A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. This is for the QLFC!
[character] Fleur Delacour
Betad by - DarylDixonsgirl1985
[au] Twisted Fairytale
[colour] Pink
Team: Ballycastle Bats
Lyrrie filling in for BEATER 2: Cult
Word Count: 1049
Seven. There were always seven of them,
seven watching, waiting in their hooded cloaks.
Seven of them sworn to protect the princess,
all dressed in her chosen shade of pink.
She never knew they existed,
that ancient rites and rituals were
performed every new moon to
guarantee her safety.
That all fell apart one month.
One of the seven was taken ill,
the ritual uncompleted
as the king was corrupted
and the former queen dead,
soon the magic itself changed,
allowing for the darkness
to seep into the well of
hope, the well of peace that had
once fed the kingdom.
Soon the princess Fleur
had a new mother,
a new queen had taken over the throne,
the king cast out, dying in pain,
in horror at what his kingdom had
become.
Fleur was the last piece of a happier time,
the fairest in the land and
the queen could not dare allow her
to live, she could destroy everything
she had created.
An epic fight started betwixt them,
Fleur fighting, trying to save the light,
to save her world from the darkness.
Fleur fought her battle, hard and fast,
only to lose and be cast aside.
The wolves nipped at her ankles,
the forest itself full of magic
and wonder,
closed in around her,
all part of Queen Delores' kingdom.
Fleur fled to the caves, the caves carved
with pictograms in the shimmering rosy pink stone,
feldspar walls that were alight when the sun
hit at a perfect angle.
They gleamed and dazzled,
hiding the dark truth about what
could, what would happen here.
These pictograms showed the seven,
each with their own symbol
each symbol arranged in a perfect
circle with the sacred fire in the center.
Fleur's deft fingers touched the stone walls,
tracing the figures, the symbols
wondering what each one meant.
Could this be the way to save herself?
Could this be a way to escape the evil
step-mother she found herself fighting.
Tears filled her blue eyes as she tried
to decipher them, tried to understand
what exactly they were telling her.
Her attention was pulled from them by a
slight movement, someone in the corner of the cave.
One of the seven returning to cleanse the sacred place.
Fleur knew her place now,
she knelt before him,
asking, begging for help to make things right again.
He agreed, sweeping her into their home,
the seven staring in wonder at the princess
they'd sworn to protect now at their mercy.
They cleaned her face,
washed the rosy dust from her long
silvery blond hair.
They made her a thing of beauty once again,
soon everything was ready. She was ready for what
was to come.
They knew there was but one way to fix the kingdom,
but one way to bring back the peace
they had lost.
Fleur's blue eyes widened as they pulled a
thick leather bound book from a dusty hidden shelf.
One way,
a sacrifice of the most pure,
of the fairest in the land.
Fleur's face drained of color,
her chest heaving as they
turned on her, pulling
golden cords around her
thin frame.
Her hands were tied behind her
back, her feet bound together.
She was dressed in a pale pink
gown with golden accents,
a mockery of the bedazzled gem laiden
gowns she once wore.
The neckline plunged
with pink crystals around her dainty neck
She fought and fought, her nails breaking,
her strength zapped as she was brought
back to the cave and pulled to the center of
a large chamber.
A stone altar sat in the middle,
one by one
seven candles were lit
seven candles lit the room,
sparkling shining off the
pearly pink
walls.
Fleur was pushed onto the altar,
her body bound to its stone frame.
Her mouth gagged with silky fabric as she tried to scream
to beg, to plead.
Hadn't these seven been her protectors?
How had things gone so wrong?
"Power corrupts, dearie,"
the new queen's voice echoed.
"And now I shall finally have
everything that should have always been mine!"
The candles flickered, Fleur fought back tears,
fought back her fear, surely there must have
been someone,
someone that wasn't under the queen's control
She watched as one of the seven, the tallest,
raised a shining rose quartz dagger into the air
above her heart. She closed her eyes
waiting, anticipating the pain.
It seemed like an eternity of waiting,
waiting, waiting. She dared not breathe
as she braced herself for the blade to
pierce her pale flesh.
Instead, the air filled with screams.
Screams of the seven,
screams of the queen.
They echoed in the air,
sound bouncing until Fleur thought
she could take it no more. She tensed her body,
hoping, praying to anyone who would listen
that she would make it through this,
that everything would right itself.
Slowly, silence returned to the chamber.
The only sound Fleur could hear was her own
heart pounding, beating, a drum in her chest.
She slowed her breathing, the panic subsiding
as she allowed herself to open her blue eyes.
The walls were no longer shimmering,
instead they were a dull grey color,
the magic was gone from them.
She could see the seven, fallen and gone,
the queen among them. Their robes blending in with
the new grey stones, for a moment
she felt a pang of sorrow.
These had been lives, once upon a time,
before they had been corrupted,
before the queen had destroyed
the world Fleur had known.
Her eyes searched for the weapon.
The dagger lay on the floor,
and one of the seven, the tallest of them,
was kneeling before the stone altar
upon which Fleur lay.
He rose to his feet, walking towards her,
step by step, slow and steady,
but without malice. He cut the ropes
binding her body, pulled the cloth
from her mouth.
She stared at him in wonder.
Slowly, he raised his hand to his
hood, dropping it and revealing his face.
There were scars across his nose,
blue eyes sparkling with hope.
A fanged earring dangled from his
ear.
Fleur's only thought was how
horrid the pink robes clashed
against his deep red hair.
Then, in the first princessy thing
she'd done that day, Fleur fainted,
falling straight into his arms.
The morning sun woke her.
She was in a bed not her own,
the man standing at the foot,
watching her,
protecting her,
the only one who hadn't
been swayed by the queen's power.
Fleur sat up, her eyes full of
questions.
Inquiring his identity,
wondering what happened now.
"Bill of the house Weasley,"
he finally explained.
"And now, now I am your
sole protector."
The seven were gone,
the rites and magic were gone
but Fleur knew there was something
left, something stronger
as her lips met Bill's
the world seemed to spring to life,
magic flowering
growing from everywhere.
The seven were gone,
this was a time for a new
world, a new kind of magic,
something bright and brilliant
something so strong
between Fleur and Bill,
this was a time for love
a time for peace,
and a time for
hope.