Chapter 2: Flight
Mina was waiting for her when she Apparated into her little cottage. "Is things good, mistress?"
"I'm not sure, Mina. My father is having me followed.
"Is you in danger, mistress?"
"I don't know."
Celeste felt strange. For the first time in her life, she was unsure of her loyalty to her father. He had raised her, clothed her, fed her, and even gifted her with her own personal servant. She should be grateful. "What's wrong with me, Mina? I can't control my emotions. I don't want to serve Lord Voldemort anymore."
"Is nothing wrong, mistress. You is feeling love for Mr. Remus. This is a good thing."
"But I can't love, Mina! Not while I still serve my father."
"Then don't serve him no more. Run away with Mr. Remus. I go with you. You never doing bad things again."
Celeste looked down at the little creature. "I wish I could, Mina." She sank down on the bed, sobbing with her face in her hands. Mina climbed up next to her and held her. The house-elf crooned softly into her ear is though Celeste were her own child. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Celeste dreamed. She was a child of five. It was one of those rare occasions when her father allowed her outside of her rooms. He was sitting in a worn old chair in his study, smoking a pipe. Celeste was sitting in the far corner with Mina working through her reading lesson.
Celeste looked up at her father as he sat quietly. On impulse, she approached him cautiously. "Father?" she said timidly.
He turned his head slowly to look at her. "What is it?" he demanded gruffly.
She hesitated, suddenly afraid.
"Well?"
She stared at her feet, still unable to speak.
"Speak up, girl."
"Wh-where's mother?"
He rose and grabber her roughly by the arm. "Leave us," he said to Mina, his voice colder than usual.
She began to cry as she struggled against his iron grip.
"Look at me." His grip tightened to emphasize the order.
She obeyed meekly.
"I told you never to ask about her."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop crying, child!" He looked deeply into her eyes. Celeste was suddenly very much aware of how dangerous her father truly could be. "Very well," he said at last. "I will tell you."
She stifled her tears as best she could.
"Your mother is dead. I killed her when you were born."
She began to sob uncontrollably. "W-why?"
"Because she gave birth to you. Now get out of my sight." He released her, and she ran back to her room, Lord Voldemort's mirthless laughter echoing in her ears. Mina was there waiting for her, handkerchief in hand.
Celeste woke sometime in the evening to Mina's voice. "Mistress! Wake up. Mr. Remus is here."
Her heart leapt, and she rushed to greet him.
"Remus! What are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet today?" She stopped, only then realizing that Mina had dressed her in a sleeveless nightshift while she'd slept. She turned slightly to keep her arm concealed, hoping he hadn't seen the Mark.
He smiled. "No. I just wanted to see you again. After last night…" He stopped, blushing slightly.
Her own cheeks warmed as she thought about it. "I didn't want to leave this morning. But my father…" She paused just before saying too much. "He wouldn't approve," she finished lamely.
"Why not?"
She sighed. "He would never permit me to be with a werewolf."
He stepped back. "You know?"
She nodded. "I've known all along."
"Then why…?"
"Because I…" she hesitated, afraid to say what was in her heart. "I love you," she said quietly. She heard Mina giggling from the bedroom.
Recovering from his shock, he took her hands. "Then let's go away together for a while. Just the two of us. There'll be no one to care who or what we are. What do you say?"
"I…"
"Ooh! An excellent idea, mistress," Mina squealed. "I go and pack for you now."
Celeste chuckled ruefully. "I guess it's all settled then."
Remus lifted her off the ground and kissed her soundly.
They went away to America to sail on a large boat. A cruise, she thought the Muggles called it. The trip lasted two weeks, giving them just enough time to get Remus safely away from people before the next full moon.
Celeste was happier than she had ever been before. She nearly forgot about her father and what he wanted her to do. All she cared about was Remus. He had become her entire world, even more than her father had been. She loved him, and he loved her. That was all that mattered.
When they returned to England, she felt light and giddy. Even the slightly sick feeling she'd had for the last few days couldn't dampen her spirits. Still wearing Muggle clothes, she kissed Remus as he went away to hiding place for his transformation.
She was surprised to see Sirius Black sitting on the front stoop of her cottage. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Black?"
"Where've you been? Everyone's been worried about Remus."
"And not about me?"
He stood and closed the distance between them. "Unlike my friend, I don't trust you."
"Are you jealous, Mr. Black? I'm afraid you've had your chance." She stepped around him toward the door.
He grabbed her arm. "I find you as repulsive now as I did then."
"Then let go of me. I have better things to do with my time than to stand here arguing with you." She pulled away from him, tearing her sleeve. Sirius gasped when he saw the Dark Mark on her arm. That cursed Mark which she had hidden so cleverly from her lover, now exposed to one of his closest friends.
She tried to escape, but Black caught her and held her fast. "Where's Remus?" he demanded.
"He's safe," she told him as she struggled. "He's hidden away for his transformation."
"You know about that?"
She stopped struggling. "It's why I chose him after you rejected me. I knew he would be more vulnerable."
"Why?"
"I was ordered to seduce you to spy on your Order of the Phoenix."
He let her go.
"Why?" he repeated.
"Why do think? You dared to oppose him, and you might actually be able to defeat him."
He brought his face close to hers, his expression cold and hateful. "I want you gone. Tonight."
She swallowed hard, determined not to show her fear. "What of Remus?"
"I will not allow my friend to be played false by a Death Eater."
She looked away, fighting back tears.
"What? No protest?"
She turned back to him and glared. "Why bother? You wouldn't believe it anyway. Even so, I offer you a warning, Sirius Black. Be wary of your friend Pettigrew."
"What do you mean?"
"Never trust a wizard who would turn himself into a rat."
"Peter Pettigrew is a good man!" he snarled.
She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "We shall see." She waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. "Now go. Let me pack in peace."
He grabbed her arm once more. "Pray we never meet again, Celeste Stargazer." Then he let her go and Disapparated.
"Mina! Pack our things. We're leaving tonight."
"Where is we going, mistress?"
"I don't know. Away from here, where we'll be safe."
"What about Mr. Remus?"
"He'll know soon enough what I am. We must go now, before my father learns that I've betrayed him."
By morning, they were gone. She left only a note for Remus saying goodbye and attempting to apologize for lying to him.
Celeste and Mina had been running for weeks. Celeste felt nauseous nearly all the time now, still she pressed on, never feeling safe from her father's long reach. Mina help cajoling her to stop, slow down, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop until she was freed from her father's taint.
"Mistress, you must rest!" Mina cried as she had every morning since they'd fled.
"I'm fine, Mina," she choked out between vomiting.
"No, mistress. You is sick!"
"I'll be all right," she said as the heaving subsided.
"Mistress, you must take care of yourself. All this is bad for the baby!"
Celeste stood quickly and turned on the little creature. "What baby?"
"The one inside you, mistress. The one Mr. Remus gave you."
Her hands went to her abdomen. A baby? Could it be true? But then, she knew it was. She was carrying Remus' child. A werewolf's child. A child that would be cursed as its father was. She sank again to her knees, sobbing. Mina once again held her, comforting her as she had done so often in her childhood.
Eventually, her tears abated. Celeste looked up to see that the two of them were surrounded by mist.
"What the…?"
"Fear not, child," she heard from the mist. "No harm will come to you here."
As she peered through the haze, a figure emerged—a wizened old wizard wearing old-fashioned robes. He knelt down beside her. "You are the daughter of the evil one?"
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
"You defied him to protect another."
She nodded again.
"Why?"
"Because I love him."
"So," the man said. "You have been raised to evil, and yet you have learned to love. I would not have expected it. There is hope for you, Celeste Stargazer, and for your child. If you would trust me."
She looked up into his eyes. There was about him a paternal air, much like Professor Dumbledore's but much more powerful. She couldn't help but trust him.
"Then come with me. I will take you somewhere safe."
"Where?"
He smiled softly. "To Avalon," he answered as the scene changed to a beautiful, green isle.
"Who are you?"
His smile widened. "When I lived in the outer world, I was called Merlin."