"Oh!-" Narcissa Malfoy woke with a gasp, alone in the master chamber, startled from a physically painful and terrifying nightmare, one that had been coming and going for weeks. She had wanted to speak with Lucius on the matter but the Master Malfoy was away, conducting business that was far from legal, and though she was of the same agreement about the higher class of those with pure magical blood, privately, Narcissa believed that this new Lord and leader of the old Clans and laws took the matter to levels far too fanatical for reasoning. More often than not, her husband would disappear for the evening and when he returned, would shut himself away in his private study.
"Why can't you just spend an evening here?" The lady wondered in the hollow silence, still shaking from the nightmarish sensation that had her torn apart from the inside out. "Merlin, Lucius, you almost missed Draco's first steps!"
Narcissa hid her face in her hands and sobbed. Five months into her second pregnancy had left her feeling more vulnerable than ever, without Lucius at night and on her own with their son on most days. True to her high-borne blood, she did keep a convincingly stoic exterior, and was even cheerfully encouraged by Draco, who stuck close to her side and brightened her worst feelings of tension with his warm, grasping hugs around her legs, and contented sighs when she let him in to sleep with her on Lucius' absent evenings. She would keep the facade just for her son.
This evening, however, Draco had fallen asleep in his own crib and Narcissa was left to her own devices. Steadily, her breathing evened and she dabbed at the sticky tears on her cheeks with a corner of the coverlets, almost ignoring the spasm around her lower back; she was still caught in the last remnants of the dream, and real pain was too similar to the imagined sensation for Mrs. Malfoy to properly discern one from the other.
"One night, Lucius, just one..." Narcissa pounded the pillow next to her and reluctantly settled back into slumber, only to reawaken minutes later from the same nightmare, crying in agony.
"NO!...No..." Mrs. Malfoy's voice died in her throat and her face paled to white. The coverlets were wet, stained with fresh blood.
"N-"
"Missus!"
Narcissa stared, wide-eyed, as Dobby, the House Elf, popped into the room.
"Missus is bleeding- OH DEAR!" The Elf covered his batlike ears, shrinking away when Narcissa cried aloud, her shock, pain and fright carrying to the lofty ceiling.
"Dobby!" She panted desperately. "Get Lucius, now!"
The House Elf sputtered, clamping a hand tightly over his mouth.
"M-master is-is-"
"Then Bella, Dobby- Get Bellatrix- Oh!-"
Narcissa convulsed, biting her lip against the growing pain. "Dobby... please, hurry."
"Missus," The House elf Elf cast her a worried but obedient nod and disappeared from the room.
"Draco," Narcissa panicked, holding back a gasp, "Draco..." She tried to move to the edge of the bed but a loud yell from downstairs in the main atrium caught her attention.
"Cissy? Cissy!- Dobby! Stop wringing your hands and go check on Draco!"
"Bella!" Narcissa called just as the eldest Black sister pushed open the chamber doors and stopped cold.
"Narcissa..." Bellatrix's voice gave way to an uncharacteristic tremor. "Merlin-"
"Bella, the baby-" Narcissa began to sob, giving her sister a desperate, anguished look. "I can't move..."
"Cissy-"
"No! No, please-" She cried aloud, soaking the covers even more.
"Narcissa!" Bellatrix spoke harshly trying to mask her own growing discomfort.
At that moment Dobby came hurrying into the room.
"Young master Malfoy still sleeps."
"Then go fetch Master Black. Bring him directly to the Manor with you." Bellatrix ordered.
"Yes, Mistress Bellatrix-" The elf disappeared and the sisters were left alone in the room.
"Bella," Narcissa swallowed, "Help."
"What do you want me to do?!" Bellatrix shot back, clearly upset with her sister's condition. "I don't do babies." She added tightly, only rousing her sister's anxiety and tears further.
"How could this happen? Where did I go wrong?" Narcissa murmured to herself, ignoring her sister's brusque reactions. "Lucius, I'm so sorry..."
