SACRIFICE
Summary: In the age where the wizarding world was left without a king, the clans of old prepare to fight each other for power and riches. Will the founder's friendship survive the hardships of war? Or will their hearts be called upon battle to protect their homes; their families.
Obviously this is AU.
The cell stank of piss and only the Gods knew what else. The floor was covered with blood and rats roamed around freely and unafraid. The man looked down at his broken hands; his fingers were twisted and bent in awkward directions. They were bloody and he could no longer feel any pain. His precious wand remained a few feet away from him, having been placed there to taunt him.
He chuckled quietly and closed his eyes, "Ya' really think I care about what happens to me? Nay, laddie' I'd rather die than betray my friends, my family."
A slight smirk came to rest on the other man's lips. He had known all along that his prisoner would never give away Salazar Slytherin whereabouts. He crouched down next to his prisoner and smiled.
"Family? How can you claim yourself to be that man's family when you are nothing but an expendable bastard?" His smirk widened when he noticed how stiff his prisoner had become. Had he touched a nerve? "You know what? I see no bravery in your eyes anymore, just despair. You think Salazar cares about you? He will let you rot in here. Why should you be more important to him than the likes of Godric Gryffindor?"
Bran smiled at his jailer, "Godric Gryffindor… ceased to matter to him the day he allowed that filth into their school."
"So you would like to think. That your own brother would choose you over the man that is in love with mudbloods." The jailer chuckled when Bran did not reply, "We all heard the stories. Edward Slytherin always favoured his bastard over his true son." He licked his lips as though his poisonous words were the most delicious thing that ever came out of his mouth.
Fear clawed its way into Bran's heart. Salazar would still come for him. They were brothers despite whatever past was between them. Were the situation reversed, Bran would ride without a second thought into battle to save him.
"I ought to go," the jailer added cheerfully as his mission had been accomplished. A sense of pride filled his being as he could almost taste the despair on his prisoner's face. He revelled on breaking the spirits of his enemies. It made him feel alive. Some wizards lived to duel but he much preferred to scar the hearts of those that were unfortunate to cross him.
Bran felt the terror assault him. It gripped him so hard he thought his insides were being crushed. His lungs were suddenly unable to expand and he struggled to breathe properly. He was going to die. His brother would not come for him.
"He's back. Salazar's come home," the whispers were overly loud and tinged with something close to fear. Or respect. Liadan Canavan could not decide which. She followed her employer, Lady Marion out of the archway and down the street towards the gate. They veered right, stepping carefully over the sewer. Liadan hitched her skirts near to the knee and the expression on her face spoke volumes.
"Honestly girl! One would think you to be royalty with that expression on your face!" Lady Marion snapped making Liadan roll her eyes behind her back.
There was a small path that wound between two houses and through some grass where a few sheep and cows were grazing sullenly. Liadan's blue eyes spotted the stream where a washing well had been built round it. She noticed that a few women were there already and all of them turned to smile at the new arrivals. Liadan noted though, that their looks changed immediately when they saw Lady Marion. They all whispered something before carrying on with their work.
"Well then. Get to work. I will expect you in the kitchens in time to prepare supper, am I clear?" Lady Marion's lips were stretched into a stern line.
"Yes, my lady. Thank you for showing me the way." Liadan replied with a small smile before walking straight ahead towards the other women. She reached the stream and sat on the bottom step making sure to sit close to the others. She noticed that all of the other women had removed their shoes so she copied them. She took her sweet time and never took her eyes away from the way the women worked so that she could get a grasp of how the deed was done. The work seemed to involve soaking the garment in the water, rinsing it and then beat the crap out of it on a stone.
With a long suffering sigh, she set to work. She dipped the clothes into the water and proceeded to do as she had seen the other women do. She arched a brow and mentally started congratulating herself as she lifted the soaked red gown and started whacking it against the stone. It was not easy given that her fingers were so cold from the water they hurt. She heard whispering and giggling and raised her head to stare at the watching women, "Yes?" she asked irritably. When no one replied she proceeded to throw Lady Marion's gown violently against the stone again and again until she was sweating and panting slightly.
This was hard work. Her arms were aching and her back hurt and this was only the first piece of clothing. She glanced up at the other women and silently wondered how they did not seem tired at all.
Liadan persisted though and when she finally set the final piece of clothing back into the basket she let out a small shriek of happiness. Hours had passed and she was the last one by the stream. A loud groan escaped from her as she picked up the basket that was now quite heavy since the clothes were now wet.
She still remembered the way back and she tried to hurry as it was getting dark outside. A small prayer left her lips as she hoped she was not late for supper. She really did not want Lady Marion all over her again. She needed this job as it was the only one she that would provide her a room to sleep in.
She hurried through the now empty streets as most people were already inside. She took a good look around her and wondered why the Village's chief would allow his people to live in such rudimentary homes. Only she knew why. As long as these people were different he did not care for them. He only allowed them to go about their lives as long they kept serving him and paying their taxes. Distracted as she was by her own musings, she failed to see the tall cloaked figure as she turned around the corner. She gasped loudly as she bumped against him, her foot slipped in the muddy floor and she found herself on the floor with a bruised backside.
"No!" she exclaimed in horror as the garments she spent hours washing and beating the crap out of them ended up on the dirty ground. She cursed under her breath and ignored the helping hand in front of her. She groaned as she got to her feet by herself, "Look at what you have done!" she accused and felt her pale cheeks redden as all her hard work had been for naught. She suddenly stiffened as she realized that the man she bumped against was not alone. Three men stood behind them and all of them wore the same long cloak with their hoods hiding most of their features.
"You were the one not looking at where you were going," the man spoke as he moved his hood backwards. It seemed he was expecting her to recognize him but she did not. Nothing in her expression changed.
"I could say the same for you… sir!" she added quickly, "You might have just cost me my job!"
"Watch your tone, woman!" one of the men snapped, "How dare you-"
The man whose features were visible raised a hand to silence his man, "Here." His hand shot out to grab hers and then he deposited a few gold coins in her hand. Ignoring her protests he lifted her hand closer to his face and he arched a curious brow, "How odd, your hands do not strike me as hands that are used to hard labour."
"Release me at once!" Liadan commanded and tried to yank her hand away from his grip.
"Well then…" the man muttered as he slowly let go of her hand and then walked past her, side-stepping so he would not step on the garments scattered on the muddy ground. His men followed suit and none of them spared her a second glance.
She groaned loudly and then looked down at the six gold coins in her hand. This was worth almost a fortune for a maid servant. Yet for her she found that they held no great worth. She crouched down and looked around her to make sure no one was watching. The four men were still walking ahead with their backs turned on her. Sighing, she reached underneath her skirt and withdrew a long thin piece of wood. It felt good to be able to hold her wand again. She promised herself that this would be the last time and then with a flick of her wrist the dirt vanished from the garments and the pieces flew right back into the basket.
As she stood back up, her heart skipped a beat as the man she had collided with was staring right back at her. He looked over his shoulder, his grey eyes set on her and then he turned back and disappeared from her sight.
"What of it? It matters not that he has returned home, does it? He will never leave that accursed school of his, that much I guarantee you." John muttered gloomily as he poured himself some more mead.
Liadan stared down at the stew in her bowl. Hesitantly, she ate some of it and was surprised to find it quite good. She reached for some mead as well ignoring the looks the other servants were giving her. She needed a drink. Her head was beginning to throb again and her backside was hurting.
"He's come back for Bran I am sure of it," Therese spoke quietly and Liadan was actually surprised to hear her talk as the red-haired girl was always so shy. She did not know who Bran or the other man they spoke of was and she honestly did not care. She refilled her mug and giggled to herself.
"That's enough of that, young lady." John growled and took the mug away from her.
She glared at him and left the table. She sat down on the cushioned chair by the fire and stared down at angry flames. Despite being so close to the fire she could not help but shiver. She felt cold. The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur.
Strong fingers poked her neck making her stir. Her entire body felt heavy and she was suddenly burning up, "I am fine Mother." She muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. She gasped loudly and jumped to her feet. She quickly backed away and felt herself trip over something or better yet someone. A scream escaped from her as she stared into John's bloodied face. His throat had been slit.
A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth. She was roughly pulled upwards and then shoved behind the door. Though her first instinct was to struggle until she was released, she quickly repressed it. She flickered her eyes to the side and she was able to see a shadowy blur.
"I swear I heard somethin'"
"Ya heard wron' ye piece of shit. I killed every single one of 'em."
"Whatever. Let's go. Burn the village. Leave no one alive."
After a few minutes when it seemed that those men were gone, the man finally removed his hand from her mouth, "You're welcome princess,"
Liadan whirled around, her eyes widening at the familiar face, "You! You're the idiot that bumped against me."
"I just saved your life." The man replied with a flat tone.
"I…" Liadan shivered, "I didn't hear a thing…" her hand reached out for her chest as she was finding it hard to breathe. She could have saved them; all of them. The wand on her leg's holster suddenly felt like it weighted a thousand stones.
"I am amazed myself. How can such a small woman sleep through a slaughtering," the man added in sheer amusement.
Liadan looked up at him, "These people are dead. Do you think it funny?"
A small smirk showed on the man's handsome face, "That they're dead? Not quite. But that you slept through their murders? Yes. I find it funny."
She was just about to retort when the door to the room was kicked open, "Salazar! We must go now. The village is burning."
Salazar nodded and he motioned for her to go ahead, "Ladies first."
"I'm not a lady." She replied as she raised her chin and walked away. She swallowed hard as she walked past the dead servants. She had only been working with them for a few days.
It seemed that wherever she went, death did follow.
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed and want more please make sure to favourite and follow. And if you could spare a minute of your time to review it would make me really happy and all the more motivated to keep writing!