Drabble number two! This time in the Baron's POV.
She didn't heed my advice. I told her to undo the misdeeds she had done and that all would be well, I wouldn't mention her theft to her mother, and we could go back to the way things should be. She doesn't seem to understand her place. Her mother has promised her to me, and no matter how she fights it, she is mine. Helena has always been such a headstrong young woman, even when she first began classes at Hogwarts. It's one of the things I've always admired about her.
When she first found I was to be taking over the position of Potions Master after Lord Slytherin's flight from the school, she was as brass as to tell me she would never refer to me as Master, regardless of my title over her and that if I didn't like it, I was free to remove her from my pupil's list. She was merely fourteen at the time, and she gave me such a lashing with that tongue of hers that my cheeks burned red for days.
I won't keep quiet about her disobediance this time however. She means to leave and never return? How dare she. Does she not understand that it is not just her mother she runs from? But from myself as well? She is to be my wife, and she must learn to obey me. It wouldn't be suitable for a Baroness to disobey and overrule her husband at every turn, and I shall see to it that she learns her place in the world. She is a beauty, and I will be the envy of all the men in the room whenever she is upon my arm. But first I must put her there.
Yes, there is nothing else for it. I must let Rowena know what has become of her precious diadem. Surely she will send for Helena, and once she is brought back and made to face her punishment, she won't be so quick to defy those who know what is best for her, myself included. I imagine she will be so tamed that the wedding will finally be able to take place. She will be so beautiful in the colors of my family.
I may even take pity on her and fail to punish her for ignoring my advice.
"Helena," I had told her, "you know your Mother will be ashamed and heartbroken if she awakes to find her two most precious items missing."
She scoffed at my words, retorting smartly that the most precious thing to Rowena was as always, her own person. Helena is vastly more intelligent than many of the ladies of her age, but she is so foolish and blind when it comes to her own relationships. Does she not understand the love that her mother has for her? Or the love that I have for her even? She longs so desperately for the reverence that is given to her mother, simply for her intelligence. They are both remarkable, intelligent women, but there is more to them than that. Helena pushes herself so tirelessly, and it will all be for naught. Her bitterness will destroy her if she doesn't learn to overcome it.
I can only hope that in time she sees my betrayal of her trust as what it really is, a desperate plea for her to recognise what is and is not true. I long to be the one that teaches her to recognise who does and does not care for her genuinely. I long to be the one her heart rests with.
R&R