His eyes were dark and devoid of any feeling. He had not moved, not one inch, for almost an entire day. She found that remarkable, considering she could hardly ever sit still. Still, in his presence she tried to be as quiet and as invisible as possible.
She had seen him kill with little to no reason at all. She would not give him an excuse to be rid of her.
The Dark Lord's eyes never left the flickering of the fireplace in front of him. Whether he was thinking or plotting a poor soul's demise, she did not know. She did not dare assume to know what the Dark Lord was thinking. That was not her place.
Bellatrix knew without a doubt that he would never love anything because he did not love. He did not care about anyone or anything. He never would. He only obsessed over things. Not crazy compulsions like lesser beings would, but of dark and sinister things. He would go after something with all his vengeful fury until he had accomplished that which he sought to do. That was his obsession. Bellatrix knew it and had accepted it. Just as she had accepted long ago that her place would never be in his heart. He did not have one.
She sat off to the side and behind him so that she would not be in his line of sight should he wish to look somewhere other than at the fireplace. She had made that mistake once and it had cost her a stun curse for 'being a distraction'. She would not sit by his side for the same reason. Also, she was told once that no one was trusted enough to be so close. Her place wasn't by his side.
"Bella, come to me."
His voice was cold, distant just like his eyes. That did not stop her from shifting closer and stopping just within reach to the side. She kneeled before him and made sure to keep her eyes lowered. She would hate to upset him when he finally seemed to show some sign of life.
His pale hand reached forward and touched her head lightly. "I have a request of you Bella. I want you to bring Draco to me. I need him."
The part of her mind that still recognized family loyalties worried for her nephew. Mercifully for her, that part of her conscious was small and the darker side took over. She bowed her head in submission to his will.
This was her place, doing her master's bidding.