Narcissa could not handle the scorn she felt. It was something that ripped through her, tearing down her pride and clawing at her jealousy. She wasn't just a Queen, but the Queen of Slytherin. A position any woman would desire. She had power, money, and was royalty. She was decorated in the most stunning jewelry and finest clothes. She indulged in only the best and most decadent of food and men. No one refused or questioned her. How could they? She had fought for her position and won with her cunning. That was what a true Slytherin did. Narcissa deserved her position as Queen of it's land.
But she could feel the whispers eating away at her every step. She could feel the cloud of doubt entering peoples mind. Her rank was slipping as she stormed the halls. Death Eaters had begun glancing at her with a mockery she hadn't seen since she first attempted to claim her rightful place as Queen. Narcissa barely prevented herself from spitting venom their way. She was saving her ire for her utterly useless bastard of a husband, Lucius. She had thought getting that rid of that low class slut Severus and his now dead bastard, Draco, would solve most her problems.
"What are you up to Lucius?" The King did not even look up as slammed the door to his antechamber.
"What is it you want Narcissa?" Lucius asked with a tired sigh. The ogres and giants were disputing over land again, and word had it Greyback was starting a ruckusthat was setting his Vampire citizens on edge. While Lucius pondered his course of action, Narcissa was struggling to hold her composure. A lesser woman would be screeching from the complete disregard Lucius was giving her, but she was a Black. Keeping her composure was a necessity that was bred into her.
"What I want is an explanation?" Narcissa said impatiently, waiting a full 30 seconds for a response before continuing. "Old rumors seem to be resurfacing and the Dark Lord is no longer within the capital."
Lucius inspected a document before giving Narcissa a sparse glance before responding, "I see no explanation is needed, as you seem to be aware of everything"
"Yet, I don't know why dearest"
The overly sweet name made Lucius look her way, and although his eyes were flat, it was still the opening she needed. Narcissa slowly walked over to Lucius, her hips swaying with every step as her dress moved softly around her. A slow sultry smile took over her face as she allowed small almost powder like spurts of magic to be released from around her. Her eyes glinted as her magic gathered like a soft cloud around Lucius the closer she got.
"Why have you made the Dark Lord leave? Why is my station being questioned Lucius?"
Narcissa noted how Lucius paused as he usually did. His eyes glossed over and breathing slowed down.
Narcissa then smiled to herself, a malicious gleam tinting her eyes as she received validation for her position. She thought to herself, punctuated by a hum of her musical laughter, 'Really, this is like child's pla-' but something wasn't right, Lucius face cringed as if he smelled something foul and then she saw it. Magic that wasn't her own slithered out from Lucius. Not just stopping her magic, but killing it. As her laughter died, dread swept through her, 'What in Salazar's name?!'
The glassy look that had initially hit Lucius eyes cleared away. He looked as if nothing were amiss which only meant one thing.
"Narcissa. The Dark Lord has left for his personal safety. You as well as I should know nothing good would come from the death of my only heir to the throne. But since you seem so concerned, how about you accompany him on his journey? I'm sure he'd love the company of not just one, but two Black sisters. It certainly wouldn't be your first time serving our Lord or any man that expressed some desire for you.
"Luciu-" Narcissa hissed
"And while we are on the subject of your station let me be clear. You are a farce of a Queen who stole the rightful title from Severus." Narcissa hissed like a cat who just had cold water dumped on it "Your station is questioned because you have no right to it and everyone knows. You are not my mate. You are not my betrothed. You are not Draco's mother and you are certainly not my Queen. I have promised once before that you will suffer what you and my thrice damned Father did to me and my rightful mate, and a Malfoy's never breaks a promise." Lucius words came out like slow molasses. Each word coated in venom that sank into the blonde woman's skin, paralyzing her with their meaning. Lucius faced Narcissa, his eyes a bright metallic color. It was the look of a feral predator stocking its prey.
Narcissa was speechless. Where had this come from? What was he up to?
Lucius did not wait for a response. His message was clear. "Now get out of my chambers so I can continue working or I will throw you in the dungeons. No one will miss you I'm sure, except for the men whose beds you warm"
Narcissa's blues eyes were violent. How dare he speak to her this way. She was a Queen! A Black! She slept with other men, because her husband was satisfying her needs. He had never once touched her. He would rather have Severus. It was insult that could hardly be borne by someone as attractive as she was. Narcissa blonde soft hair, soft blue eyes, soft curves, long legs and plump lips rejected for Snape black greasy hair, the dark holes he called eyes, skinny bones, big nosed, thin lips, always dressed in black...! Narcissa left fuming. It was best to retreat until she had a plan.
Narciss missed the cruel smirk on Lucius face as she walked away. Lucius knew she would be plotting his demise. The Black sisters were nothing if not intelligent and beautiful. Lucius their were Death Eaters who had no problem her dirty work. But Narcissa was flawed. She would rather die young then for her status and beauty be scoffed at and ripped from her, a fact that had been just proven as she spouted her nonsense. Lucius was prepared to break her though. Malfoy's always came out on top and without the Dark Lord or Bellatrix (who insisted on accompanying the Dark Lord) her bite was much less fearsome then her bark.
Plot away you cunt. You have no one to hide behind. Lucius thought as he returned to paperwork.
Peter had never been so glad to see the Kingdom of Greenwood. Traveling with Pansy had been nothing short of a nightmare. Between the whining, cussing, hexing, and all around annoying attitude which was the Dark Lord's spawn, Peter was starting to see how dying could be a much more appealing option than Pansy.
"Now, understand your role and play it well. You are now my charge." Peter declared. Pansy hissed annoyed at her station being below Peter's "I took you under my wing after a disastrous domestic situation and for now care for you. Put on this glamour." Pansy snatched the glamour clip our of Peter's hair and placed it in her hair. Instantly, she shifted into a more tolerable appearance. Some might go as far as to say she was pretty.
"Do not say a word! Your mouth is what's going to ruin the whole plan. You nod and bow and act shy" Peter commanded. The rat faced man had to admit that he felt great bossing around the Dark Lord's daughter. He got very little respect from the girl and she was always insisting on his uselessness and that he deserved nothing but death. Pansy scoffed. It annoyed her to be the only female in the group to be able to pull this off. Avery, Dolohov and Nott were laying in wait until they located Potter. She didn't see anything particularly special about Potter. He glowed and had ridiculously big eyes.
'Clink!'
Pansy turned her head at the cold feel of metal. "Wormatail! What is this?"
"They'll know you're Dark the moment you walk into the Kingdom. This makes sure you don't release any magic. You won't be detected" Pansy hissed agginin dissatisfaction. She would kill Wormtail for this humiliation.
"Hah!" Swords swished through the air clashing with each other with harsh clink. The smell of metal, sweat, and dirt permeated in the air. Cedric frustration was so intense it was almost palpable to the other soldiers.
Prince Harry, had not left his chambers and refused to respond to anyone's call. At first, Cedric was fine with Harry's hard to get antics. But now his behavior was becoming irritating. People were starting to think Harry didn't want him
"Hyah!" Cedric grunted with effort to push back a particularly heavy set opponent.
But that was ridiculous! He was one of the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom. He had been friends with Harry for years and he and loved Harry all those years. No one knew the raven haired beauty better the he did. Even now in the heat of battle his lions stirred with unquenchable thirst to hold down Harry and claim the delicate Elf as his own. He wanted his thrust his passion and love profoundly through every bone and crevice Harry had causing the young Elf to tremble under the wave of his devotion and love he had for the Prince.
Cedric notice a miss step in his opponent's foot work and took advantage of it.
Hyah!
So why
"Ha!"
Was he being
"Argh!"
So Stubborn.
"Hagh!"
Cedric panted from exertion while towering over his fallen opponent. This was unacceptable. Cedric would not lose his Harry for any reason. He would speak with the Elven King. Maybe he could make Harry leave his room.
King James had never been so conflicted in his life. It had been nearly two weeks since his conversation with his wife and still he could not make a decision. Harry's safety or Harry's happiness?
In an ideal world he would choose both. And he had thought that was decision he had made when choosing Cedric as his betroth. However, if Harry did not love the boy then was he sacrificing his son's happiness? James put himself into Harry's shoes. He himself was entirely too restless to sit in one place so staying in the castle would drive him bonkers. James fingers twitched. If someone had tried to force him to marry someone other than Lily he would reject them without a second thought. Lily was his heart; He had fought fiercely for the woman even as her late father attempted to match her with someone more worthy then him (a lowly warrior at the time). James smiled when remembered how hard Lily had fought for him. She fought tooth and nail, yelled louder than any other, and cursed so bad the councilors blushed in embarrassment. She was gorgeous in those moments. He knew he would never love another creature the way she loved her.
James was snapped out of his fawning by the sound of his chamber doors opening. He hoped it was Lily.
"Your Highness" Cedric entered his doors in full warrior attire and bowed humbly.
Disappointed James waved his hand and inquired what Cedric wanted. "I was wondering if Harry had left his chambers yet" Cedric asked.
James sighed. Another colossal pain he faced was Harry refusing to leave his chambers for nearly two weeks. He refused to respond to anyone for any reason including the King himself. His wife was absolutely no help. They had argued not long ago and she claimed Harry was doing exactly what he wanted anyhow what more could he want. "No Cedric he is exactly where he has been for nearly two weeks"
Cedric seemed to hesitate with his response before saying "You highness, don't you find Harry's behavior...immature?"
Yes. Yes he did. Harry was a prince. He should act as such and handle the situation like a mature Elf should. Deep down James winced at his harsh thoughts.
James rose his brow, before Cedric continued.
"I can understand him being upset by sudden proposal. He did not get the chance most Elves get to court. I even told him I was willing to postpone the wedding until he was ready so we could court. But sir with all the respect of the great four founders, it is hard to court Harry when he refuses to let me see him at all. I am patient, and I will continue to be for Harry...however...I am a dominate Elf sir. There is only so much my pride can take...I wish to be mated and...Harry has my heart, but I don't know how long I can hold off other...potential mates when mine seems to be so utterly disgusted by me."
Cedric's words struck a chord with James. He remembered when Lily could not stand the sight of him when they first met. Steeling himself James rose out his chair and walked to the door.
"You are right. He should at least give you a chance before making a decision. He may very well regret losing you because his temper got the better of his decision making." James did not notice the smirk on Cedric's face as the left to retrieve Harry.
Draco was not shocked. Honestly, he wasn't. In fact he had anticipated this. When you coerce the unknown prince of the Elven Kingdom and his friend on an adventure with a presumed to be dead Vampire prince, what exactly were you expecting? So far Draco, Harry, and Neville had made a great distance in the last two weeks despite the biting cold around them. From town to town Draco had waited to hear word that Harry had gone missing. So far, nothing was reported. Draco assumed it was either because they didn't know or they wanted to keep Harry's disappearance to themselves.
Harry and Neville were fascinated by everything they saw. From the wizards and creatures, to the novel item and dances, even the simple décor of the room. Harry's green beaming eyes made all the trouble he would get into worth it. The trio had had run into minimal trouble. A few bandits here and con artist there, nothing Draco and his towering stature or the Elves newly developed fighting skills couldn't help. There was the constant notice of Harry's swaying hips and eyes eager to take in their surrounding, but Draco chose to ignore this and the strange pain and joy that accompanied it. Overall, the journey had been nice.
Had been.
Now.
Now Draco was sensing something off in this town, Simsa. It was an obscure port town, but would get them out of the Light region faster by taking another boat to La'Costa. A neutral dessert territory. But the moment they entered Simsa something didn't feel right. The atmosphere seemed to get heavier and gloom permeated through the air. There were not a lot people bustling, many sat on the ground far too skinny and exhausted to move. The whole feel was eerie. Harry and Neville were tense. Neville knew something wasn't right. He could hear something screaming in his ear; leave. Harry who was less in tune with his magic could still see something off about this town. The town was desolate and its people miserable.
"I suppose we won't be staying here?" Neville whisper seemed loud in the dead silent town.
Draco nodded. He had a feeling that it was best to leave as soon as possible. Preferably before Harry's need to help and save people kicked in. Now that Prince thought about it, anyone willing to heal a half dead Vampire was either suicidal or Harry Draco glance at Harry and mentally winced. They need to leave now. Draco hurried the two Elves to the port. The group had just made a turn before someone stopped them.
"You young'uns heading to the port?" Harry and Neville's head snap to an old man with a cane. It was with great reluctance that Draco did to. The man was bald and bent nearly in half. The only thing keeping his shaking limbs from crumbling was his wooden cane. His feet were bare and eyes glassy.
"Yes sir." Harry noticed as he spoke that the man only had few teeth hanging in his mouth.
"If ya head'n out now, ya too late. Last boat left ten minutes ago" Draco clenched his teeth.
"Well that was nice of you to tell us, but I think we'll go check it out ourselves." The old man nodded. And Draco attempted to hightail it out of there. Attempted.
"Sir?" Draco closed his eyes asking Salazar for strength as soon as he heard Harry's voice.
"Hmm?"
"Uh, is this town...always so...quiet" The old man seemed to rock on his heels for a second.
"Not since the baron" he said shaking his head.
"The baron?" But the old man was already lost in his own mine. "The baron!" He cried again as he hobbled away.
"Tsk crazy old man" Draco scoffed in hope that Harry would just brush the man off. From the curious look in his eyes, Draco was sure he was trapped. Neville could sense the foreboding Draco felt and decided to distract both Princes.
"How about we find an Inn for the night?" Draco grunted while Harry looked around him. An odd gray fog was settling around the town. This was going to be a rough night.
"Sir, we've searched the whole castle...we cannot find him" the soldier's voice cracked.
"Where could he have gone?" Cedric paced in front of the Queen and King's throne. James frowned deepen.
"You don't think...the pup ran away, do ya?" James gave his best friend the fiercest glare he'd ever given him. As if the very notion was implausible. Sirius, as always, was unaffected and just shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"I'm just saying if it was us cooped up in this castle we would have run away 10 times over. What do you think Lily-flower? "
Lily who had been the calmest during the ordeal spoke for the first time. "It's not impossible. He had been getting much better at escaping the guards and he is his Father's son" James eyes narrowed at his wife. There was scorn in her words as she spoke.
"How about I go look for him?" Sirius proposed shocking the King. He was just about to send the whole regiment.
"We can't let word get out the Prince is missing. Salazar and Godric only knows who else will go after him. We must be subtle in our approach."
Cedric nodded his agreement "I'll go with you!"
"No" Sirius replied firmly. "Harry left partly because of you. If he did run off, it's partly because he doesn't want to see you"
"That is ridiculous. I'm his best friend. I only want was best for him, besides how are you going to track him down on your own" Sirius grinned.
"I've been known to find hard things in difficult places" the jokester said ominously. "Besides the troops will need you if anything comes up. It's best I go find him foot."
"Your Highness" Cedric pleaded for support. James sighed incredibly stressed and worried about his son. Dumbledore stepped in, noticing the King's agitation.
"Both of you can go. Two heads are better than one. Investigate what you can, but Harry missing doesn't leave this room. You may choose two others to accompany you" Dumbledore voice was stern. There was no room for arguments. Cedric immediately left the room followed by Sirius and the others. They would need to make haste if they wanted to get pass the mountains before the snow and harsh winter made them impassible. The large door clang shut.
"It will be alright, m'boy. Harry is stronger than you think." reassured the twinkly eyed wizard. James simply waved the man away. His stomach was eating itself with worry. Lily rose shortly after Dumbledore's departure ready to leave.
"What do you know?"
Lily paused.
"Excuse m-"
"Where did Harry go?" James snapped. Lily turned blazing eyes glaring his way.
James had made a wrong move.
"I don't know" James glared in disbelief. He knew his wife. He knew her very well. She should be angry, distraught, and in despair. But she should proud as ever with her neatly done red hair that framed her lovely face, looking at James with a flat look of disregard. It bubbled up rage in James belly. He had once again been outdone by his wife. Lily almost as if she could read his mine continued "I really don't know where he went or when he left, but I will tell you he did."
"And you're okay with that" James seethed "You're okay with putting him in harm's way! To possibly getting mur-" SMACK!
The sound of flesh hitting flesh was loud in the room.
"How dare you?" Accused Lily "How dare you accuse me of putting him in harm's way when you were suffocating him."
"He was safe"
"He was dying for a life you would not let him live!" Lily cried. Her anger shook the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. "He knows nothing of the world, of our people, of life. He is an elfling would who deserves more than the confines of these castles and your written permission to check the wards of the Kingdom, James. He is not a prisoner. He is our son! I knew he would leave. I knew it because I would; because you would!"
"And so that gives you the right to let him go! I am his Father and what I says go"
"So you can disregard my thoughts and feelings on this, just as you have done Harry"
"Yes!" SMASH!
James went flying into the wall behind him. Lily's hair had fallen from its elegant bun.
"When do you become so selfish? When did you become so afraid James?" Lily walked down the small steps to her fallen husband who was still in shock "Harry has every right to know more than these castle walls and nothing you or I could do will stop that. I am Queen of this kingdom James and you will not disregard me or our son" Lily walked away to a hidden side door.
She paused as she opened the door. "Oh, and don't come our bedroom. You will not be well received if you do" The door slammed after her as light steps faded away. James sat on floor worried, angry, ashamed and sad. He cried out his frustration wondering how his plan for his son's happiness had led to this...