Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise

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She sensed it a fraction of a second before he moved in on her; she'd succeeded in goading him or else he was sick of the discussion but she was convinced it was more the former, something had shifted like a sudden turn of the weather before a storm.

Her lips formed a devilish smirk even as he advanced and reached for her throat. She hadn't been expecting something quite that extreme but he clearly wasn't trying to strangle her to death - and why would he at this juncture?

He'd played right into her hands and then some, unfortunately she'd overestimated her own self-control and she had almost entirely forgotten that she was supposed to be persuading him to lift the vow, or at least part of it. Without thinking her free hand moved to join the other one but it wasn't to pull his hand away, perhaps subconsciously she wanted it to look that way but there was almost no tension left in her grip at all.

Oh I already know. Tig couldn't tell if he was genuinely threatening her or if it was some sort of innuendo. The thought of latter gave her a thrill despite herself.

In a lowered voice she added, You're already showing me. Her smirk had widened into a shit-eating grin. You won't remove the vow because you don't know how to. Tig didn't fully believe that she she wasn't overly optimistic she could manipulate him so easily into removing the vow but at the very least she expected it would piss him off.

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Outfit | Tag: Tiberius Lestrange | Notes:

  

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Tiberius didn't know how to remove the Vow, or even if it was possible to do so, but that wasn't the point. He'd placed the Vow because he didn't trust her, and nothing she'd said during this conversation was doing much to earn his trust. She'd provoked someone into trying to seduce her, and she was protecting their identity from him now. She'd goaded him with the prospect of infidelity mere seconds ago. Maybe what she'd said was true, and if she died in a compromising position he'd never know whether or not she reciprocated, but the same was true without the Vow. Worse, he could go weeks or months with her cuckolding him without even knowing that it was happening in the first place. The prospect of anyone looking down on him for any reason was a rage-inducing one, but the idea of Antigone and her lover snug in a bed somewhere making fun of him for his ignorance over their affair made his blood boil.

"I put the Vow in place because your life meant less to me than my honor." His words were quiet and deliberate. Although he hadn't changed the amount of pressure he was placing against her neck, the scene had grown in intensity. "I won't remove it because that's still true."

---

  

Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise

---

Where his perceived disregard for her life only minutes ago had touched a nerve, this blatant declaration strangely didn't faze her. It seemed to have something to do with the fact that what he said made sense to her. For example if he were to suddenly lose his mental faculties or became physically helpless due to some accident or other she'd probably kill him to spare herself the public humiliation. If he ever failed to demand her respect she'd wash her hands of him.

What he'd said made sense.

Perhaps for the first time in their marriage she could understand and maybe even respect his need to curb her behavior. Tig had been working on her public image for a while now but it hadn't been for his sake (although if it had she wouldn't have admitted it to herself anyway), it had been purely for her own. Her interest in society - in life - had returned after years of apathy, an apathy that had started in the imminent lead up to their wedding. It had taken staring death in the face - staring him in the face with his his hand around her throat - to revive her will to live.

Fine. The word was razor sharp and her demeanor was now very sober, all artifice gone. I suppose, she paused, her lips pursed and her brows rose as she set her jaw and swallowed her pride, I'd probably do the same if I were you. Her words were noticeably rushed, especially when contrasted against those that followed. But I want a safeguard. A way of summoning you quickly when situations like this evening arise. You want the Vow, you can take responsibility for it when your dubious wording threatens my life. Tig was effectively asking for help and it was only the memory of how cornered she'd felt earlier, how she never wanted to feel that way again, that made it possible. She was already trying to reframe it to herself as an imposition upon him, a way of making him suffer some of the Vow's restrictions with her.

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Outfit | Tag: Tiberius Lestrange | Notes:

  

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Tiberius watched her for a second after she spoke. It wasn't like her to agree with anything he'd said, no matter her thoughts on the subject. She was so often contrary just for the sake of it that he didn't trust her acquiescence here. Had she thought of some loophole that had appeased her? He was confident there wasn't one. For all her talk about careless wording, he had considered the phrasing of the Vow very specifically. He didn't think there was any way for her to get around his intentions and live to tell the tale.

After a moment, he released her neck and took a step back. "Fine," he agreed. "I'll come up with something."

---

  

Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise

---

As he withdrew his hand from her neck her own hands automatically fell away too.

Tig drew herself up and folded her arms across her chest. Good. She felt oddly awkward and untethered. It wasn't that she was surprised that he'd agreed to her demand - it was hardly unreasonable and considering the cost to her pride he damn well ought to - it was how suddenly he was agreeing, letting go of her, how anticlimactic it all was. It was like the floor had just opened up beneath her and she was looking down at a void, waiting for the inevitable fall that wasn't coming.

She was also disquieted to find that some unthinking part of her was dismayed by his abrupt withdrawal. It was a highly embarrassing revelation and consequently there was a faint hint of a blush in her cheeks. It felt like they were on the verge of parting ways for the evening and Tig loathed how opposed she felt to the mere notion of it. When had she grown so attached to him? Certainly it had nothing to do with affection or sentimental attachment, he just happened to be stimulating company that was all, but the dependence on him for even that was troubling. She ought to wean herself off of him, keep her distance, but that also meant depriving herself and that seemed almost counterintuitive.

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Outfit | Tag: Tiberius Lestrange | Notes:

  

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