginormous sleeves than this."

"Karl, I handled myself fine on my own in the Baker's escape room house from hell. This isn't my first rodeo. Besides, we'll cover more ground if we split up." Ethan digs in his pockets and pulls the brown gloves back out. Karl watches him put them on, eyeing him skeptically.

He's right, and Karl knows he is. But something about leaving Ethan alone just...doesn't sit right. He made a promise to Mia, and he'll do his damndest to keep it. "Ethan…"

Fuck. There's no real other way than to split up. If they split up, Alcina will have two people to go for instead of one. Maybe he can draw her away from him? It's a gamble he has to take, but not one he wants to. At all. Somehow, he can tell that he's going to be making a lot of poor choices in the next few days.

"Alright. Fine. But!" He starts, before Ethan can interrupt. "We meet here. Check in once you've got the masks, if either of us take over a half hour to return go search for them. Deal?"

Ethan doesn't hesitate, holding out a hand like a fucking buisnessman. "Deal."

Their hands clap together as Karl takes Ethan's. Ethan smiles, a tense but hopeful one, and the expression almost pains him.

The Winters family is going to be the death of him, he just knows it.

Notes:

THIS CHAPTER WAS A BITCH. AUGHHH
we have *hopefully* one more chapter left of castle dimitrescu. i might slow down on writing because i can feel the impending burnout, so please be patient with me.

you guys know the drill! i really appreciate the comments and kudos, they give me motivation to write this fic. as always, come yell at me on tumblr at @resident-nice ! im also making a re8 discord so if that interests you ill be posting that on my tumblr when its done