arranged / dm

05

December 29th

Days dragged on to feel like months. Amara had continued to sleep in the guest room she found the other night, leaving Draco alone in his room confused with his own mind every night.
  
"Master Lucius calls for you and Draco in the study." A house-elf mumbled from outside the door to the room Amara had begun to call her own. The girl huffed and shoved herself off the bed toward the door. She had avoided Draco at all costs and refused to speak with him when they were in the room together. Narcissa voiced her opinion on this behavior to Lucille Blackwood--who had dismissed the mentions of it, which drove the Malfoys mad.
  
Amara's footsteps echoed in the hall as she led herself to the large study to meet Lucius Malfoy. Her mind buzzed with assumptions and ideas of what the man could possibly push into her life now. Amara's recently busy mind had been at ease the past few days and she enjoyed every moment of the peace, not a single thought of her newly wrecked life. Though all this was coming to a halt as soon as she pushed the tall doors open, revealing Draco, Narcissa, and Amara's own mother.
  
"So glad you could join us." Lucius snarled, his hands planted firmly on the desk in which several papers covered almost entirely. The girl sat in a chair in front of her mother and didn't allow herself to glance at Draco, who stared intently at her as she walked by.

"We've picked a venue and all the details that come with something like that. Guests have begun to be negotiated and we will have a final list next week." Narcissa spoke timidly, her shoulders tense and hands gripping the chair her son sat in. Lucius did nothing but nod, his face written with annoyance as he glared around the room.
  
Lucille stood silently behind her daughter, a million thoughts shouting in her mind as her gaze sat on Narcissa Mafloy. A small part, and only a small portion, wouldn't ever wish this upon her child. The first had been a loss on Lucille's part and she vowed she would not put Amara through it as well.

Alongside Michael, she was determined that Amara would get to pick her future as she herself did. Now she stood in defeat, marrying her daughter off.
  
Not only was she marrying Amara off, but she felt as though she was selling her second born daughter to the family with the worst reputation--she knew doing this would paint an even larger target on young Amara's back. And at the age of nineteen, it would be enough to lose hope in life entirely.

"--We'll gather more plans tomorrow and Draco, Michael, and I must head into Diagon Alley." Lucius' voice ripped into Lucille's soul and in her heart she could feel Amara crumble in his gaze. In the presence of Lucius Malfoy, the strongest girl she had met fell back in fear.

✩☾✩

Amara refused to leave her room now. The curtains had been drawn over the window once more, creating an artificial night for her ruined mind. A year ago, she might've said that Lucius Malfoy didn't bother her. She might've said the Malfoy family itself didn't bother her at all. But now, as she sat silently in her room she wondered where it all went wrong.

She wondered where the love her parents expressed to her went. She wondered when betrayal became an option. She wondered why the fuck she was living with it--why she wasn't speaking up for herself. Defending herself against the worst fate humanly possible.

Tears filled her dark eyes as her mind raced faster
than the speed of light, telling her this was always meant to happen. Telling her no one's freedom is permanent and her's most certainly was never going to be permanent. The echoes of voices felt like knives in her chest as the tears only continued to fall. Her breaking point had been reached. She had taken enough betrayal and pressure. Amara cried out, breaking the silence that had filled the room. The cries echoed in the room and rang loudly in her head, taking over her senses and allowing her to let go of everything she had held in for so long.

She simply wanted her life back. The life she had so desperately painted in her mind so vivdly she could almost taste it. Any sound outside was muffled with her yells of agony as she slid off the bed and fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands. Amara knew she didn't want a life like her sisters. A life where she claims to be happy all while fearing for her husband to return, hastily cooking food and keeping the huge Manor clean while the man works. She knew she didn't have to take abuse. She didn't have to listen to her sister's sick lies so she'd cave and marry a man she hates. At this very moment, Amara Blackwood would take death over whatever future Draco Malfoy had planned for her.

A series of loud knocks broke through her buzzing
head, causing her to return back to her senses and back to the hellish reality she lived now.

"Blackwood, open the damn door." The blond's voice triggered a very deep rooted anger in her as she pushed herself off the floor and began marching toward his voice. Before she could even place a hand on the handle, the door swung open and revealed Draco as he placed his wand in a pocket.

"Magic comes in handy when you need it." He mumbled while letting himself enter the room.

"Is everything alright with you? You're pale and I'm pretty certain you were crying." He dropped himself into a chair and stared up at her.

"I'm fine." Amara said shortly, crossing her arms tightly. Her eyes narrowed in his while he searched for answers, desperately wanting to know the inner-workings of her mind.

"You're a terrible liar." He chuckled. "Tell me what's wrong with you."

"Why the hell would I open up to you? I mean honestly you might be the center of my problems right now." She huffed, sitting onto the bed behind her.

"You're acting like I'm the biggest issue here." Draco defended, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Oh I wonder why. Couldn't possibly be because you are, right?" Amara laughed at the boy with a slight eyeroll in his direction.

"Clearly you haven't realized how shitty your attitude is then."

Amara glared at Draco, anger boiling up inside her.
It was so close to the edge, anything he might say could cause it to spill out and make a huge mess all over the nice room.

"Cut the bullshit and tell me what the fuck is wrong, Blackwood!" Draco's voice had gotten significantly louder, startling the girl as her brain decided if she should truly tell the boy in front of her how she felt.

"I'm not the monster here." He sounded defeated, his hand going to run through his messy hair as Amara sat silently before him.

At that moment, all her walls came crashing down around her. Signals went off like crazy, trying to warn her not to tell him anything. To leave him in the dark and send him, confused, back to his own room. But, despite her judgement, she decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him a few things.

"Its a lot. Going from my parents wanting me to have my own future to being forced into a marriage." Her eyes remained on the ground as she spoke slowly, only wishing to tell him a small amount of what had been festering in her mind as the days went by.

Draco only nodded, seeming to be trying to understand her. He had known this was his fate from a young age. His parents had never claimed to want him to choose his life. That's where the two differed. One came from a loving family and the other came from a tradition oriented family. To him, this was nothing. But to her, this was world crushing.

The two stayed in silence for a while, neither one daring to say a word. A peace had fallen over the two--a peace Amara hadn't believed was possible. She now saw something in the boy she hadn't ever seen before. She simply saw a person--a person pulled into something he wanted no part of.

Amara saw the human side of Draco Lucius Malfoy.