Author's Note: This is for Round 10 of alyssialui's Twister Challenge. In this round, we had to choose from a list of AU's. I chose to do a military AU.
Additional Author's Note: The army structure and rankings that are presented in this AU resembles that of the United States Army. This story, however, takes place sometime during the future, in a country on the verge of war. Some people have decided to rebel against the government, which resembles the United States. In this AU, however, the president has more power and is practically like a dictator; and the government is very oppressive and cruel to its much poorer citizens.
Additional Author's Note: This is an AU, so the characters are not exactly as they are in the canon universe. For one thing, there is no magic in this AU. For another thing, just because certain characters are on the same side in canon does not necessarily mean that they are on the same side in this AU. Also, none of the three Black sisters are married in this AU.
As a whole, Lucius had no problem with Basic Training. His father, General of the Army Abraxas Malfoy, had always been a cruel disciplinary as Lucius was growing up. As a result, Lucius had been prepared for all the yelling and for all the physicality that came with Basic Training.
The biggest problem had been his Drill Sergeant, Bellatrix Black. There weren't many women in the army, and the few women that were there rarely made much upward process in the rankings; but Bellatrix had been a unique case. It was said that Commander-in-Chief, President Voldemort, was very fond of Bellatrix. It was only a matter of time, therefore, before Bellatrix rose up even higher in the ranks.
Lucius just hoped that he wouldn't have to work that much with Bellatrix in the future. Throughout all his Basic Training, Bellatrix had tried on multiple occasions to get Lucius to sleep with her. Each time, Lucius had refused her. True, she was beautiful and powerful, but she really wasn't his type.
Besides, Lucius already had a woman that he loved, and he intended to be faithful to her to his dying day.
Lucius knew that it was because of his love for this woman that Bellatrix was so determined to seduce him. The woman's name was Narcissa Black, and she was Bellatrix's sister.
Despite all this, though, Lucius had managed to keep Bellatrix from sinking her claws into him. She had made sure that he had been punished for refusing her, of course, but none of the punishments had really affected Lucius. To be honest, he had suffered much worse at the hands of his father. And Lucius had always known that Bellatrix would never dare go too far. As close as she was to the president, Abraxas was even closer.
Besides, things had improved slightly since Lucius had earned the rank of Private First Class. Bellatrix still tried to seduce him every now and then, but such behavior was not as acceptable towards a Private First Class as it had been towards just a Private. Lucius was still low on the pecking order, of course, but at least he was no longer at the absolute lowest level. And his family name granted him some privileges (despite his low ranking in the army), such as better food than the rest of the Privates were forced to eat, a mattress that wasn't lumpy, and basic toiletries.
On one afternoon, Lucius was laying on his bed in the barracks, watching the television on the stand beside his bed. Lucius had no problem with doing hard, physical work, but it sometimes was nice to have an afternoon off. Besides, with war on the horizon (with the rebel force increasing in its numbers with each passing day), it would probably be a long time before he ever got another afternoon off. Wars had the tendency to last for several decades.
"We will no longer tolerate these rebels who insist on undermining our noble government," President Voldemort spoke on the television. "They will be found and punished severely for their treachery."
Lucius snorted. Since when had their government been noble? How many long, painful executions had he been forced to watch with his father as he had been growing up? And most of the people had not been executed for crimes such as murder or rape. No, they had been executed for stealing bread because they were too poor to pay for it. All the money and power was held by only a chosen few.
In that regard, Lucius knew that he was fortunate to be a Malfoy. As cruel as his father had always been towards him, at least he wasn't poor. The Malfoys had always been a wealthy, powerful family; and it was rumored that Abraxas had played a huge role in getting Voldemort to the position of President. As a result, Voldemort had always tried his best to keep Abraxas happy. If there was anyone who could take Voldemort down, it would be Abraxas.
Pictures of both Narcissa and her other sister, Andromeda, suddenly appeared on the television. Lucius sat up abruptly. The last he had heard from Narcissa, both she and Andromeda were living comfortably at their family's estate. There was no reason for either of them to be on a news report concerning the rebels' latest movements. Lucius knew that they didn't approve of their government's treatment of the poor (neither did he for that matter), but he had also known both women to be deeply loyal and devoted (much like he was, which was why he had joined the government's army).
"I have received undeniable proof that both Andromeda and Narcissa Black had joined with the rebels," Voldemort sneered. "There will be a huge reward for the capture of either one or both of them. They are traitors of the highest kind, and both are disgraces to the noble Black family. Cygnus and Druella Black had both expressed to me their disgust in their two youngest daughters. As far as they concerned, Andromeda and Narcissa are no longer family. They are now to be treated like the common filth that they are."
"Narcissa, Andromeda," Lucius breathed in fear and horror, "what have you two gotten yourself into?"
Lucius suddenly had the mental image of him being at yet another execution. But this time, the people being executed weren't some poor people he didn't know. No, this time the people being executed were Narcissa and Andromeda.
And Lucius was standing the closest to Narcissa. Tears were falling down her beautiful face, even though it was clear that she was trying to her best to remain strong (despite all the pain that she was in).
No. Lucius could not allow that to happen. As loyal as he was to his government, he was even more loyal to these two women, especially towards Narcissa.
But as a member of the government's army, he would be expected to hunt down both Narcissa and Andromeda as if they were animals. And there was no way he could ever do that. There was no way he could ever play a role in either Narcissa's or Andromeda's executions.
Lucius knew that by deserting he would join the "Most Hated and Wanted" list as well, but that no longer mattered to him. He had always believed that the government should be just and fair to all its citizens and not just to a chosen few. He had always hated watching all those executions.
But he had always been too much of a coward to actually act on his beliefs. In fact, he had even gone as far as joining the army for a government he didn't even support. Just because he had wanted to be "loyal."
Narcissa and Andromeda, on the other hand, had proven themselves to be braver and better people than Lucius could ever hope to be. They had chosen to give up all the comforts and privileges that had been granted to them due to their family name to fight for a better world for all. They had chosen to be loyal for a cause that was truly worthy of such loyalty.
And now Lucius was determined to do the same.
And even though Lucius knew that there was a chance he might one day end up being executed for his treachery, he also knew that he would rather die fighting for something that he truly believed in than live as a coward. He would rather fight by Narcissa's side than fight than for a government he had never liked or agreed with.
He would rather die as a "traitor" than just stand there and do absolutely nothing as he watched the woman that he loved be executed right in front of him.