‘Are you insane?’
Rod was packing bags and taking any spare moment to have a nip of whisky, he was manic. He never expected Bella to agree in a million years but she had, and he didn’t have excuses now- he had to follow through.
‘Dad, are you insane?’ Jonah probed, stepping into the bedroom ‘I’m not going, neither is Eve’ he said flatly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his father like Bella did, no matter how much he looked like Rod’s side he had her eyes.
‘We’re in difficulties Jonah, we have t-’ Rod began explaining but was cut off almost immediately, his son looked much older now and much more mature as he confronted his father, putting a hand on his shoulder.
‘No- you and mum are in difficulties- you told us growing up we would have to serve, Dad’ he explained ‘We’re not going anywhere’
'What about Eve she’s a child’ Rod replied, seconds later twitching as a blade ran past his head into the wall behind, causing them both to jump in surprise, but there was Eve in the doorway, smirking like her mother used to when she scared people
'I’m not going either, you can work it out Father’ she hissed a she strode across the room to retrieve her blade. 'Also, i’m not a child’ she growled as she left, snaking her way back to her room.
'BELLA’ Rod screamed 'Will you sort out your children?’ he screamed having all but given up on the idea by now.
Bella could hear the muffled voices of her husband and children faintly over her manic packing, before Rod screamed for her and she flinched and dropped the pile of clothes she was levitating out of a set of drawers, her hand shaking ever so slightly from her adrenaline and she held it still for several moments, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself before walking to meet him, eyeing Eve who was hurrying away back to her own room, the gleam of a blade catching Bella’s eye as she turned and disappeared into her room.
“Why is Eve skulk-“ She began asking as she rounded into the doorway before seeing her husband and son, the expression on their faces cutting her off entirely. “What is it, what’s wrong?” She breathed quickly and glanced at Jonah who looked tired and rolled his eyes, waiting a moment to see if his father would answer for him before he faced his mother squarely and took a deep breath.
“Eve and I aren’t going with you.” He said simply as if that was enough and Bella would have laughed any other day when she felt her normal self, but the look on his face told her that he was dead serious and she knew that look, she’d worn it herself many times before when she was determined to get her own way and she sighed, cursing herself inwardly for raising the boy to be so much like her.
“Have you told him that’s absurd?” She looked past Jonah to Rodolphus and tried her best to take control of the situation but her son was having none of it and stepped in front of her view, folding his arms across his chest and looking even taller as he stood at full height in front of her. The image of him as a baby tugging on the bottom of her dress to get her attention flashed through her mind vividly and she felt wounded, betrayed even. This wasn’t fair, he couldn’t do this, not to her.
“We’re not going, Mum. You can’t make either of us-“ He spoke calmly and firmly, which irritated Bella to the point of cutting him off.
“Your sister is a child, Jonah! How dare you! After all your father and I have done for-“ She started and Jonah didn’t flinch, he only stepped forward to interrupt her and separate her further from Rodolphus.
“Done for us?! Is that what you’re going to say? All you’ve done our whole lives is prepare us to serve and honour the Dark Lord! If you run, he will kill you. He will kill Dad, and he WILL kill Eve and I! Is that what you want?!” He’d bent slightly to be closer to her eye level which she found very patronising indeed, but the weight of his words had stunned her into a cold silence.
“You doubt your father and I-“ She started without much conviction and he nodded, making her flinch woundedly, and the feeling of betrayal jabbed at her chest again.
“Yes I do, I doubt your ability to run from the most powerful Dark Wizard in existence, without getting us all killed. I do not however doubt your ability to fix whatever it is you fucked up in the first place.” He finally took his eyes off his mother and glanced at Rod, looking at both of them back and fourth for a moment, with a strong sense of self pride after having successfully given his parents a lecture.
“Go for a while if you must, but please; come back.” He said this softer than his other words and nodded before he left, slinking behind his mother and closing the door, sensing she was on the verge of tears or manical hysteria.
Bella waited several moments after he left and looked at Rodolphus, entirely defeated and glanced again at the window, looking like she might throw herself out of it before she went to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, wanting him to hold her. “Did we raise him too well? What on earth was that?” She muffled as her face hid in his chest, feeling the weight of her shame entirely and shaking as she wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry.
“What do we do, Rod?” She whispered and looked up at him with dewey eyes, hoping he knew the answer.
It wasn’t until Jonah stated it in black and white he realised how irrational their plan was. Perhaps the years of alcohol abuse and mindless violence had warped his mind and he could never think clearly again. He just knew the boy was right, and this shift of the children acting more like parents really stuck with Rod, his cheeks flushing red as Jonah left them, like he’d just been scolded by a teacher.
Bella was soon there, worry in her voice and back to square one. Rod would never leave his children, even though he knew they were more than capable of protecting themselves he simply would never be able to bring himself to, even for a short amount of time, the anxiety would warp his mind even more.
'At least they aren’t sheep’ he muttered, wrapping his arms around her as they both stood in shame 'Darling I can’t leave them- even if they are more mature than we are’ he said quietly, kissing the top of her head and clung her tightly to him.
'We’ll stay, we’ll have a quiet Christmas and I’ll go to the Dark Lord I suppose’ he said after a few moments, biting his lip as he felt her stiffen at the mention of his name in front of her and let go, holding onto her arms 'It’s what is expected, anything else is suicide he wants me to go to him’ he babbled, knowing full well their master intended to punish him every bit as much as Bella 'I’ll give him time to breathe and go to him Bella’ he insisted
'It’s the only way’
Bella made a pained noise as he confirmed they couldn’t run, Jonah’s rationality and his love for the boy being too much to make them all consider the thought even a moment longer. She knew her son was right, but she didn’t want to face the reality of what else was going to happen to them.
She looked at him as he told her it was the only way and moved her hands to his face, holding his jaw softly as she shook her head before sighing and giving up, knowing she had no argument against him at all.
She reached up the bridge of her nose and pinched as she sighed, thinking hard of the way she had been tortured and frowning slightly as she imagined Rod taking the same beating. She moved to the vanity and rummaged through several drawers for a bottle of wine, finding one and opening it to drink straight from it, wincing and waving her hand over the bottle to chill it before she took another large swig.
“I have an idea, but you’re going to think it’s strange.” She said after several minutes of silence and several swings of wine, looking over at him from the vanity with a small familiar smirk on her face. “We could prepare you, not that you’re not already in fine shape but we could strengthen you up so you’re more prepared and-“ she cut herself of and bit her lip when she saw the look on his face, unsure how he was taking it.
“And you can let me beat and torture you… for preparation purposes entirely.” She finished, the small smirk still on her face and she raised her eyebrow at him, wondering if he was going to be enraged or amused with her.
Rod was glad she didn’t argue, perhaps if he threw himself on his mater’s mercy, offered himself up to some ungodly task he could possibly salvage their relationship and Bella could be back in his favour which she so desperately craved.
He was relieved of the small break, finding it much more difficult to address his sentimental feelings and followed his wife’s lead, fishing in the cabinet behind him for a half done bottle of something dark. Taking large sips until the warmth spread and the screaming in his brain had mostly died down. He was broken out of his thoughts as Bella spoke again, his ears pricking up at the word 'strange’
His smile grew the more she spoke and felt himself grow….excited, mostly by flushing in the face but Rod was basically an animal and any mention of his wife having at him usually rendered him a horny little boy- never mind what the circumstances.
'If you think you’re up to it, darling’ he replied, his eyes glinting familiarly at her 'Then I don’t see the harm’ he said, smugly raising his eyebrows as he took a big gulp from the bottle he was cradling, feeling the familiar thrill of teasing her. All this sadness did not suit them. He crossed over to her, leaning over to kiss her deeply, the strong taste of liquor mixing on both their lips and he stroked her cheek with his spare hand.
'Don’t hold back’ he whispered, meeting her eyes and knowing this wasn’t completely going to be a pleasurable experience, but would be a good distraction from all the uncertainty- they hadn’t even been Christmas shopping yet.
Bella heaved a sigh of relief as she noticed the small glint in his eye which meant the rising blush in his face meant he was growing heated, not embarrassed from her words. She knew that glint well, she’d seen it many times before and it meant he very much liked whatever it was she was saying; but he was picturing something entirely else in his mind that didn’t involve much talking at all.
Her smirk grew wider as he raised his eyebrows cheekily at her and commented rather nonchalantly about it, though she knew he was teasing from the playful glint in his eye still. A playful chuckle left her lips as he crossed the space between them quickly, straightening as he leant and kissed her deeply, leaning into his touch as he stroked her cheek gently and she felt herself almost melt under him.
She opened her eyes as he broke the kiss and gazed at him with a certain ferocity, her arms snaking upward to meet behind his neck, as he insisted her not to hold back and she raised an eyebrow, biting her lip slowly before she smirked once more.
“When shall we start? No time like the present, darling?” She grinned and tightened her grip around his neck, leaning up to kiss him again, much more urgently and full of passion, biting his lip moments afterward and chuckling in satisfaction as she tasted blood.
'That's my girl!' he hissed, tearing his lip from her teeth and grabbed her chin, teasing her as they both grappled with other. Rod pulling her tighter to him, grabbing at her waist and legs single handedly while firing silencing spells over her shoulder at the walls and door, which he also locked. He backed up, holding onto her and burying his face deep into her neck where he bit hard whilst he could, knowing once she had the upper hand he'd have no opportunities to make her bleed.
'I can do it darling' he urged as he stopped, panting a little as he licked her blood off his lips, the backs of his legs hit the bed frame hard and he had nowhere else to go 'You know I can talk him round, you know how good I am with my tongue' he stated with an air of smugness only Rod could possess in the bedroom. He was lucky, he felt lucky, of all the men in the world she chose to bed and play with, it was him. Even if he did have to make some sacrifices here and there she would always make sure he was looked after, and it was his turn to do the same for her.
'I just need to be stronger, that's all' he said simply, pausing a moment to look into her eyes, which burned with fire, as his were beginning to 'Make me stronger, make me more powerful' he asked, taking her lips again, his mind so far gone from lust and so warped through psychopathy his past self would be in disbelief the man was begging his wife to torture him. Soon he felt himself pulling back onto the bed and took her with him, falling backwards amongst their belongings he'd half packed before in a manic state.