RiddLestrange: The Early Years

[Aramorta Riddle {HM}]

Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve were two days of great importance for Bellatrix Lestrange, in 1981. New Year's Eve for multiple reasons, for the better and for the worse.



Left orphaned at infancy, ten months for Zaire, and less than a day for Aramorta, they had only each other. Brought to the still standing Wool's Orphanage in London, that is where they grew up for the most part. Over the years, they went in and out of the grim building. Families adopted them for one reason and another, only to turn out terrible.



In 1992, another new person came along, but their visit was different. This visit changed their lives, giving them a new home for the majority of the year.



In their early teens, both siblings' lives took another turn, finally completely taking them away from the dreaded orphanage. A young, kind woman showed up this time, also with interest in them. The exact details of their encounter with her will always be somewhat of a blur, but one thing was certain. The person behind the mask, was far from a caring, young woman.



I remember when, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that phase
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space

And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much

Does that make me crazy?

[Aramorta Riddle {HM}]

-February 14, 1981; 3:20 am-
Deep breath in, and back out in a scream. "One more, just one more!" Rodolphus fidgeted excitedly at the end of the bed. Bellatrix shot him an extremely dirty look, though she was too tired to yell more than necessary anymore. Narcissa came back to the bed with a towel, shooing the anxious father-to-be out of the way. "Bella, push!" Narcissa ordered. Listening to her sister, Bellatrix heaved one last deep breath and the strongest push she could. The baby slid out the rest of the way and Narcissa scooped him up in the towel, before bustling off to the other side of the room to clean him up. Dry and bundled in a soft black blanket, Narcissa returned to her sister with the newborn. "You have a beautiful baby boy," she said softly, placing him into his mother's arms. Bellatrix stared blankly at the baby, who was now content cradled against Bella's chest. Rodolphus on the other hand looked ready to explode with happiness. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and kissed her forehead, then his newborn son's. They sat there in silence for a couple minutes, before Bella broke it. "Zaire...Zaire Oren Black Lestrange..." she said, her tone almost bored. Rodolphus smiled and nodded in agreement, trying to ignore his wife's tone of voice. However, her next comment he could not ignore. "Go get the Dark Lord," said Bella firmly. He instantly knew why. He didn't move an inch. "Go! Now!" she snapped. Rodolphus hesitated a moment, but then shook his head. "No, wait," he said. "Wait, a while. Let him decide when." He pulled his arm away from her shoulders and crossed them over his chest instead. Bellatrix sneered. "Fine, I will bring him to him then," she snapped, before handing the infant over to a confused Narcissa, getting out of the bed slowly, snatching him back from her sister, and ambling off upstairs.

An almost unnaturally high scream for a newborn, issued through the thin floor. Rodolphus buried his face in his hands, wanting to go stop them, but knowing he couldn't do anything. "Next she will be offering him up to the Dark Lord," Narcissa said with a sigh, sitting down beside her brother-in-law. Rodolphus lifted his head, face twisted in anger. "No doubt, that's what she's doing at this very moment," he growled. He picked at the nail on his left index finger. "Branding him and donating him for the cause," he said quietly. Narcissa made a small noise in the back of her throat, but quickly covered it with a forced cough. She remained silent a minute longer, not sure whether to speak up or not. She gave a weak smile. "You disagree with her?" she finally asked, before quickly adding, "Not that I disagree with you, I couldn't agree more, actually. You know me. I agree with the Dark Lord, but I could never..." she shrugged. "I'm not a true Death Eater for a reason. I could never actually do what you and your brother and Bella do...but you do, well. You're his favorites. You kill and fight for your cause with no remorse, with pride...I just...I just never expected that from you," she said in somewhat of a rush. Rodolphus' eyebrows furrowed. "I am no less loyal to the Dark Lord, nor my wife! If defending my son and not wanting to make a contribution to the Dark Lord out of him until he's old enough, is wrong, then-" He was cut off by Bellatrix walking into the room, alone. She collapsed onto the bed without so much as a glance at the other two. "Where is he?" Rodolphus demanded. "With the Dark Lord," she mumbled sleepily. "With the Dark Lord?!" he almost yelled. She nodded, barely. "Had a strange reaction to the branding curse...the Dark Lord is taking care of it," she muttered, before giving up the fight with her drooping brown eyes and letting them close, almost instantly falling asleep. Rodolphus' blue eyes narrowed to slits as he jumped up and ran up the stairs.



-September 4, 1981; 12:18 pm-
As if it had been an immediate sign of separation, difference, between him and the others, the Dark Mark on baby Zaire's arm had never gone back to normal. Whether the Dark Lord seriously had not been able to completely fix it, or if he had purposely left it for some reason, was unknown. All that was certain was that, unlike every other Death Eater's, the baby boy's branding had a strange line through it. From the skull, straight through and past, into the beginning of his palm. Like a scar, shiny and paler than the rest of his skin, yet with a blue-ish tint, rather than the normal pink. The strange scarring was not all that was strange, however. There were, in fact, quite a few already, but one topped them all. One that threatened his life nightly. His vocalization. Having been checked over and found that there was no real good reason for it, made everyone in the manor completely intolerable of it. Every night, at nearly the exact same time, he would start screaming. Not normal crying, screaming, and nothing settled him. He would just start screaming, going until it he lulled himself to sleep with the high tones. To make things worse, Bellatrix was on her own, since the thirtieth of May, when Rodolphus had left on a long mission. That was about to end. The Dark Lord had called him back. Bellatrix could simply no longer handle him alone, what with the surprise she had for her husband.

Priceless would have been the best word to describe the look on Rodolphus' face when he saw his wife. Exhausted and sore, he had been looking forward to nothing more than resting for even an hour before taking Zaire off Bellatrix's hands. His entire mood changed in an flash. For a second, he was flabbergasted. "How...how..." he stuttered. Then another thought sunk in and his mood flashed again, this time to fury. "No, not how...WHO?" he shouted the last word. Bellatrix did not even look the slightest bit phased by his anger as she placed her hands on the small bump in her stomach that was easily visible thanks to the her tight-fitting dress. "The Dark Lord," she said, smiling now. "You were aware that the Dark Lord wanted an heir. Right after you left, he informed me that I was who he had chosen to carry it; the child of the Dark Lord! Would you have expected me to refuse?" She was grinning like he had never seen before, even during muggle torture. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was far too tired to come up with a good enough insult. "Fucking whore..." was all he muttered as he walked around her and out of the room.



-December 30, 1981; 11:56 am-
The entire Wizardig World knows of the events that happened two months earlier, on Hallow's Eve. The events that were, to the majority of the community, a miracle. To Bellatrix Lestrange and everyone else at the Malfoy Manor, they had been tragic. After that day, every Death Eater had gone their own way. They split apart with pointless and meaningless good luck wishes. Good luck on not being sent to Azkaban, that was. A very small group stuck together. The Malfoys allowed the Lestranges to move into their manor; as they certainly had enough space to let them and not even see them for days at a time. With that, they could continue working, even if only the four of them, on where the Dark Lord could have gone. Despite what Lucius had tried to force into Bellatrix's head back in the beginning of November, none of them wanted to believe he was just gone, still. Besides that, Narcissa would not allow her sister to be on the run and homeless while she was pregnant. That cold winter morning had started off just like every other that month for Bellatrix. However, by afternoon it was changing rapidly. What she tried to push off as fake contractions began hitting her as she walked down the long hallway toward the kitchen. She sat down in the sitting room on one of the large, cushioned leather couches to relax. The tightness, cramps and terrible backache did not leave. She assured herself that she could not be going into labor and went to busy herself. Bellatrix tried to distract herself with working on plans and taking eleven-months-old Zaire off of Rodolphus' hands for a bit. As darkness began to fall outside, Bellatrix laid the boy down in his crib and then exited the room. She stopped halfway down the hall and nearly screamed in pain. She leaned against the wall, panting slightly and then looked down as she felt wetness around her bare feet. "Oh, hell no! You have got to be fucking kidding me! You are nine damn weeks ahead of your time, honey!" she yelled at her stomach as if it would stop, backtrack and go out of the preterm labor. Still keeping one hand to the wall, Bellatrix stumbled down the hall, toward the stairs. She almost lost her balance on the top step as her back seared like it was about to give out on her. She screamed and Narcissa came flying down the hall. Seeing her sister clutch at her rounded stomach, Narcissa quickly caught on. She put Bellatrix's arm over her shoulder and helped her the rest of the way down the stairs and into the dark dungeon. Letting Bellatrix go as she lay back on the bed, Narcissa snapped her fingers, summoning a house elf. "Get me Aerynna, now!" she ordered the frail looking creature. It bowed with a quiet mutter and then disappeared. Less than a minute later, another blonde woman came running down the stairs. "Yes, Mrs. Malfoy?" said the woman. Narcissa did not need to give any explanation as Bellatrix gave another deafening scream. Aerynna moved toward the bed, but then paused. "How far along is she?" she asked Narcissa. "Thirthy-one weeks," said Narcissa seriously. "Oh dear," said Aerynna, her face full of worry. "Any idea what may have caused it?" she asked as she sat down on the end of the bed. Narcissa shook her head, frowning.

Twenty-six hours passed extremely slowly. Bellatrix was shouting, though her voice was clearly growing hoarse. Narcissa and Aerynna had grown drowsy, but were kept awake by the screams, threats and exploding objects. After a few nearly knocking her out, Narcissa finally deprived her sister of her wand, which only made her more angry. "I swear...if I EVER see that man again...I will KILL HIM!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, though the end cracked slightly. "I'll believe that when I see it," Narcissa muttered under her breath. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Bellatrix shouted. "Nothing, sis," Narcissa replied softly. "Yes you did! You...just...WHERE THE HELL IS MY WAND?" her already large eyes bulged as she glared at her sister. "GIVE ME MY WAND AND GET THIS DAMN THING OUT!" Bellatrix yelled, before squeezing her eyes shut and giving a sobbing howl of pain. "Bellatrix," said Aerynna tentatively. The woman waited a moment before speaking again. "It's time to push," Aerynna said. "What?" Bellatrix snapped, eyes opening. "Push, I need you to push, okay?" Aerynna smiled encouragingly. Bellatrix's dark eyes narrowed, but she gathered her breath and pushed as hard as she could, giving yet another ear-splitting scream as she did. "Another, Bella, another. Just one more good push," Aerynna said. Narcissa nodded, even as Bellatrix gripped her arm tighter.

Three cries filled the dungeon. One of pain from Bellatrix as she gave that last push. Then, one from the baby, as Aerynna finally lifted it into the air. The last from Aerynna. “It’s a girl!” shouted the woman happily. Aerynna quickly cleaned up the baby, but did not bring it right over to Bellatrix. “Is there a problem, Aerynna?” questioned Narcissa. Aerynna’s blue eyes examined the newborn in her hands. It was breathing, crying, and otherwise acting as it should have. Her concern was the infant’s appearance. Aerynna had been left under the impression that Rodolphus was the father. After all, who would tell the maid that Bellatrix had been carrying the heir of Lord Voldemort? The girl’s screams grew louder. They were odd; abnormally high in pitch and volume, almost like nails on a chalkboard. Aerynna weighed the baby in her hands and took a guess that it was no more than three pounds, if even that. Something told her it was not the prematurity. “What are you doing with my child?” Bellatrix’s angry voice shook her out of her thoughts. “Nothing, just cleaning her up,” she muttered in a rush, and then quickly wrapped the child in a soft, green blanket and brought her over to Bellatrix. She glanced down at the girl again. “Bellatrix, I think she may be-” Aerynna started. “What? What is wrong with my baby?” said Bellatrix in exasperation. “Well, she looks…” Aerynna trailed off as Bellatrix took the child out her hands and cradled her against her chest, staring down at her. Bellatrix examined the girl’s face and a rare smile spread her lips. “She looks…perfect…she looks…” she smiled and kissed the baby on the head. “You look just like daddy…Aramorta Naunet Black.. Riddle,” she whispered. Aerynna looked utterly confused as she stared at the little face. ‘Aramorta’ was literally deathly pale; so pale that the veins were highly visible on her face, arms and hands. What she saw next nearly made her faint, though it brought an even wider smile to Bellatrix’s face. The baby opened its eyes. Not only were they not blue, but they weren’t just already a different color. The scarlet glowed in the dim light of the dungeon and the vertical pupils dilated. Aerynna blinked repeatedly, but they did not change. They looked like a cat’s, with the whites not visible and the slitted pupils. Neither of the sisters seemed to find anything about the girl’s appearance the least bit strange. Bellatrix played with the thin, dark, wavy hair and whispered to the now calmed newborn. Her gaze rest on the infant for only a second longer, as the doors suddenly flew open. Rodolphus came running into the room, though he did not even glance at the child in his wife’s arms. “We need to go, soon!” he said, his voice urgent. “Rabastan thinks the Longbottoms hold some information about the Dark Lord, and if we’re going to catch them, we need to go within the next few hours…” he said, pausing for a breath. “We really need you with us… as would the Dark Lord…if you’ll be up to it?” he asked. Bellatrix nodded fervently. “Of course, anything for my Lord…I just…Narcissa, you will take care of the girl?” Her sister nodded, smiling as her eyes flickered between mother and child. “As long as you need me to, though I really don’t think you should go,” said Narcissa quietly. “I will be fine. I must go,” Bellatrix said as she passed her daughter over to Narcissa and got out of the bed. Knowing that there was no changing her sister’s mind, Narcissa just bid her goodbye. “So much for wanting to kill him,” she chuckled, shaking her head.



-January 1, 1982; 6:13 am-
A half asleep Narcissa dashed down the long staircase in her green, silk nightgown. "Who the hell is coming to the door at this time?" she growled to herself, looking at the clock on the wall. It showed that it was only quarter past six in the morning. For a second she considered that it could have been Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan, but then came to the obvious conclusion that they would have been able to let themselves inside. Sighing and brushing her blonde hair out her face, she unlocked the front door and pulled it open. Seeing who was standing on the front steps of her home, she almost just slammed the door in his face. Later, she would wish she had. Then again, he probably would have figured out how to break in anyway. 'What the hell are you doing here, Dumbledore?" Narcissa snarled. "Well, Mrs. Malfoy...where should I start," he said in his usual too calm voice. "May I come inside?" he asked. Looking as if he had said something offensive, Narcissa rolled her eyes and backed away, opening the door up wider. He smiled, blue eyes twinkling, and stepped inside. "Since you're inside now, would you like to come sit down and tell me exactly why you are here?" she questioned. "You know I would normally say yes, but I think I should make this quick," he said, looking around the hall with interest. "Narcissa, your sister, her husband and his brother have been taken to Azkaban. I am here -and keep in mind that it was either me or a whole horde of Aurors- for her children," he said. "No, Dumbledore, no," Narcissa said, her words almost turning into a plea. "I will raise them, Dumbledore," she said more firmly, regaining her composure. "I'm afraid that is not up to you," he said. "Where else are you going to take them?" Narcissa snapped. "That is not for you to know either," said Dumbledore. Narcissa was furious. "Now, Narcissa, are you going to make me find them myself?" he asked. Narcissa crossed her arms and stood her ground. Dumbledore shook his head with a small 'tut tut', and walked passed her. She chased after him, starting to plead again, but it made no difference. He ignored her words and began to ready the infants for the cold outdoors. Zaire's overly-loud cries woke Aramorta, whose high pitched cries woke Draco, who began crying as well. Narcissa rocked her child, but then placed him back in the crib and ran after Dumbledore again. She followed him out of the house without any luck, and then stood on the porch crying harder than the infants as she watched Dumbledore walk away from the manor, his arms wrapped around the bundled babies.

[Aramorta Riddle {HM}]

-June 29, 1986-
For four and a half years, we had lived at Wool's Orphanage. It was in the early summer of that year that we had been called into Mrs. Sanford’s office. Another matron, Ms. Lonsdale, led us down to the head matron’s room. She knocked twice on the door, let us inside and then disappeared back off down the hall to go help some others. Inside the room, we turned around to greet Mrs. Sanford, but were distracted by the group of strangers. I narrowed my eyes at them, studying them for a moment, before turning to Mrs. Sanford finally. The old matron gave me a small smile. “Aramorta dear, and Zaire, this is the Llewelyn family. They are the family that we had been talking about, the ones who would like to give you a home,” she explained. “What?” I asked, quite confused, and yet, overwhelmed at the same time. It couldn’t be true. Sure, we had talked about it, she had told us that the family was going through the adoption process, but I had not believed that it would actually go through. After all, why would anyone choose to adopt us? Especially over all of the other, normal children there at Wool’s; not inseperably paired. I did not understand it, but for the first time ever, I actually had a little hope. Just a little hope, that we were going to a place where we would not be judged and teased, but loved and appreciated.

Smiling, Mrs. Sanford came around her desk and over to us. Bending over so that she was closer to our level, she pointed up at the five people sitting across from us. “That is your new family,” she said happily. “That is David and Margaret,” she said, pointing to the man and woman. Both had light brown hair, though David had brown eyes, while Margaret had blue. “That is their daughter, Megan, who is eleven,” she said, pointing to the girl in the middle. Megan looked just like Margaret. “That is there other daughter, Crystal, who is twelve,” she pointed to the one on the left. It was clear that Crystal was adopted. She had light blonde hair, hazel eyes and looked nothing like either of the adults. “And that is Katrina, their third daughter, who is six,” she finished, pointing to the last girl. Katrina too had to be adopted, as she also looked entirely different with her ginger hair. I just stared, taking them all in. I noticed Zaire raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye. Mrs. Sanford gave the Llewelyns a smile. “She's a bit shy,” she said kindly. "He...well, he's not usually so quiet," she added, looking at Zaire with a strange expression on her face. Margaret gave a quiet laugh and walked closer. “Aw, it’s alright,” she crooned as she knelt down in front of us. Though she kept her smile in place, I noticed her eyes flicker away from mine a few times before she forced herself not to look away from my face. I stared down at the ground with a frown; it would never stop. “Aw, sweetie, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to go home with us?” asked Margaret in that same gentle tone. I still gave no reply, nor did I even look up. Mrs. Sanford sighed softly. “As I said, she can be quite shy, but don’t worry, she will warm up to you,” she said. Margaret just nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder. Zaire stepped closer to me, grasping my hand. I shot a sideways glance at the woman's hand on my shoulder, watching it carefully to make sure she was not about to try to do something. However, a second later she took it away, stood up and turned back to Mrs. Sanford. Zaire relaxed a little. “Thank you, Mrs. Sanford,” said Margaret, shaking hands with the matron. “And thank you!” Mrs. Sanford replied. I shot a nasty look up at her. Apparently I was the only one who had caught the tone. It sounded more like a: ‘Thank you so much for getting these nuisances off our hands!!’ David shook hands with Mrs. Sanford, and then they started to leave. “Come on you two,” called Margaret. Zaire and I glanced at each other and then nodded. This was it; we were going home.



-August 12, 1986-
The summer heat had me taking refuge in my bedroom. Crystal was supposed to be watching Zaire and I while Margaret took Katrina to a doctor appointment. She wasn't doing her job. Instead, she was outside with Megan and her friends. I watched from my window as they sat down on the deck to eat the ice cream that Alexis, Jacquelyn, and Raina had brought. Megan kicked her sandals off, propped her legs up on the table and leaned back. "And you know they won't get in trouble, it's stupid!" said a voice behind me. I spun around to find Zaire standing next to my bed. "Nope, they never do," I mumbled. Walking over to him, I climbed up onto my bed. I beckoned for him and then laid down. Pulling himself up, Zaire came and curled up beside me. "I wish we were still at Wool's," I said quietly. He nodded. "Yeah," he whispered. I blinked, trying hard to keep my eyes open. I didn't want to miss anything. What if Crystal and Megan tried to pull something? Zaire smiled. "Go to sleep, I'll watch them," he kept his voice to a whisper still. I smiled in thanks and closed my eyes. However, as he began to get up, my eyes snapped back open. "Don't leave!" I reached a hand out toward him. "I'm going over there," he pointed to the window. "I need to watch Crystal and Megan," he added. "Okay," I relaxed and closed my eyes again.

It didn't seem like it had been long before I woke to Zaire shaking me and repeating my name. "What?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes. "Margaret is home...but the others are still outside!" he said in an urgent tone. I scurried up and out of the bed as fast as I could. I made to run out the bedroom door, but Zaire caught my hand, easily stopping me as he was approximately twice my weight. He pulled me back a few steps, pointing to the window. "Look at that, she doesn't even care," he grumbled. Margaret stood talking with the group of girls. They were laughing and smiling. She didn't seem to notice that we were not down with them. "I really wish we were back at Wool's," he muttered. I nodded silently, eyes glued on Margaret, who was giving Alexis, Jacquelyn and Raina hugs goodbye.



-December 27, 1986-
That day I figured out what it was I hated so much about David and Megan. After spending six months listening to Megan’s taunts, I had figured it out. It was that snobby, posh Ipswich accent. Furthermore, my loathing of Ipswich, and it reminding me that I wasn’t in London anymore. Everything and everyone in Ipswich was too perfect. Maybe it was just our neighborhood, with its row of identical houses, set on perfectly manicured lawns. All of the neighbors themselves were like David and Megan, except, if possible, even worse. They were five times as snooty. I sighed. “Aramorta, your sister is trying to ask you a question!” David’s harsh voice broke into my thoughts. I lifted my gaze to meet David’s, as Crystal and her gang of gits burst into giggles at me being yelled at. Zaire dropped his fork with a clatter. “I didn’t know I had a sister,” I said, even though I knew I shouldn’t have. Knowing that he would believe her, and what she could get out of it, Crystal started to act as if she had been hurt and insulted by my comment. “Aramorta, apologize!” It was an order. “But you told me not to lie,” was my reply. “Why would you be lying?” he questioned. I scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and looked at Crystal. “I’m not sorry,” I said, before flinging the potatoes at her. Crystal gave a girly scream as the runny glob splattered over her perfect blonde hair. Zaire dove under the table for his fork as he burst into hysterical laughter. “Aramorta! Go to your room!” David pointed toward the staircase. I did not move. “Why?” I asked. “Because I said so!” he said, voice rising. “Why don’t you ever tell them to go to their rooms? Why do they get away with everything?” I pressed on. “Go to your room, Aramorta!” he was almost at a yell. “NO! THEY POKE FUN AT ME ALL THE TIME AND YOU NEVER BELIEVE IT BECAUSE THEY DON’T DO IT IN FRONT OF YOU! WHY DO I ALWAYS GET YELLED AT?” my voice was high and squeaky. David had, had more than enough. He stood up, picked me up out of my chair and carried me to my room. I screamed in his ear all the way up and until he dropped me on my bed. He did not even stay to scold me anymore; he just slammed the door and locked it.

I slid off the bed and ran over to the door. Seizing the doorknob, I began pulling on it as hard as I could. After five minutes of no luck with that, I stopped and tried pounding instead. Raising my little fists, I hit them against the door as hard as possible. I did not stop until my knuckles were bright red and sore. I wondered how they could all just ignore the noise. Had they left the house? I pressed my ear to the door and listened for any sounds. There was nothing but silence. That did not mean much, though. They could have just been down in the basement. Finally completely giving up, I collapsed onto the floor. Whatever it was, they were only going to keep ignoring me. I was just the bad little girl who wanted to hurt her ‘sister’. I did nothing wrong. I was just telling the truth. I was through with acting nice to them, when they all teased me. Why didn’t David ever believe me, that Megan and Crystal were mean to me? Why did it seem like it was easier for everyone to blame me? I pushed myself up and stared across the room into the mirror on the wall. Was it my strange appearance? I held my hands up and examined my long, bony fingers. Crossing my arms, I stared at my face in the mirror again. My full-color scarlet eyes glowed like flames around their odd, vertical pupils. A dark blue vein across my temple was visibly pulsing. I covered my face with my hands. The glow of my eyes was still visible through my fingers. I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my fingernails into my forehead. I want to look normal. I want to look like everyone else. I don’t want to be the misfit. Hearing screaming, I froze. There was a yelp of pain and then David was yelling again. "I HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU TWO!" he bellowed. There was fast running footsteps, and then a bang on my door. I raised an eyebrow at the weird scratching noises. The door suddenly swung open and Zaire practically flew into the room. His blue eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as he slammed the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.



-December 30, 1986-
Three days passed by after the small argument with David at dinner. The man had not spoken to either of us, or even really looked at us, since yelling at Zaire as he made a mad dash for my room. Even Margaret had been much quieter. She still spoke with us, but only because she had to. There was something strange behind her blue eyes, and she was not her usual chipper, chatty self. What had I done? Why had standing up for myself been so wrong? What had Zaire done afterward to get David after him? He wouldn't say. Standing up for myself, and what I could only assume had been Zaire standing up for me as well, was what it seemed like had been the problem. It was ever since I had talked back to David and questioned him. As I had for the past three days, I sat on my bed thinking about this, wondering. Zaire sat on the floor in the corner. Neither of us spoke to the other. Suddenly the door opened and I jumped up in surprise. Seeing Margaret’s face, I sighed and relaxed. The woman gave me an odd smile; it was obvious she was trying to make it look warm and kind as always. “Aramorta, Zaire, come with me. Your father and I need to talk to you,” she said, succeeding in making her voice kind. I was tempted to snap back with a remark about them not being my parents, but bit my tongue. Both of us nodded silently and followed her out of the room. Margaret led us into the sitting room and then motioned for us to sit down. My eyes flickered from her face to David’s, before looking down at the floor and nodding again. I climbed into one of the big leather chairs, and scooted to one side, letting Zaire squeeze in beside me. I could feel both of them watching us, but I did not look up. Margaret sighed. “Aramorta, Zaire, you’re going to go stay with a friend of ours-” she began. “What?” I snapped, my eyes finally meeting hers again. "What do you mean, you're getting rid of us?" Zaire chimed in. Margaret closed her eyes for a second. “No, we’re just going on a short trip. Your sisters are staying with friends of theirs. You are going to stay with your father’s friend Jack, and his sister Marilyn,” she explained slowly. I thought about it for a second and then nodded silently for the third time. Zaire didn't look so sure, but nodded along since I had. Margaret gave a weak smile and stood up. She grabbed my hand in her right and Zaire's in her left, and pulled on them. “Come on, lets go get you two ready, we’re going to bring you over to their house early in the morning tomorrow,” she said. I let her pull me to my feet, pick me up and carry me up to my room. Zaire trailed behind, looking most displeased. I wrapped my arms around her neck tightly and buried my face into her hair. “It’s really just a week?” I whispered. She squeezed my back lightly. “Of course! Why wouldn’t it be, sweetie?” she said. I shook my head. “I don’t know…” I lied, a single tear escaping from my closed eyes. Truly, I had a bad feeling about it. Something was not right at all. I looked down at Zaire behind us, but he was glaring at the floor.