literature

I'll Stay in the Darkness With You - Chapter 9

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Among the excitement that had been going on since Bella's return, Narcissa had completely forgotten about the letters she wrote during her absence. She had gotten to tell her so much in the last while that she hadn't thought about them even once. They were still sitting in that drawer, hidden beneath a dress she had been saving for a very special occasion. What that occasion would be, she honestly didn't know, but she knew it would be something big, and had a hunch it would have to do with Bella. Not another person had seen the dress since she bought it.

One night, Bellatrix had begun to feel like, despite what she said, her sister had forgotten about her while she was locked up. She had talked to Lucius and he had only seemed to confirm her suspicions. It was easy enough to show her love for her once she was back. After fifteen years locked away it had all seemed too perfect.

Narcissa knocked on her door then poked her head in. "Are you decent?" She asked, half jokingly.

"Yes." Bella flipped to another page in the book she was reading, ignoring her aside from that one word.

Narcissa's smile faded as she entered and shut the door behind her. It wasn't hard to tell when her sister was upset. She was never very good at hiding it. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope. Everything is just dandy."

"Bella. You're not even looking at me." Narcissa sat on the edge of the bed. "Obviously something is bothering you."

Bella tried her best to keep her temper, took a deep breath, and set the book down. "I'm going to ask you a question. When you answer, I want you to be totally honest. Don't you dare lie to me with it."

Narcissa's face reflected her confusion. "Of course, darling. You know I'd never lie to you."

"Did you really miss me?"

"Yes. I missed you every day you were gone. What brings this up all of the sudden?"

"If you missed me then why didn't you mention me once after the first month? Why did you not seem to even care the whole time I was gone?"

"I didn't want to bother Lucius with it."

Bella folded her arms and looked away from her sister. "Cut the crap, Cissy. You moved on. You didn't even care that I was gone."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really think that I could go fifteen years without thinking about you once?" Tears began to swell in her bright blue eyes.

Bella's temper finally got the better of her and she snapped. "I went fifteen years stuck in a living hell, constantly being reminded of every painful moment or thought I've ever had! Meanwhile you were here living a life of luxury with Mr. Perfect. You do the math!"

Narcissa stood up and looked one more time at her older sister. "How dare you think such a thing of me after all we've been through." Without another word from either of them, she left the room and slammed the door behind her.

Bella threw the book across the room in anger, accidentally breaking the handle of a drawer in the dresser opposite her bed. She stood up and paced, muttering angrily to herself. Once she began to calm down, guilt began to set in. She looked over at the broken drawer handle and knelt down to try and fix it. Once she managed to move it back into place, she got curious and checked inside it. Something emerald green stared back at her and she pulled it out to look at it. What came out was a slim-fit, long-sleeved, dress that skimmed the floor when she stood and held it up. It was velvet, soft to the touch, and had glistening silver swirls around the neck, waist, wrists, and bottom of it. On top of all of this, it didn't look like it had ever been worn, even once. She most definitely had never seen it, and why would it be locked away in a drawer when the rest of Cissy's clothes (Who else would it have been?) were in a large, walk-in closet. It was simple, but beautiful, and she couldn't help but wonder why it was hidden.

When she folded the dress up and went to put it back, she noticed a large stack of pieces of parchment of various sizes, bound together with a ribbon matching the dress topped with a bow. Bella's curiosity only grew and she picked them up and studied them for a moment. She sat down on the bed, set the dress down beside her, and pulled one section of the bow to untie it. She flipped the stack over and saw it covered in her youngest sister's handwriting, beginning with the words "Dear Bella". She quickly read through the rest of it, then the next, and the one after. Before she knew it, she had finished the final letter. Before she could do anything with it, a small wet spot appeared on the parchment, slightly smearing the ink it touched. She raised her hand to her eye and wiped it, realizing that she was crying.

She was wrong; totally and completely wrong. Narcissa had missed her. Looking at the dates on these letters, she never stopped, not for one single solitary moment. All her worries and suspicions truly were irrational.

"Bella...?"

Her younger sister's voice broke the weeping witch out of her trance. She quickly wiped her eyes again and looked up at her. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

Narcissa could still see the tears filling her eyes, trying to fall, some of which she clearly couldn't stop. Even she could, the slight redness and puffiness around them would have given her away. "I see you found my letters." Bella nodded, wiped her eyes again, then set the last down in the pile with the rest of them, looking down at the ground and away from her sister. Narcissa sat down next to her again and smiled. "I had completely forgotten about those. With you actually being here, I had no reason to write them anymore." Bella didn't answer, so she set her own hand down on her sister's and held it tightly. "I did miss you."

The older witch finally looked up at her, then threw her arms around her and laid her head on her chest, crying harder than she ever had before. She could only calm down enough to talk when she felt comforting arms around her, holding her close, and a hand gently stroking her knotted and tangled hair. "I'm so sorry, Cissy. Azkaban must have-"

Narcissa cut her off, seeing how clearly upset she was. "Hush now, my love. I know." Her sister curled up even tighter in her arms, gripping the fabric of her nightgown as if her life depended on it. "You're safe now."
Thanks to :iconkaielan: for her suggestion with this one! It ended up working a lot better than what I had planned originally. ^.^
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