Doe (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Sixteen

Francis was sat in the window seat watching the rain droplets race each other down the pane. She was tired from a restless night and had lain in the early hours of the morning listening to Doe's sighs and whimpers until her mother had come to wake them. She had almost finished telling Draco about her drive home with Dechuange.

"And it's so selfish, but his attitude of defeat upset me more than his pretending to be fine." She glanced at Draco, feeling the edges of her mouth tremble. She quickly turned back to the window.

"It's not selfish at all. No one wants to hear that their friend has given up before there is even anything to fight." Draco told her.

"I don't know. He made it sound so final. Can we really be too late, already?"

"No. The Security has no idea what they are dealing with or even what is they are supposed to achieve."

"But if your father is already imprisoning people."

"The danger is minimal at the moment. The Security are still reluctant to go after people."

"But the regime in Euria is not." She turned back to him, "And that is the Security's goal, to imitate that."

"Not quite."

"Draco. How can you be finding excuses?"

"I am not." His eyes flashed.

"You knew what was in the Town Hall and you didn't say a word." She said miserably.

"I thought that you..." He stared at her wide-eyed.

"You didn't even realise you hadn't told me?"

"There were other things happening."

"And mass genocide is not in my capacity?"

"How was I meant to say it to you? Hey, great that you're seeing your father, look at what he's brought us. Not to mention your husband to be and now even my father, have captures a load of people's pets and are torturing them metres from where we sit and worship." He stood up angrily and started pacing the room.

She raised her feet up onto the sill and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees. She had been hit with a sudden wave of nausea at his words.

"You never used to be scared of telling me anything, especially if they were so close to us." She said.

He shook his head as he walked, "But I find myself not even thinking of telling you about anything outside this house. It all seems so much more important, what happens here."

"Our friend just told us he expects to be murdered."

Draco stopped pacing and sat down next to her. She hugged him, letting herself cry.

"All that time. Listening to those speeches and they were there in the very same building as us. Suffering."

"I know. But none have been killed. Father was getting a head of himself. He finds it rather ridiculous but there's not much he can do."

"People won't stand for it." She told him.

"I hope not."

"I just can't believe it. How can his own father do that to him?" Francis asked bewildered. "How can he hate him so much? His own son?"

"Nothing will happen to Dechuange. I'll make sure of it. He can come and stay with us. We will keep him out of the way." Draco assured her.

She didn't answer but hugged him tighter. After a little while she grew calmer. Wiping the remaining tears on the palm of her hands. He continued to hold her, watching the sky darken outside.