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Post by Silvery Bletchley on Mar 29, 2013 0:56:05 GMT
Silvery smiled back at Dante then turned to watch Ophelia as she began to realise that her brother was no hallucination. She also found herself wincing whenever Dante would pull on Ophelia's hair in a less than gentle manner, knowing exactly what it felt like. Miles had tried it a few times, but he never had the patience for it either.
"No one is prettier than you, Ophelia. Not even your perfect brother. You looked mortifyingly amazing on your wedding day. I remember."
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Post by Dante Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 1:14:13 GMT
Dante went quiet for a moment. The fire was the most terrible thing he had ever endured, worse even than the loss of his mother, and more harrowing than watching his sister's mind fall apart. In a life where all he had known was physical pleasure, the fire had been a nasty reminder that his body could experience incredible, hideous pain. "You felt it?" he asked. "Vlad Dracul... I wouldn't wish burning on my worst enemy!"
He looked up at Silvery, mischief in his eyes. "What nonsense! I've always been prettier than Ophelia. Especially now. This hair of yours is a mess, little sister! Have you been letting bats roost in it?" He rolled his eyes then. "Honestly, I disappear for two years and you just fall apart on me! I'll have to keep a closer watch on you in future."
He smiled, and addressed Silvery directly. "Ah, you may think I look perfect, my dear, but it is the result of careful grooming and some very powerful potions. Were I to return to how I really look, you would be horrified. I still carry the scars from the fire, but for now, I am beautiful. You can thank Lucretia for that. There's not a thing that witch doesn't know about potions, and thanks to her talents I can restore my beauty whenever I need to venture out in public."
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Post by Ophelia Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 1:19:00 GMT
Ophelia relaxed, the smile on her face looking more like the young woman who had first walked into the Malfoy's lounge, all smiles and charm and vampiric beauty. She had a very long way to go before she was healed, but for now, she felt a little like these were the good old days. She even managed a giggle when Dante teased her about the state of her hair.
"I can turn into bats these days! I haven't quite managed to make my clothes turn when I turn, but I've heard that's normal. Male vampires keep their clothes, ladies don't. Isn't that strange?" she asked.
She beamed at Silvery's compliment. "I'm sure that's not true, but thank you for your kindness."
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Post by Silvery Bletchley on Mar 29, 2013 1:31:00 GMT
"Lucretia's potions you say."
She reached for his face and gently ran her fingers down his smooth cold cheek.
"Yes, she's incredibly talented, I'll give her that. But I want you to know something else Dante. Your beauty and perfection are way more than skin deep. You are beautiful on the inside as well, everything you do is.... I'm embarassed to admit this but I've always been secretly fascinated by you. And utterly disappointed in who you choose to give your love to. Boys? Really?"
She laughed and shook her head. Silvery meant every word, but none of it mattered now. Making Ophelia well is what really mattered. Even if that wasn't the original reason for coming here in the first place. She really had no idea what she was walking into.
"Bats? Well, you'll have to show me that one. I don't think I've ever seen a vampire do that right in front of me, to be honest. Only in pictures."
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Post by Dante Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 1:42:32 GMT
Dante smirked, evidently pleased that his face was beautiful enough to affect Silvery even after all these years. "I am rather fascinating, aren't I?" he said smugly, then laughed. "Oh, do not fret my dear - I am not immune to the female form or charms. Beauty is beauty, and that is what attracts me more than anything else. Were you unwed, I would be begging you on bending knee to let me warm your bed for the night."
Remembering that Ophelia was there, he cleared his throat, and pretended to be very interested in her hair. "Bats are a talent we younger vampires have. Vampires as old as our father... well, they become something rather more old fashioned, shall we say? Some prefer smoke, our father like to make an entrance, and as a result he prefers to take the form of something terrifying and positively ghastly." He winked at Ophelia, and started to braid her freshly brushed curls to keep them away from her face.
"Maybe next visit, perhaps? I've just brushed this hair of yours, and I won't have you ruining it by going bats on me. I would demonstrate, but I'm still under the effects of the potion, and daren't risk my pretty face," he suggested.
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Post by Ophelia Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 1:48:42 GMT
Ophelia turned her head and glowered at her brother. "Some things never change!" she said. "Namely your inability to be in the same room as someone you're not related to and not flirt!" She wasn't really angry. Dante's flirtatious nature was helping her to feel normal again, for the first time in months, maybe even years. "Honestly, I can't bring you anywhere, Dante..." she grumbled, but she couldn't help a smile curling the corner of her lips.
She looked at Silvery and rolled her eyes playfully. "He's impossible, isn't he?" She had to grin, forgetting her elongated fangs and the pain for a moment. This was like the good old days, and it was healing. "Bats are difficult. Hard to keep track of! Daddy used to tell us about Aunt Wilhelmina, who once had a bat blow away in a storm, and when she reformed she was missing her left ear."
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Post by Silvery Bletchley on Mar 29, 2013 2:01:42 GMT
Silvery couldn't help but shudder at Dante's words. If she was unwed, he said. It's a good thing he couldn't read her thoughts right now or he'd see how willing she would be to let him warm her bed this night or any night he wished. Miles had been gone so long her bed was everything but frozen.
She took a deep breath and smiled, shrouding her thoughts as well as she could, and turning them to the subject of bats again...and the fact that Ophelia had turned from a poor wretch to a beaming beauty in just a matter of minutes. Dante was truly helping her.
"She really lost an ear? That's terrible! Neither one of you has ever had a...um...mishap of the sort. Have you? How about your father? I'd love to hear that he's had a few himself."
She sniggered.
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Post by Dante Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 2:32:26 GMT
Dante's eyes flicked up to take in Silvery's face. The last time they had been in close contact, she had been Draco's girl, and out of respect for his friend he would never have made a move on her. Now, she was married, and while he personally didn't view that as an obstacle, he didn't wish to upset her by pursuing the issue. Especially not with Ophelia in the room, and knowing what he knew about the unhappy breakup of her marriage.
He chuckled, and pulled a ribbon from his pocket to tie the end of Ophelia's braid. "Ah yes, Auntie Wilhelmina and her missing ear! It suited her, however. She was always so charmingly eccentric. She used to hitch two hunchbacks to her carriage every full moon and ride around the countryside." He laughed again and shook his head. "Losing a bat is rather like splinching oneself during apparition. If one concentrates properly it shouldn't happen. I once lost my thumb, but I found it quickly enough."
He grinned mischievously and added, "Father? Mother once spoke of an occasion where he lost his kneecaps during a midnight flight to the local village. He found them eventually, but he decided that travelling by carriage in the future would be more prudent."
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Post by Ophelia Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 2:39:42 GMT
Ophelia couldn't resist giggling. Her father had always been so adamant that their mother had made up that story, and Dante consistently maintained its truth, insisting that their father would not be so defensive about it if it were a lie. "Aunt Wilhelmina was crazier than I am, not eccentric. Eccentric implies she wore stripes and spots in the same ensemble, not that she used hunchbacks as horses."
She leaned against his shoulder, and closed her eyes. She was so tired all the time lately. She felt she could sleep for all eternity. Hearing Dante and Silvery's voices was soothing, and if she closed her eyes she could almost pretend that she was young and carefree again.
The trouble with her weariness was that it was harder to fight off her Sickness. Sleep took away her certainty that she was in control, and she was dangerously close to letting Sickness take over again.
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Post by Silvery Bletchley on Mar 29, 2013 2:53:39 GMT
Silvery watched Dante's hands as they carefully tied the ribbon on Ophelia's hair, and the smile on her face as he did it. It did almost feel like old times. Even if it was for just a moment, it was very nice.
The closing of Ophelia's eyes was like a spark that woke Silvery up from this illusion of happiness. As wonderful as it felt, it was just that..a temporary illusion. Ophelia was sick and they could not forget that. Letting their guard down for just a moment could prove quite dangerous. At least for Silvery.
"Ophelia, are you needing some rest? Should I ask the Healer if you're ready for your next dose?"
Only then did she notice that the Healer was no longer in the room. She guessed he had stepped outside after deciding that Ophelia posed no danger to Silvery or herself for the time being.
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Post by Dante Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 3:22:35 GMT
Dante was suddenly alarmed by her silence. She was leaning against him like a rag doll, boneless and frail, but he remembered her rages. He knew what Sickness could do to her, and through her. How many times he and his father had wept while trying to hold her back, or those awful occasions when their father had drained her blood to stop her escaping and causing mayhem wherever she went? He shivered, chilled to the core of his black heart by the memory.
"Don't go quiet on me, 'Phelia," he whispered. "You know how frightened I get when you go quiet." He looked at Silvery, trying to communicate to her to be on guard, but the pounding of her heart suggested she was already nervous. "'Phelia?" he asked. "Are you awake?"
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Post by Ophelia Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 3:26:11 GMT
Ophelia opened her eyes sleepily, and glanced from Silvery to Dante in surprise. "What? I'm fine, Dante. You worry too much. I think I just need to sleep for a while." She stretched, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Promise you'll come back and visit soon, Dante? And you too, Silv? I've missed you both so much!"
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Post by Silvery Bletchley on Mar 29, 2013 3:48:27 GMT
Silvery let out a sigh of relief.
"Rest, yes. We could all do with some of that."
She stood up slowly, smiling down at a completely different Ophelia than the one she'd first seen when she entered this room.
"Of course I'll come back to see you. I promise."
She gave her a warm embrace and stepped back towards the door, letting brother and sister say their goodbyes without her being in the way.
"It was wonderful seeing both of you again. Truly, I can't tell you how much. I wish you both a great night and much healing. I'll see you again soon I'm sure.."
Silvery smiled again and left the room. The Healer was outside the door as she had suspected, so she explained that Ophelia was tired but her brother was still inside.
As she made her way down the corridor she realised that she was somehow changed after this visit. She just couldn't quite put her finger on exactly how. It was definitely for the better, though. She was sure of it.
And of course...seeing Dante was always a good thing.
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Post by Dante Fuilteach on Mar 29, 2013 17:34:02 GMT
Dante's shoulders visibly drooped with relief. Ophelia was still mistress of her own mind, at least for now. He pulled her into a hug and whispered softly, "I told you once before that you'd never be rid of me, and I mean that. Your big brother won't abandon you ever again, darling. I promise." He kisses the top of her head, and fussed for a while over fluffing her pillows and covering her with blankets.
She was asleep before he left the room, and he paused for a moment in the doorway to give her one last look. He had been so selfish in the past, and let his own runaway romances make him forget that his sister was ill, and needed his help. He would never make such a mistake again.
He sighed, and closed the door after him as he left. With a wink to the Healer, he hurried through the hospital, hoping to catch up to Silvery and thank her for coming to visit.
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Post by Ophelia Fuilteach on Mar 30, 2013 20:39:03 GMT
Ophelia curled up in the narrow hospital bed and let sleep take over. It was unnatural for a vampire to feel this tired, but she was dealing with a severe mental illness. Now Dante and Silvery were gone, she could relax. Sickness could rage all she wanted, but Ophelia allowed herself a small smile. She had won this round. She had kept her at bay, and if she could do it once, she could do it again. Things were going to get better - she could feel it!
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