Written for Alicia Mirza's Light and Darkness Competition using the prompts Hurt/Comfort, Founders Era, Helena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff/Rowena Ravenclaw, Maroon, Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift, Archenemy, Sympathy, "I would do anything for her" & "A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason" - J.P. Morgan
Written for UnicornandRainbows20089's HeadCanon Boot Camp using the prompt 'heartbroken'
Safe and Sound
"Helena –"
"No, Mother. Do not tell me what I should and should not do! It is no longer your business. I am a grown woman, and am more than capable of taking care of myself." The young woman's dress was but a flash of white before Rowena's eyes as she turned on her heel and marched down the long corridor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Rowena could do nothing but watch as her daughter's figure became smaller and smaller, until she had vanished completely.
She sighed.
"Rowena? What is it?" The greying head of her dear friend, Helga, appeared in front of her, concern etched on her face.
"It is my daughter, Helga," Rowena said. "She is more trouble than a woman of her age should be."
Helga placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Of course. Shall we talk about it? My room is free."
"That would be lovely, Helga," Rowena responded, and together, the two women headed in the opposite direction to where Helena had gone just moments earlier.
"Baron, it is my mother! She does not love me anymore!" Helena collapsed onto a rock in the forest, her hair strewn in a very unladylike fashion; her eyes were red and swollen from the many tears her mother had caused her – and not to mention her frayed dress from where it had caught on a stick on her way to meet the Baron.
"Now, my dear, I am sure that is not true." The man lowered to her level on the rock, his hand on her back in comfort.
"You should have seen the way she looked at me! She is ashamed!"
"She is not!"
"You never saw her, Baron, you wouldn't understand."
"You are acting foolish, Helena. You are dear to your mother, and that will never change." His tone was dry – the Baron had little sympathy for Helena's despair.
She shook her head, burying her face into her hands. "Oh, I have ruined everything!"
"Dearest Rowena, your daughter loves you very much. She is just going through a troublesome time right now."
Helga placed a mug of what looked like tea in front of her friend, but Rowena heeded it no attention.
"I have asked her to stay away from the Baron," Rowena explained. "But she will not listen. Every time I ask, she seems more determined to keep seeing him. He is bad news, Helga."
"Oh, I understand completely, Rowena. The man is rude, and has little respect for your daughter, but Helena is a grown woman. Do you not think it appropriate that she learn from her own mistakes?"
"When you have a child, Helga, you will understand that I cannot just sit back and wait for her to learn from what will be a terrible mistake. I would do anything for her. She is my daughter."
Helga watched her friend with sympathy, unsure on what she should do next with a heartbroken woman. Helena had once been such a sweet girl – a studious young lady with so much promise – but then she had met the Baron, and she had changed, leaving her poor mother to pick up the pieces of her destruction.
"I took this from my mother." Helena took a silver diadem from underneath her dress, showing it to the Baron. "She treasures it so, so I took it."
An expression of pleasure formed on the Baron's face. "Take it," he said. "Take it somewhere she will never find it."
"Where?" Helena asked. "Mother will know if I leave the school."
"Just close your eyes," the Baron said. "Where do you see?"
"A forest… not this forest, but somewhere far away."
"Take it there," the Baron encouraged. "Take it far away from her; return only when you feel it right to."
Helena stared up into the handsome face of the Baron. "Are-are you sure?"
"As sure as I ever will be," the Baron responded. "Your mother loves you dearly, however, you do not seem to see that. So take it away. Do something you know will hurt her to make yourself feel better."
Helena got to her feet. "Okay," she said. "I will do just that. But you must help me escape, Baron. You must not let my mother know."
"What do you mean she is gone?" Rowena stared white-faced into the man she knew loved her daughter.
"Helena is gone, Professor. She has left the school." The Baron bowed his head as if shamed by this news. "I am sorry."
"Do not apologise for what my daughter has done," Rowena said. "She is not your responsibility. Thank you for this news. You may leave."
The Baron gave another bow, and then exited from the room. Rowena moved to a chest she kept safely locked.
"Maybe it is a good thing," Helga said. "She will return one day, and realise that everything you have done for her is out of love."
Ignoring Helga's plea for calmness, Rowena lifted the lid of the chest, and began searching through its contents. It was lined with a maroon fabric that suited a king. She'd received this from a king once – for Healing his heir.
When she found – or didn't find – what she was looking for, she closed the lid and turned to face her friend. Helga realised her despair straight away, yet mistook it for the other betrayal by her daughter.
"There, there, Rowena," she said, patting her arm. "Helena will return. Have faith. She is an intelligent woman."
"I confess, Professor, it was I who encouraged Helena to leave."
"Excuse me?"
"It was I," the Baron repeated. "I told her to leave, as I thought my words would encourage her otherwise. I thought by my telling her to leave, it would make her want to stay."
Rowena regarded the young man's words for some time, thinking logically about what he had just told her. Of course Helena would take him to heart – she always did. She was angry, upset, and hurt by her own mother.
Leaving was exactly what she wanted to do. She had only needed to hear the words.
"I apologise, Professor. I am to blame."
"That you are," Rowena answered coolly. "Please leave. I am not sure I can see your face right now."
The Baron disappeared without another word.
"Oh, Rowena, you have fallen ill!"
"No, I am fine," Rowena insisted. "It is just a little cough."
Helga regarded her with disbelief. "No, it is not. Your brow is wet, my friend; and your skin as white as a ghost. I think it best if you lay down. I will make you some tea." She forced Rowena onto her bed, and then busied herself with warming a pot of water with fire from her wand.
Rowena tried to sit up, but Helga was insistent. "Sit, dear Rowena. You are ill."
"I will be over it in a day."
"I should call Godric. Perhaps he will have a remedy to cure you."
"I do not need curing," Rowena insisted, becoming frustrated now. She had things to do – students to teach. She could not afford to lie in her bed all day.
Helga wasn't listening. "I shall concoct something myself. I know of a few herbs which will help. Stay put." She handed Rowena a mug of tea. "I will be back soon."
"I do not think she will make it a week."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, positive. She is dying."
Rowena could hear the low whispers from the corner of the room – it was Helga and the Baron – but her mind was not on her own fate. It was on her daughter's – the daughter she hadn't seen in over a year.
A figure approached her bedside, and she saw that it was the Baron. He stared down at her with an impenetrable expression – she never had been able to read that man well. He let his feelings be known to only those he trusted.
"Find… my daughter," she managed to command in one, raspy breath. "Find Helena."
"Professor?"
"Find her!" Rowena demanded. "I must see her… I must see her before I… die."
"I do not know where she could be," the Baron said, and Rowena knew it was the truth.
"You love her, do you not? Even if she says her heart lies with another?"
"Of course."
"Then find her. Bring her to me. You sent her away to begin with."
When the Baron had left the room, Helga approached her with a wet cloth.
"Tell me, Helga, why would he send her away?"
Helga patted her forehead with the cloth. "Rowena, a man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the right reason. I believe our dear Baron believed he was doing the right thing – he just misinterpreted the consequences."
Rowena's eyes slowly closed.
She was so tired.
"Helena, please come back to your mother. She is unwell… she is dying."
"I will not! You lie."
"She is dying, and she has sent me to bring you home."
"It is a ploy, Baron; a ploy my mother has concocted to bring me home. I will not fall for it."
"Helena, I beg you. Please return to your mother. She is ill."
"I refuse."
"Then you will never see your mother again. She will be dead before you realise."
"The Baron has been gone for days, Helga. Do you think he has found Helena?"
"It is hard to say, Rowena. Perhaps the Baron does not know where she is."
Rowena's chest heaved as she struggled to breathe. Helga sat her up on the bed, treating the fragile, old woman with care.
"I just wish to see her again… to tell her I have forgiven her for any wrong doing and heartbreak she has caused me."
"She will know, dear Rowena. The Baron will bring her home to you, and she will see that you love her very much."
"But… Helga…." Rowena's eyes began to close again, as her illness deteriorated her body faster than anyone could anticipate. "Helga, what if she never returns… what if she never knows?"
Helga wasn't able to answer. Rowena had fallen into another deep sleep.
"You must come, Helena. Before it is too late."
"I will not." Helena sat herself down on a rock – similar to the one she had been sitting on when the Baron sent her away. "Let go of me!"
"I will Disapparate with you here."
"Hogwarts does not allow Apparition. You know that, Baron. You cannot fool me."
"I will Apparate into the nearby settlement," the Baron pushed. "Anything to bring you home."
"Well… you will have to kill me before you bring me back there," Helena replied stubbornly.
"Helena, you must come."
"No."
The Baron grabbed her wrist, pulling her from the rock. "Come, Helena. Now."
"Let me go, Baron!"
"Come with me!"
"I will not!"
"Your mother wishes to see you, and I wish you back."
"You have no control over me." Helena was fuming now, and a dark look had also crossed the Baron's face. His hold on her wrist tightened as he tried to Apparate away, but she was resisting.
"You are my love," the Baron said. "Why will you not come?"
"Because you are not mine," Helena replied coldly.
Rage filled the Baron at her words, and he withdrew a knife from within his britches. Helena tried to pull free of his hold, but he was too angry. The silver blade plunged into her stomach without a moment's warning.
She collapsed back onto the rock, her skin pale, her breathing becoming shallower by the second.
"Helena?" the Baron said. "Helena?" He kneeled before her, taking the woman in his arms. "Oh no… Helena…."
"It has been two weeks now, Helga, and not a word."
"He will return with her, Rowena. Do not worry. Just rest. She will return to you, my dear."
"What have I done? Helena… I did not mean for this to happen." The Baron cupped the young woman's head in his hands, trying to revive her.
Her brow was full of sweat, and her face pale as he held her, watching the life drain from her.
"Oh, my darling…."
"Baron…."
"Just rest, my dear. Just rest, my darling Helena."
It didn't take long for her to take her last breath, and as the Baron laid her down, his heart aching, his eyes saw the blade that was now gleaming red. It lay on the ground, where he had left it, where he had….
He picked it up. He had no choice – Rowena would never forgive him. She had trusted him with her daughter's life, and he would only disappoint her.
She would deem him her archenemy – her nemesis.
The man who had murdered her child.
"I will rest with you, dearest Helena. It won't take long." With another look at the woman who looked like she was only sleeping, he plunged the knife into his own, broken heart, falling down beside her.
It would be days before someone found them, and weeks before news would reach Rowena Ravenclaw. The old woman, full of heartbreak and despair, died in her bed the night Godric told her.
"He has killed her," he said with the deepest sympathy. "And then he has killed himself."
Rowena cried for a long time, regret deep in her heart.
Her daughter had run away because of her, and now she was dead because she had sent a man who claimed to love her, to bring her home.
There was no peace in death for her. Her heart was too broken, and too fragile, for her to feel anything but pain.
As she closed her eyes for the last time, she heard the faint words – in the distance – from her friend, Helga. "Rest in peace, my friend," they said. "Rest in peace. You are safe now."
I hope you all liked it! I'm actually really happy with this - I really like writing Founders era I've decided. Your reviews would be much appreciated :)