Written for alyssialui's Pairing the Character Drabble Competition
Pairing: Andromeda/Regulus
Andromeda could not breathe. It was as if the steel stays of her corset was squeezing the very life out of her. But that pain was easy to ignore. The pain seizing her heart in a poisonous vice grip however, was not. Her breath came out in short gasps which only exacerbated the tightness of the corset. Lily white fingers gripped the edge of the cold stone balustrade of the balcony that overlooked the immaculate grounds of Black Manor. The light of the full moon bathed the lush garden in a tangibly serene paleness. The ethereal beauty of it called to her from so far down below.
A siren's song that her body seemed helpless but to want to answer that drowned out the sounds of revelry in the manor's ballroom.
Strong hands gripped her waist then, holding her still, anchoring her to the spot on which she stood. Cool lips pressed against the heated curve between the column of her neck and shoulder as a wall in the form of a man was erected at her back, giving her a solidity that had been absent just moments before.
"Regulus," she whispered, the word coming out on a choked sob as tears, chilled by the night, rolled freely down her flushed cheeks, "I'm falling."
"Don't worry," a low baritone murmured, gently backing her a few steps away from the balustrade, "I'll catch you."
