| Current Plot |
September 2028
|
| Who is online? | In total there are 3 users online :: 1 Registered, 0 Hidden and 2 Guests Tessa GreeneMost users ever online was 108 on Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:21 am |
| Unanswered Open Threads | | None! |
| | | And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988) |  |
| | | Author | Message |
|---|
Louis Clement
Adult
Posts : 230
Birthday : 1973-05-29
Join date : 2017-08-01
| | Subject: And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:20 am | |
| “Look at that guy, he can’t even stand up by himself!”
“To successfully perform this curse, the user must have a deep desire to inflict pain on the person they plan to make their target. As with all magic, intent is key in being able to produce an effective spell. The Cruciatus Curse, however, can be hard for even skilled wizards, because many believe you have to have dark intentions for it to work. Whilst we are trying to teach you to defend yourself against it, can anyone tell me the clause of this?”
“There are no direct defences against the spell.” Louis replied from the seat at the back. He no longer felt it necessary to sit towards the front where Vanessa was sat. “You can either try to win over the spell with a strong mind, or dodge it. Even the strongest of minds can only last so long though.” His tone was perhaps a shade darker than even he realised, but this spell was intriguing, a spell that could rip a person’s mind to pieces through exploiting everyone’s main weakness.
Pain.
“You’d have thought he’d grown out of needing a babysitter by now!”
The Imperius Curse, the Killing Curse, they abided by the same rules. Intent, indefensible. Did it really matter to be taught this? Could anyone in this room truly get out of the way of a wizard who was intent on killing them? Louis didn’t think so. He could barely escape the witch who had deemed it her job to kill him from the inside slowly, let alone a mad man on a homicidal streak.
“Louis, what are you doing wasting your time with that invalid?”
No matter how many times he tried to push the memories from his mind, Louis could not. The teasing streak of the boys in the year above him had pressed Dominic to tears, telling Louis to leave it. His brother could not understand how he was letting them win by not silencing their jibes, but Louis knew that if you didn’t stop the bullies, they would only get worse. But even as his hand had moved to his wand, Dominic had placed his hand over his and given him a firm no.
But even if Dominic could forget their words, they would not leave Louis. The one person he was supposed to be looking after now didn’t want him to do even that. It was once again becoming a relationship where he could not bear to lose the boy by his side. Vanessa was gone, she had not come for him in the Dahliatelle, she didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, and that was… Too much to bear.
“Look, he can’t even defend himself, needs his baby brother to do that for him too!”
The Ombrelune prefect navigated the halls silently that evening, knowing where he’d find the boy who’d been haunting him for the past month. Meticulous research had shown that the boy always made his way to the prefect’s bathroom just before curfew for his bath, and it was fate that could allow Louis to gain access at the same time. The Poppilonlisse prefect had disappeared behind the door not five minutes before, and with silent care, Louis slipped inside the door.
Javier was already submerged in the water as Louis locked the door behind him. No footsteps were heard as Louis moved to the older boy’s clothes, slipping his wand out and putting it in his pocket. It was only when he was stood right over Javier that Louis chose to speak. “You messed with the wrong family.” Louis hissed, revelling in how the older boy jumped and spun around, reaching for his clothes that would give him nothing of any substance.
“Clement, what are you doing here? Where’s my wand?” Javier asked, backing up in the Jacuzzi-esque bath, as if putting a small amount of space between them would really matter. The eyes of the older boy were filled with fear that only proved Louis’ theory on bullies. Cowards, the lot of them.
“You won’t be needing your wand.” Louis explained as he showed he already had it in his pocket. “I’m here to send a message to you and all your little friends, Javier. You see, you chose a weakened boy as your target, and in most regards he would have let you get away with it. He’s a kind boy, exploitable, but that doesn’t give you the right to do it. So, as his brother, I’m here to show you that although Dominic might forgive you, I won’t.” The voice that moved around the room was not the normal voice of Louis Clement, it was darker than even the black of his house seal. There was absolutely no way in which Javier could take this lightly.
“Louis… we can talk about this…” Javier hurriedly explained as Louis raised his wand at the boy.
“There is no more time for you, Javier.” Louis replied, his eyes narrowing more. “Crucio!” The jet of red light was moving even before Louis could reconsider his actions, shooting Javier straight in the chest. It was no more than a second later that the screams left the boys bodies, Louis’ name and the word please flittering in and among the howls of pain. In and amongst the gargles as the boy swallowed water from the indecision of keeping his head above the water or comfort himself from the pain.
Louis twisted his wand, smirking as the evidence of increased pain showed itself. His book had been correct in what it said about intensity being increased with a stronger will. The echoing screams were a mere testament to that. It was an hour of undivided attention before Javier finally stopped moving. When he had drowned or his body had given up from pain, Louis wasn’t quite sure. The youngest Clement collapsed on the water side at that moment, inhaling deeply as he tried to recover from the longest duration of magic he’d performed.
Placing Javier’s wand in the water, Louis moved to the taps, turning them on so that the bathroom would flood. Merlin knew they would find it hard to trace the cause of death, and many people would likely think the boy had committed suicide. Whatever they came up with, Louis knew it would never be him. “Deletrius!” He whispered as he unlocked the door and moved away from the area, knowing that in about an hour’s time the alarm would be raised.
***
As summer rolled in on the Clement household, it had never been quieter. Vanessa was ill, or so the maids said when she never appeared for dinner. And Dominic’s condition was as bad as it always was. Instead of laughter filling the grounds like it had most summers, only the birds could be heard, and Louis sat alone on one of the garden benches, lost in his book. Books had become his solace in the time without Vanessa. They didn’t judge him, they didn’t abandon him. They were permanent, but not enough to keep him happy.
The happy glint that once shone in Louis’ eyes was gone, gone the same day Vanessa had said that she didn’t want to stay with him. Gone the moment she never came looking for him. The day had thrown everything he had out the window, and Vanessa had not come back. “Penny for your thoughts, mon frere?” The sound of Dominic’s voice was a surprise in the least, especially to see him walking almost pain free in the gardens. A glimmer of a smile touched Louis’ lips for Dominic’s sake, he hadn’t managed to get out in such a long time.
“It’s nothing.” Louis replied softly, tucking his book in his bag so that Dominic couldn’t see the reading material he’d taken out of their library.
“How’s Vanessa?” Dominic asked, moving conversation on.
“I know as much as you do, Dom. She doesn’t come down for dinner, nobody has seen her for weeks.” Louis replied, his tone even because Merlin knew that Dominic knew all of this already.
“Go and see her, Louis.”
“Why?”
“She’s your best friend.”
“Not any more.” Louis replied, a sigh escaping him as he looked across the grounds. The younger Clement was quite sure that there would never be the chance of things going back to normal, he’d screwed that one up completely a very long time ago.
“She misses you just as much as you miss her, you know?” Dominic asked, looking pointedly to his younger brother who shook his head and looked away. “Alright then, if you’re not in the mood to talk about Vanessa, tell me what happened to Javier.” The Clement heir proposed, watching Louis for an inclination of what had happened. And the touch of a smirk proved that Louis had known more all along.
“He fell foul to revenge, Dom, that’s all.” Louis supplied, looking to his feet for a moment. “Nobody hurts my big brother and gets away with it, either.” He added, looking to Dominic with a smile. “There was absolutely no way I was going to let him live to tell the tale of how he got one over a Clement.”
“I see.” Dominic replied, his tone calm despite the news he’d just received.
“But it’s fine, Dom. Nobody will find out. They put it down to suicide, remember. You’d have done the same, Dominic.” Louis explained, knowing that beyond anything else, he could trust Dominic to hold his silence.
***
“I’m what?”
“Expelled, Monsieur Clement.”
“For what?”
“For the torture and manslaughter of Monsier Javier Montfort.” The reply came from the Headmaster across from him, the tone was ever so sincere, clear that he had no intention of changing his mind any time soon. “Your parents and the relevant authorities have been contacted in regards to your actions and they will be here shortly. You are not to leave this room, and you are to hand over your wand immediately.”
The extended hand towards the boy was not filled, defiance written on Louis’ features. He would not hand over his wand to anyone. Ever. “I want to speak to Vanessa.” Louis replied calmly, his eyes portraying that he would have that right or hell would break loose. But the headmaster merely shook his head.
“You can not see Miss Sheridan, Louis. You are being punished by the law.” But the words were no use, Louis was already on his feet, moving towards the door. The lock was already in place and no matter how many times Louis hammered the door, no matter how many times he screamed the spell to unlock it, the door would not budge. There was no safe haven for someone like him, they were taking away his rights, and with it, they were pulling him from his Vanessa.
It didn’t matter that they hadn’t spoken for months now. Vanessa would understand, she would know why. She would have done the same in his position. And Dominic… The sickly boy could go to hell for all he cared. How many hours he sat hammering the door for Vanessa, Louis could not fathom, the blood didn’t stop him, the raw state his throat became as he screamed her name would not stop him calling her back to him.
Even as his parents and two Ministry officials came to take him away Louis did not go quietly, Vanessa Sheridan would hear her name in the castle if his life depended on it. Because he was being forced in to the unknown, and the only person who could make it better was Vanessa. She would make the adults see sense. Make them let him stay here.
But she never came, just like the previous year, Vanessa didn’t come to him when he needed her.
***
“Louis Charles Philip, look at your elders when they speak to you.” Lissette Clement’s voice rang clear in the drawing room as the stinging curse caught Louis’ wrists. The boy did not react to her, nor the spell, looking at his hands as he waited for the woman to explain whatever it was he’d been called here for. “If you wish to be insolent, so be it.
“You will be leaving the house this evening, and going straight to Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur for your basic military training. You will not speak to anyone after this meeting about where you are going, nor will you contact the family unless a member contacts you.” Lissette explained, her voice clearly answering every question he might have. “You’re free to use any of the houses in France, and money will be provided to you for everything you may need. You will always be a Clement, Louis, but you have disgraced the family in all you have done.”
The silence remained from the boy, his hands clasped in to fists as he stared intently down at them. He had never been a violent man, per se, but recently he’d been finding it harder to keep his cool. To not notice how everyone seemed to be taking everything he needed away from him. “Is that all, Grandmere?” Louis asked through gritted teeth, not caring for the rules of being dismissed not asking for dismissal. The burn on his wrists was only the testament to his Grandmere’s disliking.
“The family have deemed is appropriate for the betrothal between yourself and Vanessa to no longer be valid. Your brother will be taking your place in the betrothal.” Lissette explained, watching as her youngest grandson’s anger flared in front of her eyes.
“You can’t do that!” Louis hissed, already on his feet in objection. “Vanessa and I are to be married. She… I… love… You can’t do this, Grandmere! Please!” But as his temper grew, knocking the stupid tea set from the table, the burning sensation only intensified. “Dominic won’t treat her… You CAN’T!” The roar of the last word had Louis reaching for his wand but despite her age, Lissette was quicker and the searing pain in his wrists subdued the boy to his knees. Tears were already falling from his face as he tried to keep up with everything going on.
“You leave tonight, Louis. That is my final word on the matter.” She told him, rising from her chair and leaving her grandson on his own. Sobbing his apologies to the only things that could hear him. The furniture.
***
“Name?”
“Cadet Clement.” Louis’ reply came in the darkened tones of the man who had left the Clement House. Dominic had not seen him off, and neither had they allowed Vanessa home in one final goodbye. The boy had pressed a letter in to his mother’s hands, asking her to see it got to Vanessa when she returned home.
And then everything had moved place and he’d found himself with only his rucksack in hand in front of the barbed wire fence, his name being demanded from a million and one people as he filled in all the forms that were required of him. His father signing off the final sheet for his consent to send his underage son in to the army.
“Tell Vanessa I’m sorry, papa.” Louis pleaded with his father one last time.
“Forget Vanessa, Louis. She will have forgotten you by tomorrow.” Came Thomas’ reply, not giving him a moment to reply before the man strode away, leaving Louis all alone in a world he did not understand. How this was fair he did not know, but life had stopped playing at fair many months ago. Louis turned towards the gates for one last time, watching as the rain began to fall on the miserable evening that had become his new reality.
“I’m sorry, Ven…” ________________________________________________~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~
Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3
Last edited by Louis Clement on Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:25 am; edited 1 time in total | |
| | | | Vanessa Clement
Adult
Posts : 161
Birthday : 1973-06-22
Join date : 2021-12-12
Location : Palace of Versailles, France
Job/hobbies : The Lady Clement
| | Subject: Re: And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988) Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:23 am | |
| “To successfully perform this curse, the user must have…
Vanessa stopped listening as the teacher droned on and on, not even bothering to hide the fact that her attention was no longer on the lesson. Lessons had all blurred into one in the past few months and Vanessa, once a girl who had actually cared about her results and the opinions her teachers kept of her, found herself sinking further and further away from the realities of life.
After the night when her world had quietly shattered to pieces, it was as though her very spirit had been broken. Vanessa had given way to unconsciousness long before Louis had deposited her to her bed and she hadn’t wanted to wake up. The witch had remained unconscious for the rest of the night and the day after, only to be discovered in that state by an elf who had raised the alarm. The rest of the week had been a vague memory of strengthening potions which her body had the desire to neither take nor keep down, resulting in more weakness and fatigue than the witch had experienced.
But the matron had been persistent and two weeks later, the brunette had been deemed fit to attend class. It still amazed the girl how she could have been deemed to be fit for anything when merely the act of putting one foot in front of another to constitute walking was sometimes too much for her. Never chatty by nature, Vanessa had sunk into a quietness that started to put most of the girls in her dorm on edge. It was good really, they left her alone. No one wanted to befriend a ghost with tired eyes and a constitution that required her to curl up in bed for hours as her frame rocked with silent tears.
“There are no direct defences against the spell.”
The voice permeated her foggy mind like sharp wandlight through Parisian smog, sending sharp stabs of fresh pain inside her. Louis hadn’t come to see her in the hospital. He hadn’t come to see her at all. And why would he? It was she had requested he take her back to her room. Who had refused to stay with him that night. So what if every day without him was one more day Vanessa didn’t want to be in this world? So what if his absence in her life had made her wish she didn’t have a life to feel his absence in? All that was no longer his concern, clearly.
Pretending to read her textbook, the witch let her eyes glaze over, giving herself over to the silent agony that had been her only companion these past few months.
***
Summer came, seasons changed, it was all happening in the periphery for Vanessa who had long since stopped paying attention to such minor things as what month and day it was. Time had lost all it’s meaning a few months ago. Now, one day was as good as the next and one month the same as another. As the school gossiped about the prefect who had committed suicide, Vanessa found herself detached from it all, not even the least bit interested in what had led the boy to such a grave decision. Peripherally, Vanessa was starting to realize she was losing interest in the world, in her life, in everything really. In addition to her now usual physicals, the matron was suggesting professional help – a notion that was quickly turned down by Aunt Lynette and resulted in Vanessa being called home early, right after her exams. She hadn’t been allowed to wait until the official holidays began and by the time her cousins returned back to Clement manor, the witch was already confined to a room that saw sunlight only through a window.
Vanessa didn’t much mind. If she was sick then she had been so for months now. She was used to it. And if she wasn’t and they were just all making her out to be, then she could only be grateful because at least this way, she could hide from the world. Hide from the call of the Dahlientelle and the maze where she and Louis had made their own little world once upon a time.
Fighting off a wave of dizziness, Vanessa struggled towards the window, imagining that she could hear something other than the birds chirping outside.
***
“He’s going to be given to the Wizengamot, I heard Mademoiselle Lavelle say so.”
“I thought he was only getting expelled, Marie.”
“You don’t just get expelled for murder, Gabrielle. He’s going to prison.”
Vanessa was off her feet before her mind had time to catch up with the two girls’ conversation. Barreling through them in a manner that would have made Grandmere sting her like when she was a child, Vanessa flew up to the boy’s dormitory, pushing Louis’ door open only to find his dorm mates in but not him. Grey eyes scanned the room frantically as the boys stared at her but upon finding nothing, narrowed on the rest of the occupants of the room.
“Where’s Louis?”
“Vanessa he… he’s probably with the headmaster.”
The witch didn’t care to hear the rest, slamming the door behind her as she flew down the stairs and out the Ombrelune common room, her destination one floor below to the Bellefoulle’s. Dominic would know what to do. Dominic would sort it all out. He may be weak but he still held the authority of House Clement. No one would mess with Louis if Dominic told them not to.
Tears were streaming down her face as she entered the Bellefoulle common room and rushed up to the boys dormitory, making a beeline for the single room her older cousin was afforded due to his condition. The girl entered without knocking, taking long strides to the armchair where Dominic sat, about to doze off.
“Dominic! Dom, get up. Louis is in trouble,” the brunette shook him, ready to offer him her assistance so he could get up and they could sort out this mess. “Come on Dominic we have to go. Louis is accused of…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it, simply urge the weak boy to his feet. “S'il vous plaît, levez-vous. Nous n'avons pas beaucoup de temps!”
“Je suis conscient, Vanessa,” Dominic replied calmly, catching her off guard. If he knew, why was he here, ready to take a nap. Confusion colored her face for a moment before she was tugging at his arm again, urging him to go.
But Dominic refused to move.
“Dom, what are you doing? If we don’t get there fast, Louis will… Louis…”
“Louis will get what he deserves,” the Clement heir replied sadly, still refusing to move.
“Wh-what do you…” It was as though the ground from beneath her feet had been pulled, leaving Vanessa in a state of suspension.
“I mean, it was I who reported him. He… He saw fit to murder a boy simply because of some verbal teasing. He’s not well, Vanessa, he can’t stay with other people.”
A sound of her palm striking Dominic’s cheek was sharp as it rang through the room. Eyes that had been harrowed in confusion were now narrowed in anger as Vanessa contemplated her cousin, seeing him for the first time as what he really was.
“You mean to tell me you turned him in?”
“Vanessa he’s a murderer,” Dominic pleaded, favouring her with the serious eyes that had made him such a favourite among adults from an early age.
Instead of a reply, the brunette spat on his face before striding towards the door. She had nothing else to say to Dominic. If he wasn’t going to help his brother, then she would. Angrily, the witch reached for the door handle – only to find it solidly locked.
“Open the door, Dominic,” her voice was low and dangerous even if her back was turned to the Clement heir. “Open it or I swear to God I will kill you myself, you fucking piece of shit.”
“Cousin, you aren’t well,” the weedy boy pleaded, his wand just about managing to stay steady in his shaking hands. “You don’t know what you’re saying. He’s dangerous. He killed that boy.”
“I DON’T CARE!” Vanessa screamed, turning on Dominic. “I don’t care if he killed one, or fifty or the entire world. He’s my Louis. I need to go to him. Open the damn door.”
The stunner hit her on the shoulder as she lunged at Dominic, trying to make a grab for his wand. And then everything went black.
***
“Why was I not allowed to come home earlier,” Vanessa’s tone was icy as she contemplated Grandmere. Lissette Clement may have been old but there was nothing frail about the woman in front of her. The only difference this time was that Vanessa was no longer afraid of her. Grandmere had inspired fear in people all her life but fear, the young witch had learned, only came when you had something to lose. Vanessa had already lost the one thing she had lived in fear of losing. Grandmere couldn’t do anything more to her now.
“We had a number of important decisions to make regarding your future and did not need you to be underfoot,” Grandmere replied, not only matching but exceeding the iciness in Vanessa’s voice.
“Where’s Louis, Grandmere?”
“His whereabouts should no longer concern you.”
“He’s my intended, I have the right to know.”
“No child, he was your intended. Given the circumstances, we have decided it best to wed you to Dominic. Needless to say, you will inherit the station of Lady Clement after your Aunt.”
“But I love Louis,” her voice was hard, firmer than it had ever been. Ever since she had regained consciousness in the hospital wing, the witch had been kicking and screaming for Louis, only to be sedated once more. The last few days should have worn her out but they had given her a strength Vanessa had never expected to find. Louis’ strength.
“A lady need only love her duty.”
“But I’m not a lady Grandmere, remember? I don’t do anything right. I can’t even stand up straight,”
Grandmere’s only reply was a stinging hex on Vanessa’s knee. Girls never got branded anywhere on plain display. The pain was always inflicted on body parts easily covered with expensive clothing.
“He’ll find me, you know,” Vanessa added, eyes watering against the pain as she forced herself to not buckle from the agony of the hex. “You can send him anywhere in the world and he’ll still come back. He promised me he would never leave me.”
“He didn’t seem to mind leaving you yesterday,” the words were delivered as the final blow, cold and swift, striking like a snake.
“You’re lying,” Vanessa shook her head, her knees giving away from the pain and Grandmere’s words. “You’re all lying. He loves me.”
Lissette’s next action was almost kind in comparison to her earlier antics. The old witch walked towards Vanessa, reaching down to lift the girl’s face up to her own. “Dear child, if he really cared that much about you, would he not have left at least a note to explain where he was going. Any message, anything?”
***
The memory of how she had ran through the manor, out the door and into the Dahlientelle was a tear streaked blur. The witch couldn’t even remember how she had managed to navigate the maze in her condition but somehow, she had, managing to locate the perfect center of the maze she and Louis had conquered as children. It didn’t matter what they all said, Louis would come back to her.
He had promised he would.
"Just don't leave me alone. I wouldn't stand it if you left me all alone."
"Nobody can ever take me away from you, Vanessa. I promise."
Those were the words they found her mumbling, three days later in the maze, on the brink of insanity and with only one name on her lips. The decision to send her back to England for her own health was immediate. And it was one Vanessa no longer had the strength to fight. ________________________________________________Come Plot With Me <3 | |
| | | | | | And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988) | |
|
Similar topics | |
|
| | Permissions in this forum: | You cannot reply to topics in this forum
| |
| |
| |
