Stark Manor IV

[Sammael Stark]

Sammael was slowly pacing up and down the length of his dining room, not wanting to be idle.

Sophia and Elizabeth were seated in the middle of the table, completely unrestrained for the moment. They had shown such good manners over the past few days that Sammael had rewarded them by not treating them as prisoners, for the moment. He knew that their ultimate fate was not in his hands.

Garett, Arcturus, Lief, and Draven were also seated at the table in various places. But those in the room where not Sammael’s current concern. Serpentes was to be there in mere minutes and Estrella was still unaccounted for. She was of course not the only one missing, but she was of paramount importance to this meeting. The three girls were necessary to the meeting, and it could not begin until all three were present.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan apparated to the front door of Sammael's mansion, still grabbing Estrella by the shoulder. He let her go, leading her through the door as Vladmir and Lissandra apparated beside him.

"This way," he muttered, looking at her bruised face. What were they going to say? He didn't know.

He led her into the dining room, where he nodded to all of those sitting there.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella felt as if she was going to explode with happiness, seeing Sophia and Elizabeth. Unable to surpress a smile she ran up to them, not knowing if the motion was too quick, hugging both of them.

Without a word, she pulled out the bottles of perfume, spraying them all over her confused friends, checking that Ravus was still not there. "Sorry," she muttered, as everyone in the room rose in an uproar.

 

[Sophia Stark]

It took some effort for Sophia's face to remain emotionless as she saw Estrella come in. She noticed the bruises and wanted to frown, her silent rage growing slightly. It was nearly impossible not to react as she was suddenly sprayed with wretched smelling perfume, looking worriedly at those who had risen from their seats. Sophia hoped very much that they would not do anything.

 

[Lief Sigurd]

Lief jumped up from his seat, as he was nearest Estrella, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. "What in the world are you doing?" he spat, raising his eyebrow. From what he had seen, his niece was content to make the situation even worse for herself. He took one bottle of perfume in his hand, looking at it.

It appeared normal, however, and seemed to yield no potion. "Explain yourself," he commanded.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned victoriously back at Lief, her eyes bright. "Oh, you know. Wouldn't want anyone outside this place to sniff out the location, now would we?"

She looked pointedly to the table, and then saw someone that looked to be Ravus' brother, who was looking back at her angrily.

 

[Ravus Winterling]

Strolling in with Serpentes, Ravus was suddenly attacked by a heavy scent, burning his nostrils in pain. He looked over to the source; the three girls, and Lief holding a perfume bottle.

He growled in anger as Estrella smiled at him mockingly.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"What, Ravus... Can't smell anyone?" Estrella mocked, her lips thin. She stepped forward daringly. "I'm just curious; if you were fed a piece of cheese, would your nose be dulled like a dog?"

 

[Ravus Winterling]

Ravus lunged forward in rage, but was caught by a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned to face Serpentes angrily, wishing to beat the snot out of the impudent girl.

 

[Serpentes Shifterson]

"Keep your control, Ravus," Serpentes hissed, "It is not the time to lose it. Especially over a stupid brat child."

Commanding total silence he moved slowly, making his way to the head of the table. He looked over the situation. "Those two haven't done anything wrong, so they can stay where they are," he dictated, turned to the Malfoy girl and Stark girl. "Although I daresay you haven't earned any pleasantries, my dear, so please take a seat between your father and Ravus," he added, instructing Estrella to do as she was commanded.

After everyone had taken seats, he began, "Sammael, is dinner prepared? This heavy issue would be lightened a bit if we all had food in our stomachs."

 

[Arcturus Tanner]

Taking a seat, Arcturus silently agreed. The full moon was still around, and he was more wolfish than ever. He hoped that they would have steak, and very rare at that. Drago was supposed to be here also, but he was not present at the moment.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella fought the compelling urge to stick her tongue out at the old man, but took her seat anyways. As much as she hated sitting next to Ravus, it would allow her to aggravate him more.

She looked to Sophia and Liz. Estrella may be a smartass in such a dangerous situation, but she wanted to figure out what was going on as much as they did.
"So-" she started. "About this prophecy thinger. What the heck is it about? Dinner would be lovely, but we've been waiting to hear this for quite some time now. Can't it wait?"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan grabbed Estrella's shoulder, willing her to stop talking silently. If she needed anything more in this situation, it was not to anger Serpentes Shifterson. "It will be revealed," he said quietly, conscious of the eyes on the both of them.

 

[Serpentes Shifterson]

"Not only are you stupid, Ms. Drage, you are impatient," Serpentes pointed out with a hint of anger in his voice. "I advise you to listen to your father; or you will regret the consequences of not doing so." He smirked, looking at Ravus and then to Estrella. "You appear to have been punished severely already, but you haven't learned yet. Pure idiocy."

He straightened in his chair, and then said, "I suppose we must go on with this." He pulled what looked like a crystal ball from his robes, holding it out for all to see, mist swirling under the surface.

 

[Sammael Stark]

"I do have supper ready, if you desire," Sammael said as he regained his composure from Estrella's oddness. He hoped he was not too late in responding.

 

[Elizabeth Malfoy]

Liz eyed the bruises on Estrella. This politeness front may have lulled them into a false sense of security. That could give me a chance to beat the stuffing out of whoever did that. Vladmir, I assume.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella looked at the crystal ball, raising her eyebrow. "So, we're here over a ball? Whoop-de-doo," she said sarcastically.

Her head snapped back as she was backhanded, and everything went silent.

 

[Ravus Winterling]

Ravus smirked as he struck her, then nodded at Serpentes. "I think that you may continue now; unless Ms. Drage wants to shoot off her mouth again?"

He stared at Tristan, daring him to do something about it. He admired the red mark he had left on Estrella's face. It was strong, but not too bad.

 

[Elizabeth Malfoy]

Liz narrowed her eyes at Ravus. "Excuse me, Mr. Shifterton, but aren't we here to hear about the prophecy? Not to act out on our childish violent tendancies?"

He'll get his later then. she thought, malice cutting through her mind.

 

[Serpentes Shifterson]

Deciding to ignore the Malfoy girl's snide comment, Serpentes sighed, holding the ball up higher. "For those of you who don't know, this is a ball of prophecy; stolen from the Department of Mysteries itself. This prophecy was made ten years ago, and we haven't been able to secure it until now."

He looked around with his odd eyes, ensnaring the attention of all. "The seer who made this was elderly and died shortly after he made this; I choose not to reveal his name. As the majority of you know, it involves a girl."

He shifted in his chair uncomfortably, waiting eagerly for dinner. "But not just any girl. A daughter of a Death Eater, to be exact."

 

[Elizabeth Malfoy]

Liz's eyes lit up with interest. They left Ravus, and turned to the orb.

So, it didn't have to do with all three of them. But one of them... what could it be?

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella snorted, "Yeah, but I'm sure that other Death Eaters have daughters too. It could mean any one of them. Take Bellatrix Green, for instance. She'd love to be your prophecy girl."

 

[Serpentes Shifterson]

Serpentes leaned in, smirking as he locked his eyes on the Drage girl's. "You have actually rushed me to the next point, Ms. Drage. You see," he looked into the ball interestedly, "The girl of this prophecy is going to deny Death Eaters for the greater majority of her young life."

He sat back as he allowed the information to sink in, waiting to reveal further detail.

 

[Elizabeth Malfoy]

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Well... what exactly is this girl supposed to do?"

 

[Serpentes Shifterson]

Serpentes leaned back with a smile, quite surprised that only the Malfoy girl had responded this time. Both the Stark and Drage girls seemed genuinely interested; the Drage girl didn't even come back with a snarky comment.

"And yet the next part, Miss Malfoy. This girl will have a power exceeding natural witchery, which all of you have, I believe," he replied hollowly, not having yet answered the Malfoy girl's question. One bit of information at a time was enough, he figured. "Am I incorrect?" He gave them all a knowing grin, his lips thin and stretched.