Written for QLFC Round 5 [Tornadoes, Chaser 3]
(main) write a fic inspired by a title from your chaser 1 (empyreale's nebulous sunrises)
(quote) I loved you the same way I learned to ride a bike- scared, but reckless. - Rudy Francisco
(idiom) every cloud has a silver lining
(color) pastel pink
thanks to vic and sienna for betaing!
Note: Gryffindor and Hufflepuff do exist, but they are not relevant to this fic (because Cho is canonically a Raven and Daphne a Snake). Ravenclaw and Slytherin are enemies. Ravenclaw is an elective monarchy.
I loved you the same way I learned to ride a bike- scared, but reckless. - Rudy Francisco
Dedicated to Sienna, one of the strongest girls I know, who is going through a hard time in her life. Love you so much 3
Going to the kingdom of Slytherin is as good as meeting your death. If you don't know the territory, you won't survive.
Daphne Greengrass knows this terrain by heart. She's lived here all of her life, her father is a councilman, and her mother is King Tom Riddle's advisor. Those are both prestigious positions, and therefore, her reputation is cemented as a good girl.
Which means she can get away with almost anything.
Almost.
She flutters her eyelashes at the boys, flirts unabashedly with them, earning her spiteful looks from the girls. She rides around on her motorbike like she's a queen, haughty and proud.
But really, in this kingdom, there's not a whole lot to be proud of.
The two kingdoms of Ravenclaw and Slytherin had been at a disagreement for years, because of their differences, but no one had actually had the gall to commit any violence or bloodshed. Instead, they had erected a wall when Daphne was thirteen and warred within the walls of a neutral building, trying to reach a treaty.
But then, the people of Slytherin had grown impatient. It seemed that there was no end in sight to the peace talks, and the civilians blamed their incompetent king.
It was then that Tom Riddle, commander of the king's army, staged a rebellion and usurped the king, banishing him and taking control of the kingdom.
Around that same time, Ravenclaw had elected a new king, Albus Dumbledore, who was anti-war, and somehow, somehow kept Riddle at the peace talks instead of allowing him to declare war as soon as he'd dethroned the former king.
Everyone in Ravenclaw calls Dumbledore a saint, or so she's heard. Daphne thinks he's a coward.
Once, Daphne recalls, she had wandered into Ravenclaw by mistake. There had been no wall dividing the two kingdoms back then, simply a sign advising each side not to cross into their adversaries' territory.
(That had been pre-Riddle, a temporary yet ineffective measure to define the boundary between the two kingdoms.)
But Daphne, being the careless and ignorant girl that she was, had disregarded the sign and stepped into her enemy's land.
And she had been instantly introduced to a whole new world.
Daphne remembers her fears. Fear of being noticed in her odd, dark clothing. Fear of the consequences as she ventured further into the land and discovered that she was definitely out of her element. Fear of her vulnerability. She was powerless on this side of town, and she hated the feeling.
Daphne Greengrass always needed to be in control.
And she never wants to revisit those fears again. She's content with her life, the power, the influence she has. She rules this side of town; she's the ruthless, heart-breaking queen, collecting hearts and shredding them without a single acknowledgement. She's superior to everyone and everything on this side of town.
And she never, never looks, even glances, at the only place that reminds her of her weaknesses.
When Daphne is eighteen, a war breaks out. Tom Riddle decides they've spent too long negotiating for peace and sends his army to break down the wall. With all of the advanced weapons they have developed, they make it look like a piece of cake.
There is triumph in the air. People are parading the streets, shouting with glee at the eruption of the new war. They believe that this is finally their time, that they're going to show what Slytherin is worth.
Daphne is among them.
Cho Chang thinks everything's fine until the first building goes up in flames and her town is rendered silent.
And then, that's when the pandemonium ensues. People start screaming, running, taking cover wherever they can. Meanwhile, bullets fly through the air, aimless but causing terror nonetheless.
The Slytherins have come, and they mean to conquer.
It's been six months since the Slytherins took over her town, and Cho's on the run with her family. They pick up scant pieces of news here and there, and from what they've heard, Ravenclaw hasn't fallen yet. But Riddle is still terrorizing towns all across the kingdom, burning them down, making his message clear: surrender or die.
What is Albus Dumbledore doing about this? she wonders bitterly, staring woefully at her soiled, oversized blouse, the blouse she's been wearing for three straight weeks, that had been a pretty shade of pastel pink but was now coated in a layer of mud and dirt.
Whatever it is, she doesn't want to live like this anymore. She wants her old life back.
It's the first time since the war began that civilians were permitted to view the conquered territory. It's the first time they receive a look at all of the destruction Riddle has caused to attain this precious land.
And Daphne admits to no one but herself that it really isn't worth it. Yes, she does get sick pleasure from seeing all of the devastation, but she isn't heartless. She knows the price of conquering this land, the countless lives destroyed.
But she plasters a smile on her face anyway and joins the celebrations.
Cho's just a few weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday when she and her family are finally found.
And by the wrong people.
They're bound, gagged, and shoved into a carriage that bears the colors of Slytherin. They're taken to a regal building and locked in a cellar until their captors decide where they will go.
And it doesn't take them long. Cho and her family will be taken to a councilman's family and be forced to work for them. Without pay, since they are Ravenclaws.
Cho overhears all of this, her ear pressed against the door, as her captors talk loudly from the floor above. Their smug words float down the stairs. The word slave is repeatedly said and it sends shivers down her spine.
She doesn't want to be a slave. She wants to go home, but she figures that's not going to happen anytime soon.
For now, she has to accept her fate.
Daphne's preparing to go out, smearing lipstick on her lips, when there's a knock on the door.
She tiptoes to the top of the stairs and leans around the banister, ready to eavesdrop as she always does. It's a habit that she loves and her sister despises—but then again, she and Astoria never get along, the latter always being jealous of her. Daphne has always been the perfect daughter, the center of attention, and it makes Astoria spiteful.
It's her mother who answers the door, a big, fake smile painted on her lips, and her obnoxiously cheery voice greeting the people at the door.
It's probably another pesky interviewer, Daphne thinks wryly, retreating. She's heard them several times, and quite frankly, it's getting monotonous.
But it's what the person says that makes her halt abruptly. "We've got a package for you, Mrs. Greengrass."
"Oh?" her mother questions. Daphne knows she's raising an eyebrow—she's familiar with all of her mother's mannerisms by now. "What sort of package?"
"It's in the carriage, ma'am," the man replies gruffly. "It's a special package."
Now Daphne's intrigued. She sidles over back to the stairs and continues to listen in.
"Oh," her mother repeats, and Daphne recognizes that tone of voice—it's realization. "Would you mind letting me look at it?"
"Of course." She hears some shuffling and the man's footsteps heading away from the door, her mother's heels clicking behind him. That's Daphne's cue to rush to the nearest front-facing window she can find—which is ironically her mother's spacious bedroom.
She peers out the window and sure enough, there's a fancy carriage just like her father's parked in the street.
The man—now she sees he's dressed in an army uniform—unlocks the carriage door and disappears inside. Less than a minute later, he reappears—much to Daphne's horror—pushing three people in front of him, all of whom are muzzled and trussed. None of them are protesting, seeming to have already accepted their fate.
Her mother appraises them and Daphne suddenly feels queasy. She thinks she knows why those people are here, because she's been hearing about it from the gossipy hags who inhabit the bar—they're slaves. Ravenclaw slaves at that, judging from the emblem tattoo on their backs of their exposed hands.
She's not against maids or servants or any of those kind of people, because at least they're being paid. But it's slaves that get her blood boiling.
For the first time, she curses Tom Riddle's brutal regime.
Daphne doesn't how or why or when she starts falling for the girl, who she later finds out is named Cho. It just...happens.
She's nothing like Daphne. She's naturally pretty in a gentle, easy-on-the-eyes kind of way, while Daphne is bold and demanding. She's willowy and has unblemished hands that grow callused as the days wear on. She's kind, soft-spoken, the complete and utter opposite of Daphne, which is surprisingly the attraction factor.
But Cho isn't really Daphne's type. First of all, she's a girl. It's socially unacceptable to fancy someone of her gender.
But Daphne finds that she really doesn't give a damn. As long as she keeps her feelings a secret and pretends that she still likes guys, nothing could go wrong, right?
But she's tired of pretending. Pretending to be the perfect girl her parents want and building a reputation as a irresistible heartbreaker doesn't have its joys anymore. She doesn't care anymore about what people think of her.
She wants people to see the real her, and maybe with Cho, she can do that. Every cloud has a silver lining, after all.
Cho always feels a pair of eyes on her back while she's working. But when she turns her head, no one is there. It's a little unnerving.
The Greengrasses aren't too harsh, but they're not lenient either. Mr Greengrass is quite busy, being a councilman and all, so he's rarely around. Mrs Greengrass is the new king's advisor, so she's hardly around during the daytime.
So that leaves their two daughters supervising her. The younger one, Astoria, is sweet and pretty, but she and her older sister, Daphne, are always fighting, whether over something trivial or serious. The older one always wins, unsurprisingly.
Daphne. Daphne is an enigma, an obfuscation. Cho admires her poise, the way she carries herself.
But Cho also feels like Daphne is hiding something behind that cool demeanor. She's not exactly the most intuitive person, but she can read people fairly well. And Daphne is definitely concealing something.
She just doesn't know what.
Cho's meticulously scrubbing the stairs when a cough cuts through her concentration. Glancing up, her jaw hits the floor.
Daphne looks stunning. She's clad in a black tube top, a low-cut crimson skirt and wearing bright red lipstick.
Cho's mouth dries and her heart beats faster. Daphne looks like she'd been sent straight from the devil himself.
It's evident from the smirk on Daphne's face that she'd wanted this reaction from her and it sends a thrill of euphoria surging through her stomach, leaving her breathless and antsy.
It's too bad Daphne's not there for her (though Cho secretly wishes she was.)
She is so screwed.
Love is fickle, as Cho learns firsthand. Sometimes, she wants to strangle Daphne; other times, she wants to kiss her silly.
But she's stuck in a limbo between the two.
Thunder crackles and lightning flashes around them. It's not the perfect romantic scene she had envisioned, but it had its merits.
"I love you," Cho confesses, her voice shaky yet sound. The lightning flashes again and her dark hair, coiled around her neck in a braid, turns silver.
Daphne gazes at her with something akin to disbelief. She isn't supposed to love this girl. And yet, there's something magnetic, something more than just her beauty, that draws her in. Maybe it's her pure heart, still strong even after slaving away for months on end. Maybe it's her selflessness, sacrificing her own sleep to give her parents a few extra minutes of rest in the morning.
Or it could something else. But does it really matter at this point?
Daphne holds her gaze steadily, staring into the depths of soft brown, and she loves.
"I love you too."
WC: 2048
Written for:
Pinata Club - Easy - Siblings
Eastern Funfair - Ferris Wheel - 13. (weather) thunderstorm
Writing Club - Showtime - 5. Schuyler Sisters - (relationship) Sisters; CYB - O1; LL - C3. Combeferre: write about a Ravenclaw