A/N: Holy crap, I'm not dead! And apparently, neither is my muse. After I passed the six month mark of not writing a single damn word, I was pretty sure it was never coming back. Yet randomly here it is, and now here I am :] Huzzah! Let's hope it doesn't run away again, yeah? That was depressing.
|x|
Olivia – Lol, would you ever expect Bellatrix to have a logical decision without it being laced with some kind of fuckery like hypocrisy though? Even "sane," her brain will never work the way normal people's do. Also now I'm LOLing at the fact that you told me to 'get out' and then I left for seven months. Whoops?
BellaRei713 – Bahaha, look at you being all brown nosing and stalker like :P And that's all I have to say about your comment, because if I respond directly to it then it'd be like talking to the 'you' before we started dating and that just feels awkward and twilight zoneish. lol idk. Also just because you're betaing now doesn't mean you're excused from reviewing, missy :P
A. S. Rainwater – It's not even about Druella anymore; Narcissa's sunk so deep that her disorder is beginning to control her more than she controls it. & lol, tbh I never liked Lucius until I started writing him. Now I adore him :]
Iz-Insane – Holy crap, you read all of it in one sitting? I know it takes most people a couple days xD That's some dedication; thank you :D
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
"Do you have a bloody death wish?"
Narcissa winced from outside the door; she knew her sister was going to have a fit about it. "Come on, Bella; it's not that bad…"
The door to Narcissa's bedroom was thrown open so hard that the thick, mahogany wood clattered against the stone wall with a loud bang. Narcissa was about to tell her to not break her bloody house, when a baby pink piece of fabric was thrown at her head.
"You're fucking mental if you think I'm going to wear that! This better be some kind of joke, because I'm this close to beating you unconscious."
Narcissa took the dress off her head in a huff before throwing it back towards her sister, a stony look on her face. Bellatrix's words didn't faze her in the slightest; regardless of how angry her sister got, her threats of violence were always idle in the end. "Do I look like I'm laughing?" Narcissa asked rhetorically. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I ordered the dress when I was angry with you and it's too late to take it back. My wedding is in three days, Bella!"
"I know when the fuck it is," Bellatrix snapped, turning to storm back into Narcissa's room. The blonde sighed heavily and followed her in, gently closing the door behind them.
"Please try it on?" Narcissa tried as she gave Bellatrix her best pleading look. It didn't work; but then again, she didn't really expect it to. Asking nicely never made Bellatrix do anything.
"You can sod the hell right off. You couldn't pay me enough to wear that monstrosity."
Narcissa's cheeks colored in offense. "It's pretty!" she insisted loudly. "Just because you don't like the color, doesn't mean it's atrocious. I think the cut will flatter your figure rather well!"
Bellatrix continued to sit on the bed, picking at her nail beds in irritation. She wouldn't look at Narcissa. "I'm not fucking wearing that," she muttered under her breath. She sounded like such a sodding toddler that it stood to give Narcissa a migraine. Why did she always have to be so bloody difficult? It was just a dress; one she'd only be wearing for a couple hours at that! What was the big deal?
"I'm sorry, but you have to! I don't have time to get another one and you're my Maid of Honor, Bella; you can't just not show up!"
Narcissa threw up her hands in exasperation to accent how ludicrous it would be if Bellatrix didn't want to be in her wedding anymore because of the damn color pink, but the stupidity of the entire situation obviously did not register in Bellatrix's mind, because she snootily responded with, "Find another one then; I'm sure that little whore you tote around would kill for the honor."
Narcissa was positive her head was about to explode. This went from being a slight annoyance to an all-out, war-inducing threat to tear a gaping hole in her perfect day, and Narcissa wasn't going to stand for it. Bellatrix thought the whole world revolved around her and she really needed to learn that sometimes her opinion just didn't fucking matter. This was her day, not Bellatrix's.
"You're acting like a fucking brat!" Narcissa shouted as she pointed at her accusingly. Her hands balled into fists as she began to pace in frustration, trying to resist the urge to punch her sister clear across the jaw. "Damnit, Bella; this isn't up for discussion! You'll wear the damn dress on Thursday and you'll bloody well like it, because if you destroy my wedding by being a self-absorbed, irritating little prat I'll rip out your sodding eyeballs and shove them so far down your throat that you'll be seeing out your goddamn arse. Is that clear?"
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow in response, expression unchanged. "Creative," she responded dryly. Narcissa flushed in anger at her sister's complete inability to be any kind of decent human being, but before she could start screaming again, Bellatrix opened her mouth and the funniest thing fell out of it, "If you won't fix it, then I will. I'm not going to walk around in public looking like I'm about to shit out rainbows and puppies, Cissy; that's fucked."
Narcissa's laughed loudly. "You'll fix it? Bella, you can't even manage to make toast properly; how do you expect to make a bloody dress?"
"I'm not going to sew the damn thing myself, you daft bimbo," Bellatrix snapped, unamused by her sister's jesting at her expense. "I know someone that can do it."
"Who?" Narcissa asked, skepticism lacing every word. "You know what? It doesn't matter. It took Madame Malkin two weeks to make our dresses for the wedding; whoever you're bringing it to won't have time! And you can't end up showing up to my house without a dress, Bellatrix; I'm warning you. Because I'm pretty sure I might start hyperventilating if that happens; I'm really not joking."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Your bridal dramatics are becoming immensely irritating." Narcissa narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. "It's just a sodding party, Cissy; so take a fucking pill and learn to close your mouth. If I say I'll get it done, I'll get it done."
Narcissa's faith in that was roughly equivalent to how much she believed in the Dark Lord's violent, power-obtaining methods, but she was tired of arguing. She threw up her hands in surrender. "I can't do this with you right now, Bella; I have a million other things that need to get done before the day is out and arguing with you is wasting time." Narcissa looked her dead in the eyes as she finished seriously, "Just believe me when I tell you I'll never forgive you if you screw up my perfect day. Never."
"Your faith in me is so touching, Narcissa; I might just cry," Bellatrix mocked heavily, feigning dramatic emotion as she wiped away a fake tear. Narcissa pointedly ignored her sister's immaturity and crossed the room to her closet, distracting herself once more with her list of pre-wedding to-dos. "And no day is perfect, you git. Your wedding won't go exactly as planned because this is real life, not some kind of deluded fairytale that you've obviously concocted in your head," she told her bluntly, her tone brash and condescending. "You're already mental enough; stop encouraging your own obsessive behavior and get a grip on reality before you have a nervous fucking breakdown."
Narcissa exhaled a slow breath as she carefully laid out her wedding dress on the bed, reminding herself to not get angry with Bellatrix because an argument would only end up wasting more time, not to mention be completely counterproductive to… well, everything. "I understand reality quite fine, thank you," Narcissa answered coolly as she smoothed out a small crease in her dress. "And I don't think it's insane or unreasonable to want my wedding to be perfect; I've been dreaming of this day since I was a child and I deserve to be excited – and maybe even a tad bit obsessive – about it."
Bellatrix snorted. "Just a tad? Please. Lucius told me you blackmailed Celestina Warbeck into canceling one of her concerts because you just 'had' to have her sing A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love in person for your First Dance. Which is…" The brunette trailed off, her expression a mix of judgment and disbelief as she shook her head, not wanting to go into how aggravating it was that Narcissa wasted good blackmail material on something so frivolous. "Whatever. Point is, you're practically holding your wedding singer fucking hostage, and you don't think that spells 'insanity'? Check again, Princess; because that shit is now floating over your head in big, bold letters."
"I don't know why you're so bothered by this when it was you who once told me that if I want something I should just take it, not wait around for it to be handed to me," Narcissa reminded her as she began to disrobe. "Besides, it would cheapen the wedding if Lucius and I danced to the recorded track; that's what most people do and I am not most people."
"What do you think you're doing?" Bellatrix asked, no longer interested in the conversation now that Narcissa was undressing in front of her. "You don't listen, do you? I told you we can't have sex until you've—"
"You're an idiot," Narcissa interrupted flatly, having no patience for Bellatrix's egotistical conclusions. Of course she would love to have sex with her again, but she also wasn't stupid enough to expect it. Besides, the current situation between her and her sister was so heart-wrenchingly depressing that Narcissa chose to instead occupy herself with a consistent slew distractions, therefore never having a free moment to think about the reality of their deteriorating relationship. So far, it had worked out rather well… but Narcissa was pretty certain her oblivion wouldn't last, because nothing good ever did.
Rolling her eyes slightly, Narcissa began to pull the wedding dress up around her, fitting it to her form. She looked at her sister in the mirror's reflection, watching Bellatrix's expression change as she finally started to understand that Narcissa didn't disrobe in front of her with the devious intent of seduction. However, if Narcissa wasn't mistaken, Bellatrix actually looked a bit disgruntled by that. Narcissa pushed away optimism though and instead motioned for Bellatrix to come closer, requesting, "Lace me up."
She didn't want to think about anything; she just wanted to keep busy.
"Why are you trying this on again?" Bellatrix asked exasperatedly, knowing she had already taken it in for a fitting the other day; it must've seemed pointless in her eyes, but it wasn't to Narcissa.
"To check if it still fits."
Bellatrix's slender fingers gently pulled on the laces that were woven into the back of Narcissa's dress, tightening them just enough to close the material. She shot Narcissa a judgmental look through the mirror at her answer. "You've seriously lost it, do you know that?" Bellatrix asked as she began to tie the laces into a neat bow. "A few pounds won't make a difference, so unless you plan to eat nothing but lard for the next three days; it's not going to change a damn thing."
That actually wasn't true, but Narcissa didn't correct her. In actuality, the dress did seem to have the disturbing ability to either make her look like an ivory goddess or a lumpy sack of potatoes, depending on what end of the spectrum her weight fell on that day. That was why she needed to continuously check to see if the dress still fit, because even a mere pound or two heavier had the ability to destroy the last remaining traces of Narcissa's already shattered self-esteem.
"I just like to double check," was all she offered as an answer. She knew Bellatrix wouldn't understand if she actually went into detail, so she left it at that.
Narcissa assessed her reflection in the mirror for a moment before frowning slightly; the dress felt tighter than it had yesterday. That was both discouraging and frustrating at the same time and Narcissa grumbled slightly under her breath before telling her sister, "I'm finished; undo it."
"Christ. What the hell is wrong with you now?" Bellatrix asked, exasperated at her sister's sudden attitude change. She always hated how Narcissa acted after being in front of a mirror. "And I swear, if you say you don't like how you look in that dress, so help me God I will beat you sodding senseless for tainting our family tree with your mind-numbing stupidity."
"Hey!" Narcissa protested, pulling away from her sister's fingers as she glared at her over her shoulder. "I'm not—!" But Bellatrix clapped a hand over her mouth, not giving two sods about what Narcissa had to contribute until she was completely finished with what she had to say.
"You're fucking breathtaking in that dress, Cissy," Bellatrix told her, more passion behind her words than Narcissa actually expected, "and you're a blind git if you can't see that."
Porcelain skin took on a rosy hue at her sister's words, but it wasn't because of the compliment. For the first time in her life, Narcissa felt embarrassed by how her brain perceived her own reflection. It wasn't as though she had asked for this though; what sane person would actually choose to live their life like this? She hated waking up every day and feeling as though she wasn't good enough. She hated being consumed by something that was doing nothing but keep her away from the woman she loved.
But what else could she do? Narcissa tried to gain the weight that Bellatrix wanted her to once, but with the wedding around the corner she was forced to lose it all again so she could fit into her dress. Holidays and celebrations were always the hardest for Narcissa, as she felt she needed to be perfect for when the moment was captured. It was especially hard on her this time, as she knew that every pound she lost took her further away from Bellatrix.
Old habits die hard though.
Bellatrix's hand slowly fell from her sister's lips, noting the look of devastation on Narcissa's face. "Cissy?" she asked softly, all signs of her previous aggravation gone. It would never stop being strange to Narcissa; how sometimes Bellatrix could go from being verbally abusive, to the sweetest person she had ever know in a matter of seconds. "What is it? Tell me what's wrong."
Because in the end, no matter how much they fought, no matter how many times they ran from one another; when they really needed someone, the other would always be there; no questions asked.
Narcissa put a hand to her mouth as she took a step backwards, turning her face from her sister. Bellatrix had seen her cry more times than she could count, but her anorexia already made her feel weak enough and she didn't want to add anything more to it. She felt Bellatrix's hand on the small of her back and the small gesture of comfort made Narcissa shut her eyes so tightly that she saw stars behind her lids. She couldn't remember the last time she felt actual support from her sister, rather than the regulated distance that would suddenly surround Bellatrix the moment actual emotions were involved.
Despite her efforts to the contrary, a singular tear fell from her closed eyes. Narcissa wiped it away violently before walking a short distance from Bellatrix, feeling like she was seconds away from vomiting her feelings all over the place. She furiously shook her head for the self-affirmation that she really didn't want to do this right now, yet the words spilled from her lips before she could even form a thought to stop them.
"I don't want to be like this anymore."
Bellatrix's eyebrows rose; she obviously was not expecting that answer. The one thing Narcissa ever wanted was control and anorexia was the only thing – in her mind – that provided that for her. But that was the thing, wasn't it? She wasn't controlling her eating anymore, her disorder was controlling her.
"Then don't."
Narcissa whipped around to face her, eyes red with the unshed tears she was trying to control. Something; it always had to be something, didn't it? But the shock of Bellatrix's answer momentarily threw off her concentration, so when Narcissa screamed at her, her words were coupled with tears that nearly blinded her.
"Are you joking?" She laughed bitterly, because on some level the suggestion was sodding hilarious. "Obviously it's not that fucking easy!"
Bellatrix's face darkened at the hostility in her sister's voice. "Did I say it was?" she countered, her frustration barreling back in at full force. Not to be pessimistic, but Narcissa knew that wouldn't take long. At the end of the day, Bellatrix was still an emotionally unstable individual, her sanity intact or not. "How about instead of jumping to half-arsed conclusions and putting words in my mouth; you sit down, shut up, and wait for me to finish what I have to say, yeah?"
This was not how Narcissa wanted this conversation to go. Actually she didn't want this conversation to go at all, but it'd be hard to get out of it now.
Besides, this was what they were good at, right? Arguing. Or perhaps they both just felt more comfortable communicating that way because they had been doing it for so long. More importantly though, anger had the ability to give someone power in a situation where they would feel otherwise powerless. It was an extra layer of protection that was hard to resist sometimes.
But for the first time, Narcissa couldn't muster up enough energy to be angry with Bellatrix. She was just done. For months she kept everything bottled up inside of her, hiding the truth from the world; the chaos of her eating disorder, how stressful it had been to plan a wedding all on her own, and how disappointing it was to work her arse off in school all this year, only to still barely scrape by with the minimum grades to graduate.
But none of that compared to how alone she had felt the past year. Lucius worked, Bellatrix ran. Either way, the end result was still the same: an empty bed, a box of tissues, and another distraction.
"Will it ever be anything different?" Narcissa asked softly, a question that probably required elaboration and yet she did not offer any.
Bellatrix, torn between her current aggravation and her desire to be a better lover to Narcissa, made a point to neither move from her or towards her. Instead she crossed her arms and told her in a blunt, yet much lighter tone, "Change doesn't just happen, Cissy; it only occurs because there are people in this world who refuse to sit there and accept that their life could never be anything but the bullshit hand they were originally dealt. If you're not happy with your life, then grow a pair and sodding change it already."
There it was again, that simple black and white solution that Bellatrix had. Do it, or don't do it. Regardless of what she believed, she did present it in a way that made it seem easier than what it was.
"So what, I can just choose to recover from my eating disorder? Choose to have the two people I love remember to acknowledge my fucking existence every once in awhile?" Narcissa countered disbelievingly. "Maybe I can choose to get help, but that doesn't mean I'll succeed. And maybe I can choose to admit how abandoned I've felt lately, but that doesn't guarantee that things will change."
"I didn't abandon you; I'm right here."
"Standing in front of me and actually being present in my life are two different things, Bella," Narcissa told her softly. But she shrugged it off, not wanting to get into that now. "But that wasn't the point. My point was that you can always hope for the best, but that doesn't mean you'll be rewarded with it."
Bellatrix let out a heavy sigh, flopping down on the bed next to her sister. "I'll say this one more time," she began. "If you want something, take it. It's the same damn concept, Cissy. It doesn't matter if you're securing a musician for your wedding, or if you're finally getting the happiness you know you deserve. If you fucking want it bad enough, then don't let anyone stop you from getting it. We're Blacks, Narcissa; we have always and will always come before everyone else. So start acting like it."
Sometimes the way Bellatrix approached life was so powerful and inspiring, but Narcissa had known her sister long enough to know she preached more than practiced. "So that's what you did, then?" Narcissa challenged. "When you went mental, when you developed an addiction to your potions, did you choose to turn your life around?"
"No," Bellatrix answered honestly. Narcissa had expected her to lie, so she was momentarily taken aback when her sister proceeded to look her in the eyes as she admitted, "You did. You chose to change my life. I didn't have anything to do with that."
It sounded like such a powerful notion; to be able to change someone else's life just from the choices you make. But that was never Narcissa's intention; she never went out with the knowledge that she owned Bellatrix enough to be able to flip her world completely upside down whenever she wanted. She just wanted to help. She just wanted to save her.
"So then return the favor," Narcissa pleaded gently. "Save me, Bella. I did it for you."
"If you're able to ask for a savior, you don't actually need one," Bellatrix told her, like that much was obvious. "Think about it; the hardest part of having a shit life is asking for help. I could never do it; I would rather choke on handful of rusty nails then ever say the words out loud. I had to get strapped to a bed in St. Mungo's against my will, but you're not me, Cissy. You could walk into that building all on your own and straight out ask them to fix your life." She paused a moment before finishing pointedly, "So what's stopping you?"
"I have a wedding in three days, Bellatrix; I can't just—" Narcissa began tiredly, although found herself interrupted rather quickly.
"So check yourself in after."
For being the most complicated person Narcissa had ever known in her life, sometimes Bellatrix could be so frustratingly simple. It wasn't that easy though. They had a reputation to uphold; if someone were to find out why she was hospitalized it would irrecoverably damage their family's honor. Narcissa couldn't do that to Lucius; he had been working too hard to establish himself within the Ministry to be set back now. Besides, what if it didn't even help? What if they couldn't cure her? Was there even a cure for something like this?
Instead of answering, Narcissa merely let out a sigh. "I need to take this dress off before it gets wrinkled."
"You can't just hide in your little hole and avoid shit forever, Cissy," Bellatrix told her as she helped unlace her sister's gown. Narcissa shrugged it off, letting it pool at her feet before grabbing her robes.
"I'm not avoiding anything," she denied as she began to redress herself. "I just don't know if risking our reputation by going public with this is worth it."
Bellatrix gave her a look that implied her ignorance was both aggravating, yet endearing. "Money can buy a lot of things, Narcissa," she reminded her, "including people's silence. Why do you think my little reprieve has yet to become the topic of idle gossip?"
Narcissa merely shrugged. She wouldn't know if it was or wasn't, honestly; she never did get out much anymore. The pureblood elitists respected her of course, but she didn't dine with them; another problem she should start to rectify, come to think of it.
Once she had finished dressing herself, Narcissa made to put her gown away, yet was stopped by Bellatrix grasping one of her hands. The brunette pulled Narcissa to her, needing her full attention for what she was about to say. "I promise if you go after your wedding, no one will find out. No one. Okay? And if by some chance they do, I'll take care of it. Silencing people is what I'm good at."
It sounded as if Bellatrix was bargaining with her. "You really want me to go, don't you?" Narcissa asked softly, just now realizing how important this seemed to be to her sister. It was strange; Bellatrix had given her the ultimatum, yes, but she never actively tried to tip the scoreboard in her favor before. It was more of a, 'get better or else,' and then she was gone; leaving Narcissa to spiral even deeper into a trap that she couldn't get out of alone.
"Well I don't want you to bloody kill yourself with this shit, if that's what you mean."
"No, that's not what I meant," Narcissa said, shaking her head. She tightened the grip on her sister's hand as she explained, "I always knew you hated what I did, but you still accepted it. Lucius forced me to eat, instead you offered me a decision."
"Bribes," Bellatrix corrected.
"Whatever. The point was, you gave me a choice and you never seemed to be too bothered by which one I made. You never tried to sway me to your point of view, yet now you are. Why?" Narcissa couldn't help that it bore at her curiosity; for so long Bellatrix had been distant and blasé when it came to the subject, yet now she was pushing for her to get better.
"Because you take too damn long to make the right decision, Cissy; and frankly I'm getting tired of waiting," Bellatrix told her bluntly. "Besides, all this touchy-feely romantic bullshit you're making me try out kind of sucks if I'm not getting laid at the end of the day."
Despite herself, Narcissa let out a soft laugh. "Bella, you've barely scratched the surface of 'normal human emotions'; you're nowhere near touchy-feely bullshit yet."
"Hey!" Bellatrix exclaimed, feeling the need to defend herself. "You cried and I cared, didn't I?" She said this as if she should be awarded a gold medal for her efforts.
"Yes," Narcissa affirmed. "You did. But normal people tend to care when they see someone cry, Bella. You don't get extra points for doing what everyone else does."
"I should still get some points," Bellatrix muttered, looking a bit disgruntled that her efforts weren't praised like they were some kind of miracle that fell from the Heavens. Narcissa smirked lightly, amused by her sister's pouting.
"You do," she told her honestly, leaning down to place her lips against Bellatrix's cheek.
It wasn't a radical change, but Narcissa would be lying if she said it wasn't noticeable. It was always the little things – the normal things – that other people would glance over. How Bellatrix offered to take her dress shopping, even though Narcissa knew that she hated 'girly' things like that with every fiber of her being; how she didn't get defensive this time when she saw Narcissa's tears, and instead tried to comfort her instead tripping over herself to come up with excuses as to why nothing was her fault. She was truly trying, for the first time in their relationship; for the first time in her entire life.
Twenty-one years old, and it seemed that Bellatrix might finally be growing up.
When Narcissa started to pull back, she was momentarily surprised to find herself yanked back down to Bellatrix's level; a roughness she would've complained about, if not for the fact that her sister's lips were on hers for the first time in… god, ages. Bellatrix tasted like cinnamon and sin as her tongue greedily explored Narcissa's mouth, prompting the unexpected to turn into something overwhelming. Narcissa's knees buckled from the feeling, but a strong arm pulled her in and she just sunk into it; letting the sensations wash her away from sanity and into something much darker, yet so much sweeter.
The world was blinding and cruel when the kiss ended and Narcissa was forced to open her eyes. She didn't want to come back to this place; she just wanted to sink deeper into the darkness with her sister until it consumed them both. It was a dangerous feeling; to fall so far from reality with someone like Bellatrix. But Narcissa would give anything for it.
"What was that for?" she asked after a moment. It felt as though it came out of nowhere; not that she was complaining.
"For not wanting to be an insufferable idiot anymore."
For wanting to get help. Bellatrix never did have the best verbal etiquette, but Narcissa understood what she was saying just fine.
Narcissa slid her hand over her sister's that was resting on the bed, lacing their fingers together. "I've missed you, Bella," Narcissa admitted softly. It was something she never really allowed herself to feel, but now that she wasn't solely focused on the many distractions she filled her life with, she felt it. She felt all of it. "Why do we always end up this way?"
"Because I'm a nutter and you don't eat."
It was said so matter-of-factly that Narcissa couldn't help but snort in response. It sounded so ridiculous, yet that was the basis of it, wasn't it?
"You're not crazy anymore though."
Bellatrix smirked. "I'll always be crazy, love; it's just that now I don't have voices in my head telling me what I should do about it." The acceptance in her tone when she said that surprised Narcissa. She turned to face her, squinting her eyes in curiosity.
"You still believe you're insane?"
"The whole bloody world is insane, Cissy; it's just that now I don't stick out as much," Bellatrix answered simply. "There is no inner peace; not for anyone. It's just some bullshit line people feed you so we don't all give up at once and end up committing ritual suicide, or whatever else. In truth, there will never be anything else but chaos outside of that window, and it's the fact that no one can do anything to control it is what really drives us all to madness."
"So what's the point of even trying?" Narcissa asked. Wasn't Bellatrix supposed to be convincing her to change? How did this kind of pessimism help her cause at all?
"Because life is bloody boring without a fight, innit?" Bellatrix countered. Narcissa merely shrugged, not being one who went looking for an altercation. "Life is going to be a clusterfuck whatever way you look at it, Cissy; so instead of watching it go on around you, instead of letting it overwhelm you as everything starts to blur together, why not run into it head first? Cause it, don't just be affected by it. "
"Cause my own chaos?"
"Better than letting someone else run the show, right?" Bellatrix shrugged. "In the end, you'll do what you want; it won't matter what I say or think about it. But if you don't start taking control of your own life soon, it'll get to a point where you've sunk so deep that even I can't reach you anymore. So just do me a favor and stop being a prat, okay? You know patience isn't a virtue of mine."
Narcissa smirked. "Well you have so few of those that I really wouldn't concern myself with that one right now, Bella."
Bellatrix shot her a sarcastic smile, along with her middle finger for that comment. "Bite me, midget."
"I keep waiting for you to let me."
Narcissa was expecting Bellatrix to make some sly retort to that, yet instead replied seriously. "I'll let you do anything you want to me, so long as you stop fucking around and get some help."
That was always Bellatrix's bottom line now, wasn't it? If Narcissa wanted her back then she had to be the one to make that a possibility. So the question now became, was Narcissa strong enough to admit herself into St. Mungo's and allow complete strangers to help her, or would she just find another excuse to not even try because change scared her?
She had three days to figure that out, and the clock was ticking.
TBC…
