Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 65 | What Do You Want?

Dear Diary,
Another day, another ball that I have to prance around like a princess. I tried to get out of returning to this dratted place I call home for Christmas, I really did.

Florean and Charlus attempted to help me but I didn't stand a chance, I figured it would be better to just return in order to avoid my parents' wrath. It's what they want, after all and I always do what they want, I'm weak like that.

I'll probably be expected to dance with Orion tonight...Merlin knows I don't want to but I don't really have a choice, do I? I wish I did, I wish that there was some way to get out of this dreadful arranged marriage but there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel as of yet.

"EUPHEMIA!" was the shriek that broke Mia from writing in her diary and she glanced up in slight irritation, recognising the yell as one from Cassiopeia.

Sighing, she called back that she would be down soon and picked up her quill again, dipping it into her ink pot before pressing it to the parchment again, writing her farewell words.

I have to go now, diary, because Mother is calling me and I do not want to get on her bad side again - I haven't been tortured yet this holiday and I plan to keep it that way, it's starting to become rather hard to come up with excuses to explain away my bruises.

Wish me luck, I'll need it. Hopefully I'll be able to skulk around the perimeter of the ball and avoid dancing with anyone but I doubt it.

Yours sadly,
Mia xx

It was strange how much comfort Euphemia gained from writing down her thoughts and accounting her days in her little diary. With the exception of the letters she sent to her friends, her diary really was her only companion in the lonely school holidays.

Apart from the times when she was forced to attend parties and balls, Mia preferred to stay in her room and avoid her family because, that way, she didn't end up somehow provoking her parents into punishing her for some comment or expression on her face.

The balls and parties were becoming rather tedious now, from the engagement ball that she had been forced into attending (where she had been questioned incessantly about her marriage to Orion from various members of her family) to the Christmas parties - Euphemia was becoming rather sick of them all.

That night's ball was in fact one to celebrate the New Year, 1952, as it was the last day of 1951 (31st December) and so all of the Black family plus various important families from the Sacred 28 had gathered at Black Manor for the New Year's Eve ball.

Placing down her quill and ink pot, Mia closed her diary and placed the locking charm on it again with a quick wave of her wand as she did not want anyone reading her personal thoughts as that would land her in an ocean of hot water.

Once she had ensured that her diary was in a safe place, Euphemia stood from her chair and smoothed down her light pink dress that fell to her ankles in soft satins, swishing around her lower calves.

Her brown hair was fixed up in coiffure and assembled with a few pretty jewels and decorations that made Mia really feel like a princess, not that she enjoyed feeling as such.

Whereas other girls her age probably would've been delighted to wear such a beautiful dress and have their hair adorned in a pretty fashion, Euphemia just saw it as another way that Cassiopeia was trying to force her into being someone that she wasn't.

Mia's parents couldn't care less about her welfare, they were just bothered about what looked good for their family and seeing as they had already produced a Squib (oh, the shame!), they couldn't afford to let another one of their children slip away.