Ruby Dellamark ⍎ The Snake Prince (Sequel)

10 ~ A Black Hole in My Mind

"Franklin get up! I smell smoke!"

"Fire! Get Ruby! Get out of the house!"

"Mummy!"

"Come along, darling! Under the cloak! Hurry!"

"Arthur! There's only two bodies here!"

"Yes, sir?"

"There should be three! Where's the girl?" 

"There was no girl, Master!"

"Bloody bollocks, Arthur! They had a daughter with them!" 

"The Snatchers have searched the house top-to-bottom, Master Lucius! The girl is no where to be found!"

"Find her then!"

Ruby woke with a startle. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat had filmed over her skin. The same nightmare had been occurring for days, only this time Lucius Malfoy was present. His vulgar face alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine. 

But there was a woman there as well, a feminine, familiar voice that Ruby just couldn't seem to place. 

"Ruby?" Luna's meek voice broke through the silence, "Are you all right?" 

The young brunette turned her head, just able to make out Luna's pale, dulcet face in the dark shadows in the truck. She nodded slowly. 

"Yes," she panted, "It was only a nightmare," 

Luna sat up, still swathed in her quilt like a caterpillar in its cocoon, "Would you like to talk about it? It might make you feel better?" 

At first, Ruby wanted to refuse. However, given the circumstances, if she couldn't trust Luna of all people in this world, who else could she trust? So, she sat up against the now emptied ice cream drawer, all of its contents had been consumed throughout the last week. Hunger however was the last thing on Ruby's mind.

"I always have the same recurring nightmare -- when my parents died," she said.

"They were killed in a fire, yes?" Luna asked.

Ruby nodded, "It's a lucid memory. My mum woke up to the smell of smoke and my father yells at her to grab me and get out of the house. Obviously, neither of them made it," 

Luna leaned forward, curiously intrigued, "... But you did," 

"That's the thing that's always troubled me, Luna," Ruby huffed, "I always had it in my head that my dad had saved me and tried to save my mum. That was the story I understood. Recently, however, the memory is different," 

"How so?" Luna asked.

"Lucius Malfoy is there, and he's yelling at his servant about a missing child. I can only assume he meant me. And there's this woman's voice there, but I don't recognize it," her words were shaky as they drifted from her lips, she could hardly believe she was speaking of this at all. It was over ten years ago now that her parents had perished. 

Luna cocked her head, "Draco's father had something to do with it?" 

Ruby shook her head, "If he did, why'd it take me ten bloody years to remember?" 

"Well, you were only six years old. You eyes could perceive things that your mind couldn't perhaps? There's a black hole in your mind and the memories are slipping out," she replied, "It's quite fun, when you think about it. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle," 

Ruby laid back down in her blankets, coddling her head over her crossed arms, "You'll forgive me if I can't seem to find the joy in this puzzle,"