~ Black Sick Spider ~

- Chapter 7: Get Rid of Him -

Ignatius Prewett is sitting on the steps outside of the Black family property which now serves as the home of Orion and Walburga. When he had not been able to pass the wards to enter the house, his fiancee told him to wait outside while she fetched her brother to let him in. Over an hour has passed since Lucretia went into the house and no one has come out to get him yet.

He wonders if she will simply leave him here until her visit is over and then pretend that she is surprised to find him waiting for her, claiming to have forgotten that he'd escorted her. She is a bit vindictive and he wouldn't put something like that past her, although he doesn't believe he has done anything to truly warrant her ire.

He sighs and lays his cheek against the cool metal of the cast-iron railing.

When their betrothal was arranged, Ignatius had insisted on a long engagement so that they might have time to get to know one another instead of merely being thrust into a lifelong binding union with a near-stranger. It's been nearly five years now, yet still his Black ice princess seems bound and determined to hold him at arm's length. It is highly likely that she believes him to be below her and therefore not worth her time. Every day he wakes up both hoping and dreading that the morning mail will bring with it a missive from Arcturus Black saying that after careful consideration it appears that a dissolution of the marriage contract between his daughter and Ignatius would be best for all parties involved.

As much as he had hoped this match would work out, it is obvious that his fiancee does not accept him. It seems that his desire to acquaint himself with his future wife before their wedding day will go unfulfilled. Even after all this time, his ice princess never lets the mask of cold indifference drop when she is around him.

Perhaps, he muses, it would better if I were to put us both out of our misery and break off the engagement myself.

In order to make it seem as though the dropping of the unicorn onto her cousin's face had been entirely intentional, Walburga plucks the blanket from Orion's grasp and drapes it over Lucretia's prone form, delivering with it a sarcastic: "Good night, have a nice nap."

In response, Lucretia sniffs dramatically and rolls over onto her side so that she is facing the back of the couch, and cuddles the fluffy toy unicorn against her chest. She fully expects the other witch to retaliate by tickling her (oh, the tickle-fights they used to have when they were teenagers!) or perhaps giving her a playful slap on the ass. As the moments drag by and nothing of the sort happens, Lucretia finds herself feeling a bit disappointed. When did her erstwhile playmate grow up into a "mature" woman who no longer embraced her inner child? True, Walburga had always put more stock in propriety than Lucretia ever did, but not that much more. And speaking of propriety...

"Shit!" Lucretia swears, popping upright. She scrambles up from the couch gracelessly, flinging the blanket aside yet keeping a tight grip on the stuffed unicorn, continuing to swear the entire time. "Shit! Shit! Fuck! Hell!"

Orion and Walburga glance at each other, both confused as to what Lucretia is panicking over.

"Luke," Orion says softly, laying his hands on his sister's shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Lucretia draws in a deep breath, tamping down her hysterics enough to explain, "I left Iggy outside."

"Iggy?" Walburga repeats, nonplussed.

"You know, my fiance," the other witch answers impatiently. "Ignatius Prewett. Father invited him over for lunch, and then he absolutely insisted on having Iggy escort me here... as if I were a child who can't take care of myself!"

"You call him Iggy?" Walburga asks, quirking an eyebrow skeptically. While Orion has always had a tendency to call everyone by a nickname whether they liked it or not, his sister does not generally share his propensity for doing so.

"Not to his face, of course."

"You don't like him?" Orion asks.

"Ugh, he's so boring and proper," his sister replies, her voice dripping with disgust at the very idea of it. "I can't stand him!"

No one is more surprised than Lucretia herself when she suddenly and without warning bursts into tears. Walburga is the first to react, moving to take Lucretia into her arms. The toy unicorn drops to the floor as Lucretia returns her cousin's embrace.

"I don't want to get married," she sobs, burying her face against Walburga's shoulder.

Orion stands idly by, unsure what to do until his wife commands him, "Orion, go get rid of him."

Ignatius is startled into wakefulness by the unpleasant sensation of someone taking his shoulder in a hard grip and shaking him rather more violently than he feels is necessary. He lifts his head and finds himself staring into the face of Orion Black - who, upon seeing that Ignatius is awake, says without preamble, "Go home."

Ignatius protests weakly, "Your father asked me to escort Lucretia to and from-"

"I'll make sure my sister gets home safely," Orion cuts him off, scowling. "Leave."

"But-"

"You aren't welcome in my home. Now leave." When if looks as though Ignatius will protest further, Orion draws his wand. "I won't say it again," he warns.

Ignatius unfolds his body from his slumped sitting position on the steps and slowly backs away from his future brother-in-law. The murderous glint in Orion's eyes is unmistakable.

Ignatius holds up his hands in the surrender position and says, "Alright, I'm going."

The door rattles in its frame from the force with which Orion slams it after going back inside.

Perhaps there is no "mask" and the entire Black family really is that cold and unfeeling, Ignatius thinks to himself as he turns to leave.

~to be continued~