Safe & Sound//Sebastian Sallow

eighteen.

I tried to be enthusiastic as Morgana and I shopped for my dress, but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling I had as a result to blacking out. Morgana didn't act odd or anything, so I knew she was telling me the truth when saying nothing happened to me, but still. I felt embarrassed at being exposed and fucked in front of strangers and I'm not sure if I would have agreed had I been sober.

Despite my lack of energy while shopping, I managed to find the perfect dress and accessories for the Yule Ball. The dress didn't even need tailored, so I was able to take it with me. I was glad that the trip had been an overall success.

The rest of my stay was uneventful. The two of us just hung out and enjoyed each other's company. It was nice to have a friend that I could talk about girly things with.

I was glad to return to Hogwarts on Sunday. I initially was going to head back in the evening, but I made up an excuse to leave early. I missed Sebastian and felt like I needed to talk to him.

Once back at the castle, I dropped my things off in my room and then went to find Sebastian. He wasn't in his room or his office, so I went down to the Undercroft. Sure enough, he was at his desk drawing.

"Whatcha drawing," I asked as I closed the gate behind me.

"You. It's from memory, though, so it's not perfect. I'll draw a better one sometime when you can sit for me."

"You're drawing me? Can I see?"

"I suppose. Like I said, it's not perfect." Sebastian handed me the page he was drawing on and I couldn't help but gasp. He had drawn a portrait of me and I looked beautiful.

"Is this how you see me," I asked. "I look lovely."

"Because you are lovely." He rose from the desk and pulled me into a hug. "I missed you terribly," he said before kissing my head.

"I missed you to. Something happened that I think you should know about," I told him.

"What do you mean," he asked?

I told him everything that happened, starting with Morgana walking in on me naked to me waking up tied to the bed. I confessed how I'd let her use me in front of people while fucked up on absinthe and how it scared me that I didn't have any recollection of most of the night. Sebastian kept quiet as I talked, but I could tell by his face that he didn't like what he was hearing.

"Are you fucking kidding me," he asked when I finished.

"I'm so sorry, Sebastian. I truly didn't think you'd mind me messing around with her."

"That's not why I'm pissed," he told me. "I'm not even mad at you. I'm mad that she put you in a dangerous position. What if she would've let someone take advantage of you or hurt you?"

"She wouldn't have done that," I protested.

"She could have if she was also fucked up. Real absinthe fucks with people and it sounds like what you were given was the real shit. She should've had Ominis with you two, sober, if she planned on you both drinking that." He was pacing back and forth at this point.

"I didn't realize when she gave it to me that it was that intense. I'm so sorry." Tears started to fill my eyes, I felt so guilty. I hadn't seen Sebastian this angry since we were teenagers and he went off on me about goblins. "I didn't mean to mess up like this." Sebastian's face softened when we saw me crying.

"You didn't mess up, love," he reassured me, pulling me to him. "You were taken advantage of and I'm so sorry that it happened to you. I forget sometimes that you're naive and that there's still so much that's new to you. I never thought to warn you about anything like this."