Author's Note:
Ahhhh, can't talk, gotta write....
Runes
February 27th, 1952
Cygnus had been away for the past week on business. He was one of the top experts on hieroglyphics. Most of his work could be done from his home office. His contacts in Egypt would send him photographs of their findings and he could translate whatever they needed. This time, however, the job was just too big. The media coverage alone was enough to have him packing his bags. Druella was used to all this, but this was the first time Cygnus had gone on a trip since Bellatrix's birth.
The first three nights were the hardest. Bella rarely saw her father in the mornings, when he did all his work, but at night he would read to her and rock her to sleep - something she refused to allow Druella and Hattie to do. For those few nights, they let her cry herself to sleep. By the fourth night she had given up.
Days were spent sitting on the nursery floor with her mother, learning to talk. Because, as Druella's mother-in-law kept reminding her, all of her children started talking at nine months old, and Bella was ten months old.
"Bella, baby," she said sweetly, trying to get her daughter's attention away from her blocks and back on her mother. "Come on, honey, say 'mummy' for me?"
The baby stared at her for a second and then went back to her toys.
"Please, say mummy. Your grandmother will be so happy...."
"Mistress, maybe you should take a day off," Hattie suggested. "You've tried for five days."
"Just one word, that's all I need to get Irma off my back."
"Perhaps Bella is not ready to talk. You did not say your first word until you were a year and a half." Druella groaned.
When Cygnus came back home that weekend, he was too excited to sit still and listen to his wife's troubles.
"You should've seen in, Dru," he said. "We were the first wizards to step foot in that pyramid for at least two hundred years. And the markings - oh, they're wonderful. I was able to get most of the work done right there, in the actual pyramid, but I brought photographs of the others to look over here. Now, uh, what was it you were saying?"
"She won't talk. I've tried everything! I can't get her to say a word."
"I'm sure it's nothing. Watch." He lied down on the floor next to his daughter. "Honey, can you say 'daddy?'" Bella didn't bother to look up from her toys this time. Cygnus looked up at his wife. "I guess we'll have to wait. In the meantime," he stood and collected his briefcase, "I've got runes to decipher."
The couple tried every day for the following week to get the baby to say something, but she never did. Eventually Cygnus would get bored and announce that he was going to go work on the runes some more. He was so close to finishing the whole set, and then he'd be in all the newspapers. Once he left, Druella would leave Bella with Hattie so she could go work on her flower garden, that always seemed to calm her down.
Saturday turned out like all the others. After breakfast, the small family sat down on the sitting room floor and the couple tried again and again to get the baby to say something. And after an unsuccessful hour, Cygnus stood up.
"I'm going to go finish up those ruins. Won't be long." He headed for the door. Dru sighed and was about to stand up herself.
"Runes."
Both adults turned back around and stared at their daughter.
"Did ... did she just say 'runes?'" he asked, trying and failing to contain his excitement.
"I think so." Druella recovered slightly from her shock and turned back to her husband. "And why wouldn't she? You've been talking about them non-stop every day."
He ignored her, rushing to pick up his baby. "She's going to be an expert one day, just like me."
"Merlin help us all."
Author's Note:
Only took me about a half hour to write. I'm very happy about that. Going to try and get the next chapter written and up as well, but I've only got two hours left, so I better hurry.
What did you think of this chapter? I had so much trouble trying to think of what Bella's first word would be. I wanted it to be different. Anyway, bye!
-Lizzy