Escape

Chapter 1: Too Cold

It's darker here than it was at home. Colder if you would say. The walls are grey and the floors are black. Hardly, if any, light shines through the windows. It's always cloudy. Hardly any sunlight comes through.

My name is Phoenix Charolette Weston Malyfoy. I'm only seventeen years old. I was sorted into Huffleouff during my short six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My parents were killed by He Who Shall Not Be Named. My life was spared, thanks to Lucius Malfoy's quick reasoning, otherwise, I would have died.

I don't know how I got here. Well, I do know, but I don't at the same time. I know I love him. I know he's evil. I know I'm somewhat good. I know I've married into one of the most powerful wizarding families in the world by force. I know I'm a mudblood. I know that this family would kill me if my husband didn't care. My life is virtually a lie. There's nothing I can do to save it.

That's all I can tell you about myself. The rest of my life I don't know, or I'm sworn to secretcy about. I'm a prisoner of my own self. There is no escape for me. Well, if there is, I certainly can't find it.

So I live. I eat with the family, attend outings with them. At night I go to bed, the arms of their only son wrapped tight around me.

I've tried to run before. Not in the sense of running away, but in the sense of dying. I know I'm not supposed to live in a world with such evil. I know I'm a good person. I should be helping people, not watching the only family I have kill them. I should be finshing my last year at Hogwarts with my friends, not stuck in a prison where there is no escape.

A scream pierced my ears. They were torturing someone again. This person sounds familiar. It sounded like the woman who lead Muggle Studies at Hogwarts. They were probably going to kill her. She taught that mixing blood is good and should be excersied.

Which is why I can't believe I'm here. A mudblood, alive, in the Malfoy Manor. Another reason why I don't understand how they standed to marry me off to the infamous Slytherin, Draco Malfoy.

Yes, we had a fling. At the begining of out sixth year, we started hanging out more. It never went more than that. It wasn't supposed to. But now, here I was. It's been exactly one month after our marriage. Don't get me wrong, I loved Draco, but I can't handle the fact that I was forced into a world of evil, and could very well go to Azkaban after everything was over, if things did not go in You Know Who's favor.

I was standing at the window, looking out, trying to find some sort of life, knowing that I would never see it. I felt a hand brush back a lock of my dark brown hair and a pair of lips, meeting my, now exposed neck.

"Please tell me you aren't thinking about jumping again are you?" I heard Draco whisper against my ear.

I shook my head. It wasn't possible for me to jump now. I was too far in. Dug too deep.

"Good, "Draco tells me, "Now come here. "

I was shaking. I was scared of him. I shouldn't be scared of my husband, but I was. I was petrified of him.

You see, when Draco gets mad, over anything, he takes it out on me. Bruises cover my torso, arms, and legs, but lucky for the world, and for me, the brusies were covered, thanks to the style of dress I wore, in order to look like I at least fit in around here.

Draco doesn't know about them. I do well to make sure they're covered before he wakes up. I've counted them, and one hundred forty eight bruises cover my body in all. They number hasn't grown in a while, but it hasn't decreased either.

Draco lead me to the bed and pulled me under him.

"What's wrong?" he asks me.

"Nothing, "I tell him, giving yet another lie, "I'm just tired. "

"Then lets go to bed, "Draco saids, kissing my fore-head. He lifts me up and pulls the blanket out from under me. Draco lays me back down and pulls the blanket over us both.

I couldn't sleep. It was midnight. Draco had been asleep for a while now, after I fooled him into thinking I was asleep. Although, everytime I squirmed, his arm wrapped tighter around me.

I know deep down, Draco loves me. He'll never admit it though, seeing that I was Muggle-Born and he was of pure-blood.

But, I also know, I'm alone, in this dark place full of evil, and there is simply no escape.