Path to Submission Chapter 8: The Perfect Choice

A/N: And as always, you know the drill. I do not own anything from Harry Potter. Namely, Scabior. As I've said before, if I did, he'd be walking funny for a long time. I'd have way too much fun with him. Anything else, I DO own. So hands off.

Chapter Song: (s)aint by Marilyn Manson.

He knelt between two of the male Snatchers, his head down. Directly in front of him stood the one he knew as Meegan. Scabior had decided in his mind, that this particular woman was the soldier to Konstantina's general. She did the dirty work, and his moonlight Mistress took the glory.

Still, Scabior never knew how Meegan would be when he saw her. Just like now. Anyone else looking at her would not know she was a demoness. They would not take into account that she was cruel and evil…

And they surely would not see how much joy and delight, she took in torturing him endlessly. That would not have been obvious.

Scabior did not raise his head to look at her. He knew she was there. Knew her scent just as well as he knew Konstantina's, though Meegan's did not, could not, would not call out to him. He knew she was there.

He heard the crunch of her boots on the frozen ground, and tilted his head up slightly. When she stood before him, he could see the whip dangling from her gloved hand. His head tilted more, as he noticed the dried blood on the glass tips.

His blood.

She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. He looked up at her through narrowed eyes, several pieces of his dark hair fell into his haunting grey-blue eyes.

"Scabior…Snatcher," She chuckled coolly. "Well, former Snatcher."

One of the male Snatchers leaned down, tore the red cloth from around Scabior's left arm, and tossed it on the ground before him. All present snickered at this.

Konstantina sat perched on a box directly behind Meegan, a smirk played at her lips.

"He'll be a Snatcher soon enough again, Meegan. He is the best in this field, and I would not wish to deprive the Dark Lord, nor the Ministry, of his unique talent and skill."

Meegan snorted with laughter.

"Of course, Konstantina." She bowed slightly to his Mistress, who simply nodded.

"Now, as I see it Scabior, you have two choices here. One, you can learn how to behave yourself, doing what you're told to do. I think that will be your downfall, unfortunately. And two…"

Konstantina stood and walked to where he knelt. Her emerald eyes had traveled to the leather collar around his neck…she smiled slowly, as she attached the leash to it, tugging on it slightly to test his reaction.

When he didn't have any visible reaction, other than his eyes widening a little, Konstantina turned slightly and looked at Meegan. Her smile was frosty, as was her demeanor.

"Now, I think it's time for my little pet to witness just what happens to those who do not behave themselves in my camp, and…" She nodded in the direction of a small tent that stood off far from the others. "Those that we catch from time to time."

Meegan snickered coldly.

"Yes, those would be the unfortunate Muggles, Mudbloods and Blood Traitors we find wandering stupidly in the woods. And," She snickered more. "The Rogue Snatchers who simply cannot keep away from us."

Her eyes travelled to Scabior.

"Just like you."

Konstantina tugged roughly on the leash which pulled Scabior to his feet. He swayed for a moment, but soon straightened himself to his full height. Had Konstantina not been wearing her heeled boots, he would have towered over her considerably, which would have put her at a severe disadvantage.

And, would have been extremely dangerous.

His Mistress tugged on the leash once more, prompting him to follow her as she walked towards a large clearing not far from where they had been gathered. Meegan, as it always seemed to Scabior, was in the lead. Konstantina simply walked along as if she had nowhere to be, her hips swaying directly in his line of vision, causing him to grimace at the throb between his legs.

The small group of Snatchers already gathered in the clearing shifted uneasily as they watched their leader approach. A few looked at her, while others stared at their feet, no doubt hoping she would not acknowledge their existence in any way. There were, however, a couple who stared at her with something akin to adoration in their eyes. They did not take their eyes off Konstantina for anything. Not even when Meegan snapped out orders to them. Their gazes seemed to fasten upon her like a death grip.

Scabior studied them for a brief moment, before looking away again. He watched Meegan and two of the male Snatchers enter the small tent off to the side, and wondered just who or what was inside it. He was certain that they had to be Muggles, Mudbloods or Blood Traitors, but just who they were was still a minor mystery.

When they finally exited the tent, they were not alone. Each of the Snatchers had a person by the arm, roughly dragging them into the clearing. Meegan alone, exited the tent without a captive.

She grinned faintly as she made her way back to Konstantina, the cat o nine tails still dangling from her leather gloved hand.

Scabior twitched slightly when he saw it.

~"Oh look Scabior! She carries the instrument of your unending desire! Bet you can't wait for her to use it on you again, can you? But then again, I think you'd much prefer it to be Konstantina who used it on you. After all, you wear that collar and leash so proudly."~

Scabior growled low in his throat. Damn that little voice in his head.

But, he knew it to be right in what it said. He desired Konstantina, his red-haired Queen, to be the one to use that whip on him…he desired her torture, not that of her blonde-hair demoness.

Still, he reasoned, if he had to choose which would do it in front of the others…he would have chosen Meegan. She did not excite him in any way, nor did he look upon her with love or adoration in any way.

~"Love? Ah, is the fucked up deranged little ragdoll in love with the one who caught him? Yes, yes he is! Isn't that just so amusing? Do you love her as a person, or do you love her for the pain she causes you? Either way, Scabior, what you are about to witness, may just change how you see her."~

The little voice snickered happily in his head.

~"Or, maybe not."~

Scabior stared at Konstantina's back for a long time, willing her to turn and look at him, even if it was just a glance, a glare…he needed to feel her eyes upon him in some way. When she didn't look at him, he felt like he had ceased to exist.

~"You don't, little ragdoll."~

He shook his head violently trying desperately to dispel these thoughts, but when the voice simply laughed back at him, he gave up and continued to stare blankly at his Mistress.

Meegan snarled an order at one of the other Snatchers, who took off at a run towards another tent further away. Within minutes, he was back. And with him, was a young woman who looked for all the world to be terribly upset.

Meegan smiled at her, beckoning her over to where Konstantina stood holding tightly to Scabior's leash.

She was fairly tall, with dark blonde hair, her eyes were various colours at that moment, to Scabior, however, they seemed a soft lilac blue. She seemed to be constantly staring at his Mistress as if she had never seen her before, but from the way she reacted, that was far from the case.

"Are you not well, Eve?" Konstantina eased a bit closer to the woman.

"Quite well, thank you. Just a bit tired is all." She replied without so much as a glance in his direction.

"Well, after this is over, I suggest you go back to your tent and rest. I'm sure this will tire you even more?" His Mistress nodded at the capatives who stood huddled together.

Eve smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. My powers have been diminished quite a bit lately, and the periods of rest have been short."

She looked up at Konstantina, noticed the leash in his Mistress' hand, and followed it to where it was attached to his collar. Her eyes widened in shock.

"And who is he?" Eve pointed at him.

Konstantina smiled slowly.

"Oh, I thought you would have found out about my new pet…well, I acquired him a couple days ago. Snatched him from the very woods he was hunting in! You would have enjoyed his confusion, my dear."

Eve nodded absently at this.

"So, you mean to tell me, he's another Snatcher?" She eyed his left arm for a second. "I don't see the red armband denoting him as such. Are you certain?"

Konstantina snickered.

"Of course I'm certain, Eve. He was a fellow Snatcher…but, as he is now my pet and my servant, he will have no use for that armband. At least, not for some time to come."

A small smiled played at the other woman's lips.

"Eventually, he will be one again, correct? Or, will he die like the others?"

Meegan snorted from behind her.

"That's cute, Eve."

Eve turned slightly and glared at her, but didn't reply.

Konstantina yanked Scabior forward by the leash. He stumbled somewhat, before landing on his knees between the two women.

"Isn't he so pretty, Evie? Lovely to look at, no? He is quite possibly, the prettiest one I've ever owned." Konstantina chuckled darkly before she added, "No, I do believe he is the prettiest I've ever had."

The other woman looked down and grinned. He couldn't read her expression, and it unnerved him slightly. He tilted his head back and looked up at her defiantly.

Eve's eyes widened again.

"yes, he is very pretty. Very handsome, even. He has such lovely eyes, especially since they are kohl rimmed, making the blue stand out even more.

Konstantina nodded in agreement.

"Indeed so. " She tugged on the leash, pulling his head back. "And just look at his mouth. Have you ever seen a man with such a pretty mouth? His lips are the softest, the silkiest I've ever felt."

Meegan snorted again, this time with laughter.

"Yes, and that oh so pretty mouth of his is quite the dirty one, too. I'm sure it's quite talented in many ways." She smirked and eyed one of the male Snatchers, who blushed, and looked away.

Konstantina noticed this exchange between her sister and the Snatcher. For a moment she didn't say anything, but eventually, she retorted coolly.

"I see. And just what might you be implying by this? I know he has a pretty mouth, and that it is quite talented." She looked down at him, her gaze resting on his mouth.

Meegan laughed.

"All I'm saying is, Martin there, would definitely enjoy getting that mouth around a certain part of his anatomy, if you know what I mean? Not saying it would actually happen, being as you keep a tight, uh, leash on Scabior…"

Eve smiled.

"Oh, I think I understand…what your sister is saying, Konstantina, is that Scabior's mouth is even more delicious then any she's seen. Well, than any Martin has seen."

All three women laughed at this.

Scabior stared up at his Mistress with half-closed eyes. Would she allow Martin to get a hold of him for whatever purposes suited the other Snatcher's fancies? He highly doubted that, since Konstantina didn't even allow any of the other females anywhere near him, with the exception of Meegan. He couldn't conceive of her allowing a man to touch him in that way.

Eve looked him over inch by inch. Long, tangled dark hair…and was she seeing this correctly? A red streak on the right side of his head?

"What's with the red streak in his hair? Did he come with it, or did you mark him in some way?"

Konstantina grinned.

"No, he came with it. I'm going to assume, it had something to do with him being the leader of his group of Snatchers? I plan on leaving it as is. It makes him more beautiful, don't you think?"

Eve nodded. Her eyes wandered over the rest of him. He was gorgeous there was certainly no doubt about that. She shook her head, it was the clothing he wore that made her chuckle. Tight plaid pants, a grayish waist coat, a black leather studded belt upon which was a faded and ratty looking pouch. Around his neck, was a leather collar, and…here she did a double take…a very brightly coloured scarf.

It was pink.

Was that something Konstantina put on him to make him less than male? She wouldn't have doubted it, but for some reason, this didn't feel as if Konstantina had a hand in it.

Eve stared at Scabior. On the whole, everything about him was gorgeous, delightfully so. From his mass of dark, tangled hair, the atrocious clothing, right down to the black leather coat and the faded boots…yes, he was indeed, quite pretty.

He looked at her for a brief moment, before looking away again. Eve shook her head once more.

~"Oh look at this, Scabior! The Snatcher Witch is bedazzled by your dark and sinister beauty! But would she still feel that way, if she knew just how fucked up you are? How deranged and demented? That your stay in Azkaban muddled that genius brain of yours? Yes, what woman in their right mind would want you? Such a demented, fucked up deranged little whore of a ragdoll!"~

Scabior snarled softly.

"Konstantina would want me…she does want me. No matter what's wrong with me."

He snarled again. This time it caught the attention of his Mistress, who glanced down at him, tugging slightly on the leash. He leaned back against the front of her legs, his head resting on her stomach…she stroked his hair slowly, cooing softly to him.

~"Pretty, pretty little Scabior…your pretty mouth utters such dirty things…such filthy things…what a whore you've become!"~

"I think it's time, Meegan." Konstantina continued to stroke his hair slowly, her fingers straying every once in awhile to his face, and to his lips.

Scabior smiled as her slender, cool fingers brushed over his lips. He ghosted kisses as they did so…wanting to do much more than that…so much more.

He heard Meegan snap out orders again to the other Snatchers.

"Bring them forward!" She hissed.

He watched through half-lidded eyes as the captives were led before them. They looked scared to death, and that pleased him to no end.

Eve stood stock still watching silently. She held her head high, but winced as one of the Snatchers smacked a captive in the head.

"Stand still, you nasty little bugger!" The man snarled impatiently.

The male captive that he had smacked, stopped struggling and fell into what Scabior could only guess, was an accepting silence.

Konstantina simply continued the stroking of his hair. As she did so, he felt as if he were floating…it felt wonderful…her touch was divine to him.

Meegan glanced round at the others, who pushed their captives to their knees, and quickly stepped as far away as they could get. When she was satisfied that everything was perfect, she too, retreated a short distance from them.

Scabior noticed Konstantina wave her hand ever so slightly, and watched the gentle movement of her lips. He was mesmerized by it…enthralled.

And when he finally tore his gaze from her face, he noticed something far more terrible than anything he had ever be held in his life.

He watched as one after another of the captives was hoisted into the air, and slammed back to the ground. The force of it made the ground beneath him shudder and quake, and the sound was horrifying.

When they made contact with the ground, he knew they were most certainly dead. And within seconds, what had been a body, was now nothing more than dirt.

Scabior shuddered at the mere thought of this.

Konstantina looked down at him briefly. She kept stroking his hair slowly, still cooing softly to him. He nuzzled into this and moaned.

When she stopped the stroking, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and yanked his head back, he whimpered in pain.

"That, my pretty one, my beautiful pet, is what happens when someone disobeys me. That is what happens, when we snatch the Mudbloods, the Muggles and the Blood Traitors…" She snarled down at him, her emerald eyes cold and unforgiving. "And that, is what happens, my darling Scabior, when a Snatcher goes rogue."

His eyes widened as he looked up at her.

She smiled that dark, deadly and lovely smile that she reserved just for him.

"Your second choice, must be the choice. Since you are my perfect and pretty pet…your choice must be beyond even that. It better be the right one, too."

Scabior nodded quickly, tears threatening to spill out of his frightened eyes.

"Yes, Mistress." He whimpered again, as she yanked on his hair.

She smiled more.

~"Do anything she says, aye Scabior? Do what she says, and you won't end up dirt like those three did. They were bad, little pretty….they deserved to die. Do as she says, and you'll live out your days a s the pretty pet that you are."~

Scabior shivered.

~"Like the perfect little whore that you are."