Disclaimer: See previous chappies… I don't feel like going into it right now… lol But this chapter is dedicated to my one and only reviewer for this fic! Yup, written, that's you!
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"I didn't do anything!" Severus protested as Warren pulled him out of the room and down the hall by his arm. "She was just! I didn't! Let me go you crazy git!"
Shit. Sorcha followed them, unsure of what to do. She tried to pull on Warren's free arm. "Warren! Stop it! What's your problem? Just let him go, you're acting like an insane person!"
"He's going into the dungeons!" Warren shouted at the top of his lungs as he opened a door and pulled Severus down a narrow flight of stairs. "Stay here, Sorcha!"
Sorcha paused in the hall. Geez, Warren's a spaz. She thought as she stood there. He's never going to listen to me… She turned in the opposite direction and ran down the hall. I've got to do something.
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"Where's Warren?"
"The bathhouse. He told me not to let anyone pass."
"Do you take orders from Warren or me?"
"You, ma'am."
"Then I demand that you allow me to pass."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You're dismissed."
"Yes, ma'am."
Severus rolled over onto his back and sat up slowly. He had heard Sorcha's voice. Shouldn't she be here by now? It's her fault I got into this whole mess. He heard footsteps on the cold stone floor and he stood up, stumbling over to the bars of his cell. "Sorcha!" He growled when she came into view.
She was wearing a long red, hooded robe and she scowled as she removed the hood from her hair, releasing a wild spill of long black curls. "Don't be mad, Severus. You've only been down here for about four hours." Four hours? It seemed more like four days.
She sighed and moved closer to the bars, holding onto two of them and leaning forward. "I should leave you in here. It'll teach you a lesson to be nicer to people."
"I DIDN'T MAKE YOU CRY!" He bellowed.
She smirked. "That's not what I was talking about." She pulled out a ring of keys from the pocket of her robe and held onto one, not unlocking the cell yet. "You're a very rude man, for someone who's only twenty years old."
Just unlock the door… "I don't have time for your little lessons." He hissed angrily.
Sorcha unlocked the cell door and stepped inside, shutting it behind her in one swift move. What…? She made sure the door locked automatically as she shut it and proceeded to throw the ring of keys across the room, outside the cell.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Severus exclaimed and pushed her aside to pull on the cell door frantically. It wouldn't budge.
He turned back to her and scowled menacingly. "Now I'll never get out of here, you insolent woman!"
"Oh, pull yourself together you spaz." She replied, rolling her eyes. "I have to talk to you!"
"I want out of here!" He shouted and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her.
"Don't shout at me!" She yelled back as he shook her.
He stepped closer, his face only inches from hers. "I don't know what's wrong with you, Sorcha Edan! You're the strangest girl I've ever met!"
"I don't care!" She shrieked. "You're an inconsiderate, chauvinistic, pompous bastard!"
"I hate how your hair never stays still!" He retorted.
"I hate your nose!"
"You're short!"
"You have bad posture!"
"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen!"
Sorcha blinked slowly. "I have what?"
"I meant to say 'ugliest' but your wretched 'promise' screwed it all up."
"You think I have pretty eyes?"
"No—yes." He rolled his eyes at the effect the curse had on him.
"Thank… you." She mumbled slowly.
He sighed and looked her in the eye, his stomach flipping over as she looked back at him. "What did you need to speak to me about?" He whispered, his own voice seeming far away.
"I forget." She murmured, closing her eyes as he leaned forward to kiss her.
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Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. I have got to be the stupidest person, like, ever. Stupid, stupid Sorcha. Bad Sorcha! Bad bad bad! Oh, what am I going to do? I'm going to be in so much trouble.
Sorcha was in her room, going through her closet, desperately searching for something to wear. She finally settled on a black long-sleeved tunic-shirt and a pair of black jeans. Black is good. I am in mourning over my own death. She pulled her thick hair into a loose bun and flopped down onto her bed carelessly.
My own death. She repeated in her mind. A part of me is now dead. That's how mother described how it would be. I don't feel dead much, although I wish I were. She's going to kill me when she finds out. Perhaps she won't find out… No, I have to tell her. Suppose I didn't, though? I should talk to Severus first.
Severus. Like he'll be much help. I blame him entirely. It's all his fault that it happened. I didn't do anything. …Well, not much. Maybe I shouldn't have just left him like that while he was sleeping. I left the cell unlocked…
She rolled onto her side and hugged her blanket tightly. I can still smell him. I smell like him now. Nice scent, mind you, but it's very distracting when I'm trying to come up with a plan. It's bad enough that Warren stopped me on the way here… At least he apologized for freaking out. Thank goodness I remembered to tell him that I already let Severus out of the dungeons. What if he had gone down there and Severus wasn't awake yet…? That would've been awkward.
She sat up and walked over to her mirror and recalled the night before. I have to tell SOMEONE… Albus! Where's Albus? She turned quickly and rushed out of her room in search of her old friend. I can't still can't believe that Severus said he loved me…
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"Well, that was very irresponsible of you."
Sorcha whirled around and jumped in surprise that at the unknown girl behind her. "Who are you?" She asked.
"The name's Lada Demetrius." The girl said, stepping forward, outstretching her hand to the princess.
Sorcha shook it tentatively and frowned slowly. "I've never seen you here before. Who are you?"
"I've just told you." The girl smiled and tucked her long platinum blonde hair behind her ear. "I came here because I need to speak with you. I've heard that you are familiar in the art of potions."
Sorcha chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I know how to make a potion if that's what you mean. But if you came all the way here just to ask me to make a potion for you, then you've been misinformed. I'm more likely to blow up all of Atlantis than make a potion that actually works."
"It's called a Selvagem potion." Lada said, pulling a small brown pouch out of her pocket. "And I need you to make it for me. Right away."
Sorcha scowled. "I've got more important things to do, thank you. And I just said that—"
Suddenly, Lada was right inches away from Sorcha. "You will make this potion for me." She ordered.
Sorcha stared into the strange girl's eyes, unable to look away. She felt her own self-control slip away as she accepted the brown bag from her. "I'll make this potion for you."
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Severus walked into Dumbledore's bedroom, desperate to find the old man. "Dumbledore!" He called, looking around frantically.
"Looking for something, Severus?" He heard his former headmaster's voice from behind him.
Turning around, Severus exclaimed, "Dumbledore! I need to speak with you!"
"Sit down, sit down." Dumbledore said, his face cheerful face turning serious as he watched Severus sit down on a lounge chair and rub his head exasperatedly. "What's the trouble, Severus?" He asked, sitting down in a chair opposite his young friend.
"It's Sorcha!" Severus said, running his hands through his slightly fluffy hair as he told the professor everything he had to say, leaving out only what had happened the previous night.
Dumbledore stayed silent after Severus finished. When he finally spoke, he stood up. "I can't help you, Severus. All I can say is that you need to think about three very important things."
"What would those be?" He asked, frowning.
"One," Dumbledore began, "is that Sorcha is a princess of Atlantis. She is young, beautiful, and has made vows of chastity." He sighed and looked at Severus, concerned. "The second thing to think of is why you came to Atlantis in the first place. You're here to prepare yourself for the dangerous mission you're going to partake in next fall."
Severus nodded slowly, remembering the reason he had gone to Atlantis. "The third, headmaster?" He asked quietly. "What's the third thing?"
Dumbledore patted Severus's head the same way he used to do with Sorcha. "The last thing you need to think about, is how you feel. And how Sorcha feels."
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Sorcha rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. She was walking down a long corridor when she realized that she could think properly again. What happened? I was on my way to see Albus… And then… I don't remember…
She shook her head and continued on down the hall. Snap out of it, Sorcha. You're gonna drive yourself crazy over all this.
She heard footsteps behind her, but resolved that it was just a servant. She paused when she felt someone grab hold of her elbow and turned, surprised to find Severus standing there awkwardly. "Oh. Uh. Hi." She stammered.
"Let's talk." He suggested. She nodded slowly as he pulled he down the hall. "Let's eat first."
Sorcha followed Severus silently down the hall, his hand still holding onto her arm. Eat? Is it time for dinner already? That's strange.
When they reached the Dining Hall, the table was filled with all the same people as the first night Severus had been there. Severus immediately released Sorcha's arm and sat down quickly. Sorcha stood in the doorway nervously until her mother smiled and motioned for her to sit down.
She took her seat in the same place she had before, next to Severus. After a few short moments, the other guests began to converse, ignoring Sorcha without a second thought. Well, thank you too. She watched Severus out of the corner of her eye as he took a sip of wine, leaving his plate untouched.
"You're staring." He whispered, setting down his glass.
Sorcha sighed, feeling her cheeks warm as she blushed. She grabbed her napkin and proceeded to twist it in her lap. "I- I- I was just…" She rolled her eyes and turned to face Severus, whispering so that no one else would hear her. "Who have you told?" She demanded to know.
He smirked. Smirky, don't smirk, Smirky. "Dumbledore."
Sorcha choked on her own breath and clenched her fists to restrain herself from hitting Severus. "You did what?!"
Severus's face broke out into a small grin as he watched the girl before him. "I left out the part about last night." He said quietly.
You are unbelievable, you Smirky freak. "That's it?" She asked, trying to appear completely calm.
"That's it." He replied.
Sorcha looked him in the eye. "You wanted to talk." She stated. "Why not talk now? No one's listening to us."
He smirked and cleared his throat. "You know, Dumbledore told me about your vows."
Great. My chastity vows. Totally forgot about those up until now. That's just GREAT. "I… I guess… Oh shut up, Severus. Don't just sit there all content that I've done something I wasn't supposed to and you got to be the one to confront me about it. It's all your fault."
He chuckled softly. "My fault? As I recall-"
"Shut up about that would you?! Someone might hear you!" Sorcha hissed.
"You said no one was listening."
"Well, they aren't. But if you talk about it like that, they're bound to overhear something!"
"Ah. Well, you didn't specify."
"Stop that!"
"Stop what?"
"You're like, teasing me! It's so annoying."
"It's quite amusing, on the contrary."
"To you!"
"I believe so."
Sorcha rolled her eyes and started twirling her fork in her hand. "Why did you… say… what you said?"
"Why did I…? Oh. I don't know." He answered, moving the food around on the plate with his fork.
She dropped her fork and started tapping her fingernails on the table nervously. "Did you mean it?"
"I don't know."
"How can you 'not know?'"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I want to know!"
"And what about you? You said the same thing!"
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did."
Sorcha's incessant tapping on the table stopped immediately. "Did I?"
"Yes…"
"I…"
"You don't remember?"
"Sort of." She ran her hands through her hair. "I don't think I was focusing on what I was saying."
"Oh."
"Sorry."
"Okay."
She sighed. "It's all such a mess now." She mumbled. "I can't tell my mother. She'll have a fit if she finds out I've broken my vows."
"Maybe you should've thought about that before."
"Maybe I forgot, so shut up."
"Sure, sure." He smirked as he watched her start to twirl her napkin again.
"Don't tell anyone, please."
"Oh no, of course not. Warren would kill me."
"Oh shut up, he was just being a friend."
"By locking me up in a dungeon?"
"A friend to me, I mean."
"Obviously."
"Shut up."
"Right. Shutting up."
"I just don't want anyone to find out, is all."
"Understandable."
Sorcha sighed. Is it just me, or has he decided to have a sense of humor today? It's kind of cute. No no NO! Not cute, Sorcha. Smirky is not cute. He's annoying. "Is that all you were going to tell me? That Albus told you about my vows?"
"Hardly. He told me to think about them. Maybe I should've mentioned that it was a little late for that, though."
"I'm going to strangle you."
"I doubt that."
"Whatever. Is that all?" She asked impatiently.
"No. He also said something about my mission and… something else."
"Mission?"
"You don't know about it."
"I know I don't know. That's why I'm asking. What mission?"
"I'll tell you some other day. Not now."
"Fine. What was the something else?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You said that Albus mentioned something else after that mission-thing."
"Oh. It was just… He doesn't know what happened."
"Uh. And?"
"And… He said I needed to think about how I feel." He scowled. "Wretched promise. I'll get you back for that." He muttered.
"Ah, well, I'd like to see you try." She teased.
"Shut up."
"So… How do you feel, Severus?"
He shrugged. "I guess I already told you."
Sorcha reached out and held his hand underneath the table. "Yeah, I guess I already told you, too."