Part 4

Rebecca was sitting at the foot of the bed when Diana woke up. Woke up? But I should be dead, she thought to herself.

"We'll have no more of that, Diana." Rebecca said, snapping her fingers. Her irongrip vines sprung up and held Diana gently, but firmly on the bed. "I need you alive."

"This is some weird torture." Diana said, struggling against the vines.

"Don't bother. My irongrip vines can restrain anyone. I'm not going to ask why you tried to kill yourself. What I'm going to ask is that you don't try it again." Rebecca continued. "Seems you have quite the guardian angel, and my husband would prefer he doesn't get frequently dragged off to rescue idiots from themselves."

Rebecca paused, but seeing no reply coming from Diana, she continued. "Now then, my 4 children need their mother, and you would not believe how much milk rusalki babies drink, so I will keep this brief. Sergei is currently retrieving your brothers from the King of Whitemire through ways I will decline to share. They will be placed in the care of the Baron of Thorns, until you work off your debt."

While Diana was overjoyed to hear they would be safe, that last word gave her pause. "Debt?"

"You attempted to spy on me. So you are being given the unenviable task of being a big sister to 2 orphan siblings who live on my estate, Anton and Marie."

"Unenviable?"

"You will understand when you meet them. The head butler Jacob will brief you on them. If you're easily embarrassed about sexual matters, you better get over it fast. I'll be seeing you around, Diana. Welcome to the Ashe Manor."

After Rebecca left, Marvin entered the room, but remained standing, in a spot where Diana could easily see him from her position of being bound to the bed. At first he said nothing, causing Diana to speak up.

"When do I get released from these vines?" She asked.

"Oh that's not up to me. You have to be debriefed by Sergei first, and he's still in Stonekeep. You will be under the Duchess's care until then." Marvin walked closer. "As for me, I'm here to warn you."

"About what?"

"The Duchess is setting you up to fail, so don't be surprised if you end up dead anyway." Marvin said, smirking.

"What do you mean? She said I'm to take care of two siblings, right?" Diana asked, confused.

"She hasn't told you anything about them yet. Jacob will give you the more domestic briefing, but I'll tell you their hobbies."

Marvin leaned in close and whispered for nearly 30 seconds into Diana's ear, her face turning various shades of red in the process.

"Since they were 8?" She asked. "Leather?"

Marvin laughed. "If you can keep up with them you'll likely turn just as degenerate as them. Nobody ever lasts."

Marvin's laughter echoed as he left the room, leaving Diana with even more questions. Throughout all this, Victoria was intently watching how Diana was being treated. She eventually decided to float around and sat on the chair in Diana's field of view, not expecting anything to happen.

"Would be easier if I could just talk to you." Victoria said out loud.

"Who said that?" Diana called out. "I can't see you!"

Victoria couldn't believe what she was hearing. Could this woman hear her? She decided to get closer, until she was so close she could feel Diana's breath. Diana seemed to look through her, not seeing she was there at all.

"Who's there?" Diana called out again.

Victoria thought carefully before answering. "Somebody who died 6 years ago."

Diana yelped in surprise at the voice coming from right in front of her, with nobody being visible. "Stop playing games! Who's there?"

Victoria decided to test a theory, and tried to touch Diana, but her hand went right through like all other humans. However, Diana did react.

"Hey who's touching me?"

Victoria was intrigued now, and while she wanted to bully Diana a bit more, she decided to go get Heather instead.