Age 22 - Part One
Alanna smiled down at the little girl beside her, enjoying the sun beating down on them from overhead. Italy was a beautiful country, and she was glad she had decided to come here.
"Are you enjoying yourself Carina?" Alanna asked, reaching her hand down and running it over top of the black hair of her daughter. "Yes mommy" Carina responded, squeezing her mother's hand tightly. "May we go back now? I'm sleepy"
Alanna smiled down at the girl, "In a bit my little love. There is something that I have to do first"
Alanna and Carina strode through the streets of Verona, taking in the beauty of their location. Soon, they came upon a wall that was almost completely covered with pieces of paper. Some in colorful ink, many in a language Alanna did not understand. Silently, Alanna pulled a scrap of parchment from her pocket, and unfolded it, scanning it once.
Dear Juliet,
Three years ago, I was driven away from the man that I love. I still think about him every day, and when I look into the eyes of our daughter, I want her to know him. Their eyes are the exact same shade of gray, that it breaks my heart. There is nothing I wouldn't do, wouldn't give to see him again.
Alanna smiled down at the parchment, blinking away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she charmed the letter so that it would stick to the wall, and she turned, picking up her tired daughter in her arms, and carrying her back to the villa they were staying at.
Three weeks later, Alanna and Carina were walking the same street in Verona, attending a street faire in celebration of the love of Romeo and Juliet when she heard a familiar voice calling out over the noise of the crowd.
"Anna? Anna Beniot?"
Anna turned suddenly, pulling Carina closer to her side, before her heart hitched at the sight of the man running towards her. "Draco?" she asked, unwilling to believe her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Draco laughed, pulling Alanna into a hug, almost lifting her off her feet before he responded.
"I'm getting married here" he said, looking over his shoulder and beaming as a woman joined them. "Alanna, meet my fiancé Astoria. Astoria, I'm sure you remember Alanna, she was my closest friend at school"
Alanna smiled, as she shook hands with Astoria, before she winked at Draco, "You have a lovely wife-to-be" she said, even as her mind tried to process what was happening. Draco getting married? In Verona? Was his Father….. Alanna mentally shook herself before the thought could fully develop.
"What about you?" Draco asked, his eyes darting to the small figure behind Alanna's legs. Alanna smiled, shaking her head sadly, "No. I'm still as single as I ever was" she said before she pulled Carina out from behind her. "I would however like you to meet someone. Draco, this is my daughter, Carina"
Draco knelt down in front of Carina, "Hello Carina" he said with a friendly smile. "I'm Draco"
Carina looked up at Draco and smiled, waving at him before she looked up at her mother, "He's pretty" she said loudly, earning another grin from Draco. This time when Carina looked back at him, Alanna saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes before he rose to look at her.
"She's gorgeous" he said softly.
"Thank You"
"She has your hair"
"I know"
"And….."
"Your Father's eyes. I know"
Draco nodded, swallowing twice before he shook his head. "So that was why you left without so much as a goodbye" he said tersely. "Tell me, did my mother throw you out, or did Father turn you away when you told him?"
Alanna took a deep breath, running her hand through her hair. This wasn't the way she wanted him to find out.
"I was young Draco. And I'm sorry. I was in love with your Father. I always have been, ever since I was a young child. I know none of this makes sense to you, but please….. the night that I left, your mother had found us in your Father's study…. It was the night I conceived my little angel. And I'm sorry that I have not contacted you in the years between, but how could I have told you?"
Draco regarded her silently. He knew who she was now, he had known since the night she had left. His mother had told him most of it, about her being the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange. About how she had been adopted at a young age after Lucius has decided they could not care for another child.
"How could you do that?" he asked softly, raising a hand when she opened her mouth to argue. "I'm not talking about to me Anna. How could you do this to my Father? How could you take off? How could you keep the news of your little one from him? You had his child Anna. For three years, he's been searching for you"
Anna opened her mouth again, but no sound came out. She stared at Draco for what seemed like an eternity, before she said shakily, "Is he here? Your Father?"
Draco smiled, "He is. Would you….. I could….."
Alanna smiled at him and nodded, before kneeling down beside her daughter. "Sweetheart, we're going to walk with Draco now ok? He's going to take us to meet someone special alright?"
Alanna smiled as Astoria took Draco's arm and they began walking again. "I don't suppose this is going to go well is it?" she whispered, "I mean your mum won't be happy…."
"No" Draco agreed, "She won't be, but she can't do anything about it. She left my Father two years ago"
Alanna's eyes widened. "She left him? Why?"
Draco shrugged, "Because he wouldn't stop looking for you"
