Author's note. Thank you to all of you guys who commented. It means a great deal to me.

I hope this chapter doesn't depress you too badly (it is, after all, a tragedy). Thank you for reading, and I hope to update sooner next time.

Part 4 Eyes of hunger ~ Lips of ice

Elizabeth landed on her face. The stone beneath her was cold, and hard, and her nose hurt, awfully. She knew that the Bad People hurt people - but he hadn't known they hurt their noses. It was a more immediate kind of pain, and it stung. Torture was one thing. a skinned nose was another.

She looked around at the darkness surrounding her.

The Bad People had lead her through the fields to the portkey they had used to enter the town. She had decided very quickly that she really didn't like portkeys, and that she was glad she was wearing her jumper.

All the others had managed to land gracefully, but she had spun wide, and struck the stones with a little yelp.

She was in a room, but it was too dark to see where. The shadows climbed the walls eerily, and the familiar ache of wanting momma returned.

"Hello?"

There was silence for a moment, then, "Hello."

The voice was low and sick. Something about it was cold - so cold it dripped steam, even in this icy room. It was soft, but it carried, and Ellie had no idea which direction it came from.

"Hello," Ellie repeated. Her eyes stung, and her nose tickled, but she was afraid to cry. She could hear the quiet snickering of the Bad People.

Then the voice returned. "Are you frightened?"

Ellie sniffed, and her head nodded. She hadn't wanted it to, but it did.

The room chilled with laughter. Elizabeth felt icy sparks in her spine, and sweat dripped down her frozen face. The cold seemed to be solidifying ahead and to her right.

"Where are your parents little child?" came the voice, and she could swear she had heard the creature next to her licking it's lips.

"You killed them." Now she was the one to induce silence.

The blackness threw itself together and spat out a man - a man in black robes, with white skin. His hair was dark, his smirk was cold, and his eyes were hungry.

"Have you come to get revenge?" His voice was high and mocking. "Do you want to hurt me?" His smile was getting closer. "Tell me, little girl - do you want to kill me?"

Ellie looked up at him for a moment. Her head shook it's self.

His eyebrows arched in surprise. "No?"

She shook her small, strawberry-blonde head again.

"Do you admire me?"

"NO." She hadn't meant for her tone to come out so cold. She hadn't meant to sound angry. The Bad People were laughing and looking incredulous. "No," she repeated softly. "You" her voice was shaking, "you killed my Momma... And Poppa... And everybody..." She couldn't stop steaming tears from tickling down her face.

"Now, now, now, now.." A hand seized her chin and forced her face upwards.

"Flattery will not save you, and shame on you for thinking it." He let her go and strode a few steps away.

"Do you realize, that you are a very lucky young lady?" His voice had begun to hiss slightly.

Ellie didn't feel lucky. Ellie felt scared. She knew in her heart she had nothing to fear from death, but she was scared, and lonely, and sad, and tired. Tired of the laughing Bad People, tired of the Bad-Man-Who-No-One-Loved smiling at her. Tired of not having Momma around.

"Do you know why you are lucky?" The Man was leaning over her again, peering down into her face, lifting her chin up to him, coaxing her to look at him.

"Hmm? Do you?" His steely fingers closed over her lower jaw.

She shook her head as best she could, not meeting his gaze.

The Bad Man's hand stroked the side of her face that was slightly further from him, bringing her face towards his even further. Ellie bit her lower lip.

"You are lucky," his frigid breath hit her small face as he spoke, "because I am content. I am content," he drew back slightly and gestured generously as he spoke, "and have other things to amuse me."

"All," he hissed into the silence, "is at peace... And I am a busssy, busssy man..."

Elizabeth looked up into his eyes, and cocked her head to one side. He really sounded like a snake would... Or maybe a very mean kitten...

"Little girl," he leaned forward, drawing his wand. "You are lucky, because I am going to kill you."

Finally Elizabeth smiled. She had been expecting this - this was what she had been assuming would happen from the start, so she had gotten lost when he tried to patronize her, pacify her, make her his toy. This she understood, and she was back on track. She nodded her head vehemently.

There were slight airy chuckles, and cackles among the Bad People, replacing the initial disappointment at losing their new play thing so quickly, and with so little fun. The Dark Lord waved his arm, and there was silence.

As he raised his wand, Ellie realized this was going to be her only chance to do what she came for.

She held up one tiny finger before the Bad Man could speak.

"Wait, please." She said it the way she would have said 'tea, please', or 'maybe later, please'. She didn't say 'please' because she was scared, she added it to the end to make it sound more polite.

The Bad Man was looking at her, with a whimsical smile, and dangerously bright eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, and careful not to make any sudden movements, Ellie took one step forward... Then another...

The room was still except for the faces following her, and her own soft footsteps.

Another step brought her up to the side of the Dark Lord. She raised her hand, and tugged gently on his robes, like a bellpull.

Behind her one of the Bad People, the woman with dark, wild hair and light, wilder eyes, shrieked in rage and moved as if to throw herself at the little girl - but one dismissive movement of the Bad Man's arm stilled her. She glared at Ellie, fire burning in her eyes, dying to torture her, ready to kill at a moments notice.

The-Bad-Man-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named turned his attention back to the little girl, as she tugged his robes once again.

He crouched down, his head turning at eery angles as he watched Ellie smile.

She had not expected to be scared. She had thought maybe it would be easy. But this was not being easy, and she missed her Poppa, badly, badly, badly.

Ellie's chin crinkled without her consent, and hot drool, and hot tears started down her face again. She couldn't help crying.

Ellie sniffed, and tried to smother a sob, forcing it down with an imaginary pillow. She didn't want him to feel bad, or think he was making her cry. She rubbed her eyes and face with the corner of her pink jumper - after all you didn't get in trouble for spoiling your favorite jumper when you weren't on earth anymore - and looked back up at his face. Then she leaned gently forward to do what she came here to do.

***************

I hope you like it. Please read and review. (I know, I know - that's what they all say.)