After the Malfoy heir had bid his goodbye, Lucius brought the new Duchess to a corner, away from the prying eyes of the public.
"What would you like to drink, Your Grace?"
"Anything would suffice."
"How about Firewhiskey?" Lucius suggested.
"Yes, yes," Emilia muttered absentmindedly, not realising that she was falling for a trap. She was looking elsewhere, trying to find her husband and immediately saw him talking to a woman.
Her heart clenched painfully.
Of course, Lily Potter was beautiful with auburn hair and dimples when she laughed about something Severus said. What was even surprising was the smile on her husband's lips.
"Here, Your Grace," Lucius interrupted Emilia's thoughts, handing her a crystal glass with two fingers worth of his strongest Firewhiskey.
Emilia took the glass and gulped down all of its contents. She wheezed, choking slightly before grimacing in disgust.
"What in Merlin's name is this?"
Lucius breathed out a laugh. "Firewhiskey, Your Grace."
Emilia shook her head. "The drink is much too strong."
Lucius clicked his tongue, knowing that he had added a little something to disorientate the new Duchess. "Oh, I apologise, Your Grace. I should have been more careful."
Emilia clutched the side of her head and winced.
"Are you alright, Your Grace?"
"No, not really. Could you get my husband, please?"
"Ah, I'm afraid he is rather engaged in conversation with Miss Evans. Oh, my apologies. What a slip of the tongue. I meant Lady Potter," Lucius drawled.
He caught the frown on the Duchess' face and knew he had successfully goaded her.
"Many of us expected Severus to marry Lady Potter. Oh, but life works in an ironic, funny way. We are after all at the whims and fancies of the higher above. I remember when Severus learnt of his betrothal. I must admit to you, Your Grace, the Duke was furious. Throwing temper tantrums and mixing with the likes of whores before your marriage. I remain surprised that he was cordial to you the day I visited. But, of course, wizards can change."
"Stop it," Emilia muttered harshly. Her eyes were screwed shut as the lights in the ballroom became blinding. The pain in her head intensified. It felt like millions of tiny needles poking at her skull.
Lucius grinned. "Oh, I apologise, Your Grace. The past should be maintained as such. Although, I see no reason as to why Severus would choose a Muggleborn witch as opposed to a charming, beautiful Pureblood like yourself."
"Enough!" Emilia gasped out, angry tears forming in her eyes.
Everything hurts. Each breath she took burned her lungs, and her heart ached with immense loss.
"Enough, please," she sobbed.
Lucius hid his smirk. "Oh, pardon me, Your Grace. Perhaps, I really should fetch your husband. You looked terribly pale."
Emilia's eyes snapped open. She roughly grabbed Lucius' wrist. "No. I wish to go home. Have someone take me home. Now."
"Of course, Your Grace." Lucius placed a hand on the small of her back. "Allow me to escort you."
Emilia nodded tiredly, unbeknownst to her that Lucius Malfoy had no intention of bringing her home.
Severus was searching for his Duchess. He returned to the spot several minutes later to find Emilia gone. He pushed through the throngs of people, panic set into his features. He took his chance to enter the inner, private wing of the Malfoy Manor.
His face hardened the moment he caught Emilia pushing Lucius Malfoy.
"No! Get off me, please!" She pleaded.
A surge of anger rose within the Duke.
"MALFOY!" He bellowed, breaking into a sprint.
The Duke of Argyll spun around so quickly; his face morphed from glee to that of horror in a split second. Before he could defend himself, Severus threw a solid punch across his face.
A resounding crack was heard.
The impact threw Lucius off balance and he staggered backwards. He clutched his broken, bloodied nose.
"Your Grace!"
All logic and sense vanished as rage fuelled Severus. He kicked Lucius on his stomach, forcing him to bowl over. The Duke took the opportunity to tackle him to the ground before clambering atop of him. He delivered punches after punches across his bloodied face.
Severus snarled. "No one touches what's mine! Emilia is mine! She is my wife! My Duchess!"
His knuckles bleed with every strike. He was relentless in his vengeance, seething with rage to find his wife at the mercy of a scum. He was incensed, realising what a failure he was; unable to protect his wife from other men when he had vowed to do so.
It took three wizards to finally pull Severus off before he would stop. Even so, he remained violent, intending to kill Lucius Malfoy. The wizard before him was thoroughly beaten, his face squashed in. Others rushed to carry Malfoy away before Severus could break free from those holding him back.
James Potter pushed Severus against the wall. "Severus, calm down! Calm. Down."
"He deserves death for touching my wife," Severus growled and watched as Lord Yaxley and Lord Dolohov took him away.
"Severus, listen. The Duchess is not here."
Severus' attention instantly snapped to James. He pulled the wizard by the lapels of his robes. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. "Where is my wife? Where is she?!"
"She ran into the gardens," Lily answered swiftly, holding firmly to her husband.
Severus took off running towards the garden, ignoring calls from the Potters.
He was like a mad man; his robes and hands were stained with blood. His hair was damp with sweat, clinging to the sides of his face. He did not care who he shoved aside as long as he could get to the gardens quickly.
Severus skidded to a halt when he saw the familiar blue dress Emilia wore for the evening. She was clutching her heart, breathing raggedly. The Duke's anger deflated immediately at seeing his wife in tears. He carefully approached the Duchess.
"Emilia," he murmured.
"I wish to leave!" she sobbed. The tears were blurring her vision.
Severus nodded hastily. "Yes, we will leave. We will return to Prince Manor."
"No!" She screamed, stepping backwards. "I wish to go home. I wish to go home to my Grandaunt. I do not want to be married to you."
Severus' heart sank. He moved closer to her, with his arms open. "Emilia –"
"Do not ever call me by my name. You have lost the right. You never desired to marry me. I was forced into this sham of a marriage!" She shouted at him.
Emilia hastily wiped her tears away but fresh tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "Your heart belongs to Miss Evans. It does not matter that she is married, you would love her nonetheless. I am but an obligation. A duty. You made me forgive you. You made me think we had a chance. It seems everyone knows of your past with Miss Evans. They knew how much you hated our betrothal! How much you hated… me."
"I –"
"They see me as a joke! A Rosier marrying a Prince. How incredibly naive of me to think that our marriage would be filled with love. There is no space for me in your heart, not even an inch! Why marry me? Why humiliate me? Has my family not been through enough?"
Severus shook his head. He was devastated hearing her sorrowful words.
"I do love you."
Emilia clenched her hands into fists. Her breaths came out in broken sobs. She found it harder to breathe. Each breath felt like death.
"Do not lie to me! I know how enraged you were learning of our betrothal. You never wanted me! How could you proclaim to love me now? You're a cruel, horrible man."
Severus took several steps forward."No, no, no. Listen to me, Emilia."
"I wish to leave!" The Duchess wept, falling to her knees. She buried her face into her hands and sobbed freely.
Severus rushed forward to embrace her, sliding on his knees.
Emilia fought in every way possible, hitting him hard against his chest, and clawing at his face.
"Let me go! Let. Me. Go!"
The Duke held firmly, undeterred by her assault.
"Emilia, please! I have fallen for you! I am in love with you."
"No!" Emilia pushed him away roughly before giving him a hard slap across his face. The force sent his head sideways with a clear, red imprint of her palm on his pale cheek.
Emilia felt guilty, she brought the offending hand close to her chest.
"I deserved that," Severus said quietly before enveloping Emilia into an embrace once more. She struggled a little but the Duke would not yield. He was determined to divulge the matters of his heart.
"There is no one else for me. You're my wife. The light of my life. I shall not have anyone else in this lifetime. Please, Emilia."
Emilia grew slack against him. Her energy had depleted. She rested her head against his chest. Too exhausted to fight. "You're lying. You're lying to me," she protested weakly.
Severus pressed a hand to her head.
"I only speak the truth, my love. No one holds a candle to you. The day you married me was the day I fell for you. I did not recognise it then. Your vows touched me. You knew nothing of who I am yet you were willing to love me unconditionally. You were kind to house elves when others have repudiated them. You were affectionate towards Miss Granger, a Muggleborn witch, despite the disdain most Purebloods have for them. You forgive me so easily when I hurt you. It was I who was foolish. Stupid enough to think that you're a chore in my life. I was wrong. Utterly moronic. You have been a light in my dull life; a paragon of virtue to my otherwise bleak disposition."
Severus took a deep breath, murmuring a spell to allow her hair free from the tight chignon. Her wavy locks tumbled down her shoulders and Emilia let out a shuddering breath of relief. Severus' fingers loosened the curls of her hair before he pulled her closer to his chest, pressing his lips to her temples.
"Emilia, I have never known love apart from my mother. You taught me love when you asked the simplest of questions – Have you eaten? You taught me love when you touched me so affectionately. You taught me love when you could sense my unease just by my fluster. Oh, how easily you saw through my lie. You've captured my heart in just days. I have only come to realise my love for you just mere moments ago when everyone had eyes for the Queen's appraisal. I do not care what Her Majesty has to say because my dear heart, you've possessed me, body and soul. I am yours. Yours till the end of time."
Emilia looked up at her husband. A maelstrom of emotions swirled within her. Her eyes were filled with affection and love for the wizard.
Her heart bloomed at his candour. Whatever he had confessed were not mere words to pacify her or diffuse the situation. It was spoken from the heart with the purest of intention.
With integrity.
His hand cupped her face, brushing away her tear-stained cheeks.
"I'm sorry for leaving you alone," he muttered shamefully.
Emilia's eyes spotted the thin cut across the Duke's left cheek. She trailed her fingers underneath the cut.
"I hurt you, My Lord."
Severus shook his head. "It is no matter."
With a murmured incantation, the cut was closed.
Emilia sat up, withdrawing from his hold. She quietly took the hand from her cheek and gasped softly at the sight. His knuckles were bruised all over, swollen and marred with deep, bloodied cuts. She took his other hand. It was likewise disfigured. She did not know what to think of the wizard who was at the receiving end of his wrath. She closed her eyes before muttering a song-like incantation. Slowly, the bruises disappeared and the cuts closed up to form criss-cross scars.
Emilia gazed up at the Duke. He was unflinching. There was nothing in his features to betray that he was in any physical pain. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Why… why would you hurt yourself like this?" She murmured, pressing warm kisses on his knuckles.
The corners of his mouth twitched into a brief smile. "I see no reason as to why he has to live after hurting you."
Emilia shook her head. "This is too much…"
Severus raised a cheeky eyebrow. "Am I not permitted to be the saviour to my damsel in distress?"
Emilia burst out laughing despite herself. Snot and all came running down her nose. Severus did not even care, he wiped her nose for her. Though, a bewildered look came upon his features at the turn of the situation, surprised at seeing his wife breaking into fits of giggles. He had never seen her this carefree and gleeful.
Severus too joined in with deep chuckles that rumbled through his chest, drawing her in to kiss her forehead. His laughter sounded foreign to the Duchess' ears. She realised she quite liked it when the Duke laughed. It crinkles the corners of his eyes making the lines around his face softened.
Emilia playfully smacked his chest earning a mock, pained grunt from the wizard.
Her eyes widened in concern before she saw through his lie. She pursed her lips in disapproval. "You're not in any pain now."
A half-smirk curved upon Severus' lips. "My heart still hurts when my Duchess maims me."
"You jest with me, My Lord," Emilia murmured, shaking her head in amusement and winding her arms around his neck.
She pressed her lips to his.
Severus' eyes widened by a fraction when Emilia took charge. Her movements showed her inexperience. Her kiss was clumsy but her enthusiasm was all the answers Severus needed to prove that his Duchess too was madly in love.
Severus took over then, his large hands held her face, tipping her head back. His tongue swiped across the pads of her bottom lip. She let out a soft moan, opening her lips to him. His tongue entered her mouth slowly. He emitted a groan, tasting her for the first time. Slightly bitter with a smoky, familiar aftertaste of Firewhiskey.
A tendril of desire snapped between them. Severus deepened their kiss, their tongues teased and coaxed one other. Emilia wrapped her fingers into Severus' hair, relishing in the way he took control of their kiss.
They panted into each other's mouths; tongues mingled, fluids exchanged. Neither cared that the kiss became haphazard and sloppy.
Severus withdrew from her mouth and placed butterfly kisses along her jawline before travelling down the column of her exposed neck.
Emilia gasped out, her eyes fluttering open as the Duke licked and suckled on her pulse point. That was sure to leave a mark.
"Severus," she moaned.
"Let me," he breathed out. A thick blanket conjured behind her.
Severus gently pushes her to lie on her back before bestriding over her body to continue with his seduction.
Neither realised that eyes were on them as crowds gathered at the verandah to witness what had happened to the Duke and Duchess of Glastonbury. Many were pleasantly surprised to catch a bird's eye view of the garden, they snickered to one another, finding it amusing that the new couple was blissfully unaware of their intrusion.
A cough came from Her Majesty the Queen, giving glares toward her perverted servants. The peerage of Wizarding England pretended to cast their gaze to the skies.
The Queen shook her head, watching the couple get lost in their hedonistic pleasures. With a chuckle and an incantation, the hedges of the garden shifted to form a barricade and provided the newlyweds with much needed privacy.