"I think I'll stay in here." She says as she steps out of the bathroom, soaking wet, pulling the towel tighter around her body.

Isabel has refused to come out of the room all day, even after Tom requested her for dinner. There's no point in going anywhere; a prison is still a prison no matter what the boundaries are. She's done with him… she's just his toy anyways.

"Please Miss!" squeaks the house elf, its bulging yellow eyes frantically following her movements as she walks to the closet and pulls on a clean dress. "Master will iron Turvey's ears if yous don't go!"

That makes her stop. "Did he say that?" She asks and the house elf nods her head up and down violently. She puts her hands on her hips and stares down at the little creature who's wringing her crooked fingers nervously. "Damnit." She says under her breath so the house elf doesn't hear her. "Fine I'll go." She snaps.

She stomps all the way to the dining room and opens the door with lack of finesse. She feels Tom's eyes on her as she slumps in her seat beside him.

"You're fifteen minutes late." He says with out the usual venom.

She looks down at her plate that's already full of food and ignores his statement. "May I eat?" she bites out.

He rakes his eyes up and down her body as he takes a slow swallow of wine. "You may." He says lightly. She picks up her fork and starts poking at her food. He still stares at her intently. "I have a surprise for you after you're done eating." He tells her.

"Okay." Is all she says and he frowns at her lack of enthusiasm. He has to fight down his urge to hit her… he's trying to be nice so he takes a deep breath.

When they're finished he orders her to follow him so with a sigh she falls into step behind him. He takes her down the guest hallway of the castle and stops before a large wooden door.

"Now," he says as he turns to her with his hand on the door knob. "Since I'm doing this for you I want you to start behaving the way I want you to. No more of this caged bird attitude you've adopted. If you anger me I won't hesitate to have your new present destroyed. Do you understand?"

She looks at him with confusions on her face. "Yes, I suppose I understand." She says uncertainly. Almost fearing what's on the other side of the door.

He eyes her for a few moments before nodding his head and opening the door. Isabel hesitantly follows him in and barely dodges the book that goes flying past her head. She hears a mad growl coming from the other side of the room and without knowing why she grabs Tom's hand and hides behind him. She hears him chuckle and he squeezes her hand.

"I told you to stay away from me!" Screeches a female voice from the corner.

Isabel knows that voice. She peeks from around Tom's shoulder and sees Ginny Weasley standing defiantly in the corner with her eyes narrowed.

"Tsk, Tsk, Ginevra… Have you forgotten what I've told you already?"

She steps out from around Tom and lets go of his hand. "Ginny?" she asks.

The other girl drops her hands from her hips and widens her eyes in surprise. A real smile comes to Isabel's face as she runs forward and embraces the other girl in a tight hug.

"Are you alright?" she asks her against her hair.

"For now." Ginny says and pulls back with a sad smile on her face.

"As touching as this is I have to be going." Sneers Tom from the doorway. "I hope you both remember what I told you or this little reunion will never happen again."

Isabel turns around to face him with a smile on her face. She's too happy to let him ruin it. She takes Ginny's hand and holds it in her own. "We won't, I promise."

He gives her an amused smirk. "I surely hope not." He says. He takes a look down at his wrist watch and then back up to Isabel. "You will be in your room in half an hour and you had better be more… agreeable tonight." He says and then leaves the room with a slam of the door.

Isabel gulps uncomfortably and turns uneasy eyes back to Ginny. "What does he mean by agreeable?" Ginny asks her.

"You don't want to know." She says solemnly and then straightens up her back and smiles. "Let's not talk about that… How are you doing? How is your family?"

Ginny hangs her head and walks to the bed. Falling on it in an ungraceful thump. "We were in the dungeons for ever. How do you think we're doing?" she snaps.

Isabel takes a seat on the other side of the bed timidly and casts her eyes down, looking are the dark blue bedspread. "I'm sorry." She says quietly.

Ginny sighs loudly and then sits up. "No, I'm sorry I know none of this is your fault." She looks at her. "So, what are you to him? What does he want with you?" she asks.

"I'm not exactly sure." She says with a blush. "I think we're married."

"You think?"

"I'm not exactly sure…" she says and she goes on to explain the bonding ritual and the strange things that he always tells her. She also explains the locket and what he said about her not being able to die. "Sometimes I think he likes me but then other times all he does is cause me pain, I don't understand him."

Ginny eyes her curiously. "You know since he's allowing you to see me that should mean something. He told me he wanted to make you happy…" Isabel looks at her in surprise because of her light tone and thoughtful voice. "You know, my mother is very sick… she has some kind of flu and the cold cells they've put us in, is just making it worse. Maybe you could convince him to let her out."

"I highly doubt he will, Ginny." she says honestly.

"Just give him what he wants and maybe he'll consider it."

Isabel's anger snaps. "That's easy for you to say but you aren't the one who has to do it." Her voice softens when she looks at Ginny. She's pale and a lot thinner then she remembers. "Besides I never know what he wants. He changes from hot to cold in a matter of seconds and his mind changes from day to day."

"She may die." Ginny says quietly looking at her hands.

Guilt rushes through Isabel for the millionth time since she's been in the castle and she exhales loudly before she answers. "I'll try." She promises and Ginny's face lights up. " What about your brother… George isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's George… He's not down there anymore." She says sadly. "They made him join the army."

"Seriously? Why would they make him do such a thing?"

Ginny shrugs. "Because he's an able bodied male and they have the rest of his family to threaten here if he doesn't do it."

"Everything is so messed up."

"Yeah, it is but we have each other now."

They share a smile. "Yes, we do." Says Isabel. She looks at the clock on the mantle piece. "I have fifteen minutes left, let's talk about happy things and pretend we're somewhere else for a while."

X

"Did you like my gift?" Tom asks as Isabel returns to the room. Surprisingly he was already there waiting when she showed up.

She stops in front of the fire where he's sitting. "Yes, thank you." She smiles at him. "It was very kind of you." She adds.

He snorts, probably because no one has ever described him as kind. He stands up and places a hand on her hip. "Why don't you show me how much you appreciate my gift?" He runs his fingers along her lips. "Show me how truly thankful you are." He says with his eyes glittering.

Her heart beat starts to grow faster. She's still not comfortable with her sexuality and the things they do together. She thinks of Ginny and her Mother… She looks at his face taking in how truly handsome he is, even with his evil smirk. It isn't hard to be attracted to him and enjoy things like kissing him. So, taking a step closer to him, she brings her arms up around his neck and kisses him.

She kisses him passionately trying to find his favor and she's convinced she's doing something right when he releases a very satisfied moan. He tangles his hands in her hair and pulls her tighter against him. He pulls back and looks into her eyes.

"See, I can be good to you." He says. "I can give you anything you want if you agree to be mine forever."

She doesn't think it would be wise to point out that he can't actually give her everything she wants. He can't give her old life back. He can't bring back her family or friends. He'll never let her go… so instead of bringing those things up she smiles at him.

"I will be."

He smiles and his eyes darken as he kisses her again and walks her back towards the bed. His head snaps up when someone knocks on the door.

"What?" he snaps.

"I'm sorry My Lord but I need to speak to you." says the voice from the other side of the door.

Isabel feels bad for which ever one of his followers is on the other side of the door because, judging by the way Tom is glaring at the wood, it doesn't look very good for him.

"It had better be important." Hisses Tom. He looks down at the woman in front of him. "I'll be back later." He says softly.

He stomps the door and opens it to reveal a blond headed Death Eater that looks like an older version of that Draco Malfoy boy. The blond man whispers something to Tom and he smiles and twisted smile. He slams the door and walks off with his follower. Isabel lies down on the bed and closes her eyes, eventually falling into an uneasy sleep.

Her eyes snap open when someone busts through the door. She brings the covers up to her chest as her eyes adjust to the dark. Someone whispers a spell and the lights come on. She sees Tom standing in the door way. His black hair is soaking wet and sticking to his forehead and neck, there is blood coming out of a cut on his right cheek bone, he's breathing heavily and there is a strange look in his eyes.

Isabel stands, nervous at his appearance. "Are you alright?" she asks timidly as she walks around the bed to get a little closer to him.

He smiles, closes the door, and stalks towards her. She has to stop herself from backing away. He picks her up around the waist and spins her around with a very uncharacteristic light in his eyes. He's happy she realizes and immediately starts to worry. A happy Dark Lord can never be good.

He puts her back on her feet. "No one stands in my way now." He says and kisses her hard on the mouth.

"What do you mean?" she asks him breathlessly as he works on the zipper of her dress.

His reply is to smirk. "The world is mine now." He says as he kisses the side of her neck. The dress falls to her feet and he pushes her down on the bed. He covers her body with his and nudges her legs apart with his own, settling himself between them. He stops moving and looks her in the eyes. Tom brings his hands up and removes some hair from her face. "Ours." He says almost tenderly and then kisses her again.

Isabel doesn't feel very good about this. There is an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as he removes her remaining clothes. The sun is just starting to rise, its dawn, and she lays still underneath him, too stunned to move.

He raises his head from kissing her stomach. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy for me?"

He asks with annoyance showing in his voice.

"I'm a little shocked, is all." She says not wanting to disappoint him.

"Well," he starts as he crawls up her body again. He rests his forearms on either side of her body and lowers his head so he's whispering in her ear. "Don't I deserve a little reward for the amazing feet I achieved?"

"And what exactly did you do?" she asks slowly, not totally sure if she want to know the answer.

He lifts himself up so he can looks in her eyes. "I killed Harry Potter."

Tom slowly smiles and dips his head to kiss her. Isabel tries not to cry. She knew Harry he was nice and from what she understood he was the only one who could bring Tom down. What does that mean now? No one will be able to save her or fix anything. She and Ginny had talked about him yesterday, Ginny loved him so much. Unwanted tears break from her eyes and fall down her cheeks.

Tom pulls back again and looks at her angrily. "Why are you crying?" he asks sharply.

She doesn't want to make him mad but she can't help it. She starts crying harder and brings her hands up to cover her face. Tom jumps off of her and grabs her hands.

"You should be glad. You should be happy for me." He says sharply. "Any other woman would be proud to hold your place of honor and what do you do to repay me? You cry over my enemy."

"I'm sorry." She cries unable to stop her tears or do anything else. She's just depressed.

He pulls her hair and yanks her out of bed. "You're always sorry aren't you?" He snaps. "Get dressed."

She quickly puts on the dress that he removed earlier. He scowls at her the whole time and grabs her wrist before she can zip it up. He pulls her down the hallway to the room Ginny's being kept in.

"What are you doing?" she asks him.

"Shut up."

He opens the door violently and stomps over to the bed, pulling Ginny out of a deep sleep then throws her down on the wooden floor. He takes out his wand and points it at the door, slamming it shut and locking it. Isabel watches with wide eyes as he points the wand down at Ginny.

"I murdered your boyfriend." He tells her calmly.

Ginny stares at him blankly. Confused from sleep and then it sinks into her and tears well in her eyes. "You're lying." she says trying to be brave.

Tom kicks her in the stomach. Isabel runs closer to them. "Please stop." She begs. "You're mad at me, not her."

He smirks down at Ginny. "Ginevra, didn't I tell you that if Isabel displeased me that you would be taking her punishments." Ginny watches him with wide eyes but doesn't answer. Tom tears his head from her and sneers at Isabel. "Yes, I believe that is what I said."

There is a demented look in his eyes as he casts curse after painful curse on the small girl underneath him. He doesn't stop; no matter how many times Isabel begs so she slumps against the wall with tears in her eyes and hugs her knees to her chest. Finally the screams die down and she lifts her head to see Tom walk over to her.

"Are you finally ready to act like a good little girl for me?" he asks flatly.

She nods her head and he grabs her arms and pulls her up. She looks over her shoulder and sees Ginny lying in the middle of the floor breathing heavily with long red gashes all over her back, with shredded clothes and blood pooling around her. Her heart breaks again as Tom slams the door.

She spends the next few hours doing what he wants with a fake smile on her face.

X

"I'm so sorry." She says as she runs the sponge over the deeps gashes on Ginny's back. "I didn't know he would hurt you."

"It's ok." Says Ginny. She's sitting up in the bathtub with her forehead resting on her knees. The water is a dark red from her blood. "He's evil, it's not really surprising." She says and inhales deeply when Isabel hit's a particularly painful cut.

"He shouldn't have done this to you." Isabel says quietly. "He was mad at me."

"What did you do?" asks Ginny. "Since he killed… you know… shouldn't he have been in a good mood?"

"He was… he was mad because I wasn't."

Ginny nods her head. "I think I'm ready to get out now."

Isabel stands up from her place by the tub and picks up a towel from the counter. She closes her eyes as Ginny stands and takes it from her. She winces when she wraps it around her body.

"I'd rather have him torture me then have to do whatever he makes you do." Ginny tells her as they walk into her bedroom.

"It really isn't so bad." She says with a blush on her face. "Sometimes he's gentle."

Ginny looks at her sympathetically for a few moments and then faces forward. "There has to be a way to get out of here." she says as she puts on her clothes.

"I don't think there is." Says Isabel. "There are wards set up and guards all over the place."

"Can we at least go outside?" asks Ginny as she sits down on the bed. "I haven't been outside for such a long time."

"I'd have to ask him." she answers uneasily. She doesn't really want to talk to him. Especially after last night…

She nods her head solemnly. "Let's do something else then."

Isabel studies the broken girl on the bed. She just lost most of her family and the love of her life. She was tortured for no reason what so ever and stuck in a cold cell for months, she deserves to get at least something she wants. She feels responsible for this girl. She is her great, great grandniece or something like that, after all. Isabel chews her bottom lip nervously as she comes to a decision.

"I'll go ask him if we can go outside."

"You really don't have to do that. I know how he is." Ginny says as she turns to her.

"It's worth a try." She says with a fake smile and leaves the room to find Tom.

She finds out from a house elf that he's in his study right now. She isn't sure if she should disturb him while he's in there but she's determined. She walks up the door that's being guarded by two cloaked Death Eaters. They eye her curiously as she approaches.

"Hi," she says awkwardly. "I'd like to speak with the Dark Lord." She says trying to address him officially.

They throw each other nervous glances.

"He's busy, My Lady." Says the man on the right. "Now may not be a good time."

"It will only take a second." She says, totally aware of how young and whinny she sounds.

They look at her for a few moments before the man on the right nods his head and the man on the left opens the door, closing it behind him. Isabel watches the door curiously as she shifts her feet nervously. When the man reappears he keeps the door open and bows his head signaling her to go in.

She takes timid steps into his study, a place she has never been, and looks towards his large dark desk. He's standing up bent over his desk looking down at something and pointing. Three other people are with him following the progression of his finger. There is the dark haired woman named Bella by his side, the older Malfoy, and a dark, hook nosed man that she remembers seeing at the burrow the night she was awoken.

Tom lifts his head when she enters. "What did you want?" he asks and all eyes turn towards her making her blush.

She ignores the hostile glares of the others and looks down at her shoes. "I was wondering if I could go outside."

Bellatrix snorts and rolls her eyes but Tom eyes her suspiciously. "Why would you want to do that?" he asks as he steps around his desk and walks up to her.

"The weather is beautiful and I haven't seen the gardens yet." She says finally looking up to his face when he stops close in front of her.

He cocks his head to the side and studies her for a few seconds through narrowed eyes. "Why should I let you?" he asks quietly so the others don't hear.

"I'll be good." Is all she can say. She doesn't really know how to respond.

He smirks. "I don't doubt that." He says and brings a hand out of his pocket and runs his fingers down her cheek. "Do you think I should let you after the way you behaved yesterday?"

She takes his hand away from her face and kisses it trying to convince him. "I'll never act that way again." She promises.

He eyes her for a few seconds. "Goyle," he calls and one of the guards from the door steps in and bows his head down low. "Keep your eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid while she's out side."

Isabel smiles and resists the urge to clap her hands. She stands up on her top toes and kisses Tom on the cheek. "Thank you." She says in his ear and nearly skips out of the room after the burley Death Eater.

Tom watches her go with a light smile on his face. He lets it drop when he turns around and faces his three main generals who are looking at him oddly. He sends a warning death glare around the table and they all drop their gaze to the floor.

"Now, back to business." He barks out with malice.

X

"Have you ever seen so many flowers?" asks Isabel as her and Ginny run through the large garden which is full of the most beautiful and exotic plants and statues. "It's strange that such beautiful things can grow in a place like this."

Ginny bends down and picks another flower adding it to the bundle she's been gathering. "I know what you mean. It seems like a world a part doesn't it?"

"It does." She agrees and looks over her shoulder to see the Goyle boy still trailing grumpily behind them. Ginny seems to know him and thinks it's funny that his job is to 'baby sit' two girls.

It's nice out here she decides. It isn't like the dark castle and the sun is shining down on them making everything seem heavenly. She closes her eyes and inhales the sweet smells, pretending she's home, pretending she's somewhere else. She and Ginny have gotten good at pretending such things. Suddenly she feels something wet hit her face and she opens her eyes to see Ginny giggling by a fountain with her hands covered in water.

"How dare you!" she teases and runs over to the fountain, dipping her hand in and splashing the other girl.

They chase each other around, throwing water at each other and laughing like they have no worries in the world and forgetting about everything that's happened, if only for a little while. They start running further out of the garden, with an out of breath Goyle trying desperately to keep up. They both stop when they find a large, twisted looking, white tree with a large, ornate swing hanging from one of the thick branches. They look at each other with raised eye brows before breaking out into a run to reach it.

Ginny gets there first and hops on. It's big enough to hold four people so Isabel sits beside her. She looks over her shoulder at the guard. He's bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Do you think we should ask him to push us?" she says lightly to Ginny.

"You could always order him to, My Lady." She says jokingly, having found it immensely funny that Goyle addressed her as such. "Please play the spoiled princess card."

"Hey, you there!" she calls out. "Would you push us please?"

Goyle scowls and walks up to the swing. "No." he barks out glaring at them both hatefully.

Isabel pouts. "but it would make me happy." She says with her arms crossed.

"Very happy." Adds Ginny beside her with a smirk. "And His Lordship likes to keep his Lady happy, doesn't he?" she says making Isabel hide a giggle behind her hand.

Goyle cusses loudly and starts pushing the swing. The two girls relax and close there eyes as they go higher and higher. "Do you think it's wrong that we smile?" asks Ginny.

Isabel knows why she asks, she's been asking herself the same question. Is it right to try to be happy with so many loved ones dead and the situation that they're in. She sighs loudly. "I think it's good that we still can smile." She says seriously.

They hold each others hands as Goyle pushes the swing. They spend the rest of the time in silence, thinking back on a life that will never come again. None of them are aware that they were being watched by dark blues eyes from the balcony. Tom looks down at them as they swing and his eyes focus on the smile that's on Isabel's face, wishing he could make her laugh like that.