Chapter IV:
Author's note: As you know Harry Potter characters aren't mine. Sorry for any stupid mistakes that may be found in the text.
Two days later
"How is Lady Lillian today? I hear she had quite a night on Friday." asked father Macby.
He and Ruth, Lily's most trustworthy maid, had decided, after the arrival of Lord Black, to take a walk as they did every now and then in the gardens. Since father Macby's stay, the two had gotten very close and shared many of the household secrets together, they also kept a close eye on Lily's health and whatnot.
"Oh, yes! Her dear brother decided to pay her a little visit and brought most disturbing news," Ruth replied, shaking her head in dismay. "He is always upsetting her ladyship. A brother should know better!" she cried, her face reddening with every word. Ruth and Sirius had never gotten along, they were always at each other's necks, throwing insults back and forth.
"Annoy you, does he? And what, pray tell, is this terrible news that Lord Black couldn't wait to tell his sister?" his tone was that of interest and was filled with such sarcasm and humor, it was hard to miss.
"She must remarry in a short period of time by order of the King himself." Ruth replied, all past thoughts erased from her mind. "He is a wicked man!" the words burst out of nowhere.
Macby was surprised by her anger and tried to calm her with his soothing voice. "Now, now, you mustn't speak badly about him, he is the king after all."
"No! Not him, even though he deserves the many rude things that are said behind his back." Ruth assured him. "Lucius Malfoy, her suitor."
Ruth wondered what Lily had done to deserve such a fate. When Sirius informed his sister that the King wished for her to marry, the news had been surprising but not unexpected. It was only until he told her who she'd have to spend the rest of her soon to be unhappy life with that Lily cracked.
The year she had spent on her own had changed her in such a way that nothing else ever had. For once she'd seemed liberated from the heavy weight that had for so long kept her at bay and Ruth was certain it was the most wonderful feeling she had ever had the pleasure of grasping.
Lily's entire being had been filled with twists and turns that she had surprisingly managed to overcome, this had made her much stronger and she had quickly lost her naïveté. But after what Lord Black said the other day, Ruth knew that Lillian would never be left in peace; she would have to, once more, take another into her unwilling bed.
"Why him?" Ruth asked, to no one in particular. She remembered how Lily would sink back under the covers of her oversized bed as if to hide her tears from the rest of the world. When she questioned her in the matter, Lily simply replied she felt ashamed. It was not something that had been inflicted on her, on the contrary, she said her mother had encouraged her to do so, saying that it was normal and that every girl did the same.
Lily had no desire to be like the others and this made her even more frustrated with herself. She lived in a man's world and to them, crying was a weakness, it was intolerable.
Ruth often compared her mistress to men since she was so free spirited and opinionated, it was something she prized with her whole being. But this "quality" was not one to be appreciated by the rest of society, it was blasphemy. Surely her new husband would not approve of her lack of composure. Lucius Malfoy was a true demon and had had his eye on her even before she had married Gruder, it was quite enervating actually.
God knows, Ruth had tried her hardest to convince Lily to accept her brother's proposition but she had blatantly refused. This is why she and father Macby had decided to leave the house for a while, both knowing all too well that a subject of argument would soon arise.
Ruth turned back to the priest. "Lillian is so virtuous, she would never accept anything that would go against her own morals. Believe me I've tried. Why it was only this morning, she practically had a fit."
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"Milady!" the old woman cried, stumbling towards the closet. "You are not even out of bed yet and your brother will be here soon to take you home." She came back holding a pink dress full of frills and placed it on the chair next to the night stand. Ruth then pulled Lily out of bed and started undressing her rapidly.
"A young lady such as yourself should know better than to linger about in her nightgown," Ruth stated as she poked and prodded the girl. "Oh! You're all bones, not one decent bit of fat on that little body of yours. I don't know what to do with you!"
"Ruth, you're pulling too hard…" Lily attempted to catch the woman's attention but she was too immersed in her ranting that she didn't even notice how hard she was yanking on the ties of the corset. By the time she was done, it was too late to change the width of the darn thing and Lily was having enough trouble keeping calm as it was.
"I still don't understand why you refused Lord Blacks offer, he gave you a fair choice in the matter but you just had to be stubborn and…" she was immediately cut off by her mistress' cold voice.
"I will not succumb to the laws of our dented society! We women should have a say in what happens to us, it is our right as citizens of England."
Ruth shook her head but said nothing to contradict her mistress' words, after all, her brother had already tried to make her see clearly but it hadn't had the effect she'd hoped.
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"You see. There is not a single thing I wouldn't do for her ladyship but," she sighed. "If she doesn't do what she has been ordered, there will be no safe way out for her."
"I think," father Macby paused, gathering his thoughts. "Maybe she knows more than what she lets out. The human mind is beautiful but is also a tricky mechanism and cannot be figured out in a mere second. Thoughts of those who have had many experiences are all jumbled up into one. Lady Lillian has been through a lot, she has seen things that a girl her age should never have to. But that is what makes her who she is: a very strong willed person. Do not underestimate her capacities."
"You are, of course, right father. I'd never looked at it that way." Ruth didn't really understand what Macby said, but it was to be expected of a maid.
They continued their walk for another twenty minutes but were interrupted by a scream coming from the parlor. They both ran to the window, fear written all over their faces, to witness the disaster that had occurred.
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Lily was now very frustrated with her brother, his idea of a plan wasn't exactly what she had expected. "No! No, no, no, no, no. I refuse."
Sirius simply stood were he had been for the past five minutes or so while his sister ranted her way through the whole conversation.
"You told me, last night, that you would send me home to mother and father. Next thing you know, you're back here, with a marriage proposition? You are unbelievable!"
"I think you're overreacting a bit. Look, he is a good man, he will protect you from any harm. What more could you ask for?" Sirius was slowly losing his patience and that wasn't a good thing.
"I thought that you, of all people, would know what I am going through. You are my brother for God's sake!" she cried. "You actually expect me to marry my deceased husband's arch nemesis? And a Scot nonetheless!"
"Now you have something against them? Since when do you share Gruder's low opinions of others…"
"DON'T!" Lily screamed. "Don't you ever compare me to that… that monster. That, Sirius Black, was the most harmful thing you could have ever said to me. You know… you know…"
Sirius simply nodded, not really knowing what he was getting himself into. He listened for more but realized that her intent was to make him see her way and that was all. She didn't intend to take another husband, that was clear to him. But there was no way out; either she married a man of her choice which she most definitely wouldn't or she stuck with Lucius assuring her downfall. He knew of someone that would take care of her but wasn't sure if he was the most ideal person for his little sister anymore.
"I will call a carriage for you at noon. Have your luggage ready by then." he spoke in a rather calm manner, kissed her forehead and left without another word.
Lily wanted to call him back but knew that it was useless, she had gone too far and Sirius wasn't in the best of moods anymore. She would have to wait until she got home, by then he would have burnt off all that steam.
Hours later
Ruth approached Lily's bedroom door, knocked and entered silently so as not to disturb her mistress. Lily was pacing around the room and had been doing so ever since her brother had left. She didn't seem like she was in a good mood and Ruth wasn't going to encourage her bad ways either.
"Milady, the carriage has arrived on schedule. Should I have your bags brought down?"
Lily came to a stop, noticing, for the first time, she wasn't alone. "Yes, have them set up. I will be right down." Ruth curtseyed and left.
Lily picked up what she could carry, descended the stairs and headed out the door, not too happy with herself. She didn't know why she felt so sad about leaving, she had wished for this day ever since she'd married. The house held so many bad memories, it was a blessing to get away.
She walked outside and around the carriage while noticing the weird looking man on the front seat. "Where is Sirius?" she asked, a bit worried. "Is he not coming?"
The coachman turned to her with a huge grin. "He has decided to meet you at your destination, m'lady." this was said with a heavy Scottish accent, very queer in those parts of England but Lily paid no mind and entered the coach.
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The ride to her parent's home was proving to be quite tiresome, Lily thought, as they continued their way. She had fallen asleep due to the long drive and the need to do something other than knit.
She suddenly had the urge to rip off the curtains and throw herself out the window but thought better of it. She tugged on the material and pushed it aside; she had always enjoyed the view of the country since it was so green and filled with life. But this didn't look like what she was used to.
She stuck her head further out the window and noticed that they weren't in the country at all but in the woods where it was dark and gloomy. She wasn't sure that the driver knew where he was going since it was usually Falcon who drove her around being the only trustworthy man she knew, besides her brother.
"Excuse me sir, where exactly are we? This road is not familiar to me." she asked catching the driver's attention.
The man eventually replied. "It's a shortcut, we'll get there. Don't ya worry lass." he'd stopped the carriage by now.
"What are you doing? We couldn't be there yet, we're still in the forest."
The man didn't answer, this scared Lily for she'd heard many stories of the creatures living in the forest and the many wrongdoers. They usually came out during the night and nightfall wasn't too far off. She wondered where the driver had gone and was reworded by the sound of hooves.
"Bandits." she thought. Her attempt at staying quiet and calm wasn't exactly working. "There you go again, putting strange ideas into your head, Lily. All is well, just breath…"
The carriage was moving, she could hear men's voices and tried not to scream; they were pushing it with the means to flip it over! Another shove came, Lily couldn't take it anymore, she screamed at the top of her lungs hoping she would catch someone's attention. The only thing that came was a hard hit on the head, then she blacked out.
When she finally woke up, Lily didn't have a clue where she was; her surroundings had changed completely and her head was pounding. Not only was she half dressed, but she sported bruises and dirt all over herself, not to mention the dry blood on her ripped dress.
"Is that mine?" She'd come close the losing her precious life and was thankful to have gotten away from those barbaric men known as the Scots. "The driver, he…" Well actually, they didn't really consider themselves as such but were referred to as Highlanders.
Lily thought again. "Am I their prisoner?"
Her, Lady Lillian Evans, a young English woman of noble birth, had had the unfortunate chance of getting in the way of a raid between the English dragoons and the Highlanders, now that was the most insane thing she'd ever come up with.
She picked herself up off the ground and wondered towards the tent flap for she was presently in a large tent. She looked around, everything was really vague; she had no idea where she was being held captive and she wished to get out as fast as possible.
The tents were set in rectangular formation on a mountain top so that any approaching enemies would be spotted at once and any chances of escaping were slim to none. Two guards stood at each side of the site.
As she ran past the tents, she spotted men sitting around campfires. That was odd because they didn't seem to find her presence disturbing, on the contrary, they were constantly bowing their heads and smiling at her. She continued her way towards the only free area she could see.
Because she was concentrating on her destination, she barely paid any attention to what was going on in the courtyard. There were soldiers everywhere, but she didn't notice what they were doing. She just kept running across the yard and suddenly found herself in the middle of a sparring exercise.
Someone grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back in the nick of time: a lance nearly sliced her down the middle. One of the soldiers let out a loud expletive and a halt to the training session was called.
Lily was horrified by her own behavior, such inattention was shameful. The soldier who had dropped the lance was flaming red and Lily wasn't sure whether he was embarrassed or furious.
The person standing behind her still had his hands on her shoulders and gently tugged her back. Lily turned to thank him for his quickness in coming to her aid. The soldiers were all staring at her now, some with smiles on their faces and others with frowns. That mixed reaction confused Lily, then her savior was standing in front of her, blocking her view.
His attention was centered on the soldier who had thrown the lance, he didn't say a word and just frowned. The poor lad bowed his head, the man then turned his attention and his scowl to Lily.
As she focused on his hazel eyes, her heart started pounding with her fear, she desperately tried to hold onto her composure. She wasn't about to let him know how frightened she was. Then again, maybe it was better if she let herself go, it would save her the disgrace.
And so, Lady Lillian Evans fainted in the laird's arms. The young man chuckled. "Pack your bags men, the lady is ready."
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