Chapter four: The Princess's World
Elizabeth sighed and tried to concentrate again.
It was hard enough to master this stupid curse without the nagging pain in her scar that was breaking her concentration. She tried once again to pay attention to Bella as she went on and on about how she had to focus on causing pain and actually wanting the bone to break. It was the only way the bone-breaking curse would work. His talk about pain was making Lizzy feel her headache getting worse. She shot her an angry look as Bella was clearly enjoying the fact that Elizabeth, for once, couldn't pick up on something she herself was an expert at.
"Aww, what's wrong with you, princess, having a day off, are we?" Bella laughed as she watched her rub her forehead in frustration.
"Get rid of that, Bella, I'm not in the mood for your crazy antics today," Lizzy replied as she kneaded her forehead with her knuckles.
Bella immediately wiped the smile off her face and ran to Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, are you okay? Is it your scar again? I'm sorry, Lizzy, I didn't realize.
Bella apologized as she pulled her hands away from her forehead and tried to determine how much pain Elizabeth was in. Elizabeth tried to block it out as best she could. She hated this. She was sick of being a mood determiner for her father. When she was younger, Malfoy and another inner circle of Death Eaters used to ask Lizzy if her scar hurt before she went in to see Lord Voldemort. If it didn't hurt, it definitely hurt after they had gone to see him.
Lizzy gritted her teeth and tried to pull away from Bella. She could handle this without Bella.
"Bella, I'm fine. Just leave me alone for now. We can continue with the training after father calms down.
"It's okay, Lizz. Just let me know when you're ready.
Bella let go of her and walked out of her room. He reached the door and turned around to see her still rubbing her scar. 'She's too proud for her own good,' he thought.
"Elizabeth, I'll be right back with a potion to ease the pain, and I don't want to know if you don't need it!
Elizabeth smiled weakly at him and nodded her head slightly. She wouldn't say no to any kind of pain relief right now. She really liked Bella. It was only when she became overly motherly with Lizzy that it made her uncomfortable.
Bella had trained her more, along with her father. Bella was a good teacher and Lizzy could see that Bella cared about her. He wasn't sure if that was wise, as his father had always taught him that the feeling of love and care only weakened the power. He really couldn't complain since he cared for Bella as well. Bella had raised her after all.
She was busy thinking and didn't even hear Bella come back into the room.
-Here," she said as she pushed the small vial in her hand.
Elizabeth took it gratefully and took the potion in one gulp. The effect was instantaneous, but the pain in Lizzy's scar was only slightly dulled. It would only go away completely when her father was rid of his anger, for that was what was causing Elizabeth such intense discomfort.
"Why does he always decide to get immensely angry when I'm around?" asked Elizabeth miserably.
"Don't be disrespectful, Elizabeth!" snapped Bella immediately.
Lizzy managed to chuckle lightly to herself before shooting her a green-eyed glare.
"Well, excuse me for not enjoying having my head snapped in two!
"He's not doing it on purpose, Lizz. He would never want you to suffer, least of all on his own.
Elizabeth was about to respond when a particularly unpleasant pain caused her to grab her hand to her forehead and let out a hiss of pain. Bella was instantly at Lizzy's side, worrying about what was making her Lord so angry.
"That's it! I'm going to see what's making him so nervous!"With that said, Lizzy stood up, grabbed her silver mask and walked through the doors.
She was in front of her father's oak doors in minutes. Elizabeth had been ten years old when she had learned all the secret passages in and out of Riddle Manor. Lizzy had now pulled the mask over her face and knocked on the door once. Without waiting for an answer, Elizabeth entered her father's private meeting room. Lord Voldemort was also surprised to see his young heiress in such a hurry, but quickly realized why she was there. Instantly, he began his mantra to calm the rage bubbling inside him. He also lifted the Crucio curse he had placed under Crabbe. The pathetic Death Eater slowly rose to his feet, his limbs still flailing violently.
"Master... forgive me... Master... it will never happen...
"Silence!"
Voldemort hissed and motioned Crabbe out of his sight. Grateful for the dark princess's entrance, Crabbe quickly made his exit.
Once he was gone, Lizzy removed her mask and looked directly at her father.
Lord Voldemort calmed himself by only looking at Elizabeth. He smiled and motioned for Elizabeth to come closer. Lizzy took a couple of steps towards him and stopped. Elizabeth was the only one her father would not allow to bow in front of him.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong with you? "he asked.
Lizzy raised an eyebrow at her father's question.
"I just thought I'd come see what was making you mad, father, before my head snapped open!" Elizabeth said this in the sweetest, most venomous voice she could muster.
Lord Voldemort would have instantly killed anyone who dared speak to her in that tone. However, Elizabeth was different from everyone else. After all, she was Lord Voldemort's only daughter.
"That git Crabbe has brought some disturbing news. Turns out Riley had an accomplice."
Lizzy's anger and frustration vanished completely and she instantly went into warrior mode.
"What are your orders, father? "She asked with no visible emotion on her face.
Lord Voldemort approached his daughter and placed his pale bony hands on Lizzy's shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"Finish the rat!"he said and Elizabeth's eyes instantly grew cold and devoid of all emotion and feeling.
She allowed her father to enter her mind and soon she had everything she needed to complete her task. Lizzy now had a name, an address and a face. That was all she needed.
Elizabeth was about to turn away when her father squeezed him tighter and placed a long finger under her chin, lifting her head slightly so he could look into those emerald eyes.
"I'm upset that you were uncomfortable about it, Elizabeth. You know how much I hate meddling with my emotions."
Lizzy smiled, a little warmth spreading in her green orbs.
"I know, father, I got too much this time so I came to see what was going on."
Voldemort watched as Elizabeth turned and left his room. He had never imagined such a bond would form with his heiress when he gave Elizabeth that scar. Sometimes he even felt sorry for the poor girl. He suffered if Lord Voldemort felt any strong emotions at all. It didn't matter if he was happy or sad. Any strong emotion brought nothing but intense pain to Lizzy. Lord Voldemort had promised to keep his temper under control for Elizabeth's sake when he was around. Of course, when Lizzy was away on chores, Lord Voldemort could feel as happy or as angry as he wanted without fear of hurting him. It seemed that Lizzy was only immensely affected when she was around the Dark Lord.
Lord Voldemort sat back on his throne and thought silently about Hunt. He should have seen this coming - that little rat was going to pay! His Elizabeth would see to that.
