Welcome to Charming, where swirling petticoats, the language of flowers, and old-fashioned duels are only the beginning of what is lying underneath…
After a magical attempt on her life in 1877, Queen Victoria launched a crusade against magic that, while tidied up by the Ministry of Magic, saw the Wizarding community exiled to Hogsmeade, previously little more than a crossroad near the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the years that have passed since, Hogsmeade has suffered plagues, fires, and Victorian hypocrisy but is still standing firm.
Thethe year is now 1894. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
This was his fault. Adrienne wanted to go to the park, some fresh air — it was Cash's job to tell her no, as her husband. But he agreed, because it was what she wanted, despite his better judgment. He hovered a few feet away from her, to allow her the freedom to talk to Olympe without feeling as if he was hovering. He had not run to her the moment the world started caving in, because he froze, because he always froze. And now he could not find Adrienne, could not find Olympe. He had lost them, either in his panic or in the pit itself, swallowed whole by the earth. He had to believe they were in the pit. Why would the worst not happen?
This was his fault; his fault, because of his doubts about his ability to be a father. And now Adrienne was swallowed by the earth, and the baby was gone with her, and all of this — all of it, was for nothing.
Cash had been standing at the edge of the pit, covered in dust, for an amount of time he could not track. Without any visual cues that he was going to do so, and without even thinking about it, he fell to his knees.
Padmore Park was exactly the kind of place Sebastian liked to frequent but had no real reason to. Not without a sister to chaperone (Sissy was out of the question) or a lady to woo (he hadn’t had much luck in any department as of late, much less romantic.) So to find himself here, amidst the ongoing debacle, was as much a moment of blast, wretched timing! as it was bloody hell, of all times not to have my wretched wand!
Chaos erupted on all sides and it was all he could do to grab a child and drag them backwards as the edge of the growing sinkhole raced towards them. Sebastian didn’t know what he was doing any more than the abrupt thought that this kid had a family and said family would likely miss it if it was killed. He managed to tug the little one back just far enough that the sinkhole receded and the edge loomed, dark and menacing before them. They toppled and the kid began to cry.
As the sound of caterwauling rose up in front of him, Sebastian looked around quickly to see who this kid belonged to. Around him everything was beginning to liven after the utter silence of such a catastrophe. Shouts and cries of concern rose from all directions and a young woman reached out to snatch the kid from his grasp before Seb could turn to look at her. His head rung. He looked left and right, trying to decipher what it was he should be doing and that was when he caught sight of Cash.
The man looked hollow, empty and in shock, if the pallor on his face was anything to go by. Had he been hurt in the chaos? Had someone else? Scrambling to his feet, Sebastian brushed himself off and made towards the other. “Lestrange!” He called out. If Cash didn’t move he was going to fall right in over the edge himself. There was no telling if a second wave was in their future.
There was a distant pain on his kneecaps where they'd hit the ground; Cash thought he had probably scraped his knees, and maybe ripped his trousers, on the rough ground at the edge of the pit. His valet was going to be annoyed with him, when he saw how dirty the trousers were. But if Cash was in mourning, then it was not going to matter. His clothing would have to be darker.
Someone called his name. Cash turned his head, sharply, and saw Talbot — Viscount Cheltenham, when Cash was feeling particularly snide. He looked panicked. Cash couldn't blame him — this was a panic-inducing situation. He should get up. He made an attempt at scooting backwards, away from the edge.
Lestrange turned in his direction but didn’t move much, or not enough, for Sebastian to be satisfied. He frowned and made to tug at the man, but Lestrange was limp in his grasp. Shock then. Someone or something had happened here. Grasping the brunette by the elbows, Sebastian heaved him to his feet and made to stumble backwards, dragging Cash with him. “Wake up!” He hissed.
What happened? Why are you… here? Sebastian wanted to ask, but the look on the other’s face spoke volumes as to the tragedy that awaited in answer. His stomach clenched in warning. Was there anything that could be done? He looked around for someone that might be lingering nearby, to see if they might have known anything, but there was so much confusion nobody paid either of them much mind.
“What’s happened?” He finally demanded, tugging Lestrange back a few more feet and hesitating in releasing his hold. (Would the other keel back over if he let go? Seb didn’t want to find out.) "Are you alright?"
Cash allowed himself to be dragged by Talbot, although given the limpness in his limbs it was doubtful that he would have had the will to stop him. The further they got from the pit, the more desperate Cash felt — his wife still had not appeared, and the hole in the Earth remained. He had not imagined this.
He swallowed, multiple times, before responding to Talbot. "Adrienne," he said. (Had Talbot been to the wedding? No — he was a muggleborn, he wouldn't have been invited.) He swallowed again. "My wife. I don't — I lost her."
The response was not at all what Sebastian had been expecting. He was confused, first. Adrienne? Who the hell was bloody Adrienne? But then the pieces slotted together and his blood ran cold. Of course. He’d known Letrange was getting married. Had even half-heartedly expected an invitation (one that never came, he tried not to remind himself bitterly.) But this Adrienne existed, and that was what mattered here. Existed, or… at least, had.
Shock and grief for Lestrange paralyzed Seb. His mouth opened and he tried to think of what to say but nothing vocalized. What was one to do when a mate lost their… loved one? (Did Lestrange love this Adrienne? He didn’t know.) But it was still his wife. Blue eyes skittered over the pallor that still haunted the other’s face and Sebastian shook his head. No.
“You haven’t lost anything,” he barked, more sharply perhaps than he’d meant to. “I’m sure she’s perfectly fine, somewhere around here. Where did you last… see her?” He looked around wildly for anything that might look like an ‘Adrienne.’ He didn’t know the woman so it wasn’t easy. They just needed to get the basic facts down and he was sure she would turn up. She had to, right?
If she were dead, then Cash would never forgive himself. He had married her — knowing that he could never be an adequate husband, he'd arranged it. And if they had never married, she may not have even been in Padre Park. Why hadn't he said no when she asked to come here?
Cash was staring somewhere past Talbot — it was the other man's sharp words that shook him back into his own body. "She's — blonde," Cash said. "And we were where you found me." He hadn't seen her fall in — but if she hadn't, where was she?
Blonde. Great. One out of every million. Head on a swivel, Sebastian’s blue gaze jumped from person to person nearest them, trying to identify who or what might look like a Lestrange-worthy wife. He’d always thought blondes were too common and now he had proof of it. There were at least three just near them, but one was certainly working class, and the other two already had gentleman around them. If only Cash had married a garish redhead; she’d be easy to find…
They weren’t getting anywhere and Lestrange looked about ready to puke. Seb wondered if he ought to sit the man down and call for help, or if he was more useful here, holding the other up by the shoulders and shaking him senseless. There wasn’t anything remotely useful nearby to prop him up against while he went for help so that idea was probably out.
“Alright, blonde. Keep talking. Tell me... more about what she looks like. This Adrienne of yours.” There had to be something distinct about her to help them!
Cash was, distantly, grateful for the support of Talbot — without it, he suspected he may sink back to the ground until they found out whatever had happened to his wife. "She's a few inches shorter than I am," he offered, a little lengthier than he'd managed before. Cash was small, so that was not to say that Adrienne was particularly tall — but she was lithe, maybe she would stand out in the crowd.
There was another reason she would stand out in the crowd, too. Cash's face went paler. "She's — with child."
With child. Those two words settled like a brick in the pit of Seb’s stomach as he turned back to Lestrange to level him a harrowed look. If the one was pale before, they were a matching set now. Just the thought of losing a wife and unborn heir was enough to make Seb’s skin crawl. He shook his head of those thoughts quickly and decided to continue his denial-based approach.
“Alright, good, this is helpful information now,” he responded, voice albeit less firm than before. “I can reach out to the authorities and use whatever leverage I can to ensure they find her. She has to be here somewhere, just perhaps separated in the chaos.” He refused to think she might be over the side of that ledge, the very one that suddenly seemed a lot closer to them than before.
Tugging Lestrange away from it and towards relative safety, Seb kept chattering. “Why don’t you find a place to catch your wits; maybe even have yourself checked. One can never be too careful with this sort of thing.” They paused just near a bench where a woman was wailing but Seb grit his teeth and ignored her. He pressed back against Lestrange hoping to force him to a seat before his legs gave out.
Talbot was talking, and Cash thought that he was gathering — most of it, although he was not entirely sure how much he had absorbed. He was grateful, though, for the chatter — it was helping to buoy Cash from sinking back down to his knees.
He allowed himself to collapse onto the bench. It felt solid beneath him; more solid than the wailing woman. "You'll find her?" Cash asked — he hated how desperate he sounded. But if Adrienne was dead, if the baby was dead — what had the point been, of all of this?
The look that skittered across Lestrange’s face made everything in Seb tense with determination. On the one hand, he’d hate to ever be so desperate to retrieve anyone that significant in his life (a thought to mull over and decipher later), but then again, it was Lestrange’s duty as a husband. Especially since this Adrienne was with child. Mind made up, Sebastian gave a sharp nod. He would do whatever he could.
“I will find her, Cassius,” he responded, firmly. “I’ll make sure you get her back.”
