Chapter 22

More than a week had passed since she and Draco had been imprisoned, if Cait's calculations were correct.

Eventually, after the third day, she had finally given in to Draco's pleas for her to eat something. She knew that she must be starting to look thin and sickly from the way that he would look at her when he thought that she wasn't watching. She was watching though. And she knew that her current state was upsetting him nearly as much as their imprisonment. Between her time with the Order and now her time here, she hadn't been able to remember the last time she'd had a full meal. Still, her appetite was poor and so she would merely pick at the different foods that were brought to them for each meal. A quarter of a biscuit and some strawberries for breakfast; some pasta salad and a few crisps for lunch; and a bite or two of roasted meat and vegetables for supper.

Cait had just gotten out of the shower and dressed herself when she heard voices in the bedroom proper. Quietly, she pushed open the door and stepped into the room. There stood Narcissa, framed against the window as she spoke to her son. Neither had noticed Cait's entrance and she could see from Draco's body language that he was agitated with his mother.

"Draco," his mother said quietly, her voice like a plea, as she stared at her son. "Please, don't make this worse than it already is. Don't give him more of a reason to punish you."

"What's going on," Cait finally asked, stepping further into the bedroom and drawing the attention of the two Malfoy's.

"Caitlyn," Narcissa breathed. Cait couldn't tell what the woman was thinking behind the icy blue eyes that were so much like her son's. When his mother made no attempt to elaborate for Cait's benefit Draco sighed heavily.

"It seems it has been decided that we are meant to wed," he told her. His voice was hard and cold, but when Cait's eyes found his they held nothing but sorrow.

"Excuse me?" Cait inquired, eying the two blondes. She was sure that she must have heard him wrong. Sure, she was finding herself to be falling in love with him, and sure she felt like the two of them could make a happy life together, but she wasn't one to be forced into things.

"It is true, the Dark Lord wishes the two of you to be wed so that you can raise his replacement in a proper family," Narcissa finally explained. She seemed to deflate with the words, her own sadness seeping into her gaze.

"And I kindly informed my mother that we would not be forced into some sham of a marriage just to appease him," Draco seethed. "I also informed her that we would not be making any children for him to be manipulating and corrupting. Any child of mine will be raised as far away from this darkness as possible."

Cait was a little taken aback. She had never thought about Draco wanting children before, or about what kind of husband or father he might be. But now, given the circumstances, she was being forced to think about these things. He seemed to feel very strongly about his children not being a part of his current world and she wondered if maybe it had a little bit to do with her own aversion. Maybe she was giving herself too much credit-thinking that she had any influence over Draco's views. But his views did seem to match her own.

"And as I was kindly informing my son," Narcissa responded, a touch of sarcasm coloring her tone, "He isn't giving the two of you much of a choice. I heard whispers of the possible use of the Imperious Curse if you don't cooperate willingly."

Cait studied the older woman and noticed for the first time that there was fear in her eyes-fear for her son and what might happen to him if he tries to defy the Dark Lord once again. Cait couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what he might do to Draco this time. She could sympathize with her soon-to-be mother-in-law, she would do anything to protect the younger Malfoy as well.

"If we agree to this marriage," Cait began pausing to silence Draco's protests, " If we agree, will it buy us time?" The older woman seemed to know what she meant, and she nodded her head. They needed time to figure out how they were going to get out of having a child destined for evil.

"Then we will do it." Cait told the older woman.

"Caity!" Draco cried, looking at her disbelievingly.

"Think about it, Draco," she told him, coming to stand before him. "We need time if we are going to find a way out of this. This wedding will provide us with a distraction." She turned to Narcissa before addressing her, "I only have one request-well, two really."

The woman nodded wearily for Cait to continue.

"My first request is that you get a letter to my brother. He needs to know that I am alive, and for the moment in no immediate danger of perishing. Also, please let him know of our father's passing." She watched as Narcissa nodded her assent. "The second is… Make this the wedding that you have always dreamed of for your son."

Narcissa blinked down at Cait for several long moments before a slow, small smile spread on her mouth. She could see a spark of true happiness in the woman's eyes. So often she had seen the sorrow that crept into the woman's eyes and she couldn't bring herself to deprive her of something that she had probably looked forward to Draco's entire life.

"I will get a plan in place," Narcissa told her earnestly. "Can I just ask one question?"

"Of course," Cait breathed.

"That is the artifact that he is looking for, isn't it?" she asked, looking pointedly at Cait's hand. Cait sighed heavily.

"Yes," she admitted and watched as Narcissa looked from her to Draco.

"I will try to take as much time as possible planning this wedding," she finally told the pair. "In the meantime, you two work on nullifying that."

She gave the pair one last look as she ran her hand over her son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. The door quietly clicked shut behind her, securing them in the room.

Cait glanced over at Draco in time to see a look of remorse pass over his face. Stepping closer, Cait rested her head on his shoulder and sighed softly. In return, he enveloped her in his arms and rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"We will get out of this," she promised him quietly. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince though. If it were herself, she was failing miserably.