Fanfiction: The Black Princess (Chapter Two)
Title: The Black Princess
Author: Gamma Orionis gamma_x_orionis
Rating: PG-13 (Likely to change to R)
Characters/Pairings: Bellatrix/Andromeda/Narcissa
Word Count: 2308 thus far
Summary: Andromeda Black was named for a princess, but she is no such thing. She is a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, an outcast and a sinner.
Author's Notes: In progress, for a challenge on fanfiction.net. In the first few chapters, incest is not present, but it becomes clearer as the story goes on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
By the time Narcissa was two years old, Andromeda still detested her every bit as much as she had the very first time she'd seen her. Narcissa still monopolized their parents' attention, she was still boring - though Andromeda was willing to acknowledge the possibility that maybe - just maybe - she would get less boring when she was older. But for the most part, Andromeda was able to avoid her now.
Having Bellatrix on her side certainly helped.
When Andromeda had been alone, she had stood no chance against her parents. The question, "Do you want to hold your baby sister?" had no acceptable answer but "Yes". But now that Andromeda had Bellatrix with her, she became quite skilled at worming out of situations that required interaction with baby Narcissa.
"Mother, I need Andromeda…" Bellatrix would say any time Druella tried to get Andromeda to play with the baby. Then the two older girls would hurry away, under the pretence of cleaning their bedrooms or cooking dinner, when really what they did was sneak out into the grounds of Black Manor and indulge in their games.
It was on one such day, when Bellatrix had skilfully gotten Andromeda out of having to spend another three hours staring at that damned baby, and the two of them were wandering the grounds, that Bellatrix said, "Have you ever been out onto the moors?"
"The what?" asked Andromeda.
"The moors. You know, outside the Manor grounds."
"There's something outside the Manor grounds?" Andromeda asked, her eyes going as wide as saucers. She had never even considered such a possibility before. Her whole world existed within the walls of the Black family estate.
"Yes. And it's better out there," said Bellatrix with absolute certainty. "I've been out onto the moors."
"Oh…" Andromeda's eyes widened even more. "Is it pretty?"
Bellatrix considered. "I suppose. It's… pretty in a way. It's not pretty like Narcissa," she spat the word out with disgust, "it is pretty, though."
"Can I see it?" asked Andromeda.
"I don't know…" Bellatrix said rather doubtfully. "I don't want to get in trouble for taking you out… If I took you out onto the moors, you've have to promise not to ever, ever tell Mummy or Daddy, all right?"
"I promise!" Andromeda said quickly. "I won't tell them anything that we do together!"
"Good," said Bellatrix, nodding with satisfaction. "Come on, then. I can show you the moors as long as you're not going to tell."
"I'm not," Andromeda confirmed, following Bellatrix as she marched down one of the long, winding paths that criss-crossed the manor grounds.
The two girls walked along the path, Bellatrix leading the way and Andromeda following eagerly, until Bellatrix stopped short in front of what seemed to be a solid wall made of stones. She stared at it intently, then reached out and grabbed one of the slightly jutting rocks. She heaved herself up skilfully, then managed to climb up on top of the wall. "Come on, Andi! Follow me!"
Andromeda felt somewhat dubious, but she nervously grabbed onto the rocks too, and managed to struggle until she was on top of the wall as well.
Bellatrix grinned, and grabbed her sister's hand. "It's not that hard, see?" Then she pulled herself over the edge, dragging Andromeda with her.
The girls crashed on the ground, right into a patch of heather, which fortunately cushioned their fall nicely.
"Ouch!" complained Andromeda, but she was grinning and laughing right along with Bellatrix as they struggled to their feet, slightly winded.
"Come on!" Bellatrix laughed, grabbing her sister's hand again, and pulling her to her feet. "I'm going to show you all over…"
The two girls - Bellatrix, taller, stronger, and on longer legs, dragging along short, somewhat stout Andromeda - hurried up along a swell in the ground until Bellatrix stopped short and grinned, turning around and pointing. "Look!"
Andromeda turned to see what her sister was pointing at, and gasped softly. From this distance, Black Manor looked no bigger than a doll's house. Andromeda had never been so far away from the manor, and it amazed her. "It's so little."
"Yes," agreed Bellatrix. "See how far away it is? And we could go even further away if we wanted… so far away that the manor would stop even existing…"
"Could we really?" Andromeda asked in wonder. What a strange idea - going so far away that the manor would simply disappear from her life.
"Mm-hmm," said Bellatrix, nodding. "But we're not allowed… we have to go back to the manor pretty soon… so we should just enjoy being this far away from it while we can.
Bellatrix plunked herself down on the ground and started plucking flowers from the ground and weaving them together. Andromeda sat down too, but she didn't pick any flowers. She was gazing at Black Manor from the distance.
"Here, Andi, put this on."
Bellatrix shoved a loop of flowers into Andromeda's hands. Andromeda looked at it. "What is it?"
"It's a crown," Bellatrix said, as though the answer should have been obvious. "You've got to wear it. We're going to play a game and you're going to be the princess and princesses need crowns."
Andromeda beamed as she set the wreath in her hair. She adored getting to play the princess, especially in games with Bellatrix, even though Bellatrix always seemed to take even more interesting parts for herself - evil queens and daring knights and such. Andromeda wouldn't have wanted to play those parts, though - they took far too much acting and effort. She was happy to play Andromeda the princess, who got kidnapped by Bellatrix the queen and then saved by Bellatrix the knight in shining armour.
The game was played with great enthusiasm on Bellatrix's part - the new surroundings apparently inspiring her to all sorts of new twists in their usual games. She even gave Andromeda a stick and the two of them - as Andromeda the princess and Bellatrix the queen, of course - pretended to duel, which had never happened in the games within the grounds of Black Manor.
But all the way through the games, Andromeda was not thinking about duels or being a damsel in distress or Bellatrix the knight in shining armour's elaborate schemes to save her from the clutches of Bellatrix the queen. She was thinking about the far away Manor.
This was the first time she had been away from it.
The feeling of freedom intrigued her.
Chapter Two at fanfiction.net
Author: Gamma Orionis gamma_x_orionis
Rating: PG-13 (Likely to change to R)
Characters/Pairings: Bellatrix/Andromeda/Narcissa
Word Count: 2308 thus far
Summary: Andromeda Black was named for a princess, but she is no such thing. She is a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, an outcast and a sinner.
Author's Notes: In progress, for a challenge on fanfiction.net. In the first few chapters, incest is not present, but it becomes clearer as the story goes on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
By the time Narcissa was two years old, Andromeda still detested her every bit as much as she had the very first time she'd seen her. Narcissa still monopolized their parents' attention, she was still boring - though Andromeda was willing to acknowledge the possibility that maybe - just maybe - she would get less boring when she was older. But for the most part, Andromeda was able to avoid her now.
Having Bellatrix on her side certainly helped.
When Andromeda had been alone, she had stood no chance against her parents. The question, "Do you want to hold your baby sister?" had no acceptable answer but "Yes". But now that Andromeda had Bellatrix with her, she became quite skilled at worming out of situations that required interaction with baby Narcissa.
"Mother, I need Andromeda…" Bellatrix would say any time Druella tried to get Andromeda to play with the baby. Then the two older girls would hurry away, under the pretence of cleaning their bedrooms or cooking dinner, when really what they did was sneak out into the grounds of Black Manor and indulge in their games.
It was on one such day, when Bellatrix had skilfully gotten Andromeda out of having to spend another three hours staring at that damned baby, and the two of them were wandering the grounds, that Bellatrix said, "Have you ever been out onto the moors?"
"The what?" asked Andromeda.
"The moors. You know, outside the Manor grounds."
"There's something outside the Manor grounds?" Andromeda asked, her eyes going as wide as saucers. She had never even considered such a possibility before. Her whole world existed within the walls of the Black family estate.
"Yes. And it's better out there," said Bellatrix with absolute certainty. "I've been out onto the moors."
"Oh…" Andromeda's eyes widened even more. "Is it pretty?"
Bellatrix considered. "I suppose. It's… pretty in a way. It's not pretty like Narcissa," she spat the word out with disgust, "it is pretty, though."
"Can I see it?" asked Andromeda.
"I don't know…" Bellatrix said rather doubtfully. "I don't want to get in trouble for taking you out… If I took you out onto the moors, you've have to promise not to ever, ever tell Mummy or Daddy, all right?"
"I promise!" Andromeda said quickly. "I won't tell them anything that we do together!"
"Good," said Bellatrix, nodding with satisfaction. "Come on, then. I can show you the moors as long as you're not going to tell."
"I'm not," Andromeda confirmed, following Bellatrix as she marched down one of the long, winding paths that criss-crossed the manor grounds.
The two girls walked along the path, Bellatrix leading the way and Andromeda following eagerly, until Bellatrix stopped short in front of what seemed to be a solid wall made of stones. She stared at it intently, then reached out and grabbed one of the slightly jutting rocks. She heaved herself up skilfully, then managed to climb up on top of the wall. "Come on, Andi! Follow me!"
Andromeda felt somewhat dubious, but she nervously grabbed onto the rocks too, and managed to struggle until she was on top of the wall as well.
Bellatrix grinned, and grabbed her sister's hand. "It's not that hard, see?" Then she pulled herself over the edge, dragging Andromeda with her.
The girls crashed on the ground, right into a patch of heather, which fortunately cushioned their fall nicely.
"Ouch!" complained Andromeda, but she was grinning and laughing right along with Bellatrix as they struggled to their feet, slightly winded.
"Come on!" Bellatrix laughed, grabbing her sister's hand again, and pulling her to her feet. "I'm going to show you all over…"
The two girls - Bellatrix, taller, stronger, and on longer legs, dragging along short, somewhat stout Andromeda - hurried up along a swell in the ground until Bellatrix stopped short and grinned, turning around and pointing. "Look!"
Andromeda turned to see what her sister was pointing at, and gasped softly. From this distance, Black Manor looked no bigger than a doll's house. Andromeda had never been so far away from the manor, and it amazed her. "It's so little."
"Yes," agreed Bellatrix. "See how far away it is? And we could go even further away if we wanted… so far away that the manor would stop even existing…"
"Could we really?" Andromeda asked in wonder. What a strange idea - going so far away that the manor would simply disappear from her life.
"Mm-hmm," said Bellatrix, nodding. "But we're not allowed… we have to go back to the manor pretty soon… so we should just enjoy being this far away from it while we can.
Bellatrix plunked herself down on the ground and started plucking flowers from the ground and weaving them together. Andromeda sat down too, but she didn't pick any flowers. She was gazing at Black Manor from the distance.
"Here, Andi, put this on."
Bellatrix shoved a loop of flowers into Andromeda's hands. Andromeda looked at it. "What is it?"
"It's a crown," Bellatrix said, as though the answer should have been obvious. "You've got to wear it. We're going to play a game and you're going to be the princess and princesses need crowns."
Andromeda beamed as she set the wreath in her hair. She adored getting to play the princess, especially in games with Bellatrix, even though Bellatrix always seemed to take even more interesting parts for herself - evil queens and daring knights and such. Andromeda wouldn't have wanted to play those parts, though - they took far too much acting and effort. She was happy to play Andromeda the princess, who got kidnapped by Bellatrix the queen and then saved by Bellatrix the knight in shining armour.
The game was played with great enthusiasm on Bellatrix's part - the new surroundings apparently inspiring her to all sorts of new twists in their usual games. She even gave Andromeda a stick and the two of them - as Andromeda the princess and Bellatrix the queen, of course - pretended to duel, which had never happened in the games within the grounds of Black Manor.
But all the way through the games, Andromeda was not thinking about duels or being a damsel in distress or Bellatrix the knight in shining armour's elaborate schemes to save her from the clutches of Bellatrix the queen. She was thinking about the far away Manor.
This was the first time she had been away from it.
The feeling of freedom intrigued her.
Chapter Two at fanfiction.net