"Be careful in the company of monsters that you don't become one."
― Cindy Gerard, Take No Prisoners
"Only one thing that you can see and hear that is beautiful and frightening at the same time, and that is a thunder storm."
― R.K. Cowles
Chapter Fifteen: Thunderbolts and Lightning
(Very very frightening)
Amos had drawn his sword after Dory's initial confession, but having outed herself as a witch already, Dory no longer had any reason to refrain from using her magic, and transfigured Amos's sword into a white rabbit.
Amos shouted and jumped back, dropping the rabbit, which proceeded to hop in Dory's direction. She bent over and picked it up, petting it on the head before looking back at James, who's mouth was still hanging open in shock.
Remus was more than a bit shocked himself. He couldn't work out why Dory would tell James that when she had always been so careful to keep both hers and Lancelot's secret up until now. Remus had no idea how James was going to handle this when just the night before he had reacted so volatile about, unbeknownst to Dory, a strikingly similar confession on Remus' part.
"You can either use me to your advantage, or send me way." Dory said. "Either way, let's not pretend as though you can hurt me."
"We hunt down witches on the king's orders frequently. You bleed the same as we do." Fabian growled, his fingers dancing over the hilt of his own sword.
Dory nodded her head and lifted the rabbit so she was looking at its face. Speaking in a voice that she might use to entertain a very small child, she addressed the entire room, "The difference, is that I'm not out of practice. Isn't that right?" The rabbit's nose twitched and Dory set it on the ground. She turned to James and spoke in a much more serious tone now. "I know how to use my magic, which is a lot more than most of the witches and wizards in this town. While magic isn't as strictly… controlled here as it is everywhere else in the kingdom, that doesn't mean that most of these people aren't still frightened of getting caught by a guard of the king. People don't learn how to use their gifts. I did though, and I can use it to help you if you'll let me."
"You bloody swot," Sirius said, shaking his head. Dory looked over at him and grinned. "You called off your wedding did you? Or did you turn the groom into a frog?" He laughed.
"I didn't do anything to Rabastan. But he wasn't too keen on marrying me after her found out that I was a witch. And my own parents thought it would be best for them if I left home as well." She shrugged. "Can't say that I blame them exactly."
"I'll blame them for you." Sirius walked across the bar and embraced Dory. She looked a bit surprised, as Sirius was not exactly known for being affectionate, but she returned the hug, still smiling.
On the other side of the room, James had taken a seat at one of the many empty tables in and was resting his head upon his arms. Remus looked between him and Sirius, who was still beaming at Dory, and then huffed. He walked over and took a seat next to James.
"She could really help us out." He said quietly. "I can't walk about and show everyone that I have magic, but she can. And if she does, that alone might persuade half the town that they shouldn't raise arms against you." James turned his head to the side and eyed Remus.
"I've not yet forgiven you." He muttered.
Remus sighed and ran both hands through his hair. "I know that you've had more thrown at you this last week than any one person should have to deal with, but I promise you that I'm on your side, James. You and me are mates, whether you like me right now or not."
"I don't like you right now." James said, somewhat petulant.
"I know." Remus nodded. "But you remember how we had said that this was going to be a test for you? Whatever you decide to do here, will be how people think of you as a leader." James groaned and rolled his head back so he was looking at the table. "I don't mean to put any more pressure on you, but you need to say something. And soon," He looked up at Amos, Arden, Gideon and Fabian, all of whom were eyeing Dory wearily. They didn't know what they were supposed to do about her and her ability to turn their swords into rabbits.
"What do I say to them?" James pushed himself off the table and looked at Remus. "Am I supposed to tell them that we're to ignore my father and let Dory do all the magic she wants?"
"You're supposed to get all of them out of this town without shedding any blood. There are nine of us against an entire town James, we wouldn't win that fight."
James hesitated for a moment and then looked Remus in the eye. "Is magic good?"
Remus hadn't been expecting this question, so he didn't answer right away. James raised his brow and Remus shrugged. "Magic isn't good or bad. It just is. It's the people who wield it that get to decide whether it hurts people or helps them."
"Or turns things into rabbits." James watched the white rabbit hop across his foot and then stood up. "I accept your help, Dory." He said loudly, making sure that everyone in the room could hear him. Amos blanched and looked about ready to argue with him when James continued speaking. "I recognize your courage in coming forward, and I thank you for your honestly." He turned to his knights and ran a hand through his hair. "We've been told since the day we were born that magic was something that we should fear, and so we did. We never thought about what it actually was, or what it was capable of, we only thought of it in terms of how dangerous it could be, how much pain it could inflict, or how much terror it had brought to our kingdom.
"If we are to survive today, we must open our minds to the possibility that magic is more than that. We all know Dory, she's been with us for months now, and while she has a short fuse and shouts a lot, we know that overall, she's pretty harmless." Sirius snickered and Dory elbowed him in the gut. "We've given her plenty of reason to… do something magical to us, but she hasn't. She hasn't harmed anyone of us, yet she's been capable of it since we met her-"
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I could best most of you without my magic."
"Most of us?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms over his chest and cocking his head.
"I've accepted that you're more skilled with a sword than I am." Dory said quickly and without looking at him.
"Well it's about time-"
"The point I was trying to make," James said, giving Sirius a sharp look. "Was that we need to trust that she is going to help us."
"Do you know what your father would say if he could hear you right now?" Amos asked, hands clenched at his sides.
"I'm not sure what he would say." James said, though Remus thought everyone in the room had a pretty clear idea of what Charles would say if he were here. "There was once a time when my father was not against magic, for I would not have been born without it."
"Your mum was killed because of magic." Amos said, trying to use his other parent now to persuade James away from accepting Dory's help.
"Yes," James looked at Remus, who tried to give him an encouraging smile. "But we can't condemn everyone with magic for the actions of a few."
"But sir-"
"That is my final say on the matter." James said sternly, his brow furrowing as he stared down Amos. "If you have a problem with it, you can leave you colors on the table and ride back home now." Everyone turned to watch Amos, who shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and then nodded his head.
"I will not abandon you." He said. "But I will also not pretend to agree with you judgment."
"That's fair. And you don't have to agree with it, but you are not allowed to question me. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"And the rest of you? Do you wish to stay?"
"Yes, sir." Fabian and Gideon responded in unison.
"Not particularly." Arden pulled out a chair and picked up his goblet again. "But before you turn me into a rabbit," He put one of his hands up while he took a sip of Butterbeer. "It has more to do with the cold than much else." Remus smiled at Arden and knew that if he was able to make a joke at a time like this, than everything was bound to be all right.
oOoOo
Severus walked slightly behind Lord Dolohov and to his left. His eldest (and only living) son, Augustin walked on his right. Behind them were Lords Rosier, Nott, and Mulciber.
He had been selected. Out of everyone in town, he had been chosen. He was no longer just a servant boy with magic; he was a Death Eater.
It wasn't until the night before that Severus was let in on the entirety of the plan, at a meeting held by none other than Lord Voldemort himself. As it turned out, Antonin had been looking for him. He had been summoned to the Dolohov's drawing room as soon as he had returned to the manner.
They had discussed the plan and then Voldemort drew from his robes a long and slender wooden item that had been carefully crafted and was probably thousands of years old. Unable to contain his curiosity, he had taken a step forward and involuntarily reached for it. Before he could do anything completely foolish, he caught himself and put his hand back at his side.
"Is that a wand, my lord?" He asked quietly, ignoring the iron like hand that had clasped around his shoulder. Dolohov was mortified at his outburst.
Voldemort however, was not at all upset by his question. "It is." He said proudly, holding it up for the whole room to see. "There are only five in existence, and I own one. This wand used to belong to Salazar Slytherin. Helga Hufflepuff's wand is said to lie deep within the earth's crust, encased in molten lava by her band of Dragons after the four founders of our great kingdom had stopped seeing eye to eye. Rowena Ravenclaw's wand was destroyed by her daughter, who envied her mother's intellect and power. The wand of Godric Gryffindor is said to have been tossed into the depths of the Black lake, protected by the merpeople that live there. And the fifth wand-"
"The Elder wand." Severus interrupted. He had heard legends about the elder wand and how it allowed it's owner to cheat even death.
"Yes, the Elder wand." Voldemort nodded, giving Severus and appraising look. "That is the wand that I am after. The wand that will ensure that my rule will be absolute."
"My lord," Antonin scratched at his beard. "Isn't the Elder wand part of a children's story?"
"Yes."
"Why do you think it's real then?" Franklin Nott spoke up from his chair. He was an older man, but dedicated to Voldemort's cause, and the younger man seemed to favor him. "Aren't you wasting your time going after something from a nursery rhyme? We've got more pressing matters at hand."
"I agree, which is why I've put my search for the wand on hold for the time being. All of our efforts are being focused on gaining the sovereignty and power that we have been denied." There were mutterings of agreement around the room. Nott nodded his head and Voldemort's thin lips curled into a smile. "We have had the allure of freedom dangled in front of us for far too long! Do you agree?" He shouted, and the men in the room jumped to their feet, jabbing their fists in air. "The king has hurt too many of us," Quieter now, "Swung his axe of justice," He spit the word, "Too easily. He has ended the lives of our brothers and sisters, our children and our friends. And we deserve more than that." More cheering and Severus had joined in now, feeling his rage boil up inside of him. He had never lost anyone to the king's blade, but he was the reason his father had thrown him out. He was the reason that he wasn't allowed to see his mother any longer, the reason he had been a servant for so long when he deserved so much more.
"Tomorrow we will march into town and make Godric's Hollow a town that will strike fear into the heart of the king and all those who hear it! We will make sure that we are the strongest we can be, and we will make sure that the king's wretched son never sees a single day on his father's throne!" The room erupted into applause and a discord of declarations of loyalty and promises to fight. "You are all Death Eaters now." Voldemort said, his smile still resting on his face. "Soldiers fighting for the good of our kind!"
"Please let me have the honor, my lord." Augustin Dolohov said, walking up to stand before the Dark Lord. "Please let me kill the bastard prince." Men around the room started voicing their longing to kill the prince as well, and Severus almost jumped in with them, but caught himself at the last moment. He was sure that the Dark Lord was planning on killing Prince James himself.
"I appreciate your willingness to do what needs to be done," Voldemort said quietly. "But no one is going to kill the prince tomorrow, that would do nothing for us, and only provide the king with a new martyr to poison us in the eyes of the people."
"Then what are we going to do to him, my Lord?" Nicolai Mulciber stepped forward. "We're not going to let the brat go back home unscathed are we?"
"That's exactly what we're going to do." Voldemort said, his voice now sounding oily and slick. "What is currently our greatest threat? Who has the potential to do us the most harm?" There was no answer. "Blood traitors." He said quietly, lowering his head slightly. He looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes. "Member of the Order of the Phoenix. Mudbloods. And anyone else who claims to be apathetic about the way the king is currently treating us!" The room was silent. "Do you not agree?"
"Are you suggesting we kill our own people?"
"They are not our people. They stand with the king; they might as well be working for him! And we must use this opportunity to stain the prince's reputation. To show all our people that we can't wait for the royals to change their mind about us! We will go to town tomorrow and we will cut down anyone who stands between us and the prince, anyone who thinks that our cause is not one worth fighting for, people who would chose to fight against us."
"It is necessary." Dolohov said, rubbing his chin with his palm. "If they chose to stand against us, then they have chosen the crown over their blood."
"And their deaths will be blamed on the boy." Voldemort said. "The prince will leave here with their blood all over his hands."
And now here they were, walking into town, standing united behind their cause. Severus was no longer a servant boy, but a Death Eater, and he had the mark on his arm to prove it. Voldemort hadn't given everyone the mark, only the six of them walking into town, and he was going to make sure that he did everything he could to prove to everyone that he had not been chosen on accident. He was here for a reason, and he was more than capable of the task the Dark Lord had set.
His lip curled up when he caught sight of the prince and his knights. They stood in the street, their swords already drawn, as though that was going to protect them against magic should anyone decide to teach one of them a lesson.
"Remember," Antonin said, just loud enough for them to hear. "We are not to harm the prince, or his knights. Our mission is to weed out those who sit ideally by while the king is allowed to- to take the lives of our sons."
"We're doing this for Adam, dad." Augustin said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Severus took a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn't doing this for anyone but himself.
oOoOo
Dory stood on James' right and Remus on his left. James wasn't sure how he felt standing in between two sorcerers, but he knew that the men walking towards him were sorcerers as well, and he could safely say that he trusted the one's beside him far more than he trust those across from him.
His knights were walking behind them, flanking out. Sirius behind Remus on his left and Lance behind Dory. Amos and Fabian stood at the ends of the line, one of them because he wanted to stand next to his brother and the other because he wanted to stand as far from Dory as he could. Amos was holding his sword awkwardly, as though he wasn't quite sure of it anymore. Arden was the only one of his knights who didn't appear to care one way or the other whether anyone had magic. Arden stood tall as ever, his sword drawn and a cocky look on his face. James wished he knew what Arden was really thinking, or that he could borrow some of his never-ending confidence.
"Remember," James said, loud enough for Amos and Fabian to hear him. "We cannot hurt these men under any circumstances. If we do, it will only make them angrier. We need to explain to them that we understand their grievances and that we are here to listen to them." He looked over at Dory who nodded encouragingly. "We are here as friends."
"Friends who are prepared to fight," Arden chuckled.
"Cheers to that." Sirius jabbed his sword in the air and threw an arm around Remus' shoulders. They were getting closer now and James caught sight of the man from the tavern last night. He glanced over at Remus and Sirius. They both seemed to have spotted him as well. Sirius straightened up and his grip tightened on his sword. Remus's hands clenched into fists and James wondered if he was going to see Remus use his magic.
"Do you think they'll listen to us?" Gideon asked, his fingers tapping incessantly along the empty hilt where his blade normally resided. "They don't look as though they're willing to talk."
"And we have to remember that we didn't arrange this meeting. They were coming to find us, same as we were going to find them." Amos spoke up.
They were now within earshot of the men. James took a deep breath and steeled himself for the last time. "All we can do is try."
"Your majesty," Antonin Dolohov dropped into a deep, sweeping bow, and tipped off his hat. "What an honor it is to run into you on this fine morning."
"Let us not play games, Lord Dolohov." James said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and pushed back his shoulders. "I know that you and your friends," He nodded at the men surrounding Dolohov. "Care for me very little."
One of the men laughed. "That's one way of putting it, your highness."
"And knowing what my father has done, I cannot say that I blame any of you for being cross with me. I do ask you, not as your prince, but as a friend-"
"You're no friend of ours."
"Quiet, Mulciber. Tell your men to put their swords away." Antonin said, a smile just visible beneath his whiskers. "They won't be of any help."
"That's not actually true." Dory stepped forward. "I've charmed them."
And suddenly all eyes were on her. "You've what?"
"Charmed them."
"You have magic?" Dolohov asked, no longer looking amused. He looked at James. "Your wench has magic?"
"She's n-"
"I am no one's wench, sir." Dory spat, hands on her hips.
"You allow a witch to travel with you?" Another man asked, eyeing James wearily. This seemed to throw all of them, and James could not have been more relieved.
"I fear that you believe I came here as an enemy, but that is not true. I have come to listen to you, to hear your complaints. I am not my father, and I do not plan to rule as he has when it is my turn to be king. I will not speak against him, but I will say that he has treated people of your birth," He hesitated until he saw Dory nod out of the corner of his eyes. "Unfairly."
A tall, snarling man stepped forward. His beard was dark and tangled, coming down to the middle of his chest. "You think you can just speak pretty words and all will be forgiven? You are a false prince! Your father cheated the very laws that rule us! He forced a witch into creating a new life, and then punished everyone for his own foolish mistakes! Magic has landed you in this world, and magic will take you out!" He punctuated his statement by jabbing a fist in the air and Dolohov smirked.
"Now, now, Rosier. You know what we're to do." James' lips pressed together as the man stepped back into line with the others. "We're not here to harm you, your highness."
"Not physically, anyway." The man named Nott muttered, wearing a terrible sneer of his own. James heard his knights shift into position around him, but the men across from him still seemed relaxed, not at all as though they were about to harm anyone, physically or otherwise.
Dolohov stepped away from the two groups and turned to address a small crowd of people that James had not been aware of until this point. It seemed as though everyone who had been in the street had stopped what they were doing and had turned to watch what was happening from their street carts, or their windows, but a couple dozen had walked over for a better view.
"My good people of the Hollows," He stroked his beard and came to a halt directly in front of them. "Our kind prince here has come to hear our grievances." James heard a few humorless laughs echo throughout the growing crowd. Dolohov turned to a small women standing near him. "Prince James wants to hear how his father ordered your brother's head to be sliced off." He said, reaching out and resting his hand on the girl's shoulder. "He wants to hear about how your wife," He looked at someone else in the crowd," Or your daughter, Or how my son lost their heads on his father's command."
James took a deep, albeit shaky, breath and forced himself to stay standing tall. "I am truly and sincerely sorry for all the pain that-"
"He stands before us today," Dolohov was getting red in the face as he shouted over James' words. "Asking us to tell him our complaints. Complaints." He spit out the word and then turned to the women he still had a hand on. "Do you have any complaints for the prince? Any grievances to air about what the king's men did to your brother?"
"Do not listen to Lord Dolohov." Someone spoke up from the crowd. James eagerly looked for the person attached to the voice. A shorter man pushed his way to the front of the crowd and turned to stare down Antonin. "We all know that he's a bitter old man." He brushed his hands on his pants and then turned to James. "Dedalus Diggle, sire." He turned back to Antonin. "You have every right to be angry, my lord. But if the young prince has hopes to right his father's wrongs, then we should hear him out. This should be cause for celebration, not vengeance, which I'm sure is what you were getting at. Right?" Dolohov sneered at him and opened his mouth to speak, but someone else beat him to it.
"I'm with Diggle." Said a women standing off to the side, "Besides, look who the prince has working with him. You think Dorcas Meadows would be traveling with the prince of Camelot if he was just like his father?"
"That's two." James heard Mulciber say to Nott.
"Anyone else think we should give James Potter a chance?" Antonin asked, his voice extremely particular. A few people murmured their accent, but for the most part, the crowed stayed quiet.
"Emrus stands with the prince as well." Dory said, stepping forward. James had no idea who Emrus was, but her words seemed carry weight with the crowd. The Diggle bloke went pale and then smile hugely. Antonin blanched as well, but his expression turned into a scowl.
"Emrus is a myth." He spat. "A story passed down to children to help them sleep better at night."
"Then why do you look so rattled?" Sirius asked. James wasn't sure if he knew who Emrus was or if he was just goading the man. Either way, Antonin didn't seem to like Sirius speaking to him.
"You dare speak to me?"
"Yes." Sirius nodded. He looked calm, but James noticed his knuckles whiten as he tightened his grip on his sword.
"You filthy squib, you don't even deserve to-"
"Remember father," Antonin's son stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're not to harm the Prince's men."
"I'm sure we can make an exception." Antonin raised his empty hand and zeroed in on Sirius.
"No exceptions." Snape spoke up for the first time, raising his own hand. "We know what we are supposed to do today, Antonin. Let's just do it, and be done."
"The boy is right." Nott nodded. "There are other things that I need to do today. And if the girl isn't lying about Emrus-"
"Of course she's lying!" Antonin shrieked. "Emrus isn't real! There isn't some man out there who was born with the innate ability to do magic without practice, without spells! That's nonsense and you know it. A bringer of peace, pah!" He shook his head.
"Emrus is real." Dory said, crossing her arms over her chest. "And he's a lot closer than you think. Keep going off on the prince like this and you'll find out." James had forgotten about how bitterly cold it was until then, and he wasn't sure if it was Dory's threat or actual magic that made him suddenly ache to the bone. His teeth started to chatter and he had to clench his jaw to get them to stop. He looked up and saw that there were clouds moving quickly overhead, big, ugly storm clouds.
James figured it was magic when he looked back down and saw everyone on the street looking up in wonder. When the lightening started flashing a few people screamed and some ran for shelter in one of the buildings along the street.
"Are you doing this?" Lance asked Dory, but she shook her head and laughed.
"I think it's Emrus." She said, her eyes shifting ever so slightly in Remus's direction. If James hadn't known that Remus had magic, he wouldn't have caught it, wouldn't have thought anything of it if he did. But he did know, so he turned and looked at his servant boy and was startled to see that his eyes, which were locked in on the sky, looked as though they were glowing, slightly, but noticeably so.
"Stop that." James whispered harshly. Remus blinked rapidly and then looked at James. The storm continued to grow, more clouds rolling in.
"Sorry." He muttered, clenching his jaw and looking down.
"No-" James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Your eyes," He whispered, stepping closer to Remus. "They glow."
Remus looked up at him, realizing that James was trying to help him and nodded. As James was turning back towards the crowd, he saw Remus close his eyes.
"You wish me to believe that this is Emrus?" Antonin shouted at Dory. "And not your little friends?"
"You can believe whatever you want, Dolohov." Dory shrugged, no longer crossing her arms. She now had both of her hands out, as if she were bracing herself against a physical attack. "But know that harming anyone of us right now, would be the wrong thing to do."
"Now!" Antonin shouted. Him and the five men that he had come with launched into action, but not the action that James and his knights had been prepared for. Before James knew what was happening, green light was shooting from the fingertips of Antonin and his son, both of their magic hitting Dedalus Diggle squarely in the chest. He dropped to the ground almost instantly, his body completely lifeless.
Nott had went after the girl who had spoken on James' behalf, snapping her neck before she could scream for help.
"Protego!" James felt a rush of warmth coarse through his body, and then saw a burst of gold light push it'\s way through the crowd, knocking back all six of the men who had been attacking the people.
The sky bellowed angrily as Dory marched forward, and now that they had had a moment to gather their wits, a few of the towns people mimicked her stance and holding their hands up at the men.
"You're too late." Snape said, a sly smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth.
James looked around and saw that he was right, five people lay dead on the ground.
"Where are you going?" Dory shouted after a few people who had also seen the people lying on the ground and decided that they would be safer elsewhere. "You have to stay and fight!"
"You're giving them what they want!" Another girl joined in. She had springy orange hair that was bouncing around angrily. "If you run away now- Oh damn all of you." Soon it was just Dory and this new girl standing on the street.
"Hey, Hestia." Dory sighed.
"Hey, Do."
"We're not going to hurt the two of you." Antonin said with a smile. "I think we've done enough for today."
"I agree." His son said, looking just as smug as his father. Hestia muttered something under breath and blue light jetted from her hands. It his Augustine in the chest and he flew back about a dozen feet.
"How dare you-" Antonin started.
"How dare I?" Hestia shouted. "You and your friends just killed five of our people, and you want to yell at me?" She put her hands up and the sky cracked again, lightening hitting the ground very close to where Antonin stood. "I can't wait until you actually meet Emrus. He's going to tear you apart." She said slowly.
"Emrus, is not real!" He shouted, which was greeted by yet another lightning bolt near his feet.
"Keep telling yourself that, mate." Dory spat.
"You cannot kill these people and get away with it!" James shouted, gripping his sword with both hands. "I am placing all of you under arrest. You will comply-"
"We will not comply to a false prince." Nott said gravely. Then, one by one, then men turned on the spot and vanished into a cloud of black smoke.
"No!" Dory screamed, stamping her foot on the ground. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"
oOoOo
News of what had happened in Camelot reached the castle before James and his knights did. Bella was still reeling from what the king had told her when she heard that five witches and wizards had been executed while the prince had been in Godric's Hollow.
She didn't want to believe it at first, but then her sister had sent her a letter confirming that the rumors were true, and she had spent the entire morning crying into her pillow.
Why was everything falling apart now? Things had finally been looking up for her, and then before she could get comfortable with any kind of victory, she had the rug pulled out from under her and was reminded that there must be something fundamentally wrong with her, because the world seemed to be doing everything in its power to make sure that she wasn't happy.
Rodolpus had been to see her quite a few times in the last couple days, but she hadn't let him come into her room. She had asked Alice to get guards posted outside her door to prevent him from coming in. She knew why he was so keen to see her. He wanted to know why she hadn't poisoned the king yet, and she didn't really want to tell him that she couldn't poison him anymore because she had thrown the poison at the wall.
The king was a bad man, she was almost sure that this was still true, he just wasn't as bad a man as she had originally assumed. He hadn't killed her sisters simply because they had magic, her father had prevented the king from getting them out of the house, Bella didn't have to ask Narcissa if that were true to believe it.
She had been doing a lot of thinking lately and she was pretty sure that she remembered more of what had happened that night. By the time the king had come into the house and grabbed her, she was mostly unconscious, but she did remember her father trying to grab her away from the king, saying that he didn't want the king to touch her. She could hear the king pleading with her father, over and over again in her mind, begging him to let go of her.
I'd rather she died, than be saved by you.
Her father had been a proud man, but he couldn't honestly have said something like that, could he? He would have wanted Bella to live, no matter who was doing the saving. She was his daughter after all, and people generally did a great number of stupid things to keep their children alive. Her father wouldn't have tried to stop the king from pulling her out of their burning house, no matter how proud he was.
And yet, Bella wasn't so sure.
Narcissa had scars, her arms and legs were covered in them. She had told Bella that a set of heavy drapes had caught fire and fell on top of her and Andromeda before their mother threw them out the second story window. That's how they had lived. Their mother had done something stupid as the flesh melted off her bones, and thrown her two oldest daughters out the window, not knowing if it would save them, or kill them faster than the flames. They had landed near the edge of the pond that encompassed most of the land behind their house, where the ground was moist and soft. Cissy told her that they both kept rolling until they were in the pond, letting the water cool their charred skin. They had stayed there, shouting for their mother, for Bella, not knowing what had become of either one of them.
Narcissa shared everything with Bella, they were close and they had gone through a terrible tragedy together, but whenever Bella brought up their father, Narcissa, her kind and loving sister, would grow dark and angry. Bella had always assumed that it was because of the king, because of what the king had done to their family. She had never thought that it could be because of what their father had done to them.
She had been young still, only thirteen, and she didn't want to remember all the bad things, so she had only tried to keep the good things. Cissy had been older, and she must have had a harder time forgetting the bad things.
And to top it all off, she now had to work out what she was going to do with James.
She didn't want to believe that her brother was capable of this kind of violence. He had always been so quick to question their father and to raise his voice against him when he thought the king was out of line, and yet when given the chance to prove that he was different, he didn't. He returned home with the blood of five people on his hands. Five people like her.
Bella felt her eyes stinging again and pressed her palms against her eyelids.
"Excuse me, ma'am." Alice peeked her head in the doorway and offered Bella a small smile. "The king wishes you to know that the prince has returned."
Bella felt a tear slide down her cheek as she nodded at her new maid. She took a deep breath and wished that she hadn't fired Lily, especially not for James. Lily would know what to do right now to make Bella feel better, Lily had always been able to make Bella feel better.
"Was my presence requested or demanded?"
"You were asked for." Alice said, looking down. Bella knew that meant that the girl had been told to make sure that Bella made it down to the Great Hall. She took a deep breath, and steeled herself.
AN: How're you all doing? I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'd love it if you left me a review before you ran off though.
See you in a couple weeks, my friends