Ice

Chapter 10: "I have cultivated my hysteria with delight and terror."--- Charles Baudelaire

"Well, well. Looks like someone had quite an interesting evening."

Narcissa stilled at the dark, sultry voice drifting out of the darkness. Bellatrix. Her sister stood somewhere off to Narcissa's right, near the library. "Is Shadowbarrow no longer holding your interest, Bellatrix? Have you moved back home, then?" She attempted to keep the waspish tone out of her voice, but it was difficult. Narcissa wanted a bath and her bed in order to process all that happened to her on this night. Sparring with Bellatrix was most assuredly not on that list.

"Why, sister dear, that almost sounded....emotional," Bellatrix cooed. "How unusual for you. Perhaps you would care to step into the library with me and have a little sisterly chat like we used to do when I lived her, yes?"

Narcissa opened her mouth to decline Bellatrix's offer, but she should have known that escaping Bella would not have been as easy as a mere refusal.

"Think well before you dismiss me in that unfailingly cool tone of yours, Narcissa. I would hate to have to be....persuasive...merely to entice you to speak with me." Bellatrix's voice sounded a tad bit manic, suggesting perhaps she would not hate persuading her sister after all.

Narcissa despised being manipulated by Bellatrix, so she moved towards the darkened corner where her sister stood near the library door. "There is no need to resort to such dramatics, Bella. I shall certainly speak with you if you wish although I must confess I am not at all appreciative of being summoned like an errant teen to attend to your presence," Narcissa said loftily, brushing past Bellatrix into the library. She waved her wand and said a brief lumos as she entered the room, head held high. She was certain Bellatrix was going to make some catty remark about her appearance, but she was determined not to let that bother her. After all, she was fairly certain Bellatrix had returned from worse places covered in something far more suspicious than dirt.

Twirling her wand in her fingers, Bella moved to sprawl on the divan and smiled at her. "My, my, Narcissa, now I see why you were skulking about in the dark. Wouldn't want Mother or Father to see their perfect little princess covered in...mud, is it?" Bellatrix made a tsking sound and shook her head, causing long dark hair to flow like dark water around her porcelain shoulders. "I would have thought Malfoy would have had more class than to shag you in the dirt," she said, her voice unkind.

Narcissa wasp perplexed by the ire in Bellatrix's tone. Surely she was not jealous? After all, Bellatrix was the most loyal person that Narcissa had ever met, and regardless of the dubious nature of the causes she had chosen to bequeath that loyalty, she was not one to break her word. If she had promised to be faithful to Rodolphus--and she had--she would remain so. To do anything else would suggest she had chosen poorly, and Bellatrix would never, ever admit such a thing.

"Bellatrix, I refuse to bandy wits with you at this late of an hour. Say what you came to say and have done with it. I am in no mood for your pointed commentary." Narcissa folded her arms across her chest and leveled a cool blue stare at her sister.

Bellatrix widened her eyes innocently. "Why, Narci! What on earth makes you think I wish to bandy wits with you? Perhaps I am concerned that your virtue has been stolen by Malfoy and am merely here to offer to...avenge you," she purred.

Narcissa snorted, the late hour and her state of mental and physical exhaustion catching up with her. "I am certain that is not necessary. Nothing was stolen from me that was not freely given. Is that all, then?" She turned as if to leave, and Bellatrix's voice stopped her. No longer teasing or imbued with the subtle hint of danger that she was so adept at weaving in her rich voice, her speech was practical, harsh and cold. Hearing it, Narcissa turned back around and hid her small smile. Every time, she falls right into my ploy, Narcissa thought in triumph. Dismissing Bellatrix was a dangerous thing to do, but if she was not high in her mania it merely served to annoy her and cause her to get to the point. Narcissa wondered briefly if Rodolphus had yet discovered this fact about his wife.

"You realize, do you not, what Malfoy is."

Bellatrix had a look on her face that caused Narcissa to take an instinctive step backwards. Her eyes glowed with some type of inner light, her body tense as if for battle. She moved off of the couch and walked towards Narcissa with a predatory grace. "You are hardly the brainless twit everyone assumes you to be," Bellatrix said, and Narcissa did not bother to wince at her sister's words. It was nothing more than the truth. "Therefore, I do not believe for one moment that you are fooled into thinking Lucius Malfoy is nothing save the wealthy heir to the Malfoy fortune."

Narcissa struggled to hold her sister's midnight gaze, but the burning light in Bellatrix's eyes worried her more than any of her previous behavior. Narcissa had long suspected her sister was descending into some strange world of madness and darkness; she had just not been aware Bellatrix had fallen quite so far into it. Perhaps I have more cause to fear her than I thought. Annoyed at herself, Narcissa raised her chin a notch. Bellatrix was still her sister, and although Andromeda might end up on the wrong side of that burning black gaze, Narcissa was safe enough.

For the moment, at least.

"If that is all that is bothering you, dear sister, I shall put your mind at ease. No, I do not believe for a moment Lucius is a respectable young wizard. Yes, I am quite aware of what he is, and I fully plan on marrying him. Does that answer your questions?"

Bellatrix stepped closer to her, and Narcissa could feel a strange wave of power emanating from her cloaked form. She wondered why Bella was wearing a plain black cloak instead of her deep red velvet one; her sister was usually not known for being understated. "Has he asked you, sister? Has he actually asked you to be his wife?"

Narcissa laughed, but the sound held little warmth. "Not in so many words, Bellatrix, but trust me when I say that I shall marry Lucius Malfoy."

Bellatrix was very close to her now, invading her personal space in a way that made Narcissa long to step back--which she of course refused to do. Her sister reached out one hand patted her cheek, the gesture entirely too bizarre to be counted as fond. The Black family was not known for being demonstrative in the slightest; if Bellatrix reached a hand out towards you, chances were she was not intending affection. Narcissa remained still as Bellatrix's cool hand brushed over her face. Malfoy's hands had a similar chill when he did not wear his gloves, but it did not quite chill her as her sister's touch did.

"I want you to know, Narcissa, that if you marry Malfoy you are going to be....required to support certain of his, ah....causes," Bellatrix said, catching her under the chin.

"It is quite common for a wife to support her husband, Bellatrix, as I am aware. You may have no doubt that I shall support Malfoy as a proper wife should." Narcissa made her voice as calm as she was able although she thought perhaps her sister had progressed so far into her mind that she was no longer even hearing Narcissa's answers.

"Yes, well, some causes demand a higher level of loyalty than others," Bellatrix said, her voice low and insistent. "Are you prepared to pay that price, Sister?" Her hand tightened on her throat, and Narcissa suddenly had enough.

She pulled her wand out, aimed it at her sister and said, "If you do not want me to hex you, I suggest you let go of me."

Bellatrix laughed, the sound wild. "You think you can hex me, little sister?"

Narcissa smiled slightly. "I learned from the best," she said, attempting to put some brevity in the situation. That unholy light in Bellatrix's eyes seemed to fade a bit, and her sister's smile looked genuine. Narcissa swallowed a sigh of relief as Bellatrix stepped back from her, releasing her chin.

"You did indeed, Narci; you did indeed," Bellatrix said.

As usual, flattery works wonders, Narcissa thought sarcastically. Make Bellatrix think she has all the control and flatter her pride, and she becomes much more docile. Still, Narcissa was convinced Bellatrix was quite mad and suddenly wanted her sister to be gone. It seems I've lost them both, she thought sadly and pushed the thought out of her mind.

"I imagine mother and father will be pleased at your news, Narci, unless they are far more clever than I've ever given them credit for," Bellatrix said, walking around the room and casually lifting objects and putting them back down again. She is like a toddler, Narcissa thought in morbid fascination, constantly entranced by glittery, shiny objects. Or perhaps it is more appropriate to say she is fascinated by things that are breakable, Narcissa thought as Bellatrix tossed a glass paperweight in the air and caught it. Best she learn I am not one of those things that are easily broken.

"Mother and father have not yet had any objection to Lucius, and I do not believe that they shall. After all, they shall no doubt be relieved I am not running off with a Mudblood or a Mug--" Narcissa winced, cursing her foolishly spoken words. She was tired and not paying as much attention as she should, else she would have known better than to make any reference to Andromeda in front of Bellatrix, especially with her sister in such a volatile mood.

Bellatrix only smiled at her as she moved towards the door. The paperweight was gone, resting back on her father's desk. The softly glowing light cast a sinister pall around her sister, enshrouded in that black cloak. Her head turned towards her, and Narcissa did take an involuntary step back this time.

"One day," she whispered in a reverent voice, "one day no one will ever have to worry about such things again." Bellatrix continued to stare at her, eyes gleaming. Narcissa thought she saw a gleam of tears and blamed it on a trick of the light.

"I cannot say that would not please me to no end if the Ministry would refuse to allow marriages between purebloods and Muggles," Narcissa said, and Bellatrix laughed.

Bellatrix had a beautiful voice--deep and rich, her laugh could sound like warm hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. She could laugh in a way that caused the hairs on the back of your neck to stand straight up with a barely-disguised mania and underlying cruelty that still sounded beautiful, sinister as it was. Bella's throaty voice was the true indicator, along with her midnight eyes, of her true feelings. She did not share Narcissa's ability to lie with her eyes and her voice.

Never, never had Narcissa heard her laugh as she did. "No, we shall not need such laws, sister of mine. We shall not need them because there shan't be any of them left to marry," she said and laughed again. This time, Narcissa did see the tears in her sister's eyes as they ran unchecked down her face. For a moment, Narcissa worried her earlier mention of Andromeda had upset her sister, and she was being treated to another round of theatrics.

As Bella continued to laugh, however, Narcissa realized she did not laugh because of any sense of bitter irony or cry with sorrow over their sister's betrayal--Bellatrix's rich laugh was joyous, and she cried tears of mirth.

"You may ask your fiancé all about it the next time he takes you for a walk in the woods," Bella said through her laughter, and Narcissa struggled to keep the disgust off her face. "You should ask him to show you his skill with binding magic," she said, wiping tears off her face. She grinned at Narcissa. "That is, if he hasn't already."

Bellatrix walked out of the library, her laughter echoing off the marble floors in the entranceway. Narcissa waited for the tell-tale crack that bespoke of her sister's departure, and then Narcissa climbed the stairs to her bedroom, her mind a whirl. She bathed and noted absently the marks Malfoy left on her body. She hoped he had similar marks and ran her fingers over the bruises on her shoulders lightly, smiling a bit distractedly. She dressed in a clean nightgown and sat at her vanity to drag a brush through her hair before she went to bed. Her eyes raked over her reflection, which was an odd mix of exhaustion, fear and satisfaction. Her chin was slightly marked from where Bella had grabbed her--her sister was deceptively strong. Those marks she covered liberally with a potion before climbing into her bed.

She wanted to think about her night, about what she had done in cold dark with Malfoy, how he had made her feel. She wanted to remember the sound of his breathing, harsh and ragged in her ears, as he took her. Narcissa wanted nothing more than to relive the experience moment by intoxicating moment, but found she was unable to concentrate on her lover as all she could hear in her mind was the mad, maniacal laughter of her sister.