A few months later (Bella POV)
I was getting better. Aurora's death had hit me hard and I still miss her every day. Aurora radiated happiness like no one else and I miss her positivity and kindness. She could make anybody smile and she did so much good. Once a week, she brought lunches to those at the ministry that worked nonstop. She created many orphanages and played with the kids there. I'm heartbroken that Daphne won't ever get to know her as well as I did. Speaking of Daphne, my ice princess has changed so much. She doesn't cry, doesn't fuss, and is just overall emotionless. The only person that can get an occasional smile out of her is Hadrian. Although she is only three, she really has become an ice princess. Her little eyes don't radiate warmth, they are closed off and distant. Tom and I try so hard to get her to be happy, but it's impossible. The first few weeks after Aurora's death, Daphne cried a lot and called for her mom and dad. Cygnus drowned himself in work and Daphne spent most of her time at our house. Only after Cygnus' boss told him to go home, did he spend time with Daph. After this, Daphne no longer cried or fussed. It was unnatural and scary to see a 3 year old behave this way. I mention it to Cygnus, but he simply waved me off and sayid that it's just Daphne trying to get attention. A little voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Mommy, mommy! Daphy just fell from the tree!" Hadrian worriedly said. Daphne and Hadrian had developed very quickly mentally and could now speak very well. Immediately I ran outside to go check on Daphne. I was mentally preparing myself for a very upset and crying little girl. However, I could not be more wrong. Daph just sat there under the tree like nothing had ever happened. But as I looked closer into her eyes, I could see the agony and pain she was in. "Daph, sweetheart, why aren't you crying? Is everything okay?" I nervously said. A three year old that could control her emotions like that was not normal. "I'm fine Aunt Bella," Daphne sniffled, "My daddy doesn't like when I cry. He says that it annoys him, and whenever I do he sends me to my room. I don't want you to send me away from here." I looked at the distraught little girl in my arms. I gave her a big hug and looked into her beautiful blue eyes. "Daph, we won't ever send you away. You know I love you like my own daughter. It's okay to cry. Hadrian and myself cry whenever we are sad or in pain. Even Uncle Tom does when he is sad. " As soon as I mentioned "Uncle Tom" she looked up at me. Tom treated her like a little princess and he took on the fatherly role in her life after Cygnus ignore her. Tom was there for her when she lost her mom and she totally was Tom's little girl. "You can cry if you want to Daph, it's okay to let go." At these words, I felt her shake and suddenly Daph was sobbing in my arms. "I just miss mommy so much. When she was here Daddy was really nice and would spend time with me. Now all he does is send me to my room. I don't want to go home, I want to stay here forever." My heart broke at these words, and I knew that I had to talk to Tom about this. He would be furious if he discovered that someone was hurting his little Daph. After she calmed down, I went to go look for Tom. "Tom, I'm worried about Daph." " I know Bella, I heard what she told you. We don't have proof that Cygnus is doing anything bad to her. If we did, you know that we would be fighting for custody." "Tom, have you noticed anything different about Cygnus recently?" "You mean besides the fact that he spends his whole time working and completely ignores Daphne?" I glared at him. "Okay, okay. There are a few differences, during our raids he is a lot more vicious. Instead of disarming people he uses dangerous curses on them. " Tom looked at me worriedly and then under his breath muttered, "I'm worried that one day he will release all of his frustrations on Daph." "Do you really think he would do that Tom?" "I'm don't even know him anymore. I have an idea on how to protect Daphne. You know that sapphire necklace we were planning to give her on her birthday? Well I was thinking about making it into a portkey to here. That way if she was ever in danger she could come here and we could could protect her." "That's a wonderful idea! I'll make the portkey now and we can give her the necklace before she leaves today." I immediately started working on the portkey. A few hours later I was done and called for Daphne. "Daph, this is a present from Tom and I for you. Whenever you feel like you are in danger, all you have to do is say 'Riddle Manor' and it will bring you here." I said. "Daph, we want you to know that we love you no matter what and we want you to be yourself." Tom calmly said. This earned both Tom and me hugs from Daph. I would do anything in my power to protect my little girl.
