The Getaway
"I mean, the rain gutters? The rain gutters?! Are you kidding me? Since when does she need me to clean the rain gutters! Honestly, she doesn't need me to do any of this shit! Cleaning the fireplace, and polishing all the silver every other day, and sweeping, and the mopping, and all this goddamn cleaning! I mean, what the hell?!" I was pacing, and fuming, and Draco and Kayla were sitting on the ground, waiting for my venting session to be over so they could start the comforting. And after a few more paces and frustrated grunts, I was ready for it.
"Love, don't let this get to you. You know she's just trying to keep you occupied so you don't think about how you're basically a prisoner for life and they're going to try to use you to kill your best friend." Draco said, and I gave another frustrated sigh.
"I know, I know! I just… I don't know. I'm getting so tired of being holed up in here, I don't know how much longer I can take it. And I can't believe she hit me! I'm so gonna kill that Crazy Bitch one of these days…" I said, and went back to my pacing. But when Draco suddenly shot up and went over to the supply closet, I forgot about my troubles.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him. For an answer, he walked out with riding gear in his arms.
"Come on, help me saddle up the horses. You need to get out of here, so we're going for a ride." Kayla and I looked at each other, and instantly lit up.
"I get Stybba!" I yelled.
"I call Shadowfax!" Kayla yelled, and Draco laughed at us.
"As long as I get Snowmane, I'm good." Before we saddled up the horses, we gave them a nice, long brush. I was starting to see what the big fuss with horses was. Brushing down this horse, feeling its warmth, and the slow rise and fall of its breathing was so relaxing. I was almost disappointed when we were ready to depart. Draco rode his horse out of its stable with the other horse, Brego, attached to it.
"Why are you taking both?" I asked him as I mounted my horse.
"Well, I told Bellatrix that I was taking all of them for a ride. Plus, we're making a stop on the way to pick someone up." He gave me a knowing smile, and I read his mind.
"Blaise?" I asked.
"Blaise." He nodded, and Kayla, now on her own horse and waiting for us to catch up, looked confused.
"Who is Blaise?" She asked.
"Draco's best friend." I said.
"And only one of the most fun guys you'll ever meet." Draco said.
"And he has access to very expensive, very unused liquor." I said.
"Oh, so that's why you slept with him." Draco said, faking his hurt look. Kayla gasped.
"You slept with your boyfriend's best friend?" She said, disbelief flooding her face. I held my hands up.
"Yes, but it was way before me and Draco even liked each other!"
"I am so proud to be your sister." She said, pretending to wipe a single tear away from her cheek. We laughed, and then started to leave. But then I realized something.
"Wait, you guys, I left my sweater in the Manor. I'm SO not horseback riding in just a tank top." I said. Kayla answered me after a few seconds.
"Hold on, I have an idea." She hopped off her horse, went over to her bag, and pulled out an amazing black leather jacket and threw it up to me. My face alight, a pulled it on and loved the way it felt on my bare skin. "Looks good on you. What do you think?" She asked Draco.
"It's pretty damn sexy." He said, and I suddenly had a daydream of later that night when he would take it off me. As we rode, with the wind making my hair fly in all different directions, I felt so free. I felt as if I could take off and fly on my own, my arms turning into wings. My face was turned up to the sky, and I felt fearless. But as I looked back down to my two favorite people in the world, I decided that I didn't want to be anywhere else. Flying could wait. Pretty soon we were at Blaise's, and I could tell he wasn't expecting us. He was sitting on a little balcony, I assume outside his bedroom, reading a book. I got off my horse, with the other two right behind me, and cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled.
"Yo, Zabini! Get your ass down here, now!" He looked down and smiled, and a few minutes later was walking toward us from his front door.
"What the hell are you two doing here? Need to re-fill your hidden liquor stash, Talia?" He said, playfully slugging me on the shoulder.
"Sadly, no. I haven't had much time for drinking lately. We've come to kidnap you, and your delicious drinks, and go have some fun."
"Talia's had a rough morning." Draco said, his face on my injured cheek, eyes growing dark.
"I can see that. Who did this?" He said, using his hand to turn my face and get a better look at my cheek.
"That stupid Crazy Bitch Draco calls Auntie." I said, and Blaise understood. Suddenly his eyes found Kayla, then looked back at me, and then back at Kayla.
"You two are related." He said, and Kayla and I laughed.
"Wow, you sure do pick smart guys to sleep with, Tal." She said.
"Hey, as long as they're good-looking." I said, and we both laughed again. Draco and Blaise looked like they were pretending to be offended.
"Sisters?" Blaise asked, and we nodded and I put my arm around her shoulders, and she put hers around my waist.
"Yeppers!" I said, so very happy to finally be able to introduce my sister to each other.
"But I thought that she, uh…" He didn't seem to know how to finish his thought in a sensitive manner. Luckily, Kayla was a good guesser.
"That I was dead?" Blaise nodded. "Nope. Not dead. Just a werewolf." His eyes widened and he looked to me for an explanation, and I sighed.
"I'll tell you about it later. I just want to get back on that horse and get to wherever we're going. Where are we going?" I asked Draco, and he smiled coyly.
"You'll see. But before we go, can I borrow some clothes, Blaise? I kind of want to get out of this suit."
"Yeah, sure." And they walked into the house, leaving us with the horses. We didn't mind, though. We sat on the ground and played with the grass, enjoying the cool autumn air. I had lost track of what month it was, maybe October. I found myself wondering what my friends were doing at that moment. I found it hard to believe that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had actually gone back to school. I hoped that they were actually doing something productive, like hunting down horcruxes. I must've had a strange look on my face, because I looked up to find Kayla looking at me with a worried expression.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked me, and I looked back down.
"I'm just worried."
"About what?"
"About everything that's happening out there in the world," I waved my hand up, gesturing to somewhere else. "I have friends out there that are fighting for their lives, and fighting for the fate of the world, and I just wish I could be out there helping them, instead of sitting here, in the grass, drinking and horseback riding with my boyfriend."
"You're not giving yourself enough credit. There's not much you can do here, Talia! All you can do is stay safe so you can help your friends when the time comes. Unless you're going to give in to these people. You're not going to give up to these people, are you?" She asked me, challenging me. I was a little offended.
"Of course not! I'm going to sit tight and let these people think they're controlling me, and then turn around and kill them all when their backs are turned." Her eyes widened a little at my harsh words. "What?"
"Don't you think that's a little extreme? I mean, it's awesome that you're not going to back down. But to kill them all? Talia, I know we haven't seen each other in God knows how long. But I also know you're not a killer." I turned my face back to the ground to avoid her eyes.
"Sometimes I'm not so sure. A few months ago, they got me all dressed up and fancy, and made me sing for everyone, and I just lost it. It was almost like I wasn't even in control of my own mind. All I could think about was making them all stop breathing. And it felt so good, Kay. Killing them felt so right." I told her, and my eyes started to water. I didn't want to become that kind of person, but I was starting to think it was inevitable. I felt her hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at her eyes that were blue, like mine, but a darker blue than my light ones. She was smiling at me.
"I understand. You're talking to a Grade A monster here, remember? But you have me, and Draco, and all your friends behind you. We won't let you lose control. I promise." I grabbed her hand, not trusting my ability to speak at the moment. When we heard Blaise's front door open again, and the two boys walk out, we stood up and turned to them, our conversation dropped. And when I looked at them, I saw something that I never thought I'd see in my life.
Draco wearing clothes. Normal, casual, non-suit clothes.
"Damn." Kayla said, and I nodded, still not able to speak, for different reasons than before. Draco was wearing jeans, a white V-neck t-shirt, and a simple black leather jacket. His hair wasn't all neat and tidy anymore, having been messed up by the ride over here, but it still looked good. Really good. He walked with that classic Malfoy swagger of his that he'd been hiding while back at home, and I had to admit that I missed it. He walked up to me until we were a breath away from each other, and had to look down to me, since he was a whole foot taller than me.
"See? Told you I wear normal clothes." He said in a low, growl-type voice that he only ever used when we were alone. Honestly, we might as well have been alone anyway. "You like?" I still couldn't form coherent words, so I simply nodded. He chuckled and bent down to kiss me, which took my breath away even more. He had one hand at the small of my back, while the other was gently tangling itself in my hair. We only broke apart when someone cleared their throat, but before we moved we gave each other a secret, silent promise for later. We all started to mount horses, and Blaise went immediately for Stybba.
"Hey hey hey, off the horse, dude. Stybba's mine." I said, and Blaise backed away looking confused.
"You mean I actually get the brown one this time?" He said as I mounted Stybba, while he mounted Brego.
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" I said.
"Well, whenever Draco shows up looking for a riding partner, he always brings Snowmane for himself and Stybba for me. I always get the black one."
"Oh my God, Draco, that's so racist." I said.
"Yeah dude, that's just not cool." Kayla said, and Blaise laughed.
"Hey, I thought you liked Stybba!" Draco said defensively.
"I do, but it would be nice to have a little variety once in a while." Blaise said, which made us all laugh, even Draco. And then we all left, Draco in the front, leading us toward his secret destination. He sure did like surprises, Draco. And by the looks of it, Blaise knew exactly where we were going also. Boy, I sure hoped he had some drinks already stashed there, because there was no way I was drinking anything that came out of his saddle bag after this bumpy ride. We rode for what felt like hours, and then we came to a stop right at the end of a clearing, before a wall of trees met us. Draco dismounted his horse, tied it to the tree, and waited for us all to do the same.
"We have to walk?" I said, and Draco chuckled.
"There's not an actual path, so the horses would have a hard time. It's better to leave them here in the shade, where they can rest. Don't worry, it's not that far." He said. I didn't worry. It actually wasn't that bad of a walk. Ten minutes, maybe a little more. But walking hand in hand with Draco, and making him pick me up when there was a big branch to step over, was pretty fun. Kayla and Blaise got to know each other, and looking around at our little group made me happy, if not a little frightened. A Siren, a werewolf, and two Slytherins, one being a Malfoy, I felt like we could take over the world if we wanted to. Just as Kayla was telling us about how she kicked the ass of some fully grown werewolf when she was just ten years old, Draco came to a stop and stood in front of us.
"You ready?" He asked us, and we looked nervously at each other.
"As ready as we'll ever be, I guess. Why?" He and Blaise grinned at each other, and Blaise grabbed a few pieces of cloth out of his back pocket.
"Because, ladies, we're going to have to blindfold you the rest of the way." Blaise said, and started blindfolding Kayla while Draco blindfolded me.
"Why is this necessary?" Kayla asked them once they finished.
"Because this is our secret hideout," Blaise said.
"And if we showed you how to get there, we'd have to kill you." Draco said.
"And it would be such a shame to kill such beautiful ladies such as yourselves,"
"So we felt that this was our only option." Draco said, and placed a hot, sexy kiss on the back of my neck. "But don't worry; we won't make you walk there blindly." And with that, he walked in front of me, and hitched up onto his back, piggy back-style. From the squeal I heard next to us, I assumed that Blaise had done the same to Kayla.
"Well, this works for me." I said, and rested my chin on Draco's shoulder.
"Mush!" Kayla shouted, and they started walking again.
We walked for a few minutes, and I kind of enjoyed being blinded and carried through the woods. I could have fallen asleep, if Draco hadn't kept tickling my thighs where his hands were. It made me giggle and squirm, and he almost dropped me one time.
"Careful, we might make the other two uncomfortable," I whispered in his ear, and then placed a kiss right behind it.
"I'm pretty sure they don't even remember we're here." He said, and I listened. Sure enough, they were talking away, completely ignoring us. Occasionally, Kayla would laugh at something Blaise said, and then would say something that made him laugh in return. It was nice seeing, or hearing, them get to know each other. I tuned them out, giving them a little privacy, and just sat there, enjoying the ride. Pretty soon, the boys stopped, and put us down. The hard, rocky ground, sound of rushing water, and light spray on my face could only mean one thing. And when Draco took off my blindfold, I was not disappointed.
"This is amazing." I said.
"So cool." Kayla said, and we looked at each other with wide smiles. We were standing in front of a small, gorgeous waterfall, which dropped into a small, clear pool of water. I went over to the pool, slipping off a shoe and sock from one foot. I dipped it into the water, expecting it to be extremely cold, but instead was met by nicely warm water.
"Hey, what the hell? It's like, October or something. This water should be freezing!" I said.
"Well, when we were younger, we put up a spell around the area so that it would stay nice and warm. That way, if we ever needed to get away, we could come out here and chill, no matter what time of year." Draco said, looking around.
"I can't believe it still works." Blaise said, and they started to walk towards the waterfall. Kayla and I followed them, and soon found ourselves in a cozy, little alcove behind the falling water. At first I wondered why the water wasn't making a huge, annoying crashing sound, but then I just figured it was another one of the boys' enchantments. We settled onto the ground, where there was blanket and pillows and food and drinks waiting for us. I snuggled against Draco, getting comfortable in the pillows.
"Hey, how'd all this stuff get here?" Kayla asked, helping herself to some fruit.
"We sent it over here before we left. Didn't want it to get all shook up on the ride over." Blaise said, and started eating also. And then I thought of something.
"Blaise, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at school?" I asked him, and he looked down at the food.
"Well, you know how my parents are always away? Well, they were supposed to be home this weekend, so I got permission to come home and see them. Only, when I got here, I found a note saying that something came up and they'd see me at Christmas." I looked at him with sympathetic eyes, and he just shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. Really, I'm used to it." And then he changed the subject.
We fell into a nice, comfortable conversation. We laughed, and joked, and even talked about important stuff. And soon, it turned into two separate conversations: the one Draco and I were having, and the one Kayla and Blaise were having. I looked over and smiled at them, liking how comfortable they looked with each other.
"They look happy, don't you think?" I asked, and Draco looked over to them as well.
"Yeah. Good thing too, I can imagine they both need a little happiness in their lives."
"Yeah. " I agreed. Somehow, we had managed to make our way into lying positions, but still close to each other. He shifted to where we were still close, but he could get a good look at my face.
"Don't think I didn't notice your red, puffy eyes back at Blaise's house." He said.
"Why didn't you say anything, then?" I asked.
"I figured you'd want a little privacy. I know you don't like to let people see you all vulnerable like that." I looked away from his eyes.
"Yeah, well, it seems to be happening more and more these days, anyway. But thanks." He pulled my chin up so I could look at him again.
"What's wrong?" He asked. I took a breath.
"I was just frustrated, I guess. I keep on feeling sorry for myself, thinking I have it so bad here, but my friends are out there fighting for their lives. And I'm sitting here, eating strawberries and getting tipsy, and I just wish I could be out there, helping them. I feel so useless." He stroked the cut on my cheek, which was already starting to heal, and kissed my forehead.
"You're doing all you can. And when you get out of here, which you will, you'll be able to help them even more. You're being too hard on yourself, Talia." I smiled, trying to push back the tears that had started to form. I really hated this crying thing.
"That's basically what Kayla told me." I said.
"Good. She's smart, that sister of yours." He said, and I hugged him.
A few beers later, things were getting crazy. We were being loud and obnoxious, and having a great time. Blaise was trying to sing some song that none of us had ever heard, and Kayla was clapping along, pretending she knew exactly what he was singing. I stood up, and pulled her up with me, and walked her over to where the water was falling. I whispered an idea I had in her ear, and she nodded in approval. Simultaneously, we started undressing.
"Whoa, what's going on here?" Blaise said, looking a little worried.
"We have decided to go for a swim." Kayla said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Neither of you have bathing suits with you, though." Draco said, and we paused to look at him.
"And?" I said, and we started undressing again.
"Well, I'm game." Blaise said, and he started to shrug out of his clothes too. Pretty soon, he was in his boxers, and Kayla and I were in nothing but our bras and underwear. Thankfully, I had worn something cute on under my clothes. Kayla jumped through the curtain of water, followed closely by Blaise. I could hear them splashing at each other as I slowly walked over to where Draco was still lying on the ground. I crawled over to him until I was on top of him, and he placed his hands on my waist.
"If I had a Galleon for every time we were in this position." He said quietly, though more for effect than privacy. I leaned my head down and let my lips graze his ear, and I felt it give him a shiver down his spine.
"Care for a swim?" I said, but I let him pulled me closer as his hands explored the body they were already so familiar with.
"I don't know, I kind of like how things are going in here." He said, and started to unhook my bra. I pulled away before he could get it, and stood up.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen on having sex outside, on the ground. And as much as I'm open to anything, as you should know by now, I'd rather save the good stuff for later." He stood up and walked over to me, until we were once again standing close to each other.
"Tease." He whispered in my ear, and this time it was my turn to shiver.
"Hey, get your lazy asses out here!" I heard Blaise yell from outside, and Kayla laughed. I grabbed Draco's jacket and shrugged it off of him, let it fall to the floor, and then I backed up, laughing at him, and jumped out into the water. Well, more like dived. When I came above the surface, I was on the other side of the pool, and turned around just in time to see Draco join us. We swam to each other and had a good time splashing, and dunking each other in. After a while, we even started to play chicken, with Kayla on Blaise's shoulders, and me on Draco's. Of course.
And later that night, after we rode home and left Kayla in the stables, Draco and I snuck up to his room where we messed around and had some wonderful, amazing sex. He sure did know how to cheer me up.