{libation: chapter one/3} marietta, garrett, eva
Marietta was, in every single aspect of her life, a predator. In the ministry she ran down her prey, tracked them down quick and agile, backing them into a corner before she went in for the kill. Ministry officials looked on flabberghasted as she revealed to them information they previously had thought was safe and buried, and used it against them where it hurt them most. At court, she was a sly and coy creature, circling and lulling the others into a false sense of security, of trust. Sometimes she would allow the game to go on for ages, until it suited her best to reveal her disinterest, her judgement, their worth and value to her, and then leave them behind. In bed, Marietta played with her food. She chased them, snapped her teeth playfully over their ankles while she did. She wrestled, tugged at hair, tugged at strings and tugged at laces. Perfectly manicured nails raked down across skin, leaving angry red lines in their wake. Teeth dragged across sensitive buds, tongue tantalizing as it explored every inch of salty skin available. Her pray writhed underneath Marietta, sighing her name in pleasure, almost like a prayer. Etta reveled in the feeling as the rapid and shallow breaths caressed her ear, as she worked her fingers in and out, curling and twisting. Her mouth lavished the skin behind the younger girl’s ear, earning her delicious little gasps that Etta stored in memory for a rainy day. Marietta drew back, moving against her thigh, her eyes closing in the shock of pleasure the friction provided. They fluttered open again, determined to watch the younger girl, her prey, reach her peak. Her breath began to hitch, her hips lifted off the mattress and thrust with Marietta’s movements, seeking more of her hand. Her thumb rubbed circles against her pleasure, a hand twisting a pink bud on the ample chest, and Etta was treated to the beautiful face of her young lover living through ecstasy. Marietta smirked, and once the girl had stopped moving, removed her fingers and took them into her mouth, licking them clean. A coy grin spreading across her face as she heard a soft moan below her again, Etta leaned down to kiss her softly, tracing her tongue around the inside of her mouth. Marietta crawled forward and pulled back as her thighs slid to either side of the woman’s head. Wetting her lips in anticipation, Etta suddenly looked up as she heard a knock on the door, her eyes narrowing in displeasure. “M’lady?” the shy voice of her maid was heard. Voices and noises could be heard inside coming from the outside, but nothing that was inside of the room could be heard outside of it. At least, not until Marietta lifted the spell. “I thought I instructed not to be disturbed-” she gasped, her hips canting forward when a spark of pleasure seemed to shoot up her spine as the woman under her decidedly ignored the interruption. Biting on her lip, her eyes narrowed playfully before she sighed silently in pleasure again, and spoke louder. “Whatever it is, Julie, it can wait until tomorrow.” “I’m sorry, m’lady, it is your uncle and he is most impatient.” “Fuck,” she whispered under her breath as a hand not so pale as hers slid up her chest and took a pink nipple between its fingers. Damn her uncle to the farthest reaches of the earth. She huffed out frustrated and gripped the tan wrist, stopping it despite every fiber of her being wanting otherwise. “Did he say what he wanted?” “No, m’lady, only that he was most desperate to see you.” And I am most desperate myself, she thought before gasping again and seizing tight brown curls and tugging the girl’s head away from her sharply, her eyes narrowed in the promise of retribution. She got off the bed and picked up her nightgown before slipping it on. “Tell him I shall be out shortly.” After that she waved the wards back in place and headed towards her mirror to assess her state. Well, at least he’d interrupted them at the beginning, though Etta was not the only one frustrated. As she brushed her hair, she saw a mass of brunette hair behind her standing up, pout already forming. “You could have sent him away.” “So much time dealing with Brackners and you’ve yet to figure out our fundamental trait?” Marietta raised eyebrows at the girl through her mirror, picking up a brush and taming her red locks. “We get what we want.” “And what I want does not matter?” It was a tease, but Marietta simply shrugged before she answered simply, “It’s inconsequential to us, yes.” She dropped the brush again before standing and turning around. “Oh, go find a cock, Eva. I know you prefer them, anyways.” Eva smirked, shrugging her shoulders lazily as she began dressing. “Is that jealousy I hear, darling?” Marietta chuckled as she slipped on a robe above before her nightgown, tying the turquoise robe tight around her waist. It was nighttime after all, and she had been sleeping, so if it offended her uncle, he would just have to find a way to deal. “Not in the slightest,” she moved to help Eva with her corset, taking the laces from the girl’s hands into her own. Tugging hard and sharp, she pulled Eva closer to her with that single movement, the breath leaving her slight frame in one exhale, chest lifting suddenly. A long arm wrapped around Eva’s slender waist, another hand grabbing her jaw and neck firmly but with all the care in the word. Grinning wide, she leaned her head in to whisper directly near her ear, “If I wanted you all to myself, sweetheart, I would have you.” The shiver that elicited out of Eva made Etta giggle wickedly, placing a tender kiss on her neck before laying her chin on her shoulder once more. “But who am I rob men of such a delicacy, especially when they must already suffer my absence?Marietta stepped away from Eva after another teasing kiss behind her ear, fishing the girl’s invisibility cloak from the floor and handed it to her with a smile. “Send your family my love.”
—- Marietta: Uncle Garrett! *she beamed as she ran across the sitting room to embrace him in a tight hug, partly to give Eva the chance to slip undetected through her quarters even underneath that invisibility cloak of hers. She pulled back with a smile and then flicked his nose, frowning* You woke me. Garrett: *he chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled back from the hug, smirking at his eldest niece* I highly doubt that. I was young once, you know. Perfectly aware of what ‘retired early’ and ‘not be disturbed’ actually means. *he raises his eyebrows* If your fiance is in your chambers- Marietta: Then we’d only be committing a sin that you, my father, and aunt Flora have all committed. *smiling* Is that why you insisted on calling on me? To try and save my modesty? Garrett: *his eyes narrowed* Marietta. Marietta: *she grinned, shaking her head slowly* Joseph is not in my bedroom, uncle. Garrett: Oh, Joseph, isn’t? Marietta: What exactly are you trying to insinuate about me, uncle? Garrett: Only that you’re a Brackner. Marietta: So are your daughters, my cousins. *grins* Well, by upbringing if not by birth- do you bother them this much as well? Garrett: More so. Marietta: Poor souls. Garrett: You’re distracting me, Marietta. Marietta: *she giggles* Only a little. *she takes his arm and then guides him to the sofa so the pair of them could sit comfortably* What brings you here? Garrett: *Everything, he wanted to answer. He wanted to ask her about everything, if she knew about Leah, what she really thought about muggleborns, why on earth she was marrying Joseph Culpeper when she had been almost as adamant as Leah was about never marrying before? Instead he settled on one question.* I wanted to ask about Rick. Marietta: *Now that was certainly unexpected. Blinking repeatedly, she exhaled and then lifted her head slowly to meet his gaze* What do you mean? Garrett: How is he? *he shrugged* How’s he doing? I know perfectly well that you know, Etta. Marietta: You could know yourself. *she replied simply, not sharply, but not kindly either.* You could apparate there and actually let him know that you care about him and his well being. Garrett: *he groans* Not you too, Marietta. Marietta: Oh, but I see, that would mean that you would have to actually face Lucy, and acknowledge her existence as a human being. Garrett: Glad to know where you firmly stand on this Marietta. *he frowned, shaking his head.* Marietta: I firmly stand next to my brother. Whatever he chooses, whomever he chooses, uncle and I will not abandon him and my father and you have clearly done. Garrett: I haven’t abandoned him- I’m worried about him! It’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Marietta: Are you sure, you’re here for that? Are you sure that you just didn’t have any of your children left to turn to for support and were hoping that I- Garrett: I just wanted to talk, and have it just once, just once!, not turn into some blatant discussion about muggleborns and my beliefs, for God’s sake. *He stood suddenly, passing a hand over his face, leaning his arm on the banister over the fire.* Marietta: *She stilled hearing her uncle’s voice quiver in such despair, confusion, and suffering. Feeling a little guilty, she stood and walked towards him again, placing a hand on his shoulder.* Frederick’s happy. That’s more than I can say about you. Garrett: Who has the luxury of being happy in this court, honestly? *he smacked his lips in distaste* Marietta: *she smiles softly, sadly, before speaking* You used to love court. Garrett: Oh, every young bachelor loves court, of course. *he chuckles* But there’s no place I’d rather be than at my own home, with my family. Marietta: *she paused briefly before tilting her head and teasing him* Uncle, you cannot steal Kitty away from her betrothed, I hope you know. Garrett: *He laughed once, turning away from the fireplace to look at his niece.* If I could keep her with me forever, I would. Alas *he waved his hand dismissively before chuckling again.* Elijah will be good to her. Marietta: Has been for quite some time now. *she bounced closer to him on her toes and wrapped her arms around him* And she will be Lady West, a paragon of nobility and high standing. One of the most beloved ladies there ever was. Garrett: *He chuckled, nodding and hugging Etta for a moment as well before adding lightly* And you will be Lady Culpeper, wife to the Minister of Magic, and one of the most powerful women in the country. Marietta: *she beamed, undeniably quite pleased to hear him say so, but instead she teased* So he has your vote, then? Garrett: Well he’s a right fit better than Courtenay whose ‘kind invitation’ has only sped your wedding along. Marietta: Wife to the Minister candidate sounds much better than fiancee. The court at Devon won’t know what hit them. Garrett: And the days to your wedding count down faster than ever. *he exhales* I suppose I will have to ask your father afterwards how he dealt with giving you away. Marietta: Relieved, I’m sure. *she wiggled her eyebrows* He thought I was sure to become the next Lady Abira. Garrett: Nothing wrong with that. Marietta: He still dislikes her, you know. Garrett: Oh, without a doubt. *he smirks and then shrugs* But I’m not convinced ‘relieved’ would be the right word, darling. Marietta: *No, probably not, but it wasn’t as she would be the first child he would be ‘giving up’. She said nothing though, realizing her uncle needed a casual conversation.* So what are you getting me for a wedding gift? Garrett: *He sighed, asking lightly* Would the world suffice? Marietta: Oh, that’s already in the palm of my hand. *she waved her hand dismissively* What else?