Devil in Disguise

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andromeda Fiorelli walked through the streets of Obsidian with a confidence that she had not felt before. She felt invigorated, refreshed as if this new life she had chosen really did suit her. As if by accepting her own darkness she had finally allowed herself and her true nature to be free. It was liberating to say the least and as she walked along ignoring the admiring glances from men that passed her by, she wondered how she would feel once the dark mark was on her arm.

Granted it would be years yet before it happened but if she felt this amazing now, what must it be like for Danielle and the other death eaters? She was spending most of her days now reading up as much as possible about the believes of the Dark Lord and everything that her mentor had so far taught her was all adding to her new image, her new self.

With her wands tucked safely away she stopped at the wall overlooking the harbour and gazed out across the sea. The moon was rising slowly in the sky but it was not a full one, that had another week yet before it coursed through her veins. She was tempted more and more to stop taking her potion but she was afraid of the repercussions and yet, death eaters shouldn't be afraid. The thoughts whirled about in her mind, each feasting off the other as the fishing boats returned from their days work.

She wasn't sure what she would do with the rest of her evening and taking a sickle from her pocket she flipped it in the air. One side was to go out and have fun, she was dressed for it after all while the other one was simply to go out and incite hatred as much as possible. The coin rose steadily in the air...

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

The air about her was different and something had changed, but it was certainly her. He could not forget the way she had entranced him then or the way she did so now. They had both changed so much since their last meeting, yet his feelings were still the same. Years had flown by without an owl to even say she was well. He was not in his usual attire, but in a thin black jumper and a pair of slightly baggy jeans. He followed her, remaining in the shadows, watching as the many different men glanced in her direction with a look he found disgraceful.

They reached the harbour and he remained several feet behind her in the shadows, his straw-coloured hair blowing back in the wind. Slowly, he loomed from the shadows, watching her for a moment, a slight frown on his face. She had changed. She had changed so much but she was still his Andromeda. And now he stepped towards her, gradually, until, at last, he stood directly behind her. He watched as she flipped a coin and he instinctively reached out a hand, plucking it from the air.

His chest was pretty much pressing lightly against her back and he stood there for a moment in silence before his lips parted in a very slight smile to say something he had waited years to say again; "Hello, Andromeda."

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Her hand opened to receive the falling coin when the lightest touch of someone behind her and a hand reaching for the coin startled her completely. Some death eater she was going to make when someone could creep up on her without her even being aware of them. She had been way too lost in thought and that was something she would have to watch in future. As she turned to see who was standing much too close to her, a voice spoke. Said her name as if she should know him and from somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind, it was familiar.

Andromeda gazed up then at the tall adonis that was and always would be Dominicus. The breathtaking godlike Bulgarian who had been enamored with her so long ago now. She stared at him a moment, admiring how rugged and broad he still was. Was it possible for him to be even more handsome than the last time they had seen one another? She tried to place that time and fragments of the two of them in a back room at a nightclub came back to her.
Fumbling of clothing, hungry mouths feasting, eager hands attempting to divest fabric from flesh.

Her mouth opened to speak but there was nothing to say. He was handsome but she was worn out from playing the 'dreamers game of love'; for a brief moment she wondered what it would have been like if she had stayed with him, had tried to care for only him and no one else but she couldn't. She had been a monster then and she was one now.
"Dominicus" his name fell easily from her lips as if she had been saying it every day for the past few years.
"It's been a long time. How are you?"

He was too close and usually she could handle this, usually she would push the buttons and the boy to the limit but Crispin's face came to mind, to heart and to soul. His heart was nailed to her own bleeding wretchedly because of her.

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

Dominicus gathered his thoughts; he had so many things he wanted to say, to ask her, to tell her.. But he couldn't. Not as the man he was. He loved her. He had since he had first set eyes upon her. He loved everything about her, from the hair on her head to the scars on her back. Dominicus wanted desperately to be with her but he didn't believe that could ever happen. She had been courting before and she was probably still courting now.

"I am well." he said honestly. Though he was physically fit and well, he still yearned for the first girl he had truly loved, even though she was standing there, with him. Dominicus stepped to one side of Andy, watching the moon hanging in the sky. It wasn't a full one yet. A pity in some ways. "And you? Have you been okay? Enjoying life? Having a good time?" The last few words were almost spat with rage. Dominicus was horrified at his behaviour. After all, it wasn't her fault that his love was unrequited, he was probably just doing something wrong. "I'm sorry." he breathed the apology, glancing from her face to the stars. "I am afraid I have become quite the bitter old man."

He had never known what it was she wanted in man.. After all, he had been, up until now, the perfect gentleman, had he not? He had done all that he thoughts was right, but still she had turned him down. Dominicus was twenty years old. His brother, at eighteen years of age, already had a daughter. Alright, she hadn't been planned, but Yakov was still playing father to her as best he could. Dom had been silent for a moment or two, but now he spoke, turning to Andromeda, his eyes glistening like the stars.

"I.." He stopped, took a breath and tried again. "I.." It was not as easy as it had been, the first time they met to tell her that he had fallen for her so quickly. Poor Dominicus; falling in love so easily but unable to stop loving. He looked away from her and up to the moon. "It's a beautiful night," he said, casually, ignoring his feeble attempts to express himself.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

How easy it would be to step closer to him, to wrap her arms about him and take shelter in all she knew she would find there. How easy and yet so dangerous. Andromeda turned as well to look up at the moon in the sky, it almost shimmered against her pale skin as if she herself were made for the night. His words were not said with his usual tenderness, there was an edge there and she turned her gaze sharply to survey him once more.

Had she damaged him too? Had she wrung the best in another decent heart out on the stone cold slabs beneath her feet?
"I've been ... well" she told him turning once more to look upwards to the moon, imagining it's fullness but never being able to enjoy that sight.
"It all depends what you mean by a good time I guess" she told him, as slowly she remembered once again what she was now and who she was to be.

Twisting around so that she was leaning against the railing, her side pressing against the bars she gazed at him. Her jacket gaped open some, so that the curves of her perfectly rounded chest were all but exposed to him, as was the flat washboard stomach she was so proud of.
"I do not consider you an old man" she raised a hand then to touch his cheek as her amber eyes stared into his own beautiful orbs, "why are you so bitter?"
The words came out as a whisper, a gentle caress against the night.

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

Dominicus was almost refusing to look at Andromeda, the prize he could not have, but he hand was on his cheek and he turned his head to look at her amber eyes. How he loved those eyes. He sighed inwardly. His eyes, for the first time, glancing quickly down from her eyes before he turned his head away. Gentleman though he was, it was hard to avoid looking at something so out on display. "It does not matter." He replied in a tone which said many things. Such as, how disappointed he was in himself for not just saying how he still felt towards her, such as, almost attempting to push her away so he could try and weaken these feeling for her.. But these feelings were years strong.

Two sides of Dominicus were battling; one was his caring, loving side, the side which opened doors for ladies and gave up seats to those who were more in need of them. The other was the suppressed side, the side which enjoyed the rare glance at something other than a lady's eyes, the side which so desperately desired to force itself upon Andromeda, to dig its nails into her back as it stuck its tongue down her throat. Naturally, Dominicus was keeping this side hidden as best he could.. But for how much longer? Years had gone by and Dom had waited like a faithful servant.. But now the beast within was waking up.

"I've missed you very much," Dominicus said, keeping his eyes on the moon, though it was, by far, not the most beautiful thing in sight. "You are looking so.." he paused, selecting a word carefully, not wanting his male instinct to take over. "So very wonderful. But then, you always do." He looked to her for a brief moment, smiling slightly. It was a nice smile, not the sort of smile which told of the battle inside.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

She didn't want sweet right now, she didn't need it. She didn't want kindness or tenderness or anything that might remind her of a life she was trying to leave behind. She did not want gentle words telling her how beautiful or how wonderful she was because Crispin had told her that all the time. Andromeda had to close herself off, shut down emotions she had relied on for years. She took note to ask her mentor just how she was to succeed at this.

Andromeda moved her hand from him and stepped away from the railing, glancing at the back of his head as he looked out to where the moon hung like a Piñata in the sky. When he looked at her again she thought she saw a flash of something else for a minute but sure enough Dominicus reverted to his true form. His reliable, sincere wonderful self. There was a part of her that wanted to rip herself into two pieces, become two completely separate entities. One that was destined to walk the path she had chosen and another that would ease the pain that she seemed to cause no matter what. Her own weary war stilled as she turned from him then.

"I'm not the little school girl you once knew" she told him glancing up and down the street, in fact she had never really been a 'little' school girl at all. She was much taller than many girls and had always been this way.
"The woman stands here now and she is anything ... but wonderful" she glanced sideways at him then, "run from me Dominicus, run while I am letting you. While you still have skin on your flesh and a beating heart."
Turning away once more her amber eyes grew weary, her hands clenched at her sides as she stepped from the pavement to the cobbled road.
"I'm nothing but trouble, nothing but a walking disaster."

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

Dominicus stood there, listening to her words and watching her closely. She thought he was weak, by the sounds of it, and that he treated her like a little school girl. In any other situation, Dominicus would have laughed or simply walked away. But he couldn't. Not now. So many things he could say, so many different routes this conversation could take. After a moment of thinking over, he knew which one to choose. The one he always chose: He walked to her, standing there, reaching out a hand and resting it on her shoulder. She may not want it there but it was something Dominicus did instinctively.

"You are not a walking disaster," he said, knowing that to her he would only ever be thought of as just some guy, a friend if he was lucky. But Dominicus didn't mind. It was better than nothing at all. "We all make mistakes, some worse than others, but in the end it's up to us to choose the path we take; do we admit our mistakes, our problems, and move on or do we just disregard it all, blame it on somebody else and continue living in misery?" Part of Dominicus was unsure as to what the hell he was going on about.. But his heart seemed to know.

He allowed his hand to drop from her shoulder and he waited. Waited for the moment to come. The moon was beaming in the sky, the railings casting long shadows in the night. Dominicus's jumper had a few tears in it. He observed them for a moment, tugging at the strands before looking back to Andromeda. "As much as I want to be the right man for you, I know I never can be." He tried to smile. "If you ever changed your mind, of course, I would show you what I am truly capable of.." he said this a little darkly, a slight glint in his eye.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Why she stopped instead of walking on she did not know, why she listened instead of tuning him out was an even bigger mystery. But she stood there hovering on the edge of the narrow road undecided as to which way to go both. It seemed her decisions in her life were effecting her decisions to do the little things as well. She felt his hand on her shoulder and went rigid.

"I admitted to my mistakes" her words came out of her without intending them too, "I admitted my mistakes and now I suffer the consequences. I ... " she couldn't bring herself to say Crispin's name aloud, she hadn't done so in a long time and believed that the more time that passed and the less time she spoke aloud about him, he would slowly disappear from her mind and heart but so far she was failing drastically.

Taking a deep breath she pulled herself up, she would not wallow in misery. She possessed a darkness that gave her excessive courage to do just about anything, to say just about anything.
"I don't live in misery" she told him as he moved his hand from her shoulder. Looking at him then she watched as he seemed to take an extreme interest in his jumper, she gazed at it herself noticing the slight tears. He began speaking again and slowly she turned to face him, the glint in his eyes was unmistakeable and she looked at him through shrewd eyes for a moment.

"What are you truly capable of Dominicus?" her eyes stared into his unwavering, as if she dared him to show her.

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

Dominicus was caught between two worlds. Now, he had to make his decision. Surely he had waited long enough for this opportunity? Surely he had the right to at least go for gold? It was probably the toughest choice Dominicus had ever had to make in his life. Would he just allow himself to be free or could he keep the beast within caged up for a little longer?

In one clean sweep of his hand, he had ripped a strip out the front of his jumper, leaving behind a raggedy jacket sort of thing which hung limply about his body. Well, he was fed up with the damn thing, anyway. It wasn't like he enjoyed wearing shirts when the weather here was so much hotter than his homeland. His bare muscular chest was exposed to the soothing night air. On the left side of his chest, Dominicus had a small tattoo; a heart with a banner across it which was mostly smothered in Bulgarian words, however, one word stood out like a sore thumb. Andromeda. Some people may have found this a little creepy but Dom could not hide his love for Andy.

"One night, Andromeda, I just want one night to show you what you mean to me." His expression was serious, his breath in short sharp bursts, his eyes glued on hers, flicking between those amber orbs. The beast was almost out of it's cage, almost leaping from him. Of course, Dom knew she would probably reject him, that things would become awkward between them, that she would never want to see him again. Knowing his luck, she would probably beat him up and shove him into the water. Of course, he doubted he could show her just how much she meant to him, in the space of one night, but he would try.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

She waited as if baiting him to do something outrageous and then his hand reached up and tore his jumper parctically in two. Andromeda gazed at the chiselled chest of the adonis who worshipped her and felt a hunger inside her rise. It was lust, pure lust and nothing more. There was no emotion there whatsoever. She had cared for him once before but it had never blossomed into anything really tangible, nothing strong enough to withstand time but what she had felt for Crispin had and she had betrayed their relationship. Could she really have something with Dominicus that coud last where others had failed? Would his devotion to her end as soon as he knew where her new path was leading her?

It was then she saw the tattoo on his chest and she stepped closer to inspect it. Tentatively she raised a hand and allowed her fingertips to touch the deep blood red heart and the banner that held her name. She hadn't a clue what the rest said, what she did know was this man had gone had literally had her name tattooed across his heart. Laying her palm then flat against it she looked up at him as he spoke.

Could she give him what he wanted? Could she give him that one night? Her free hand snaked up around his neck curled into his hair and held fast as her face moved to his. Her mouth was not gentle, her mouth was not tender. Her tongue parted his lips and she tasted him, drank of him as if there was nothing left for her to do and then their mouths broke apart and for the shortest moment she rested her forehead against his.

"I know what I mean to you but you will never mean the same to me" her hand pressed against the tattoo once again before she bridged a healthy gap between them and moved her hands from him.
"You deserve more than one night but I can't give it to you" she may be on the path to complete and utter darkness but inside she held something pure, something untainted that no man had touched. If she was to give herself to anyone she had sworn it would only be Crispin and as they were no more, it was no longer her gift to give. The last piece of her innocence would wither within her, shrivel as she grew darker.

 

[Dominicus Olaf]

Dom, in his heart, knew that they could never be anything. He just wasn't ready to admit this to himself. But it was time. Time to stop clinging onto something that wasn't. He allowed her to feel the tattoo, to study it closely. He was not going to get rid of it just because it had her name on it; it was something he had become rather attached to.

A part of Dominicus's wish had come true as Andromeda kissed him in a way he had never been kissed before. And then it was over. He nodded his great head slowly. "I understand." he said, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. He had finally forwardly offered Andromeda his all and she had declined. Most men would have been angry, sad, yet Dominicus felt strangely better. His heart may be in pieces but someone would soon be mending it for him, someone who loved him as he loved them. "Thank you," he said bowing slightly, "for putting up with me all this time. A job that I doubt many could do." he smiled, although, it was a slightly sad, broken hearted smile.

"Everything happens for a reason." Dominicus said, knowingly, "But it will all work out in the end.." he knew if he stayed any longer, he would fall apart. The adrenaline from the kiss, the rejection, was still running through his body, shooting through his veins. "I have some business to attend to." He said, turning to leave, "but I'm always here if you need me.." He began walking, taking his wand out, ready to apparate. He turned at the last minute, "Oh, Andromeda," he said, making sure she didn't get a words in edgeways should she unintentionally pour salt into his shredded heart, "Some things are worth fighting for, no matter how hopeless they may seem." He fixed her with a slightly odd look- part way between a frown and a smile. The battle was over and, with a crack, Dominicus disappeared.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

He was probably her last chance to have something light and good, pure and beautiful in her life but she could not allow now for sentimentality. She was to become a warrior of the dark lord, a wielder of death and destruction, an instrument of brutality, a vessel of darkness and no where in there was it mentioned that she was supposed to love. Embrace the ideals of the dark lord yes, embrace the way of the death eaters of course; be sweet and friendly and caring - not a chance.

She silently fumed by letting him free of her she had done something good, she had given him a chance to heal his heart and move on from her. Of course he deserved it but she was supposed to trample on guys now, not move over to let them walk on by. But perhaps this then could be her last act of decency before the darkness really began to consume her? She knew she would slip up though and make other little in-discretionary acts such as these until she had made her way truly to the dark. She did not speak once while he did, it was for the best to let him walk away.

When finally he did apparate the crack resounded for a long time afterwards within her. He was right of course no matter how hopeless her situation with Crispin he was worth fighting for but she was not that Andromeda any more. Turning she began to walk up the street once more, her wands now in her hands she wanted only one thing and that was to cause some pain to someone and blot out her own and as she walked she wished Dominicus better luck than her with love.

~Finite~​

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