Dark Secrets

E

Esmerelda Lazuli

Well-Known Member
Messages
104
OOC First Name
Jasmine ;-)
Wand
13", Ivy and essence of dragon scale
Esmerelda paced, waiting in the entrance hall of her home. She hadn't seen Cassandra in a long time, and was looking forward to her meeting. The other woman had said she wanted to tell Esmerelda something, and she had to confess curiosity, but only in the privacy of her own mind. She was growing impatient; she had nothing else to do, and Lapis had locked herself away in her bedroom for the afternoon. Esmerelda was glad of this. She didn't want the girl's interference in adult matters.

Esmerelda sighed and sat down. She had by now resigned herself to the fact that Cassandra would be late, and wanted to ponder her own things to tell the other woman. She knew they both had their dark secrets, hidden deep in the shroud of the past, and was hoping to find out something useful.

Esmerelda looked up abruptly at the sound of a knock on the door. She stood and smiled, and went to open it. Cassandra had finally arrived.
 
Cassandra was really late. Katie was harder to get rid of than she thought. Walking briskly down the road she turned up the driveway to Esmerelda's house. Flicking her hair out of her face she marched quickly up to the front door.
Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door impatiently, she had big news for her friend. Tapping her foot she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Smiling she waited as Esmerelda openned the door.
 
Esmerelda went swiftly to the door, eager to see her friend. It opened with a long crrrreak at her touch, and Cassandra stepped inside.

"Cassandra! How are you? I haven't seen you in ages." Esmerelda was impatient to hear the news, but social niceties had to be observed.
 
Cassandra heard the door open with a creak and winced "You must get that door fixed..." she said before the door fully opened. Stepping inside she took off her long travelling coat. "Esmeralda!" she greeted her friend in her slightly pompish manner. "It's been too long!" she added giving her a swift hug. Stepping back she glanced around, no one was in sight. "I have big news that concerns Katie." she said.
 
Lapis was doing her flute practise. She finished her piece with a tremulous semibreve, and found she desperately needed a drink of water. Lapis put her flute down and thought for a moment. She didn't want to disturb Esmerelda and her horrible guest, so decided to get it from the upstairs bathroom, along the corridor from her bedroom.

Lapis walked swiftly and silently through the echoing house. At the top of the stairs she paused, hearing the echoes of conversation. Lapis hadn't meant to listen, but overheard the end of a drifting sentence.
" . . . conserns Katie . . ."
Lapis had met Katie recently, and still more recently discovered she was Cassandra's neice. Curiosity aroused, she couldn't help crouching behind the stair rail to listen.
 
Esmerelda accepted the embrace and smiled at her friend, beckoning her into the house. She hadn't seen Cassandra in such a long time . . .
"It's certainly been too long," she agreed. "What did you want to tell me?"
Esmerelda noticed the drifting notes of flute from upstairs had stopped, but took no notice. Why should I care what the girl gets up to? She had no idea what her daughter was really doing.
 
Cassandra smiled started "Katie is becoming more and more interested in her parents, the foolish girl...and I thought I'd let you know exactly what happened to my wretched sister and her husband..." trailing off she looked around again before looking back at Esmerelda "Can we sit...?" she asked "I've been on my feet all day with Katie running away all the time. She doesn't understand that shes not allowed to know what happened to her stupid parents." she added with a sigh.
 
Now Esmerelda's curiosity was aroused. She had heard of Katie, Cassandra's neice, only through her friend's unflattering descriptions (she called her an insolent brat), and had been aware that something had happened to the girl's parents to land her with Cassandra. Now, perhaps she would finally get the full story.
"Sit? Of course." Esmerelda led her friend to a nearby armchair, upholstered in green velvet, and sat down with a sigh herself.
"Now! What is it that happened?"

Esmerelda was strongly interested in hearing her friend's dark secrets; she had a fair few of her own and was eager to compare. Could Cassandra's confession possibly compare to what she herself had done? She had kept the corrosive, depressing fact hidden away inside her for so long . . . It would be nice to have a sympathetic listener to confide in.
 
Lapis too, kneeling above the two women, was now deeply curious. She knew nothing, of course, of what was going on in her mother's head, but Cassandra's worda alone had been enough to spark her interest. Lapis's previous knowledge of Katie's parents was absolutely zilch; she knew only that the younger girl lived with her aunt, and didn't appreciate it. She didn't know Katie very well, but liked what she did know, and thought she would like to meet her again.

Without a sound, Lapis leaned closer, watching through the uprights of the banister. She had a favourite tune stuck in her head, and was sorely tempted to hum it under her breath, but she didn't want to give herself away, knowing she would be punished if caught. Besides, what she heard next drove the ditty out of her head completely.

((Ha! That adds up to 4 paragraphs . . . your next post better be good.))
 
((oooooh! Bring it on! ha ha))

Cassandra followed her friend and gently lowered herslef onto the chair. Smiling slightly she sighed "I like your taste in furniture" she said with a chuckle. Straight backed she crossed her legs and pursed her lips. Closing her eyes she pressed the tips of her long bony fingers together. Taking a deep breath she began:

"8 years ago my 'dear' sister miss Lillian Calbrese married that complete TWIT Matthew Swan." she paused to take a breath and open her eyes. "He was a absolute hopeless case. Then again..." she smirked "So was my obsene sister..." She added with a short laugh. Her face suddenly serious she looked directly at her friend. "Then a year later that brat Katie was born...well at that time she was known as Isadora." Rolling her eyes she sighed and smothed down her plain black skirt. "When the brat was 1 they came..." Clearing her throat she thought back to the day it happened.

Taking a deep breath she frowned "You won't think less of me when I tell you this...right..." she asked thoroughly concrened that what she was about to revel would turn her oldest friend against her like how all her other friends had done.
 
"Of course not," Esmerelda replied, now thoroughly fascinated. Perhaps the two friends were more alike than they could possibly have imagined. By the tone of Cassandra's voice, her other friends had shunned her for the fact of what had happened. Esmerelda had kept her own secret for so long precisely because people wouldn't understand, would hate her for it . . . over the years she had almost come to hate herself for it. Almost, but not quite.

Esmerelda sighed and twisted a lock of her dark curls, thinking of her daughter. Lapis had inherited her dead straight hair from her father's side of the family. She didn't know, of course, about the Incident. It had been such a depressing business, and Esmerelda saw no reason not to tell the girl he had died of a mere illness. Why should I tell my daughter things she doesn't want to know? There's no reason to mar her father's memory . . .

Jolted out of her dark thoughts by Cassandra's next words, Esmerelda listened in rapt concentration as her friend told her exactly what she'd most wanted to hear. Now Esmerelda knew she could trust her. Now . . .
 
Cassandra smiled relieved that she could tell her news without the risk of anyone else turning against her. She remembered all the stunned faces as she accidently let it slip all those many years ago. And she shuddered, settling back in the chair she pepared her self for any reaction that could be given.

Taking a deep breath she began "Like I was saying, when the brat was 1 they came. The Death Eaters" she added to Esmerelda's puzzled look. "I had unfortunatly taken a liking to one of the more handsome death eaters and they made me a promise. You see Katie's parents were on very bad terms with the death eaters. They told me I was to become the death eaters wife if I got rid of the brats parents, who were constantly moving around." Clenching her teeth she scowled "Of course after I did manage to get rid of those idiots the promise fell through and I got landed with not only the brat but a gultiy concious."

Coming to the end of the story Cassandra stood up and began pacing in front of Esmerelda waiting for her reaction. Wringing her hands she stopped and turned to look to see if she had lost yet another friend. Esmerelda's expression was unreadable so she waited for her to speak.

((sorry about the random <br>'s everywhere....stupid school computers))
 
Noticing Cassandra trying to read her expression, Esmerelda smiled, thinking furiously. So that was the hidden secret of Katie's parents. It was better than Esmerelda could possibly have imagined. The circumstances were so similar . . . Surely, then, Cassandra would not reject her for her own dark secret. Esmerelda could tell from her friend's expression that she too had experienced the mistrust, the evil looks and fear that went hand in hand with such an act. It was time to find out how far she could be trusted.

Assuming a casual position, quite at odds with her inner emotions, Esmerelda smiled indulgently at her friend. There was no warmth in that smile; she had been unhappy for too long. Now, it was time.
"How . . . interesting. Now I believe I can trust you. You see, I too have something to say that I've kept hidden for a very long time. And I too feel it's time to finally tell someone. I've lived with it all to myself for so many months. Now I'd like to let the truth out, so to speak. Can I trust you?"
 
Lapis listened with incredulity, swiftly turning to anger as she stifled a horrified gasp. Poor Katie! To think she'd been living with her parents' murderer for so long and not even known it! No wonder Cassandra hated her. The young girl would serve as a constant reminder of what she had done. Yet looking at the woman's face, Lapis saw no remorse, and only a vague, nagging sense of guilt. One thing was clear. Lapis was far out of her depth.

She had known, of course, that if caught eavesdropping she would be punished. But now Lapis's anger was turning to fear. Very little was clear from what she had witnessed, but those aspects she did understand boded no good. It was scarily obvious that Cassandra was a ruthless character, prepared to kill for the smallest of reasons. And then . . . A thrill of terror ran down Lapis's spine as she heard Esmerelda's next words. Her own mother! If Esmerelda was involved in this too . . .
Lapis waited in reluctant anticipation for Esmerelda's story.
 
Cassandra was surprised to here that Esmerelda too had a secret to revel and she automaticly smiled, pleased that she hadn't lost yet another friend and to make things better Esmerelda trusted her.
She settled herself back down on the seat and she pressed her fingers together and nodded "Yes of course you can." she said thinking hard about what Esmerelda could possibly tell her. She didn't have to wait long until she had the answer to the questions she desperatly wanted to know the answers to.
 
Esmerelda paused for a long moment, clasping her interlaced fingers and gazing into the distance, at a past that only she could see. It was harder than she had expected to finally start telling the truth. After all these years, she still wasn't sure whether or not to regret it.

Giving a deep sigh, Esmerelda reluctantly began to speak.
"My husband Lorenzo was, as you know, a Death Eater. Three years ago, he went on a mission for them. I didn't know what it was, and I told Lapis he was ill in hospital. When he was away, one of the other Death Eaters told me that to become one of them, I had to . . . to kill him. I've had aspirations to join them for a very long time, so I didn't press the matter. When Lorenzo came home, Lapis was asleep, so I-"

Esmerelda broke off, suddenly lost in memories of that terrible night. Her husband hadn't understood what was going on, and they had spoken in furious whispers, both aware of their daughter's peaceful slumber upstairs. Esmerelda's eyes filled with involuntary tears; like that night, she was trying too hard to be strong.
"I killed him," she whispered. The three words seemed to ring and echo around her mind, until they filled all emotion.

"Of course, after that, I got a taste of the dark side's treachery. I never managed to become a Death Eater: they only saw me as a tool to get Lorenzo out of the way. Turns out he was having moral scruples." She laughed weakly.
"And now, I have to live with what I've done."

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Esmerelda hid her head in her hands, sobbing in almost complete silence.
 
This time Lapis could not stifle her gasp. As it passed her lips she cursed inwardly, but the damage was already done. Below Lapis, Esmerelda looked up sharply, and the young girl knew she had been caught. Surprisingly, Lapis didn't care. The revelation of Esmerelda's betrayal had put her beyond caring. Now, rage, not fear, coursed through her veins.

Lapis remembered well the time that her mother spoke of. It had been one of the darkest times in her young life, though nothing compared to this. Only seven years old, Lapis had swallowed the falsity of her father's illness unquestioningly. Her only misgiving was the constant question; why had she not been able to see him in hospital? Esmerelda had not been able to provide a satisfactory answer to this, no matter how she tried. Lapis had been devastated when Lorenzo died. She had known vaguely that he'd been involved in what she'd naively called 'bad stuff', but loved him all the same. In those days, in fact, she had been close to both her parents, impossible as that might seem now. Lorenzo's death had been the start of Lapis and Esmerelda drifting apart. Lapis stared into the distance for a long time, remembering all of this.

Then, she had been sad about her bad relationship with her mother. Now, she thought, Esmerelda deserved it.
 
Despite the stress of having revealed what she'd kept hidden for so long, Esmerelda heard the small noise from above, and looked for the source. What she saw startled her utterly.
"Lapis!"
Esmerelda's emotions were spinning. How dare she- but oh no!- but SHE KNOWS- but. . . Argh! Standing up, angry now, because it was the easiest thing to be, she could put all other feelings away for later, Esmerelda shouted up to her daughter.
"Lapis! How much did you hear?"

Inwardly, she cringed. What have I done?
 
Knowing she had been discovered, and made bold by her anger, Lapis stood up from her hiding place. She pushed her fear to the back of her mind; perhps the best way to get through this was being obnoxious.
"How can I tell you how much I heard unless I know how much I didn't hear?" she asked, voice barely quavering.

Slowly, trying to control her emotions, Lapis walked down the stairs. She paused dramatically at the bottom, hand on the bannister.
"I heard enough. I heard what you did, both of you. And make no mistake Cassandra, I will be telling Katie."

Then, suddenly losing her careful control, Lapis ran towards her mother, and stood before her, panting.
"HOW COULD YOU?" she screamed, tears coursing down her face.
"You . . . you . . ." Lapis could not find words vile enough to describe the pair of them, so settled for an inarticulate screech of rage.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
 
Cassandra listened to Esmerelda's story in rapt attention. When Esmerelda came to the end of her story she gasped. She couldn't believe how similar the situation was. Comparing the conditions she didn't hear the noise above them until she noticed her friend had jumped up. Her breath hitching in her throat she froze. She couln't have Katie finding out anything about her past.

Still frozen in the chair she took several deep breaths trying to keep her anger for Lapis under control. But as soon as she heard "I will be telling Katie" she couldn't keep it in any longer and she jumped up. "NO!" she screamed and she dropped to her knees. "You can't do this you stupid girl. You have no idea what this will do to katie!" she sobbed. She hated Katie but she didn't want her o get hurt for the mistake that she had made. Her head in her hands she felt her rage growing and she glared at the stupid girl in front of her.
 
Scared by Cassandra's expression, Lapis stepped back a few paces. Despite her fear, she stubbornly stood tall and tried to disguise it. She had inherited that trait from her father.

"And what do you care what it does to Katie? You've never been worried about her before; never even spoken about her before. I don't think you care about what the truth will do to Katie, only what it'll do to you if anyone finds out." Lapis was proud of the way her voice barely trembled, and she glared straight back at Cassandra.
 
((I'm not going to use the curse yet... I think Cassandra should threaten and Esmerelda intervines before she hurts Lapis... I just don't want to have to aprove the topic coz that can take forever!))

Cassandra jumped up and pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at Lapis "How dare you?!" she whispered her eyes glinting and she advanced in on the frightened girl in front of her forgetting about her friend behind her. She opened her mouth to speak when Esmerelda grabbed her arm and diverted the curse away from Lapis. Cassandra looked at Esmeralda her face murderous, "What?!" she hissed.
 
Esmerelda, watching the confrontation between daughter and friend, felt strangely calm. She knew that this was the calm before the proverbial storm. She stared as Cassandra pulled out her wand, and sure enough, rage burbled up inside her. Knowing the other woman was about to try a curse, Esmerelda grabbed her arm, bony fingers digging in painfully. The wand, skewed away from its intended course, made a nearby vase of flowers explode.

"I liked that vase!" Esmerelda exclaimed indignantly. Then, deadly calm, she turned her mind to more serious matters. "Cassandra, did you really think for one second that I would let you harm my daughter?"
 
Lapis, for the moment forgotten, backed slowly away from Cassandra. She had seen the vase shatter, and watched it in horror. She didn't want to know what the curse would have done to her. It was clear to Lapis that the situation had gone far beyond her control. As the adults grappled, she slipped unnoticed through the front door, and raced away down the cold street.
 
Cassandra yanked her arm out of Esmerelda's grasp. And glared at her friend, straightening her clothes she took a deep breath some what shocked as to how she had just behaved. She rolled her eyes "Who cares about the vase?!" she hissed and she pointed her wand at the vase and flicked her wrist "Repearo. There." she spat the vase flew back together.
Cassandra thought about what Esmerelda said "You have no idea what that insolent girl can do with that information." she hissed, sitting down again. The ager welling up she felt tears begin to flow down her cheeks. Appalled at her behaviour she buried her head in her hands, her hair hiding her face. Screaming sobs into her hands she looked up a Esmerelda looking deranged "Your child has meddled in the adult world and I have to pay the price..." she whispered
 
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