Forgotten

11 | Preparations

"Vulnera Sanetur" Bella casted the familiar spell, it was not a painless cure to her wounds but it would prevent her from bleeding out on her bedroom floor. The blood seemed to stop flowing entirely, remaining motionless as she chanted the spell a second and third time. Through hazy eyes she could make out the gashes healing themselves as well as they could with her weak attempt at the spell. 

Eventually she moved onto the one that followed the length of her spine, it was deep enough she thought she could see the bone but it could have been a hallucination. Often after enduring such extreme pain she was prone to seeing things that were not real. She never told anyone that such was happening in fear that they would react negatively. She did not want to be the girl who saw things, purebloods did not react well to people who did, they called them crazy or insane. 

She didn't want to be insane, that wasn't who she was and she had the strength to overcome those strange sights that varied from seeing things move when truly they were still, to creations from only the worst nightmares, that followed her out of sleep and into the conscious world. 

Bella often didn't know what to do after having a... session with her father. It left her feeling empty and cold, as if the blood that left her body took her emotions with it to. But sitting on her floor for long periods of time could eventually grow to be boring and that is what she had been doing for nearly five hours. 

Her vision blurred and dark spots blocked her eyes but she stood all the same and opened the creaking door of her wardrobe, she changed into a simply nightgown although she had no intention to sleep. Instead she lay in her uncomfortable bed and read books all through the night. Bella had always loved reading, it was an escape from the awful reality she was forced to live in, albite it was temporary, but it was her way of gaining freedom to be whom she wanted to be and love anyone even if it meant her brothers best friend. 

"Don't be stupid Bella." She muttered to herself at the mere thought of even liking, never mind loving, Barty. He was strange and peculiar and all he ever would be was a friend at most. The morning came quickly but she did not leave her bed hastily, she waited a while to ensure she would not wake up anybody who would have preferred to be sleeping. The night had been eerily quiet, none of the usual screams of pain or cries for mercy that almost always rang from the dungeons below her. 

It was yet another thing that had seemed different since she had came back and it wasn't a feeling of relief that she felt but paranoia and deep rooted anxiety. She should be happy that she could relax in her room without hearing somebody calling out for help or crying in agony but she wasn't because anything was better than silence in the Rosier Manor. It meant that they were planning something that took time to accomplish and that could never have a positive outcome for anybody involved.

Nevertheless, she exited the comfort of her bed and began to dress herself for the day ahead. 

She had decided against wearing something comfortable that would simply anger her parents even more and opted for one of her mothers favourites. It was a floor length deep blue, almost navy, gown. She had only bought it last summer, it accentuated her stomach with a corset like top, the skirt was layered and flowed with the wind as she walked. 

It was undeniably beautiful. She did not have the effort to do anything with her hair and instead left it to fall down her back in its usual fashion. Although she did apply light makeup to her face covering up any of her imperfections. She would never be beautiful but at first glance she looked it dressed in this. That was before you saw the cuts on her arms and the top of the one on her back that was just visible over the dress. Although they were no longer bleeding they caused excruciating pain and they were most certainly not healed, they were red from the colour of her uncovered flesh and purple or blue with bruises.