The Love of a Thornbush

The Youngest - Chapter TwentyTwo

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Andromeda huffed, turning over in bed to face me.

Her eyes closed, little brown freckles dotted across her pale skin. She was pretty, in a soft way. Her cheeks were full and her lips dainty. Even as she slept, a smile crept at the edges.

She looked so innocent, so kind. I could never have guessed the evil that lurked beneath the surface. A stifled hiccup was muffled by my shaking hand.

How sweet she seemed. Andromeda Tonks, the least morally corrupt child of the House of Black. Even looking at her I felt the flashes of pain across my body, what she'd put me through. I ached.

The wand in my hand twitched, and jerked. I assume it wanted to get back to it's owner. My eyes flickered to the nightstand. Upon it, sat a vase of flowers. Purple Hyacinth's stood out, the edges of their petals had begun to brown and whither.

A dark, malevolent voice hushed inside my head. It was strong, and powerful. And loud.

"Mm... Mummy's little pet is taking back control, hm?"

No, no no. Andromeda's wand fizzled in my hand. The mad older sister cackled in my ears as she watched through my eyes. My vision blurred, and it felt as if someone took hold of my hand. A ghostly thumb worked its way to feel the grooves in the wand.

"Do it, little girl. Make her suffer~"

I felt the dark witch in my head, guiding me. Her eyes, her hands, they controlled me like a puppet. My neck ached and twitched til I was lightheaded, strong waves of nausea brought bile to the back of my throat.

"No- no no I don't want-"

Click.

A flash of black, and I was out like a light.

...

When I awoke, the wand was discarded. My throat was dry and soft, gentle hands stroked me as if I was a child's doll.

My eyes blurred as I blinked them open. Above me, stood a dark figure.

Dark, piercing eyes looked me over as if I was the sun in their universe. My light reflects their eyes, strong rays of emotion like moonbeams through milky stars.

Crusted over on my skin sat burgundy splashed of a liquid, torn up fragments of slivered flesh tones flapped in my clothes and slimed down in streaks across my puffy, raw face. Pain radiated across the exposed skin of my arms.

Hands soft as silk tilted my head to bring my eyes back to theirs. Speckles dazzled in brown eyes like bubbling honey. The woman delayed a sweetening smile.

"Hello, little one"

Her hand stroked my cheek, feeling the grooves and the underlying bone. I recognised her, her features reminded me of an elegant swan floating in the heavens. White streaks, high cheekbones and red lips spread in an adoring smile.

Fear raced in my heart, this woman was familiar. Her eyes, her jaw... Bellatrix.

My attempt to sit up was quashed quickly by the woman, who pushed me by the shoulders to lay on the bed. The mattress was warm, and sticky. The taste of copper flickered across my tongue as I breathed in, using my limited strength to fight the woman's hold on me.

"No, darling. Stay down- Stay!"

In an instant, her body straddled my hips. I was held down by my shoulders. I looked to her hands... Her nailpolish was spread across her skin rather messily. It struck me as odd, this woman seemed quite prim and proper. Certainly not the type to make that kind of mistake.

Until my head turned... And I saw the mess strewn across the bed.

Sheets tossed around, covered in dripping wet blood. Beneath them, a silhouette. Heaving breaths escaped the person whose blood spilled across the bed.

"Don't-"

She couldn't stop me as I lifted the edge of the sheet. Wide, staring eyes met mine. Brown, with flecks of honey and stardust. Andromeda.

Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, and shaking coughs spluttered up from her lungs. The shock I felt only intensified as I saw the wounds to her chest, flesh had been ripped and scored with a sharp blade. The blade in question, was lodged deep into her throat.

Her eyes were frantic, pleading. Andromeda's hands flapped to reach me for help, but all I felt was pure adrenaline. I needed to get out of here before whoever did this-

My eyes shot back to the woman pinning me to the bed.

"You...?"

Her eyes were cold. The woman with white strands held a polished silvered handled wand. She flexed her fingers, then sighed.

"No"

My eyes flashed between the two women, even as Andromeda lay dying "help her! She's-"

"-my sister" the woman spoke calmly, with calculated precision "I will decide what to do with her"

The longer I stared, the faster the memories flooded back to me. My Mistress... She would only ever allow one person near me.

Narcissa Black. The Youngest Black Sister, and now... My captor.

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