p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Her master swept her away from the cold and salty lighthouse wrapped tightly in his arms. The only trace that they had ever been there at all was Karkaroff's cold, lifeless body slumped over on the rusted metal landing. The air changed so drastically as soon as they apparated, she was immediately met with the warmth from a crackling fireplace which soothed her almost as much as her master's touch. The Dark Lord let his arms linger around her thin frame for a moment before finally uncoiling his grasp from her waist. Something was different tonight, so obviously different, yet as bright and observant as Bellatrix was she could not put her finger on it. Her finger, her dark brown eyes darted to her right hand where her master's Horcrux rested safely around her ring finger. An instant wicked grin crept across her lips as she stared at the magnificent ring that adorned her hand. Now her master would always be with her, and nothing bad would happen to this piece of him as long as she was /br /How she loved these quiet moments with the Dark Lord, it was still hard to believe that he allowed such moments to take place. She was grateful for every moment he allowed her, knowing that he could end this whenever he desired. She was so lucky for his allowances and she knew that he knew how she felt, he knew everything. There was not a single thing she could hide from him, especially now. He kept a piece of her soul with him and it made the connection they had even deeper, and now that a piece of him resided with her she could not imagine being closer to /br /Before she could realize it her master had scooped her up in his arms, curling up on the love seat by the fire with her tightly in his grasp. She burrowed into him, subconsciously, her body longing to be as physically close to him as it could. He allowed her to linger in his grasp, showing no signs of sitting her down to sit beside him. Her heart began to race as it slowly dawned on her the allowance he was gifting to her this evening. He must have felt her pulse quicken because he tightened his grip around her, bringing her even closer into himself. With that simple gesture, her heart skipped a beat and for a moment she thought she might have even felt his heart beat /br /"My dearest Bella," he hissed into her ear, "I know you know how important it is to continue to keep up appearances."br /br /"Of course my Lord," she cooed into his chest, afraid the slightest move would end their physical /br /"If this information made it into the wrong hands, I'm afraid someone might try to use you to get it me."br /br /With his words she could not help to look up at him, "But my lord, that would never work. You are far too cunning to fall for such a feeble attempt. "br /br /His mouth twisted into a sick grin, "You are correct, as usual, my dear," his grasp almost seemed to grow tighter around her as he spoke such affections. "But my dear, I would be maddeningly furious. My bloodlust might even put yours to shame if that were to indeed happen."br /br /Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she moved to look at his face to face. She had to have been dreaming, or hallucinating. There is no way that her master would say such wonderful things about her. His grin only stayed twisted on his lips as his icy blue eyes held her gaze. As she looked at him it became clear that those words had left his /br /"My Lord, you flatter me," she finally managed to /br /"That was my intention," he hissed as he moved one of his icy hands up her back and into her /br /His hand was firmly on the back of her head, her hair spiraling through his grasp. Her body was filled with a new electricity, her breath hitched as he grasped her so firmly. As her breath hitched a wildly wick smirk flashed across his face before he pulled her into himself with a kiss like she had never experienced. She was terrified but was unable to stop her body's reaction to her master. This was all she had longed for since she first laid eyes upon the Dark Lord, but never would she have believed this would happen. Could he feel her desire through the piece of her soul that was wrapped around his finger? Not that he had always seen her so transparently. She was always an open book to him to use however he desired. But when did he desire such primal things? There is no way he would give her something so great if he did not desire it /br /Before her mind could even begin to process what was happening, he picked her up, his lips never parting from her. He pulled them into his bed, his dark figure looming above her. Finally, he pulled his lips from her as his icy gaze studied her intently. Her mind was blank, the only thing she could feel was the lust coursing through her like a wildfire consuming everything in its /br /"I always told you that your loyalty would be rewarded," he hissed, his breath still cool and /br /And then he devoured her, in all of the ways she could have never /br /-br /br /She awoke the next morning with a new sense of rejuvenation and an even deeper loyalty to her master. Alone in his bed after a night that she could hardly believe was real. If it was not for the ache that lingered she would have never believed it. She knew she should not linger in his chambers, but she risked it for just a moment longer, breathing in his scent from his pillow that had grown cold beside her. Then she quickly disapparated back to her room, his words echoing in her mind, 'Appearances…' And that is exactly what she /br /The days passed by just as they always had. Her role as her master's right hand continuing to grow as their power spread through Europe. The nights, however, had changed dramatically. When she was lucky she was swept away by the Dark Lord and rewarded as many times as she could handle and then some. When she was not lucky, sometimes she could swear she could still feel him nearby. It helped to have a piece of his soul wrapped around her finger. She often caught herself subconsciously rubbing the ring with one of her fingers. Their connection seemed so much deeper with the rings, pieces of each other's souls resting around each other's fingers. Never in all of her wild musings, and hopes that she clung to in Azkaban could have ever prepared her for the reality that had awaited her. Now all she had to do was not fuck it /br /Spring was firmly here, the days growing warmer and rainier. Her sister was in a tizzy over the mud that got tracked in by the various comings and goings of the other death eaters. Bella on the other hand spent her free time hidden away in her favorite hiding spot. She found it best to stay out of her sister's way, and down here was the only alone time she seemed to manage anymore. Her schedule was packed full, and she cherished this time more than she ever had before. Her master had gifted her with many rare texts that she could not help but to soak up as much as she could whenever she had the chance. After all, he would not gift her such things if he did not think that doing so would be beneficial to him. There was ancient magic in these, magic that had been long lost to time. She knew he was looking for something in these, he must be. As her mind was lost trying to absorb everything she could from her newest text the air changed. A surge of electricity coursed through her body as she looked up from the pages, a maddening grin plastered on her /br /"My Lord," she spoke confidently, she knew he was here even if she had not laid eyes on him /br /"My dearest Bella," his hiss came from behind her, the air rushing as he swept around her usual chair finally coming into view. "I have much to tell you," his words slipped coolly from his lips as she removed the book from her hands and placed it on the table beside /br /Without another word her pulled her to him, wrapping himself around here before they disapparated to his room. His room was their retreat, the one place they could truly be alone together. As her eyes adjusted to their new surroundings she saw that a bath had been drawn and bottles of wine sat perched on the edge of the large bath. Her grin widened as she quickly removed her robes and sank into the warm bubbly water, the Dark Lord following her in. He poured them both a glass of wine, allowing for her to settle /br /"We will take France next," his words were calm as they usually were when discussing his plans with her. "Everything is in place."br /br /"That is excellent news, my Lord," she exclaimed as she held her glass up to /br /"I am glad you are excited. I want you to set up a chain of command here so that you will be free to travel with me there when it is time."br /br /"Yes my Lord," she cooed. Her eyes filled with excitement as she finished the glass of /br /"I will need you now more than ever, these coming weeks will be crucial."br /br /"Anything for you my Lord," she smiled as he poured her another /br /"I know," he hissed. He always knew. "You have new trunks waiting for you in your room. Pack all of your books, I will need all of the knowledge you can gain from them."br /br /This really piqued her interest. What was waiting for them in France? Whatever it was, seemed big. He must have found something, and whatever that was must have been very /br /"How long must I keep this to myself?" she finally asked. This was big news, and she would have to tell her sister eventually. She knew how protective she was of her now that she was /br /"We will have a meeting tomorrow evening. That should give you enough time to figure out how to inform your sister of your departure."br /br /He really did always /br /They relaxed together in the water until all of the wine was gone. As usual, she was the only one who showed any sign of the effects. Without a word, the dark lord scooped her up, a warm fluffy towel sailed over and wrapped around her. She snuggled into his bare chest as he carried her/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"into bed. The towel was quickly replaced with a robe as he laid her /br /"I still have some business to take care of, sleep," he hissed before leaving her in his /br /It must have been almost morning before he joined her, and the next time she woke he was gone again. A clear indication of what was to come. She had a feeling she would have very little time with her master until they left for France, and even then there was no telling how much she would get to see him. As always she was grateful for what he allowed; he was a generous /br /The day drug on as the anticipation for her master's call tonight occupied her mind. She had her beautiful new trunks opened up on the floor in her room. Other than all of the new books, she possessed very few things. Just enough robes and few stunning dress robes that she was sure she would not need outside of her brother-in-law's home. Just as her mind began to wonder about what would await her outside of these walls she felt the familiar burn of the mark on her forearm. /br /The formal dining room was filling up quickly with the Dark Lord's closest followers. It took her only a moment to take her place at his right side, her face unable to hide her /br /"Good evening," he hissed. "Tonight I have something very important to share with you." as usual he always let the anticipation build before anything important. "France will soon fall."br /br /Applause filled the room before the Dark Lord began outlining his plans. It was all hands on deck for their next move. There was already a team in France but a select group would be traveling to make sure that everything went smoothly, Bellatrix was a part of this team. Her brother-in-law Lucius would be heading up what they had been working on here so that there would be no hiccups while their headquarters in France were being set up. Rodolphus and Rabastan even donated one of their family estates for their French headquarters. She had honestly forgotten Rodolphus even existed until it was brought up. Not a single thought of him had entered her mind since his letter. Their meeting eventually wrapped up with everyone receiving their assignments for the next week. They were moving fast, he must have had more of a foothold than she had /br /Bella had more than enough on her plate now. She needed to get her teams in place here to carry on her regular duties that she performed. Even the best teams would leave something lacking while she was gone, but they were firmly in control here. If they were to transform the wizarding world they would have to expand, and she would be at the forefront of their expansion. She had been and would always be the Dark Lord's right hand, his most loyal lieutenant. It was late into the night, Bellatrix had parchment sprawled across her desk with the names of fellow death eaters scribbled on them. She was slowly making her way through followers who she thought might be able to continue her work here successfully. This was going to be harder than she thought. But all of their hard work was worth it. Everything was worth it for him./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"into bed. The towel was quickly replaced with a robe as he laid her /br /"I still have some business to take care of, sleep," he hissed before leaving her in his /br /It must have been almost morning before he joined her, and the next time she woke he was gone again. A clear indication of what was to come. She had a feeling she would have very little time with her master until they left for France, and even then there was no telling how much she would get to see him. As always she was grateful for what he allowed; he was a generous /br /The day drug on as the anticipation for her master's call tonight occupied her mind. She had her beautiful new trunks opened up on the floor in her room. Other than all of the new books, she possessed very few things. Just enough robes and few stunning dress robes that she was sure she would not need outside of her brother-in-law's home. Just as her mind began to wonder about what would await her outside of these walls she felt the familiar burn of the mark on her forearm. /br /The formal dining room was filling up quickly with the Dark Lord's closest followers. It took her only a moment to take her place at his right side, her face unable to hide her /br /"Good evening," he hissed. "Tonight I have something very important to share with you." as usual he always let the anticipation build before anything important. "France will soon fall."br /br /Applause filled the room before the Dark Lord began outlining his plans. It was all hands on deck for their next move. There was already a team in France but a select group would be traveling to make sure that everything went smoothly, Bellatrix was a part of this team. Her brother-in-law Lucius would be heading up what they had been working on here so that there would be no hiccups while their headquarters in France were being set up. Rodolphus and Rabastan even donated one of their family estates for their French headquarters. She had honestly forgotten Rodolphus even existed until it was brought up. Not a single thought of him had entered her mind since his letter. Their meeting eventually wrapped up with everyone receiving their assignments for the next week. They were moving fast, he must have had more of a foothold than she had /br /Bella had more than enough on her plate now. She needed to get her teams in place here to carry on her regular duties that she performed. Even the best teams would leave something lacking while she was gone, but they were firmly in control here. If they were to transform the wizarding world they would have to expand, and she would be at the forefront of their expansion. She had been and would always be the Dark Lord's right hand, his most loyal lieutenant. It was late into the night, Bellatrix had parchment sprawled across her desk with the names of fellow death eaters scribbled on them. She was slowly making her way through followers who she thought might be able to continue her work here successfully. This was going to be harder than she thought. But all of their hard work was worth it. Everything was worth it for him./p