You make a fool of death with your beauty
and for a moment
I forget to worry

TAG: @sarai | OUTFIT

There were days when she couldn't believe what the world had come to.

For so long, Gabrielle had tried to see the best in people. She had tried to see past the surface, as she had so wished people would do for her. But in this world — in this horrible nightmare that had unfolded around her — she wasn’t sure there was much good left to see.

They had to take what they could get. It was smiles from Simone and hugs from Dean. It was the safety that they had with each other. But it was the sort of safety that didn’t extend to everyone in this world. She had seen it first hand when muggleborns were dragged out of their homes and into that awful…place.

It made her heart feel like ice.

But Gabrielle was never sure what she could do. She wanted them all to be safe. She wanted to protect her family. When Dean had told her that he had found Sarai, Gabs had felt the tears welling up. She couldn’t imagine what the girl had been through. She couldn’t imagine what she had felt. Sarai had always been so strong — so headstrong, even — it was something that ran in the family. But Dean had told her what had happened. He had told her about the strange look in her eyes…emptiness.

She had found her after that — owling her and asking when they could meet. The girl gave a vague schedule, enough so that Gabrielle could meet up with her after she finished her chores for the day. Standing on the corner of the street, she watched the door carefully, her eyes darting to every person that came out of the building…until finally she saw her sister-in-law.

“Sarai,” she said, taking a small step forward. She wasn’t sure what else to say. She wasn’t sure if her sister-in-law would push her away, but Gabs went forward and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. The Delacours had always been huggers — Gabs was no exception. Hugs made her feel like the world wasn’t so dark — they made her feel like there was someone standing in her corner. She could only hope that it made Sarai feel similarly. They hadn’t been there for her when she most needed them, but she was here now. For anything. For everything. Gabrielle just hoped that her extension of help and love wasn’t too late. “I am…so sorry, ma sœur. So, so sorry.”

outfit

Some days were better than others. Sometimes she was sent somewhere that was more or less not as terrible. She was a guinea pig, yeah? They could try anything out on her and it was torture. Curses and poisons and potions were the favorites for most purebloods, and the people most willing to test their creations on muggleborn slaves were purebloods indeed. She could also test out objects, though. They could be more or less harmless, sometimes. A bit painful, but leaving only enough pain for her to get back to Zoë's place and take a painkiller or spread some soothing balm over burns and cuts. For inventions, it usually took a few days for them to finish testing all of it. While it felt a bit defeatist to be glad for a diminishing of the pain, as if accepting any pain at all were something she could afford, that was what she felt right now. She was here for the entire week, and entire week of burns and cuts that didn't cause any internal damage or lasting pain. She could walk home without doubling over every block, without having to retreat into an hour long shower hoping to drown herself in the spray. It also meant that while she had gone though a lot during the day, she was well enough afterwards to visit her family without having to hide any immediate agony.

Gabrielle had written to her, which was... a surprise. Sarai would admit that she was still sore at Dean and his family. He and Gabrielle had been friends with the current Minister, a woman who had enslaved people like her. Who would have enslaved Dean too, if his father's identity hadn't become known years ago. Sarai had run, Sarai had failed, and it had taken Dean ages to come see her. Living in that hell hole without word from her family, with these scars on her back, going through this bullshit every single day. By the time her brother came to see her, she had been set 'free' barely a week later. No word from Gabrielle until now, not even then. She didn't know why, she didn't want to know why. Admittedly, she'd always thrown punches first and asked questions later, but she thought she was justified in this case. She didn't fucking care why they hadn't been there, all that mattered was that they weren't. They were her family, they were supposed to have... at least visited her. Before it was too late. Was it? Was it too little too late? She- she didn't want it to be. She loved her family. Being alone was hard. Being alone had hurt. 

But Gabs had written. Did better late than never count here? She wasn't sure, but she'd given the address of where she was supposed to be and what time she was let out, and by the time she stepped onto the street, her sister in law was there. Sarai didn't smile, didn't scowl, but she was grateful that all external wounds had been treated already because she hadn't been expecting the hug. It was tight, and warm, and Gabs called her sister. It was- she sighed and patted her lightly on the back. "No point crying about that anymore, is it?" In one breath, the fight drained from her and she was just... too tired to be angry. She was angry all the time. She wanted at least a few minutes away from that.