Darkened Lust

Part Fourteen

When Becca realized that Severus was weeping, she was shocked. She never would have thought this man had any tears in him. Knowing that part of the cause of his distress was what he had done to her caused her to feel ashamed and guilty. She was a Kentuckian through and through, and Kentuckians never let someone know they have hurt them. She had endured the physical pain others had inflicted on her without a sound, and yet she had broke down over what he had done to her? Showing anger was acceptable...showing weakness was not.

And causing someone else grief because of your own weakness was unforgivable. For a moment she forgot how easily Severus could read the two of them, but he quickly reminded her. Lifting his head from the comfort of Ami\'s breast, he pulled her into his lap once more. Snuggled between the two of them, she felt safer than she had in a long time.

\"How can you think of yourself as weak?\" he asked. She dropped her eyes, but he put a hand beneath her chin and lifted her head. \"You were stronger than I could ever have expected. I was astonished at how long it took me to...\" he swallowed, then forced the words out, \"to break you. To force you to beg. Oh, my pet, once again, I am so sorry. To both of you. For, Ami, it could just have easily have been you instead.\" He closed his eyes in pain. \"I promise you both, if I am summoned again by...the Dark Lord, I will not come near either of you until I have myself under control. I won\'t risk harming you.\"

He sighed and kissed each of them gently. Carefully putting Becca from his lap, he said, \"I need rest, my dear ones, as do the both of you.\" He started removing his clothes, preparing to lie down. The girls wondered why he didn\'t simply use magic to undress. The truth was he needed the extra time to collect himself.

Finally naked, he turned to find both the girls already in bed waiting, with a space between them for him. The sight brought the faintest of smiles to his face, but a smile nonetheless. Crawling between them, he turned onto his back and gathered them in his arms. \"Thank you for your devotion. It is something I never expected to find from anyone.\"

~*~*~

\"Well, well,\" an ice cold voice drawled, bringing the three of them out of slumber instantly. Severus had summoned his wand instinctively, and found himself pointing it at Lucius Malfoy. After a moment he lowered it.

\"What a surprise, Lucius. What are you doing here?\" Severus was aware of the astonishment and fear from Ami and Becca, but could do nothing to ease their minds at the moment.

Smiling arrogantly, Lucius folded his hands on top of his snake-head cane, and answered, \"The Dark Lord asked me to follow you, Severus. He was...concerned...when he lost track of you.\" Fixing each girl with a curious gaze, he said, \"So, this is why you are hiding. Tsk, tsk, my old friend. Couldn\'t you find a comely, willing witch or two? Consorting with muggles...\" From his lips, the word sounded like a curse.

\"In case you have not realized, Lucius, this is a different world than ours. The same rules do not apply here.\" Severus roughly pushed Ami out of the way enough to rise from the bed. Lucius smirked at him as Snape began to pull on his trousers. An evil, calculating look spread across his face. He seemed to consider the two women staring at him fearfully.

\"I must say, though, Severus, they are not all that bad. Would you consider...sharing? As we used to?\" He swiftly looked back at Snape as if hoping to catch an unguarded expression. If so, he was disappointed. Snape was unreadable.

Before he could reply, Becca spoke up. \"Oh, please, Se...Sir! Please, I don\'t want to...\"

\"Silence!\" Snape snarled at her. Inwardly he hoped she knew how pleased and impressed he was with her. Even after last night, and after being surprised with their unexpected visitor, she retained the intelligence to realize what role she should play.

However, they were his allies, not his possessions, and not his to \"share\". After last night, he would never force anything on them again. How to get them out of this?

\"Lucius,\" Severus said, after casting a simple dressing spell upon himself to hasten the task, \"Perhaps now would not be the time. The Dark Lord sent you to find, did he not? I would not think he\'d...apphreciate...any...dalliance, do you?\"

\"Hmm,\" Lucius\' long silver-white hair seemed to shine like moonlight in the dimness of room. It was early morning. The sun had hardly risen and there was an errie half-light quality about everything. \"You are correct, of course,\" he finally said, and added, \"I am rather...parched... is there anything...suitable to drink here, old friend?\"

\"Water is suitable,\" Severus said coldly, \"Shall we ajoirn to the kitchen, then...?\"

Ami wasn\'t aware that she\'d been holding her breath until she released it once Snape had lead Lucius out of the room. She knew he was attempting to distract the pureblooded wizard from them and didn\'t have to even wonder that he was one who put the desire for something to drink within Lucius\' mind. He was clever enough and well-enough skilled in Legilimency to do so without attacting notice.

\"B-Becca...\" Ami whispered, turning to her friend, who sat just as striken as she, on the bed, \"Th-that\'s...that\'s...\"

\"We both know who it is, Ami,\" Becca said, and suddenly, she was off the bed and across the room, opening the closet and flinging things aside until she found Ami\'s duffle. \"Here,\" she said, placing it on the bed, \"Hurry. Get dressed.\"

Ami stared at her for a moment as Becca quickly donned the cast off tee-shirt and shorts from the night before, which had been thrown onto the floor beside the bed. \"Hurry!\" she hissed when Ami still hadn\'t moved. Ami found a clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. She drew it over her head. Her hair caught momentarily on the buttons that coursed down the front of the shirt and she took a minute to untangle herself.

When she poked her head out of the shirt\'s neckhole, she saw Becca standing over near the window, attempting to wriggle it open. \"What are you doing?\" she asked, finding her shoes beneath the bed where she\'d left them, and slipping them on, \"Becca?\"

\"What does it look like I\'m doing, Ami?\" she answered. Stress made her snappish and she turned around, and said, more gently, \"Look, Ami, we have to get out of here...\"

\"But...Severus...\" Ami glanced towards the closed bedroom door. He had thought to shut it after himself and Lucius, doubt and fear in her voice. \"...can take care of himself,\" Becca cut her off, \"Listen, Ami, I know you\'re worried. I am too. I know you want to try and help him. So do I. More than anything! But, you must know that the most help we can be is if we are away so he doesn\'t have to split his concentration between worrying about saving us and keeping his cover!\"

Ami knew Becca was right. She also knew that it was killing her friend to do this. To run. It wasn\'t her way to run from a possible fight, she knew. It was Ami who was the passive one, the one who always looked for every other option before violence. She knew things were dire, then. If Becca was the first to suggest fleeing.

\"Come here and help me with this,\" Becca said, and Ami raced across the room. She began to push at the windowpane. She panted, fell back and said, remembering, \"Becca... the windows...and doors...are magically sealed...remember?\"

\"Fuck!\" Becca cried, hitting her forhead against the glass so hard Ami winced, \"I completely forgot about that!\"

\"Well, you\'ve been through a lot, Bec,\" Ami said, and reached out to rub her friend\'s head were the glass had made a red mark on her forhead, \"Maybe we can break through?\" It was dumb idea, Ami knew, even before she\'d lifted the only heavy object she could find and threw it at the window. It made an extremely loud crash and then bounced off and landed on the floor.

\"What have we here?\" Ami and Becca both spun about at the sound of that cold, loathing voice. Lucius had re-entered the room. Neither of them had heard the door open and Becca had been so involved in what she and Ami were doing she\'d not sensed his approach through the corridor. \"Severus,\" Lucius glanced carelessly over one shoulder, \"Your...pets are attempting to escape.\"

Both of the women cringed at the sound of the word falling from his lips. From Severus, the word was an endearment. From Lucius, it was a insult, and made them think of chattel and slaves. People kept for the pleasure and whims of those stronger and more powerful than they. Ami shivered as a coldness crept up her spine.

\"No worries,\" Lucius Malfoy said, and before Snape, would was directly behind him outside in the corridor, could lift his wand, he pointed his own towards the women and uttered a simple spell. Instantly, Becca felt her limbs seize and become rigid.

With a look of terror, she screamed and fell to the floor. She began to scream and Lucius, almost carelessly, magically silenced her. Ami gasped Becca\'s name, throwing herself down in an attempt to aide her. But, she could do nothing. Becca stared at her, helpless, as she lay as stiff as a wooden doll on the floor. \"I would like to see her try and run now, what say you, Severus?\"

\"Release her, now, Lucius,\" Snape said, his tone icey, belying none of the fear and concern he felt for the women he\'d placed in this present danger, \"She\'s not worth your efforts. A lowly muggle after all...\"

\"Oh, but there must be something about these two, Severus,\" Lucius Malfoy smirked and strode across the room until he stood near Becca and Ami. He jerked Ami up by the back of her hair, causing her to cry out in pain, \"For you have decided to...fritter away your time with them...\"

\"Malfoy,\" Snape said, his lip curling in a snarl, \"They\'re nothing. Leave them. They\'re beneath you.\"

\"Perhaps,\" Lucius said, cocking a silver brow. Severus ignored the identical looks of hurt and astonishment that flashed across both of the women\'s faces. Even though they knew he was playing a part, that he did not mean what he was saying about them, it was still painful to hear the cruel words falling from his lips.

\"But, then, so many things are...\" Lucius continued, \"I wonder what the Dark Lord would think of how you\'ve been spending your time?\"

Ami, still being held by the back her head, Lucius\' hand fisting painfully in her hair, whimpered and struggled to get away. Severus had to fight the urge to lift his wand towards Lucius and hex him into releasing Ami, but he knew that any direct attack on the other wizard would be questioned. He had to get them out of this situation without risking either their lives or his mission.

\"Well, Severus,\" Lucius said, at last, \"Have you considered my...suggestion?\"

\"Haven\'t you enough playthings, Malfoy?\" Snape hissed, his tone sardonic, \"Narcissa not enough for you, is she?\"

\"Hmph,\" he said, by way of replying, \"I can see that you\'re not...going to agree, are you? Tsk! You never did play well with others, did you, Severus? Well. In that case. I\'ll just have to take one of your...toys away from you!\"

Ami\'s scream was cut off abruptly as, even as Snape lifted his wand to utter a spell to stop him, (though it was too late), Lucius Malfoy disapperated from the room in a cloud of silver smoke and a loud popping noise, taking Ami unwillingly with him.

\"Finite!\" Severus said, pointing his wand at Becca.

Instantly, she regained the use of her limbs and her voice. The first thing she did was cry out her friend\'s name and run to the place she\'d been standing only moments ago. The room still sounded with the echos of Ami\'s cut-off scream.

Snape\'s face was paler than normal, his eyes held a fear neither Becca nor Ami had ever seen before. \"Oh, Gods... No...\" He whispered, but Becca barely heard him.

\"Nooo!!\" she screamed and screamed, pounding her fists against the floor in rage, \"Nooo!!! Ami!!\"

To Be Continued...