Yellow Roses
They sat on the table, a gift to compensate for his long business trip. She did not know where he went on these trips, only that they were frequent and without warning. He placated her with mutters of "Ministry matters" and "Dreadfully boring". She swallowed those explanations, for all that they were falsehoods. She had long known of his allegiance to the Dark Lord.
Yet that time, she had dreaded his return. Dreaded having to meet his eyes. Dreaded having to tell him. To tell him of what she had discovered while he'd been gone. To tell him of what would change their lives. Of what she had cried the entire night over.
She looked away, away from his gaze, which felt prying and intrusive, though she knew it was not. Staring at the roses, she despaired. This was not the time to raise a child. Not with him only home half the time and with her so young. Not with the war raging around them, destroying everything and anything, the endless slaughter. Not with blood staining his hands and tears staining her cheeks.
She couldn't tell him.
But the bright, cheery yellow of the roses wouldn't leave her eyes, her mind. They were a lie, a dream, a fairytale, a promise of what was not there. Despite that, they resembled rays of sun, of hope, the hope of a new dawn.
He had taken her by the shoulder and given her a shake. She'd blinked, startled, and he grabbed her chin so that their eyes met. His voice had drifted to her ears, no longer smooth and silky but rough with fury and worry, demanding to know what was wrong, what had happened.
There had been no answer.
Desperation pumping through his voice, he had ordered her, as her husband, to tell him.
She is twenty-two, and the roses are yellow.
As his voice rages around her, his eyes as cold as the diamond on her finger, she looks at the roses and makes her choice.
a/n: This one was tricky, it took me ages to figure out a stage/event in Narcissa and Lucius's relationship that I could associate with yellow roses. I like the way it came out, but I want to know if you do, so-review! Thanks!