Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 94: Father

((Tw: mental and physical abuse))

~~Veela~~

Sending that letter actually made her feel a bit better, glad she'd decided to be honest about things. At least Sebastian knew what was happening, now. He seemed to care, so perhaps he'd eventually visit. It would be nice to see a familiar face... and his crooked smile. She did miss that he seemed to like when she'd opened up a bit. She'd never really been able to do that with someone else, to be the person she'd tried to keep hidden for so long.

It wasn't proper for an auror to be silly, after all. It wasn't proper for a lady to tease and joke. But she liked to do it...

She'd begun the work for Augustus, managing yesterday to drag herself to Hogsmeade to sketch some dresses in her notebook with her new colored pencils. They were amazing, and Augustus was thrilled to have colored options for his catalogue, even offering to pay more for the colored version. It was amazing that she was even making money like this, nonetheless being paid what she was! It made her feel... valued. In a way she'd never really felt before.

She'd decided to stay in today, spending the day drawing things in the fields around the house. It was a wonderful day out, and she knew Hermes wouldn't be back until later that night.

While she was drawing she let her mind wander, thinking back on things and how everything had so drastically changed over the last few weeks. It was hard to cope with how fast things had completely flipped on her. The life she'd thought familiar and wholesome completely turned upside down, and revealing just how terrible she'd been living before.

It was strange to think back, and see things so differently now. It was like she'd been completely blind to things before now, just going through life in a fog with no other goal than to please her father. The most frightening part was that she didn't really know who she was, now. All she'd been was her father's daughter... but that wasn't her own identity. Veelara Lancer was the daughter of the auror Harold Lancer. But who was Veela?

She looked down at her drawing of the trumpet flowers that grew wild in the field behind the house, smiling as it gave a soft honk sound in the breeze. She rather liked these things, they were pretty and silly at the same time and made her smile.

So, she liked to draw, and she liked trumpet flowers. Those were two things she knew about herself. It was a start.

She gave a soft sigh as she finished the sketch and decided to head back to the house, thinking it may be wise to eat some bread and cheese and take a nap. She was rather tired after her trip yesterday, but she'd made good progress while at Augustus' shop. He had also assured her that each season he would provide new outfits for her to draw, so there would never be a shortage of jobs to do. She rather liked that, it gave her a bit more security through the winter, too. If she was going to stay here she was going to have to increase the stores of the house.

She'd seen a cellar off to the side of the house, and she'd wondered if she could pickle some things to store for colder months. It wouldn't be a bad idea... just in case.

Well... first she had to learn how to actually pickle things. But baby steps, right? She was just proud at how capable she'd found herself now that she was truly on her own. No purse strings for her father to manipulate anymore, for once in her life her money was truly her own.

She finished her new drawing and looked down at it happily, the bright colors of her new pencils making the picture look even more vibrant and beautiful. Maybe she should get this one framed, she rather liked it. She wasn't sure how to feel about decorating the house yet though, it wasn't hers. She didn't want to change too much. At least, not without permission.