ℭ𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔪𝔢, 𝔇𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤

--𝔚𝔞𝔤𝔢𝔯--

_________

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚑
_________

When I woke up, the bed felt cold. I reached out for Don but felt nothing there. I shot up in the bed, frantically looking for him. "Daddy?" His head peaked out from the bathroom and I relaxed. "What's up, princess?" I blushed, embarrassed of how I just reacted. "I...I was scared because you weren't there." He made a sympathetic pouty face and walked to the bed with his arms stretched out. "Come here, baby. It's ok I'm right here, love." the smell of his cologne settled me and made my anxiety melt away.

"I hope you slept well, kitten. I always sleep better when you're here, You have no idea how hard it was for me to not just stay in bed with you all day." He continued to talk while he held me on the bed.

After he calmed me down, he placed soft kisses on my lips, one by one.

"Are you sore?" I nodded "A little." he rubbed my thighs and kissed my neck. "I'm Sorry, baby. Daddy didn't mean to."

"It's ok, daddy. I'm just glad it was you." He hummed into my hair and continued to caress me.

"Let's get ready for school, my love." I looked at him confused. "But school doesn't start for another two hours." he chuckled and kissed my head. "I'm going to need to train more if I'm going to be heir right? Feel free to stay here till class starts ok?" I nodded and pulled him into another kiss, then he walked out the door. Leaving me with my thoughts. Once I knew he was gone, I got dressed and crept to Draco's room.

When I knocked, he opened the door with these sleepy eyes and messy hair. "I have made my decision so we need to go see your father." "Now?"

"Now."

I pulled him out of his room as he tried to hold onto the door. "Alright alright! Let me get dressed and send him an owl to let him know we're coming. Just wait here ok?" I shut the door with a huff and within a span of 5 minutes, he came out. "Ok, let's go."

We walked down the silent hallways. The sun was almost done rising when we reached Malfoy Manor. As we made the quiet walk to his father's office, he made an attempt to hold my hand. I quickly ended that attempt.

We knocked on the large wooden door three times before we heard his voice. "Come in." The doors opened by themselves and there sat Lucious at his desk, twisting the metal head of his wand. "Hello, Ariah dear! Have you made a decision?" I stepped in front of the desk and took a deep breath, trying not to be intimidated by his fierce scowl. "Yes, sir. I will marry the successor of the dark lord by the end of summer."

His smile turned into a smirk but quickly fell. "You clever girl. The successor of the dark lord has not yet been decided. How foolish of you to assume that anyone other than my son would be chosen. I refuse this attempted bargain of my words."

"Do you doubt your own son's abilities? If he truly is as capable as you say, then he should have no issue in defeating Don Tenya. " He continued to scowl at me while he thought of his words carefully. "I will accept your wager, on one condition. You must make an unbreakable vow to marry the successor of the dark lord. No matter who that is. It is my hypothesis that my son will win so this is just insurance to make sure you can't back out. "

I nodded and shook his hand while I spoke. "I, Ariah Snape, vow to marry the Dark lord's successor by summer's end. In return, My mother will be freed unharmed after I fulfill my duty. " Green smoke swirled around our locked hands and he smirked as the myst disappeared. "Thank you for this lovely chat, dear. The dark lord will be making his decision In three weeks. That's the last days of this school year. " I nodded and took my hand back. "You are excused. Draco, escort her out then come back and see me. "Yes sir." With that, I was back at the front doors of the mansion and started walking back to school.

The air was cold that morning, it stung my nostrils when I inhaled and It caused my lungs to feel extra full. My future was just put in the hands of two 17 year old boys. What the hell was I thinking? All I wanted was my mom back. This was the only way to do it so I did what I knew she would do for me. I sucked up my pride and did what was right for the people I loved.

I had all day to work at school and not think of what happened just a few hours prior, but I couldn't help but not pay attention in class. Don was nowhere to be seen and I started to get worried by the time lunch came around. Amani was at our usual table and smiling while eating a turkey sandwich.

"Have you seen Don lately?" " Hello to you too." I smiled and sat down in front of her, "Sorry, Hey, Amani! Have you seen Don?" I said it in an overly happy voice making her laugh. "NoI actually haven't. Haven't seen you around much lately either." I felt bad realizing she was right and I sent her an 'I'm sorry' look.

"I just have a lot on my plate right now. I'm sorry." she continued to eat with a bite of sandwich in her mouth. "Ith otay" I giggled at her morphed speech and started to head with her, when I felt a tap on my shoulder...

980 words

-Love, V