Chapter Eighteen: Scowl

The first few days that she was back, Lucius mostly left Regan alone. She had confined herself to her old room, finding that it had finally been painted blue and redecorated to something that was supposed to reflect Regan's style. She didn't care; all that mattered was that her bed was warm and she didn't have to get up. Astoria had visited her a few times, but they had little to say to each other. Regan felt guilty that she had let Oskar die and Astoria felt guilty that this whole thing had been her idea. They said nothing to each other, but Astoria stayed. It was nice to finally have some good company.

When Regan went to her first dinner with the entire family, she remained silent even when Lucius tried to engage her in conversation. She had shut herself off in the hopes that nobody would hurt her. After about a week of being back in the Manor, Lucius proposed that they have a small party.

"A welcome home party, would you like that?"

Regan had just shrugged. It didn't matter to her what he did…all she wanted to do was sleep. So he planned a party, inviting high powered members of the Ministry and their spouses. Regan got ready once again with Astoria, and like their many other meetings they hardly said a word. Regan was cinched into the dress that Lucius had given her. A strapless forest green gown, the bodice was heavily embroidered and beaded with flowers and sparkling leaves. It clung to her body and transitioned into a flowing skirt that quivered whenever she moved. There was a long slit that went all the way to the bottom of the bodice, exposing her entire pale leg. Her hair was braided and wrapped in a bun while her large eyes were accented with far too much makeup, at least in her opinion. Astoria wore a high necked black lace dress, quietly still mourning the death of her beloved cousin. They made quite the depressing pair when Draco and Lucius arrived to collect them. Lucius insisted that she wear the jewelry that he had gotten for her. A thick emerald pendant surrounded by diamonds was fastened around her neck while diamond tears hung from her ears. She resisted the urge to look in the mirror and just kept her eyes down, quietly wondering what Oskar would think if he saw her now.

The party was dull and filled with people that Regan didn't know. They all marveled at her dress, complimented her jewels, and envied her brilliant hair. They were disgustingly kind and it made Regan want to shrink away from their probing eyes. Lucius on the other hand was pleased to show her off to his many followers.

Look at what I've got, look at how young she is, look at her supple body; it's all mine...

Disgusting...

"Would you like something to drink?" Lucius asked as another couple departed from them after complimenting Lucius on his beautiful new woman. Regan shook her head, her eyes slowly scanning across the crowd. Lucius slowly leaned into her, tightly grasping her wrist. "You will have to speak to me eventually…and I am more than willing to use force to make you do what I want." He kissed her while giving her wrist one painful squeeze. Regan flinched, glaring up at him.

"I'm not thirsty," she told him with a stiff jaw. "I just want to go back to my room…I don't want to be here."

"You may leave…after I've made my announcement." Regan quirked an eyebrow, instantly put off by the smile on his face. He had another motive in throwing this party. It dawned upon Regan that he was going to possibly propose to her in front of his dozens of friends.

What was going to happen when she said no?

Was that even an option for her?

Regan glanced over at Astoria, who was surrounded by a group of posh women. These must have been her approved acquaintances that she had mentioned, all looking similar with their well fashioned hair and styled faces. Regan and Astoria locked eyes for a moment before Astoria quickly motioned for Regan to join them. Regan left Lucius's side, earning a stern call and a sharp glare, but she just kept on walking. When she went to Astoria, she took Regan's hand and they walked away to a somewhat quiet place. They stayed close to one another, Astoria's eyes scanning the crowd to make sure that nobody was coming near them.

"He's going to propose," Regan finally murmured, the dread rising in her stomach. Astoria gently shook her head, letting out a little sigh.

"No, he's going to announce your engagement…he's not giving you a chance to embarrass him." She told her. Regan should have expected that, but it was still difficult to hear. "Don't worry, we'll figure out something to do before the actual wedding."

"No," Regan said softly. "What's the point? If I run away, he'll just find me again."

She hated herself...she wanted to punish herself for being so weak...

"But you can't give up." Astoria insisted. "Draco and I will do something to get you out of here." She seemed desperate, as if she had no idea what to do to save Regan.

"I won't have anybody else putting themselves in danger." She said sternly. "Oskar gave his life for nothing…I don't want that to happen to you or Draco…or Scorpio, all right?" Astoria bleakly nodded, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.

"You won't be alone here," Astoria said after a moment to collect herself. "We're friends…and we're the only two that can ever understand each other."

Astoria had a good point. They had been placed in unusual yet similar circumstances. Nobody would ever understand them and could never sympathize with either of them.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Miss Westwood, would you care for a drink?"

Regan blinked, surprised to see a very cheerful Natalie standing in front of them with a silver tray balancing two flutes of champagne. There was something off about her smile Regan thought as she took the flute. She was gloating and proud, but what about?

"Mrs. Malfoy, young Master Malfoy has been asking for you." Astoria sighed, nodding towards Regan in a silent goodbye before she strode away. That left Regan with Natalie, though this wasn't the same Natalie that had greeted Regan when she had first come here. "Did you have fun in France, Miss Westwood?" There was something biting in her tone and it made Regan uncomfortable.

"You know that you can call me Regan, Natalie." She said slowly.

"I would prefer to keep things formal, Miss Westwood." Natalie took a step forward so that they were so close that they were almost touching. "I just think that you should know that you're not the only woman that's caught his eye."

So that's why she was gloating.

Without Regan here to harass, Lucius had moved on to Natalie. Or, perhaps they had been seeing each other for a long time and Regan coming into the manor had ruined Natalie's relationship with Lucius. Clearly, though, she was just a physical play thing; a fuck toy that Lucius has no intention of pursuing…and as she stepped back with a smile, it became apparent that she wasn't aware of that fact.

"You may be back, but no doubt he'll dismiss you as soon as he makes me his new personal servant."

"I hope that he does exactly that." Regan quickly said. Natalie scowled when she realized that there was no competition to be won here. But her smile quickly reappeared when Lucius strode over and placed a firm hand on Regan's hip and pulled her close.

"Come with me," he insisted, giving her hip a small squeeze. Regan set the champagne flute back on Natalie's silver tray before she went with him, trying to ignore the harsh glare from Natalie that was boring into her back. "You look stunning." He told her, his hand moving from her hip to her lower back. Regan kept her eyes away from his, fighting the urge to punch him in the crotch. "Try to smile when I make my announcement, we want to keep up appearances."

That was the last thing that Regan wanted to do, but her choices were currently limited. Pushing him too far would probably result in her death…of course, would death really be such a bad thing?

"This is your last chance to change your mind." She said, feeling his hand stiffen on her back.

"And why on earth would I do that?" He asked with a snide chuckle.

"Natalie wants you more than I do," she told him, earning a short snort from him.

"She is nothing to me."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be sleeping with her." Lucius quirked an eyebrow, trying to control himself.

"Who told you?"

"She did." Regan said with a small shrug. "I don't care who you fuck; better her than me, but it doesn't make sense to have two women."

She wanted him to dismiss her in favor of an easy conquest. Natalie was the same age as her and was far more willing to be the wife that Lucius wanted. But after a moment to consider his options, he smiled and once again pulled Regan close.

"There is no challenge with Natalie. I have always favored a good fight…and you are a good fight, Regan." His finger traced along her jaw, making her quickly jerk away from his touch. "I'll have her dismissed, don't worry."

Regan quickly opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't say anything before Lucius raised his hand to call attention to himself.

"Friends, thank you all for coming on such short notice. I am pleased to welcome you into my home, but I am even more pleased to say what I have to say. As you are all well aware, this beautiful woman beside me was only recently been put through a traumatic event. I cannot express how sad I was to see her gone and I will admit that when she returned, I was overcome with joy and begged for her to marry me. She of course said yes, but I'm afraid that I didn't have a proper ring to present her with. Well, I intend to remedy that."

Lucius pulled a deep blue velvet box from his pants pocket, presenting it to Regan on his flat palm. He carefully pulled back the lid with an expectant smile. Those close to them gasped at the dazzling piece of jewelry, whispering and passing the word back that Lucius was presenting his future wife with an emerald rock. But Regan, the one that was supposed to look the most impressed, just stared at Lucius with a straight face. After a moment of eager silence, Lucius finally removed the right from the box and took Regan's left hand.

"She's been stunned into silence!" Lucius exclaimed with a hearty laugh. The room seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief, joining Lucius in his laughter. Once the ring settled on her small finger, Regan could only stare. It was overly large and was only in existence to prove Lucius's wealth. It was an emerald cut emerald, surrounded by glittering diamonds, all resting in a setting of white gold. When Regan looked up, Lucius bent down to kiss her, catching her off guard. Out of instinct, Regan closed her eyes, but she didn't return his eager affections. The guests applauded and Regan flinched slightly when Lucius pulled back. Her head was pounding and her vision was starting to blur. She stumbled into Lucius, resting her forehead against his shoulder as he gripped her small body.

"Is she all right?" Astoria was beside her in a moment, brushing back her hair to see Regan's suddenly pale face.

"She's fine," Lucius insisted. "She simply became overwhelmed by all the excitement." His words were loud enough for everybody to hear and be relieved. Lucius looked up to Draco as he leaned down to get a better look at her face.

"She's been poisoned." Draco suddenly said, but only loud enough for Astoria and his father to hear.

"Help me get her upstairs," Lucius demanded as he picked Regan up bridal style and rushed for the stairs. Draco made some excuse about her fainting before going with his father and Astoria to Regan's room. Lucius placed her carefully in her bed, staring down at her with narrowed eyes. "Call a potions master, tell him it's urgent. Astoria, change her into a nightgown and sit with her, I need to go back to the party." Draco and Lucius rushed from the room, leaving Astoria alone with the unconscious Regan. She first removed her jewelry, including the gaudy engagement ring that Lucius had given her. When she removed the ring, she saw that Regan's left hand had red splotches across her palm and fingers. She studied her hand for a moment, not sure what to make of these markings. She pushed it from her mind for now and changed Regan out of her gown and into a pair of Capri pajama pants and a simple black v-neck tee shirt. She pulled the pins from her hair, combing it with her fingers before braiding it and resting the hair against her side. Her hair was brighter than usual because her skin was so ghostly pale. Her breathing was shallow and she had begun to perspire greatly, staining the neck of her shirt. No doubt she already had a fever; what could have done this to her?

"Astoria?" Regan reached out and Astoria quickly took her hand, feeling how cold her skin was.

"I'm right here; don't worry, you're going to be all right." She murmured softly. Regan slowly shook her head.

"No…please…I don't want help."

"But you might die!"

"I want to die," Regan softly murmured, her face relaxing at the thought. "I want to be with my parents…and I want to see Oskar again."

"Oh Regan…I can't do that…you have to live." Astoria insisted, her lower lip trembling.

"But why?" She was like a small child who had just been told that she couldn't have a cute puppy.

"Because…you're young…and I don't want to be left alone again." Regan furrowed her brow together as if she was about to cry.

"I don't want him to own me." She muttered. It was like a line from some Greek tragedy. Astoria briefly wondered if Regan could ever be saved; both from the poison and from Lucius.

"He will never own you." Astoria assured her, despite the doubt that she felt. "He will only own you when you let him own you. You have to live…do you want the newspapers to report you as the dead woman who loved Lucius Malfoy?" Regan slowly shook her head, her face contorted in disgust.

"I have to get out of this place." She whispered before she passed out again. Astoria stiffened as she heard quick footsteps coming towards the room, pursing her lips together as hot, angry tears streaked down her face.

Regan would leave this place…one day, they would all leave this place…

...

A/N: So I'm in rehearsals for Sweeney Todd; my schedule sucks, but I'm quite pleased to present another chapter.

RashaTemple and hannahhobknob: Yes, it's very sad, but Oskar had to go.

Dragoon Dave: Oh you are twisted lol. The ball is rolling; try and keep up.