Chapter Fourteen: Lunch With the Little Dragon
Author's note: The end of this chapter is pretty rough, and I should offer a warning that it may offend some of my beloved readers. If non-con is triggering to you, please skip the end of this chapter. It'll be summarized in the next.
Rose D'antoni sat on the floor of the kitchen, trying to place the pieces of the puzzle she'd recently acquired, but her mind was a jumble of facts and fiction. Lucius Malfoy thought he was in love with Alexandria? Possible, but not probable. He'd never shown any indication that he was even capable of love.
Severus Snape gave Alex over to Lucius without a fight as if he'd never had feelings for her in the first place. On the other hand, he almost seemed to be challenging Malfoy to find Alex and make her fall for him. Was this a test of her loyalty to him? Because she wasn't feeling all that loyal after he walked away from her as she begged him for a little understanding. And Lucius Malfoy was damnably difficult to refuse.
Aside from that, Lucius and Severus were planning something within the realm of the Death Eaters, and without Voldemort's knowledge; that was obvious, and Lucius wanted Alex's help with their plans. Now that was tempting. If she could just convince him that she was his equal and not a subordinate then a partnership was possible, at least for the time being. Perhaps he could get her close to Voldemort, then she could strike at the source of all her problems.
Then, there was Draco. Lucius was being unbelievably unfair to the kid. Somehow, she'd have to convince him that Draco was in no danger.
Until then, maybe the maid could at least help to cheer him up.
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"Draco," Rose called through the partially closed door.
There was a long pause before a dejected voice finally answered. "Come in."
She entered the room expecting him to be curled up in his usual chair, reading, but found him instead sitting on his bed, his legs crossed in front of him, elbows on his knees, and chin propped in his small, perfectly-groomed hands. The poor thing looked perfectly miserable.
"Hi, Draco," Rose tried to sound cheerful, but was immediately rebuffed by a pair of baleful eyes turned on her from under long lashes. She answered the look with a tight-lipped, apologetic smile.
"Looks like your dad will be absent for lunch. I don't suppose you'd like to join me in the kitchen?"
Draco sighed and lowered his eyes. "Lunch with the maid. Is this what I've been reduced to?"
Rose couldn't help but laugh.
"Something amusing?" Draco snapped.
"I'm not the scum of the universe just because I cook and clean, you know. I'm a pure-blood from an old family - just like you."
"Then why are you a maid?" Draco asked with genuine curiosity in his eyes.
"Actually," Rose began, plopping down in Draco's reading chair and hoping it didn't send him into a temperamental snit. "Technically, I'm not a maid. I'm a chef who happens to be filling in for the maid at the moment."
"It still doesn't make any sense, a pure-blood witch serving like a commoner. Why are you really here?"
"You're not a very trusting person, are you?" Rose asked seriously.
"Should I be? My father's enemy just killed four of his associates, the same woman tried to poison me a year ago."
She did not, Rose silently argued.
"Did she?"
"Well, no, not exactly," he confessed. "It was a potion that brings about the same symptoms as the cruciatus curse. The point is, my father underestimated her because she's a woman. I'm not about to repeat his mistakes."
"Kid, if I were going to poison you, I'd have done it after you threw teacakes at me."
Draco smiled, almost shyly. "That was - impolite. I didn't know you were a pure blood."
"Does it make that much difference to you?" Rose leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
This brought about a marked change in her young companion's demeanor.
Draco's eyes widened slowly as he turned a brilliant shade of red, tilting his head in fascination at the maid.
Rose was immediately baffled. "What?" Following his stare, she looked down to see that, in all the insanity this morning, she'd failed to change into her high-collared uniform. Instead, she wore a loose-fitting and rather low-cut blouse.
Consequently, Draco was getting a magnificent view.
"Whoa!" She shot up in her seat, her face flushing hotly, but at least the kid was laughing now.
"That's not funny, Draco," Rose admonished, laughing jovially as well, despite herself.
"No, please, don't get up," he chuckled.
"Candles and cauldrons, Draco, that's just gross! I'm old enough to be your--"
Draco interrupted her with a withering look. "Okay, your much older sister, but still - yuck!"
Having dissolved into a fit of laughter, no answer was forthcoming from the younger Malfoy.
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An hour later, Rose and Draco sat together at the small kitchen table feasting on pizza, ice cream, and fudge brownies.
"You know, Drac," murmured Rose through a mouthful of pizza, "It's a damn shame I don't let you plan the menus around here. This is the best meal I've had in years."
Draco's laugh had become somewhat more relaxed over the past hour as he and Rose talked while dinner was being prepared. Rose didn't know whether to be offended or flattered that everything she said or did struck him as funny. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought he was intoxicated.
"It's a far cry from the usual, that's certain," he drawled, reaching for a brownie.
"So, can I ask you a personal question?" Rose began, casually.
"If you feel you must," Draco answered with a smirk.
Rose smiled back, warmly. He really was his father's son.
"I do," Rose responded. Draco eyed her expectantly. "Why did you hate me so much?"
Draco considered this for a moment, weighing his answer.
"You don't need to spare my feelings, Drac. I'm tough."
"Alright," he began slowly. "I didn't hate you. I just didn't trust you because I thought you were a common mud-blood after my father's gold."
Rose was struck dumb for a moment. Dozens of possibilities had crossed her mind, but that had never occurred to her. She glanced over at Draco who was watching her closely, waiting for her response.
"I hope you've changed your mind about that."
"Obviously, I have," he retorted.
"What convinced you?"
He shrugged. "The fact that you've stayed out of his bed."
Rose was shocked by his blatant honesty. "And how do you know that?"
"A son knows these things," he answered seriously.
Rose tried to contain herself, but the somber look on the kid's face was too much to take. She chuckled, and when he looked offended at her mirth, she laughed outright. Draco, finding himself unable to remain solemn in the face of such merriment, soon joined her, and peals of laughter rang through the kitchen, filling Rose with a kind of peace she'd not felt since she last saw Nina.
In that moment she knew that, if nothing else, this boy was worth the risk of staying at the manor.
"How do you do it, anyway?" Draco asked, when he'd settled himself.
"Do what?" she responded, helping herself to a third slice of pizza.
"How do you resist my father?" Rose, unable to respond with a mouthful of food, scowled a question at him. "I've just never seen a woman say 'no' to him before," he clarified.
"What makes you think he's even interested?"
"Oh, I don't know; You're a pure-blood, you're pretty, you're smart--"
"I'm bald--" she inserted.
Draco coughed a laugh into his drink. "It is a bit unconventional," he admitted. "Why do you wear it that way?"
Rose shrugged. "It's easy to deal with, and unlike most women, I'm pretty practical when it comes to aesthetics."
"That's another thing," he said simply.
"Another what?"
"Another reason my father's interested. You're really different."
Rose leaned forward a bit as if confiding a secret. "You have no idea," she answered softly.
Draco chose that moment to belch loudly, causing the maid to roar with laughter.
"Nice one!"
"Thanks," he answered simply. "So, when are you going to teach me to juggle?" Draco asked suddenly, throwing Rose off the subject.
"Whenever you ask me to, I guess," she answered.
"I just did."
"Oh, well, okay. How about right after lunch?"
"Alright," he answered, already getting up. "I'm finished anyway."
"Any chance you'll help me clean up?"
"No chance at all," he grinned widely.
"Just thought I'd check." With a wave of her wand and a quick incantation, the dishes dutifully began cleaning and storing themselves as the pair left the room.
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"Okay, Drac, what you need to remember is that you can't just start tossing around three balls." She waved her wand and produced three small balls, tossing one to her student which he deftly snatched from the air. "You start out with one."
"You must be joking," he drawled, sneering at the object nestled in his palm.
"Nope. Now, I want you to toss that one back and forth in an arc at about eye level."
"I can't believe I actually asked to learn this."
"Well, you can un-ask if you want to," Rose said seriously. "Your father's not too happy with me right now and all I need is to have him come home and catch me playing around."
"What's he angry about?" Draco asked, dutifully and skillfully tossing his one ball.
"Oh, I was kind of slacking off today--"
"Eavesdropping?" Draco interrupted, smirking.
"Ok, I think you've got that down pat. Here." She tossed him the second ball. "This should add a bit of challenge. First toss the right-hand ball. When it reaches it's peak, you toss the second. Then, do that backward. Back and forth until you have it right. 'Kay?"
"No problem," he answered arrogantly, and indeed he did so successfully, but slowly. As he practiced, he continued talking. "So, were you eavesdropping?"
"Yeah, I guess I was," she answered simply, not too happy with the path the conversation was taking. "You're not throwing the second one high enough," she added.
He corrected almost instantly.
He has good hands, she thought. I bet he'd be a hell of a thief.
"You should be more careful," Draco warned her seriously. "My father may like you, but he's not tolerant of people who interfere in his affairs. You don't want to make him angry."
Yeah, I've seen him pissed. It's not pretty, she thought, remembering an infuriated Lucius Malfoy drawing a poisoned blade from his belt and lunging for her. The memory drew forth an involuntary shudder.
"You alright?" her young companion asked.
Rose shook herself from her unpleasant revelry. "Yeah. I'm fine. I was just remembering the look in his eyes this afternoon. He's pretty scary when he's mad."
"He's even worse when he--"
"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?"
Draco and Rose turned as one, the soft thunk of two balls hitting the floor behind them. There at the top of the stairs, looming like an impending storm, stood an absolutely livid Lord of the manor.
Rose answered quickly as Lucius hated to be kept waiting. "I'm teaching Draco how to juggle, sir. Hand-eye coordination is essential to--"
"I vividly recall discussing with you the neglect of your duties for more frivolous pursuits a mere three hours ago." He slowly stalked down the stairs as he spoke, bringing the danger of his wrath closer with each word.
"I asked her to teach me, father. She isn't neglecting anything," Draco said sternly. Rose would have been flattered at his stepping in for her were it not that she knew he was only standing up to him as revenge for keeping him locked up all Summer.
"Son," his father began softly, his whisper dripping venom. "This is hardly a time for games. If you cannot behave like a man, then you will go to your room and stay there. I do not wish to see your face again until morning."
To his credit, Draco faced his father defiantly for a few seconds, arms crossed and feet planted firmly. But no one could withstand that furious glare for long and Draco soon buckled, his shoulders sagging. His proud nose was still high in the air, though, as he dragged himself from the room.
Rose shook as she faced the Lord of the manor alone.
"As for you, I find myself in the frustrating position of not being able to deal with you properly-- yet. But, mark my words, we will discuss your recent distractions. I am expecting several guests within the hour, and you must prepare the conference room. Get out of those revolting muggle clothes before you do anything, then bring up a few cases of wine from the cellar and prepare a bit of food for the guests." His face darkened. "They will not, thank Merlin, be staying for a formal dinner."
Rose nodded once and left for the kitchen with all speed. Before she could leave the room, Lucius called after her. She stopped, but did not turn to face him. "The wizards who are coming are not as charitable as I am, but I'm certain that you will treat them with the utmost respect. If all goes smoothly tonight, I will deal with you mercifully, but if you put one more toe out of line, I will make certain that you spend the rest of your days regretting it." The threat hung in the air between them. Rose, refusing to acknowledge it, continued on her way without another word, clenching her teeth in fury.
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For half an hour, the guests had been flooing in through the newly-opened connection in the conference room. All of them were gruff men, most were absolutely hostile as she took their cloaks and hats, and invited them as graciously as she could to help themselves to the buffet she'd managed to piece together.
Unfortunately, their enmity toward her did not keep them from touching her inappropriately or inviting her to a spare room to perform more personal services. Fortunately, she easily outmaneuvered them, apologizing profusely and insisting that she could not abandon her duties to the Lord of the manor. Apparently, they felt free to assault the help at Malfoy Manor and as Lucius had done nothing to discourage their behavior, had even made more than his share of lewd comments, Rose assumed that she was to tolerate this humiliation with as much grace as she could manage.
The situation was made ten times more uncomfortable with the late arrival of Severus Snape, who brushed Rose aside as she approached, asking for his robe. He barely even looked at her, in fact, as he strode past to greet Lucius.
She wished for all the world that she could overhear what they were saying, but not only had she not bugged this room, she couldn't concentrate on eavesdropping while slipping past the hands of these filthy Death Eaters and gracefully declining their brusque attentions. She couldn't help but notice, though, that every time an invitation was extended or an inappropriate comment made, Severus would glare at the offending wizard for a split second, just long enough for Rose to notice that he at least seemed concerned for her welfare. Either that, or he was seething with jealousy.
He didn't have long to seethe. As Malfoy called the room to attention, the Death Eaters grew respectfully silent and turned their eyes on him. Rose was able to move through the group with her tray without difficulty, pleased to know that with this speech, she would likely find out what Voldemort's reaction to Alex's attack had been.
"My fellow Death Eaters, my valued associates, my pure-blood wizard family," Lucius began regally. Had the situation not been so dire, Rose would have laughed at his pretentiousness. "Today, we have suffered a tragedy, the demise of some of our most loyal brethren. I propose a toast, therefore, to our fallen comrades. May we avenge their deaths with such fury that their murderer will beg us for death for many years to come. May she never rest, but suffer our wrath until old age claims what is left of her." Raising his glass briefly, he drained it in one long pull, the others followed his example.
Rose was inexplicably revolted at seeing this. Merlin's wand, you guys never do anything halfway, do you? she thought, fighting to keep the disgust she felt from reaching her face.
"I have asked you here, my loyal associates," Lucius continued as Rose refilled his glass and hurried to do the same for the others. "to discuss our Lord's plan for Alexandria's recovery. Apparently, he is so wary of her that he no longer feels my life is more valuable to him than her death. This is his privilege to assign the entire circle to the task of hunting her without regard to my life. However, I strongly believe that we can acquire her before any of the others do and save ourselves the bother of having to arrange my burial." The room bubbled lightly with chuckling as Lucius smiled winningly at his own joke.
Rose pondered his words as she worked. Apparently, the Dark Lord had taken the attacks more seriously than Lucius had assumed and had assigned the Death Eaters to kill Alex Borgin whether they brought about Malfoy's demise or not. That could be a problem. Her thoughts were interrupted by a tall, muscular wizard near the front speaking up, his deep voice booming through the room.
"Our master knows that the most powerful among us are your staunch allies, my Lord. I am certain that he knows we do not wish to cause your untimely demise. He merely seeks to hurry your capture of this woman. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we will seek out this assassin. When we find her, we will contact you to allow you the opportunity to capture her without force or have your son destroy her. It would be good for him, would raise his status in the eyes of our Lord."
Another wizard, near the back of the room, spoke up, then. "Yes, where is your young dragon, anyway? We've not seen him in such a long time. He should be allowed to spend more time with us, Lucius, before he is inducted into the Dark Lord's service. It would be prudent for him to know friend from foe."
"You're quite right, of course. I shall go and collect him immediately. Rose, you will care for my guests, of course?" an unspoken threat passed from his eyes to hers.
"I will honor them as I honor you, my Lord," Malfoy's eyes lightened just a bit at the unaccustomed title. Apparently he preferred it, something to bear in mind on those occasions when he was displeased. There was even a flicker of a smile playing around his lips as he left.
"And just how do you honor him, my little beauty?" came a cold voice over her shoulder. Before she could turn, he had seized her around the waist with one unmovable arm. She shivered as she recognized him as the burly man who had first spoken after Malfoy's speech. That eloquent tongue was now trailing her neck as his free hand explored her roughly. "What say we find out, boys? Malfoy never minds if we play with his toys." A wave of very unpleasant laughter circled the room as he began unbuttoning her blouse. Realizing that his intentions were the worst possible kind, Rose began to panic, her heart racing and her knees quaking with fear as she struggled helplessly.
This could not be happening.
Rapidly, she scanned the room, looking for anyone who was not staring in rapt fascination or laughing openly. She spotted one; Severus, of course, who was merely leaning against the wall, arms folded, glaring daggers at her aggressor. But, what had she been expecting? He was not about to risk blowing his cover to save her, probably not even if they were threatening her life.
No. She was alone in this. She'd have to get out of it herself.
In the instant that it had taken her to realize this, another man had approached, this one smaller than the one holding her and slightly older, but no less threatening. She nearly retched all over him as he scraped the newly-bared flesh with sharpened nails, raising thin lines of blood to the surface and eyeing his work hungrily.
"You wait your turn, Jugson. She's mine," the larger man growled, forcing her to her knees as he bit the back of her neck hard enough to make her reel from the pain. Rose wasted no more time, smashing the back of her head into the face of her assailant. Hearing a satisfying crunch, she knew that she'd broken his nose, but repeated the gesture twice more for good measure. Getting a grim satisfaction from his cries of surprise and pain, she rolled away from his slackened grip and regained her feet, drawing her wand as she did so.
The injured man was on his feet surprisingly quickly as the rest of the room recovered from their shock and surged forward to subdue her. She backed toward the door quickly, trying to keep them all in her line of sight and failing miserably as another wizard grabbed her from behind, seizing her wand and twisting her arm behind her back. She screamed in pain as he twisted harder trying to force her back to her knees, but was thwarted by a savage kick to the kneecap. More howls of pain and rage as the men continued to close in, laughing darkly at her predicament.
She couldn't believe that Severus had not lifted a finger to stop them, for now that she had injured two of them, it was obvious they were out for blood. She risked a glance in his direction and saw him turn his head to stare at the opposite wall.
Self-serving bastard! How could he?
Rose saw her last chance pass as a wizard leveled his wand at her head. Without a thought, she dove to the side, snatching a wine bottle from the table as she did so. Smashing it on the floor, she rolled to her feet, brandishing the only weapon she had left. She knew it was hopeless, that they would have their way no matter what she did at this point. But, by Mab, she'd make a few of them remember her. Two men lunged for her at once, trying to grab both of her arms, but only one managed to do so, the other received a slashed face for his efforts. Cursing her venomously, he landed her with a backhanded blow that nearly severed her from consciousness.
There were too many, now, surrounding her. Too many for her to fight. For a brief moment, she wished for death as rough hands stripped her of the rest of her clothing.
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To my beloved readers:
I was very discouraged when I began to lose my reviewers (though they're all accounted for now, thank Merlin!) and it put a damper on my enjoyment of this story, so let me heartily thank all of you for your kind words! I can't tell you what your support means to me. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I'll turn on my computer and read my reviews (I save all of them). It reminds me that for once in my life, I'm actually accomplishing something, and I'm not the loser that my family perceives me to be. So, hugs to all of you. You're the best!
Rycca: When is Severus going to admit that he loves Alex? I wish I knew. I'm getting a little frustrated with him, myself. And, now that he's stood by and watched this episode without lifting a finger to help, she may not want to hear it if he does tell her. What a mess! As to your story, I feel I owe you an apology. Honestly, I had no intention of harassing you about updating. I know how damnably frustrating writer's block can be and I was out of line in bugging you about it. You just take your time and I'll enjoy savoring the sweet anticipation. You're a terrific writer and I know you'll beat this!
Annie: Hi! Welcome aboard, and thank you so much for your review. So, you're rooting for Lucius, eh? It's hard not to. He's such a hottie, and one of the most perfect bad guys I've ever read. I'm happy that you like Alex. I got a few negative reviews on her characterization way back in the beginning of 'Not For Sale,' so it always thrills me to hear that someone is happy with her. So, you think Rose should 'entertain' Lucius? I guess he could use a little love, and the prospect of writing that scene is really tempting.
Lady Jenilyn: Interestingly enough, and to my great delight, I had a lucid dream about that particular sequence of events the night after I began that chapter and now have a beautiful picture of our early- morning, slightly disheveled, partially-nekkid Lucius permanently etched in my brain. YEAH! The tiny bit of information you've given me about your family makes me want to throttle them individually. I just don't understand people who try to drag others down. Well I, for one, am immensely proud of you for returning to school and being independent enough to make it on your own. YOU ROCK, Jennifer! Keep on doing your thing!
Slytherin Saggittarius: Not only will it not hurt to gain a new reviewer, it thrills me to no end! Thank you for telling me that you're enjoying the story. Your kind words have been stored in my heart. I hope that the story will continue to draw your attention.
Arwen 78: Hi! Welcome back! I'm so sorry to hear about your computer. I've suffered that loss myself and it is indeed heartbreaking. I'm so happy to hear that the story still interests you. Sorry about Alex and Snape. It's upsetting to me as well as I really love that grouchy little pain in the butt. If it's meant to be, then it will be - I hope. So, you can like Lucius 'just a smudge?' I'm glad to hear it. Maybe he'll get the girl in the end, maybe he won't. I hope you're not disappointed with the conclusion, of course, that's a while in coming.
Fleur K: Hi! It's good that you liked the scene with the Death Eaters. I was so nervous about writing that one! You'll have to imagine my relief at your words. I don't think I can express it. Lucius and Rose are in a bit of a precarious place. Hope you enjoy how that turns out!
PPP: Welcome back! I hope you had a good holiday. My vacation just started today, and I am relieved beyond words to be away from my job! Aside from the few short trips I have scheduled, I plan to write day in and day out. Don't laugh. This story has taken over my entire life! I just had to write the Death Eaters like frightened children, and Lucius, the parent figure they run to. I couldn't help myself! And, you're right about Lucius. He can surprise anyone, especially me!
Silverfey: The most amazing thing just happened! You won't believe it! I just signed on to write to you to see if you were okay, and lo-and-behold there were three reviews from my little Silverfey in my inbox! YEAH! I was so happy! I just live to see that 'Go You' on the end of your reviews. I've been worried to death about you, Trying to talk myself out of being nosy, but I just couldn't stop myself from inquiring about you any longer. Don't DO that! I'm old! I could have an aneurysm or something! As for your reviews, here goes: You got me. Alex's allegiance, actually, her freedom not being for sale was what the first story was about. Good catch, there. And, yeah, I think she's scared to death, especially right now, but she's really falling for little Drac. Lucius is fascinated with her, whether he truly loves her remains to be seen. The same goes for Severus, actually. Thank you for your reviews. I'm glad you're back, and you have no idea how relieved!
Intel Ewok: Wow! Darth Life really has it in for you. I'm so sorry. Stupid real life interfering with our fantasy world! How dare he? I'm glad you're back. I missed you!