It would seem I never tire of torturing dear Severus and Narcissa.
Wicked Games
When he did the deciding for the both of them it had left her alone and silent, slighted ever so abruptly and drowning in the realization that there's not must justice in the world. She was not one to usually complain about the unfortunate circumstances of life as she always seemed to live in such vibrant ways that surely her world must rival the stars, but in actuality his indifferent slap and casual dismissal had stung and she had been left speechless and defeated. Knowing him as she did, she got the very strong sense that somewhere in their sudden stiff politeness war had just been declared, and she wasn't really clear on the why.
She hadn't really wanted anything big or revolutionary. No offspring, nor a holiday and certainly not an affair of the heart. She had just wanted something simple- playful in fact, just another chance to feel that thrill which only a teenager out past curfew could feel. It had all happened quite suddenly on a terribly insignificant day when like reached out to like as they tend to do in common territory and a plea for kindred was brought to the table. In fact she had lied to him once, telling him she did not remember their first meeting but in all honesty she did recall and even now within her mind she could still hear the words as if they remained hovering just beyond her reach.
"Could you help me out?"
And he had replied, "Help is here."
With those words she never imagined his smile could harm or could cut her so coldly, reminding her once again all we could ever do was accept the loss for at least that meant we once had something of worth to covet. It had become impossible for her to control herself around him, the pain of silent rejection quickly eroded at her abilities until emotion overcame her sense of reason. Simply stated, she felt as if part of the world had fallen down and the only thing standing between her and all that remained was a door clicked softly shut by his hand. It had been obvious then, there was a hell for the damned and it was the very room she now sat encased within.
Stillness immediately enveloped the space where he once stood and beneath the emptiness a chasm began, wrenching the earth apart at the seams creating a void no words could fill. The retched days that followed suit provided her time to twist and turn his motivations until finally the intriguing little cryptex surrendered its prize and out poured his secrets, each one balanced precariously on the scale of truth and lies. Quite simply she was different, and in his world different usually meant bad, therefore he had no other choice than to let her go.
Not even her spoken thoughts could find their way across the distance each had created against the other, it had been as if she had never mattered at all and could therefore be dismissed casually out of hand. More times than not his tone had become edgy, as if he suspected her of something and it had been then when she realized with horror and shame that she had in fact done more damage than she would have thought to be capable of inflicting.
The price of being different would be paid, and in accordance to his most noble traditions and sense of propriety. Somehow even she would not fault him for his reasons though the knowledge of their existence failed to bring anything other than the familiar sting of cold-comfort. There just wasn't much justice in the world and it was obvious, blatantly so even if only to her. Despite her intense sense of shame she would remain nothing but stoic, and decidedly woven into the center of a tangled bloody web built entirely of old scars and false pretenses. She had no intention of giving up, that simply wasn't in her nature. After all, Narcissa had nothing but time and a unique affinity for waiting.
.