Gypsy

Chapter Forty

"God damned evil, twisted, little..."

My 'guard' let out an exasperated sigh. He had done as commanded and escorted me back to 'our' room, he was currently sitting in front of the fire and watching me pace back and forth.

"How can you be alright with this?" I hissed at the blond, gesturing to by general stomach area.

He smirked, "I thought that you didn't care?"

Startled I reared back a little, realising suddenly that I definitely cared. Desperately, I tried to brush it away. "I don't, personally... but he took away others rights to have the choice".

"See," he stood from his chair, "I think you do care".

Blistering in fury and a strange unknowable emotion, I stormed towards the blond behemoth and poked a finger at his chest. "No, I don't".

Amused eyes looked down at my finger, probably noticing the slight tremble.

Dick

"It is ok to be upset, Antoinette". To my absolute horror I realised I was upset. My bravado fell to nothing and I felt my lip tremble a little. Malfoy took a deep breath, feeling what I felt in that moment. His arms gently touched my waist and then wrapped around me, my head dropped down and I let him bring me into his arms. A warmth enveloped me, the unknowable feeling in me suddenly wrapped in the calmness of his almost water-like essence. "He won't let them, please believe me".

A shudder left my chest, erupting from my mouth in an embarassing noise not unlike a whimper. "He's evil Malfoy."

"He's done what he thought he had to, reaching for greatness tends to result in others being ground into dust".

"Why defend him?" I looked up into Malfoy's eyes, there was a sadness in them that echoed my own.

"You are our Mate, and through you I am always connected to Tom." He sighed and drew me closer, slowly he lowered himself back onto the chair and positioned me sideways on his lap. I should have been horrified, but my agony was somehow soothed by his presence. "I serve and follow Tom. But if you would only let us, we would worship you".

My head fell to beneath his neck, hands grasping his robes reflexively. "How can I do that, look at the pain this world has bought my kind?".

A hand brushed through my hair, only momentarily getting caught in the riotous curles. "You are the only one who can influence Tom". I snorted and he shushed me. "Do you already forget the changes you bought forth tonight? Mud-- Muggleborns can now choose who they will be paired with. A vast improvement already, to a culture you deem broken".

The truth of his words sunk in, I had changed something. All I had to do was give in a little... How much of my soul would I have to give up for others...

"What do you think of these 'changes'?"

A sigh left Malfoy's chest, it rose and fell under my cheek. "I think that I am tired, tired of fighting". I moved my face to look up at his, he was staring into the fire. "I don't enjoy pain, little Nymph, regardless of species or social standing".

"But... You're a Pureblood". A truer statement has never been uttered.

He rolled his eyes, looking down at me with a strange warmth. "Do you remember when I told you that I was the one who healed you, back at Hogwarts when you were in that damned hospital wing every other day?".

"Yes?"

"When it was just me there, on those few occassions that Tom didn't accompany me to ensure I healed you correctly. Don't tell him that I told you that, by the way." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "After the first few visits I started to wonder what was so different about you, I could see that your blood was red and it didn't look or smell any different to my own." He smiled fondly, "back then in my younger days I literally thought that your blood must be mud."

I let out an amused snort, and he chuckled at the sound.

"So I asked Tom. He wasn't as amused as you, and he said something that made sense".

"What?" Curiosity thrumbed through me.

"I first said 'don't be a fool Abraxas', and then said 'Pureblood does not always equal might'." The voice startled me, I jumped and quickly confirmed that Riddle was at the door with a glance. He stepped through the doorway like he owned the very air around us, darkness clung to him like a robe and the flickering of the fire caused his cheekbones to look ghostly. Still he watched us, eyes unreadable as he took in the sight of me in his Seconds lap. "Will you ever stop fighting me little Nymph? Ever allow yourself to sit with me, as you now sit with Abraxas?"

Malfoy whispered in my ear, his words flowing through my hair and moving it softly. "Give a little and take a lot, you may be surprised".

Riddle moved slowly over to us, the look in his eyes telling me he had come here expecting a fight and now was unsure. He waved his hand and a chair was conjured next to Malfoy's, unsurprisingly it was larger.

Men...

My gaze kept his as he sat down in the chair. He was the epitome of relaxed on the outside, only a tiny twitch of his finger giving away his true feelings.

I didn't move for a moment, weighing the words Malfoy said. Give a little, take a lot... I shifted on my living chair, a slight shudder left him as he felt my emotions as I stood.
Slowly, like approaching a wild beast, which in a way I was. I stood in front of Riddle. His splayed legs, so unlike him to sit such a way, but it allowed me to fit in front of him easily. Hiding my tremors, I moved my hands to both of Riddle's shoulders. Feeling the muscles tighten reflexively under my touch. Still so slowly, I placed one leg on either side of his and lowered myself so I was facing him. I felt his thighs move closer together, allowing me a more comfortable seat. My hand shook, something I couldn't help, as I bought it to that deadly cheek of his and moved his face up. My finger ran over his bottom lip, a puff of air causing a reflective shudder up my back. Bringing my mouth to his, I let out lips touch. It was gentle, I head the chair creak as he gripped the sides of it. Unable to help myself, I swiped my tongue along his bottom lip, a curious taste of whisky enveloped me. He groaned and finally kissed me back. Unwilling to let him be the dominant one in this, I pushed back against his mouth and poured all my emotion into it.

The terror I used to feel when he walked towards me in the corridor at Hogwarts, the helplessness when some fan of his threw a hex at me. The pain of his Crucio curse, and the aftermath of trying to heal. The realisation that I wasn't a Witch, the truth of my nature and the constant need to run from him. The darkness I felt in my mind, agony when they touched another and starvation when trapped. When I woke, the fear and utter helplessness when the elder Nott attacked me... My brand, my past and my utter helplessness to stop my future.
Everything went into him and I felt him shudder beneath me, tremble with the sensation of my feelings. I pulled away, his eyes met mine, the red in them seemed to flicker and fade until all I could see was green.

"That is my pain Tom, how can you possibly take that away?"