Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
He rules with fear
Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
He rules your heart
He will sale your soul to the grave
Without a hesitation to make
He belongs to the dark
He plays with your mind…
~Within Temptation, "Deceiver of fools"
She had never felt so confused, so uncertain, so clueless and so desperate in her whole life. Bellatrix was sitting on one of the eight chairs that rounded the dining table of the Lestrange manor, where she and her husband used to take their breakfast every morning and dine every night; her elbows were resting on the table's black wooden surface and her face was buried in her hands.
She couldn't do it. But she had to.
She was forced to lift her head when she heard Todd, the house elf, enter the dining room with two cups of coffee, hers and her husband's.
"Leave, Todd, I'll make coffee for your master today," she said through gritted teeth, praying that the filthy creature standing in front of her would not object her. She was not in the mood for yelling to a house elf.
"But, mistress, Todd made cof-"
"I said leave!" Bellatrix growled, causing the elf to flinch and bow its head low.
"A-as you wish, m-mistress," it uttered, and, careful not to spill the hot brown liquid from the cups, left the room in a hurry. Bellatrix inhaled deeply and closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to keep a certain thought from invading her mind. After a few seconds, she opened them again and stood up, staring blankly at the floor.
No, she couldn't do it. Of course, she had killed many people in the past; muggles, she had killed them while training with the Dark Lord, to practice; mudbloods who stood against the Cause, mudbloods who had dared defy her master, her, and the other deatheaters. But never a pureblood, and most certainly never someone so closely related to her. He was her husband, she couldn't kill him.
And yet she knew, that in the end, she would be forced to do it, whether she liked it or not. Her master had been perfectly clear; she would kill Rodolphus, or she would face punishment.
However, it was not the physical punishment Bellatrix was afraid of; it was the feeling of knowing that she would have failed her lord if she did not obey, if she did not do what he wished, if she became weak.
It was no use to try to delay what she had to do any longer; it would only make her feel worse, and in the end, perhaps she would back down. No. She would do it. She had to. At the moment, Rodolphus was an enemy, someone who had to be destroyed, and if her master wanted him dead, then she should too.
She took a deep breath and left the dining room, heading to the kitchen. Once she found herself in the room, she ordered the two house elves that were there to leave, and not come back unless she told her to. And, of course, she ordered them to say nothing to Rodolphus about her sudden urge to make coffee for him.
She took the cup that contained the coffee Todd had made for her husband. Luckily, the house elf hadn't disposed of it, and she wouldn't have to make one by herself.
She placed the cup on one counter and took out a small vial from one cupboard; a small amount of white liquid was in it, which Bellatrix poured a few drops of in the coffee, and then sealed the vial again. She stared at the cup. There was no trace of the poison she had poured in it, Rodolphus wouldn't realize what she had done. It would be over within seconds.
As she placed the small vial back in the cupboard, the events of last night invaded her mind once again, as if to remind her that she could not be weak, that she should obey to her lord and do what was asked of her.
"Do you know what you are going to do for me?" Voldemort asked her softly, never releasing his possessive hold on her, his lips still pressed against her silky hair.
"What, my lord?" she questioned, still keeping her eyes closed, her smile only growing wider as the seconds passed by.
"You are going to kill Rodolphus," he whispered, and pressed another kiss on the top of her head.
Bellatrix's eyes snapped open, and she tried to pull herself away from his embrace, but his arms held her in place.
"W-what?" she uttered, her voice trembling, hoping that she had misheard him.
"You are going to kill your husband, my beautiful," Voldemort repeated softly, his voice sounding unnormally tender, while his lips were still placing small, affectionate kisses on her hair.
This time, she was able to pull away, mustering all her strength to push his hands away. Surprisingly, he did not object and let go of his hold on her, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"M-master…" she whispered, unable to say anything else. How could he ask her to do something like that, she couldn't, there was no way!
"Yes?" he questioned softly, while lounging back comfortably on the pillows.
"I…why?" was the only thing she managed to say, unable to hide the fear in her voice.
"Because, my Bella," Voldemort answered simply, "I say so. And because he is no useful to me or the cause anymore."
"I… I…" I can't do this. She couldn't kill her husband, especially not now, after he had told her how much he loved her, how much he cared… She couldn't do that to him!
"Why are you hesitating, Bella?" Voldemort questioned, and leaned closer to her. "Perhaps you love your dear husband so much you cannot do any harm to him?" he mocked, now any traces of tenderness gone from him.
"Master, I don't-"
"Or, perhaps you are just weak, a weak, crying little girl who cannot kill someone completely worthless… Are you weak, Bella?"
"No-"
"Good, because I did not train you to see you acting like you do right now," he hissed and his face was now even closer to hers, she could feel his cold breath against her skin. "You are going to do it, Bella."
"But I can't kill-"
She wasn't able to finish her words, as she suddenly fell back on the bed, and felt her hands being brutally guided up above her head and being held there. She let out a hiss of pain and tried to escape, but the Dark Lord held her there, not allowing her to move an inch away from him.
"Bella," Voldemort hissed in her ear, sending unhealthy shivers down her spine. "You are going to do as you're ordered." He said sharply, and Bella writhed underneath him, knowing that her wrists must be bruised. She couldn't do it, she had to protest, she had to at least try to change his mind…
"I can't kill him!" she said desperately, "I won't!"
Before she could realize what had happened, her head tossed on one side, and she felt her left cheek burning, knowing that he had slapped her. The shock was too much to allow her to feel the physical pain, as she watched a small drop of blood fall on the sheets, dripping from her split lip.
She couldn't believe it. He had never used physical violence on her, ever. She had endured he cruciatus curse many times in the past, coming from his wand, but this was different, and to her, terrifying. Before she could stop them, she felt tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Don't cry," he ordered sharply, and she looked up at him, into his furious eyes. She knew she had crossed the line. Bella bit her split lower lip, trying to keep the tears from flowing. She could feel the metallic taste of her blood in her mouth.
"I said, do not cry," he repeated, and she forced herself to calm down, forced the tears back.
"Much better," he hissed in her ear, once she had stopped. "Now, my beautiful, do you feel any calmer?" he asked, and now his voice was once again soft and tender. It frightened her even more, to hear him like that, because she didn't know what to expect next.
She nodded, and she felt him release his grasp on her wrists. However, she didn't dare move her hands, afraid to do anything without his permission.
"Bella, my pretty little Bella, don't be afraid," he whispered, but his words only made her shake more badly beneath him. "I will not hurt you, if you do as I say," he added softy, and placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek. "Will you do as I say, Bella?"
She took a deep breath, tried to even her heart beats, and then opened her mouth to talk. "Y-yes," she uttered, her voice barely audible.
"Yes who?"
"Yes m-master," she whispered, wishing that he would let her go, or at least show her if he was angry. She couldn't bear listening to that soft, tender voice while she knew he was furious, knew that she was in danger.
Her breath caught in her throat as he felt his lips on hers, pulling her in a slow kiss. She soon found herself kissing him back, unable to hold herself. He broke the kiss once he felt her respond to him, and his lips travelled to the side of her face, close to her ear.
"You're a good girl, Bella, a very good girl," he whispered, making her shiver. "Beautiful Bella…"
She felt him use one hand to spread her legs, and she tried to protest. She couldn't do that now, why was he doing that to her? However, despite her weak, pathetic struggles against him, she knew she would be forced to submit. "Please, I can't-" she murmured, her voice breaking pathetically.
"Of course you can, my dear," Voldemort whispered to her, and kissed her again. The kiss was so tender, so affectionate, so beautiful, that she found herself unable to resist him. She kissed back, this time passionately, forgetting her previous state.
"My Bella, my perfect little Bella," he murmured against her skin, and she could not suppress a small smile that crept across her face. He thought she was perfect. She ought to prove him right, she should be perfect for him. For now, she could allow herself to get lost in heaven with him once again.
"Don't be afraid, love, don't resist, you don't have to..." was the last thing she heard before she lost control.
Bellatrix's eyes snapped open, and she realized the pain she felt in her hand was because of her extremely tight grip around the coffee cup. Last night with her master was both terrifying and wonderful, but now it was over, and she had to complete his orders.
She walked out of the kitchen and found herself in the dining room once again. She sat down on her chair after placing the cup on the table, and waited. Waited for her husband to wake up.
A.N/ Hey people! I updated *I know, I know you're excited…* So, I know I said this was supposed to be the last chapter, but I just can't end this… Oh well, perhaps the next one will be the last, but there will be no epilogue… Or, it will be the last, and there will be an epilogue, as I have promised. I still don't know.
Thanks to everyone who reads this, and many special thanks to those who review :)
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