14 Days Of Roses

James Dalton

Well-Known Member
Messages
354
OOC First Name
Beth
Wand
Oak wood, 14" essence of vampire blood
The sun seemed to shine over the next fourteen days.. Well, at least in James' heart for he was not giving up on love that easily.
He was destined to be with Antoinette, he could feel it.
And he was going to prove to her that he did still love her, that he still needed her and that most of all; she still needed him.

The first day, James, still pale but with a fire blazing in his heart, began to put his plan into action:
He walked through the woods, gathering the flowers and transfiguring them onto a much more pristine wildflower bouquet.
He found a place in the local village which handled post and so James addressed the flowers to Antoinette and left the people at the post office to do the rest.

On the second day, James set about doing up the shack; he was going to make it bigger with another room or two and much more beautiful.
And that was exactly what he set about doing.
By the end of the day, the shack had one more room- a bathroom with a big tin bath.
He had yet to decorate it but nevermind. He'd do that tomorrow.

Come the next day, James had already made a start on the shack's second room; a very small bedroom big enough for only a little wicker manger padded out to make it comfortable.
He began decorating the whole house inside. It took him the best part of a day but he had done it.

On the fourth day, James travelled once again to the local village only this time he had a bunch of sparkling red roses which he handed to a Beauxbatons student who giggled when he explained they were for Antoinette.
He managed to start on the exterior decorations; flowers smothering the building in a pattern and on the ground were rose petals leading to the door- enchanted so they would stay fresh and beautiful.

On the fifth day, James lurked the woods outside of Beauxbatons.
He watched hopefully but Antoinette never came to see him.
He spent the day making a large heart out of red rose petals, fixing them all together.
His hopes were slowly wilting much unlike the petals.

On the sixth day, James added more interior design to the shack.. Or the home as he now called it.
He had managed to summon a couch- alright, it was a little shabby and.. green but it was comfortable enough and it seated three.

On the seventh day, James was losing hope. He sat in a local cafe and sipped at bland coffee.
He just wanted her back.

On the eighth day, James tried to renew his will by doing a drawing outside on a tree; it was of a man and a woman and.. and a goblin? No.. That wasn't a goblin, that was a child.
James wanted to feel loved. He needed Antoinette. He needed her to bring him a child to cherish and love.

On the ninth day, James collapsed on the floor of the shack; he had not eaten for days or slept and now he lay very still, very pale. But alive.



Theme for this Scene
 
Somehow, Antoinette made it back to Beauxbatons, her dignity in tatters and her clothes a mess. Antoinette didn't care. She didn't want to think or feel anything anymore. She'd given her heart to James, she'd given herself to him too, and all for naught. Oh, he said he loved her, but he couldn't love her. Not really. Not if he just went off to some other woman like that and even thought of her when they were alone together. How could I have been so stupid? she wailed, as she entered the palace and darted upstairs, determined to clean herself up and calm down so she could think straight.

All she could really do now is focus on her exams. Which she did, though it was exceptionally hard to do when James was in the back of her mind all the time. And the flowers he sent didn't help. The first ones, she burnt to a crisp with an irritable "Incendio". The second ones, she recieved with more grace, and admired them for a while. But when James came back to the forefront of her mind when she was reading History of Magic notes, and brought tears to her eyes once more, Antoinette set that bouquet on fire, too.

Somehow, the seventh year girl managed to survive her exams, which were extremely difficult. Of course, they weren't too much for Antoinette to handle. She was a Ravenclaw at heart, after all. Charms was a breeze, she topped the year in that. Transfiguration was pretty good too, apart from momentary slips in concentration due to James. But she did remarkably well, all things considered, and now all she had to worry about was getting a job. And surely her father could line her up with something.

Thinking of her father caused the part-Veela girl to pale. Why, she had been the result on him cheating on his wife! And sure, it wasn't his fault, she came on to him, she used her Veela charm...but she had excused him. She had no choice, she wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her mother. Of course, she'd been mad, but she'd forgiven him. Maybe she could forgive James...

...No. She couldn't. He'd known full well what he was doing, he'd been thinking of this Svetlana person while he was with her. Well. Antoinette couldn't stand for that. Even if it was killing her, not being with him. She couldn't let him get the better of her. Not when he was cavorting around with other women. Antoinette was much better than that.

Still, she couldn't get him out of her thoughts. And deep down inside, she knew she still loved him. As much as she hated to admit such a thing. In fact, she was disgusted to even think she could possibly love him, all things considered.

Against her better judgement, while she could have been packing her bags, Antoinette Greenwood found herself headed to that place in the woods. The place that held so many memories for her. The place where she'd declared her love, and the place her heart had been broken.

She was amazed to see such changes in the place as she approached it. Probably for Svetlana, or whoever else he's charming in to here, Antoinette thought bitterly, as she folded her arms defensively. He never really loved me, I'll bet. He only wanted me because I'm pretty. And that's only because of my blood. Although, Antoinette was having a hard time truly believeing that. Turn away, she commanded herself. Pack your bags, get out of this God-forsaken country, and get your father to help you find a home for one, and a job in the Ministry.

And yet, she couldn't move.
 
Inside the little house, James was still on the floor, skinny, pale and dying.
His heart may not have physically bled for Antoinette but emotionally he had lost everything and it only seemed fitting to just lay there on the ground, curled up to die.

If only he had known she was outside, he would have let her know how much he still cared.. But he was too weak anyway.
James' wand rolled from his hand and across the floor, sending out a few hard sparks which banged loudly against the wall.
Loud enough for anyone outside to hear.
It was almost a final, desperate cry for help.
 
Antoinette heard a loud bang from inside the shack, and her eyes widened in horror. What's going on in there? she questioned, quite honestly frightened. Probably with some other girl, she told herself, though she was having trouble believing that. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she found herself walking towards the door. Oh God, oh God, don't let him be with someone else, she thought, as she forced the door open to find...

...James on the floor, dying. "Oh my God, oh my God," Antoinette breathed, pale and terrified. "James, can you hear me?" she stammered, dropping to her knees and wrapping herself around him, without even thinking. In that moment, she completely forgot her previous anger and all she could think of was how afraid she was that the one person she truly loved could be dying right before her eyes. Even though he'd betrayed her, Antoinette could barely think of that at the moment. She just wanted to him to live.
 
James was standing in a forest which was apparently empty. He recognized it immediately and he also recognized the man running out in front of him, a small child clutched in his arms. He was sobbing. James stayed back for a moment, watching.
was it.. dead?
He moved closer to the man but still keeping cover.
The man was running towards a lake, sobbing, sweat pushing through his thin white shirt, his hair a mess. But he didn't seem to care.
He was running to the lake as fast as he could now and now he was kneeling down. And.. "No.." James breathed, watching the man lay the child beside the water. "No.. what.. What are you doing?!" He shouted as the man summoned a basket. He picked up the child, kissing its forehead and making it open its bright blue eyes. "I am so sorry." the man said, placing the child into the basket. It's eyes closed once more. It wasn't dead, just.. sleeping. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" James screamed, running to the man and hitting him.. But he didn't hit him and the man didn't hear him. He passed through him like smoke.
James stared at his hands. "..What..?" And then he looked up. The child in the basket was floating away across the lake towards a building. A building James knew all too well. He felt sick.
He had just witnessed his father sending him across the lake to a children's home when he was only a few years old.
And then a bright white light appeared, James shielded his eyes and something emerged from it- the shape of a woman. An angel, surely. But then James found himself unable to breath.. It was her, it was..
"Antoinette?" James said weakly, opening his eyes.
And there she was, wrapped around him.
"I am so sorry," he breathed to her, his eyes welling up. "I betrayed you. I destroyed everything. I didn't mean to.. I didn't think.. I.. I missed you so badly." His lungs were filling up with air again. He could breath. "I just.." And his mind was suddenly to what he had seen. It angered him. "I just wanted to be loved."
 
Antoinette clutched tightly to James, somehow believing that if she held him here he'd stay. Obviously that wasn't right, but Antoinette had fallen in to desperation. Although he had hurt her so badly, she was still in love with him, still wanted him, still needed his love and affection. That desperate craving for attention had been what had caused her horrible reputation over her few years at Beauxbatons. She enchanted boys - mostly with her Veela charm, but also with her wit - and tried so hard to find someone to love her, but she usually failed and cast them aside instantly. James was completely different. For the first time in her life, she'd become subject to her emotions, had fallen madly in love. He was the one, she had realised, the one she needed more than anyone else in the world.

And he'd betrayed her. But still, she held on. Antoinette had trouble with abandonment. Her Veela mother, who she didn't know at all, left her at her father's office mere days after birth. And her father, not wanting a scandal, had dumped the girl on his squib daughter and her muggle husband. Now even they had little to do with her. James had been the one who hadn't just left her, who had sought her out...James was the one she'd completely given her heart to, trusting that he'd keep it safe.

Well, he didn't. He went off with another woman, needing to be loved. Which Antoinette could relate to - not that she wanted to admit it. "James," Antoinette breathed, tears welling up in her own eyes. "Why..." she began, before choking up. "Why'd you have to do that? Am I not good enough for you?" she sobbed. Antoinette had spent her life trying to be the best. She hoped that one day, someone could see her as that. "I love you, James. I graduate tomorrow. I can be all yours. But that's not enough for you, is it," she said, coldly. She just needed to get this out of her system.
 
James tried to get to his feet. He managed to stand up, leaning against the wall.
"I.. I didn't mean for it to happen." He said, wheezing as his lungs began working fully once more.
"I didn't mean to.. to do what I did. I'm sorry. I.. I love you and I don't deserve you." James turned away, unable to face Antoinette, to face the girl he loved.
"Those women," He said, still looking away, "could not satisfy my true need; they couldn't be you." He turned his head slightly, his eyes shifting to her. "See what I will push myself to do just to think I am with you for that little bit longer? I need you to survive. You are my oxygen, my sunlight, my heart and my soul. You are the only one I want and if you take me back, I'll change. I promise I can change."
The light was bouncing off his eyes where tears coated them.
He truly believed he could change everything about him for Antoinette. It's what he wanted to do.
 
Antoinette wasn't exactly sure what to do. She stood there, looking at her feet, not sure of what she was thinking. The logical response, naturally, was to leave right there and then.

But matters of the heart were not at all logical.

She knew it was not good for her to stay. But she knew it would just about destroy her to leave. She'd never felt this way about anyone before, and she needed him like she needed oxygen. She needed someone to hold on to, someone to love and to love her in return. And she loved James, loved him with all her heart. She most certainly could not reject him after hearing those words. Her eyes were full of tears, too, but she ignored that feeling as she lent in to him, gently - he was not in the best of shape and she needed him to eat something and to rest - and softly placed her lips to his.

"Whatever you do, James, I know I'll find myself coming back to you. You hurt me, and I still return for more. I love you, James. I don't want you to hurt me like that again, please," she begged. "But even if you do, I know I'll still love you. I...I can't explain it at all, but that's it." She kissed him again, still being gentle, as the tears started to stream down her face.

Such a shame that she should love someone so much, even though they would bring her to tears more than a few times.
 
"Oh, Antoinette--" James said, his fingers gently brushing against her cheek.
He gave her a watery smile. A loving smile. A single tear ran down his cheek and he held her close to him, pressing her head to his chest and kissing the top of her hair.
"I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. I promise I will."


 
((Time passes =)) ))

Antoinette found herself quite amazed at how easily her anger evaporated as James kissed her...and her anger changed to passion and love, and as she lay cuddled up to James, a soft smile played on her features. She could almost forget his infidelities - in the heat of the moment, she'd completely forgotten that had been with anyone but her. And although they remained in the back of her mind for now, she largely ignored them and instead lay happily next to him, thinking about how tomorrow, she'd be a Beauxbatons graduate, and she could be with the man she loved, instead of confined to school grounds. And then he wouldn't have to go to anybody else, right? It would just be the two of them, they would never need anybody else but each other.

Well, at least, for now.

"I love you," Antoinette whispered to James, beaming as she reached a hand up to run her fingers through his hair. Despite everything, she still could honestly say she loved him. And the perseverence of her heart would definately come in useful sooner or later...more than likely sooner.
 

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