Chapter Twenty One:
Narcissa didn't speak much through dinner, nor did she converse much after dinner. Elizabeth was fine with that though; she had lived in a house with two silent males and was accustomed to filling the silence that accompanied this sort of life.
She spoke cheerfully of stories about her day, once in a while asking Lucius and Abraxus about work, anything interesting about their days, and filling in where necessary with her happy little comments.
Abraxus listened to his wife with an amused expression. It perplexed Narcissa how these people had so much emotion and expression within their own home. They had mastered the talent of appearing quiet and expressionless, like her own family, but her own family still practiced the talent within the home. These people were always near a smile while within their home.
The more they talked, the more Narcissa shrank into herself. She finally excused herself and walked upstairs to her room, where she stayed for the rest of the evening. She heard Lucius walk into his own room.
That night, she was plagued with sleeplessness. She tossed and turned well through the night.
"Mistress Black," murmured one house elf that had come by to clean her room while she was sleeping. "Dobby is sorry, did Dobby wake the mistress?"
"No, Dobby. What time is it?"
"It is near 12:15, Mistress Black. Is there anything Dobby can do for Mistress Black?" the little house elf walked closer to her in the dark, peering at her with large, lamp-like eyes.
"No. Keep on cleaning my room, I suppose. I'm going to go for a walk." She slid out of bed and crept silently out of her room.
"Mistress Black?" Dobby whispered.
She turned to the small elf and nodded, encouraging him to speak.
Dobby continued sweeping and then whispered, "Master Lucius is awake."
She wasn't quite sure why the elf had told her that, but she quietly thanked him and shut the door to her room, sneaking over to Lucius's door which was just across the hall. It was completely dark in his room, but she knew the way to the bed, so she crept over.
"Narcissa, is that you?" came his voice, softly through the dark.
She climbed onto the bed. "I couldn't sleep. The house elf told me you were awake."
He opened up his covers and pulled her next to him. She curled into his chest and nestled into his arms, breathing deeply in his scent. He murmured, "I couldn't sleep either. What is bothering you, my princess?"
"It's...It's just, Andromeda left for Ted, Bella's left for the Death Eaters, and now my mom is gone. I don't really have anyone else that I love, other than my father. I was feeling very...alone."
"I promise you, Cissa," Lucius murmured, pressing his lips against her hair. "I'll never let you feel alone."
She nodded, lifting her head until they were nose to nose. "I know. That's why I came. I need...I need to feel you, to know you're still here."
He kissed her. She couldn't see him, but she gripped his waist and kissed him back. Lucius shifted until he was holding her beneath him, holding her so she didn't have a choice but to kiss him. Strangely, she found she didn't mind.
When he stopped kissing her, he just held her like that, pinned beneath him. For no reason, she started whimper, and then she started to cry, shaking with her grief that stretched in endless directions.
Lucius gently started to comfort her, kissing her neck and pulling her against him, keeping her warm and holding her waist. She gasped through her tears, holding him tightly.
After a while, Narcissa closed her eyes and fell asleep, curled against Lucius with her head in his shoulder and her face buried into his neck.
SCREEEEECH! cried his alarm clock.
Narcissa woke immediately, but found she could not move. She was still pinned underneath Lucius. She looked into his kind face. He was very cute when he was sleeping.
He smiled sleepily when he saw her. "Good morning, gorgeous."
"Good morning," she whispered back.