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"Narcissa, why don't you stay and celebrate Beltane with Rodolphus and I?" Bellatrix asked, giving her sister a curious look. “You’re more than welcome to join us in festivities.”
Narcissa shook her head. "It's your first celebration as a married couple. I don't want to impose."
Bellatrix let out a huff. “Really, it’s fine. We don’t mind having you. I’m sure Rab will be joining us as well.”
“I… I think I’m going to visit a holy well,” Narcissa said after a moment. She had been thinking about it for some time and decided she wanted to pay a well a visit to leave an offering. She had never done that particular tradition and wanted to give it a go. And since it was their first Beltane since their parents had been killed, and Bella was now married to Roddy, she felt like she needed to do something alone.
Bellatrix gave her a strange look. “Really? That’s what you want to me? I’m sure the Malfoys are having a celebration. I know Lucius would love to see you.” She gave her sister a suggestive look.
Narcissa made a gagging motion. “Absolutely not.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but now that Mother and Father aren’t around to pressure me, I will not be entering into a betrothal with Lucius.”
“He’s rich and Pureblood… What more could you want?”
“Love? Passion? Respect?” Narcissa said. “Just to name a few.”
Bellatrix waved her hand. “Pish posh, you need a good family name and wealth. Marrying Malfoy would secure you for life.”
“You won’t change my mind on this, Bella,” Narcissa said firmly. “Sorry, but no. And besides, I do want to visit a holy well. There’s one in Pembrokeshire that I’m going to go to.”
“If you’re sure I can’t change your mind,” Bellatrix said.
“I’m sure,” Narcissa said with a small smile before she took a sip of her tea.
Pulling her cloak around herself tighter, she made her way down the cobblestone road. It was a little chilly this spring, and she found herself wishing that she was wearing thicker robes.
The holy well should be up ahead though. Knowing that she was nearing her destination, she quicked her steps.
She knew that people often visited the holy wells on Beltane for divination or to seek a cure for some disease or ailment. She was going to seek blessings for her family and herself. She wanted to wish for luck that she would find real love. She wanted a partner who would be equal… Not someone that just wanted her to produce an heir.
A small sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw the well come into view. It was set back down and across the meadow in the corner of a field and occupied a dark little stone recess, set back into the bank under a hawthorn canopy. The view nearly took her breath away. It was stunning.
Steading her breath, she moved closer. Once there, she took the incense from her bag and set it around the well. Lighting it, she sniffed the air, inhaling the scent. She then placed a candle on the surface of the well and ignited it. The dark, murky water stared back at her as she looked down at it. Now, it was time to ask for her blessing. Tying a rag to one of the hawthorn branches, she closed her eyes and asked for her blessing.
She asked for Bellatrix and Rodolphus to have a blessed marriage.
She asked that Andy and her Muggle husband be safe - wherever the two of them may be.
And finally, she asked that she find someone to love her. Someone who would understand her and accept her for all that she was - flaws and all.
Taking a deep breath, she felt completely at ease.
“If my eyes don’t deceive me, is that Narcissa Black?” a deep, male voice spoke out behind her.
Narcissa was startled, turning around quickly. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the wizard standing before her. “Rabastan?” she croaked out in disbelief.
“The one and only,” he said, giving her a grin. “Didn’t expect to see you here… Or anyone, really.”
“Well, it seems like this holy well might be a popular one to visit,” Narcissa replied, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had always found Rodolphus’s younger brother to be quite handsome, and seeing him before her was strange. “I thought you were celebrating with Bella and Rod.”
He scoffed. “Absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. “Sorry, but your sister is crazy, and I didn’t want to be around them while they cursed people.”
Narcissa stifled a laugh. Truthfully, Rabastan was probably right - Bellatrix was likely using her Beltane ‘blessings’ to curse others. Which, in turn, was welcoming negative energy back their way.
“Did you ask for your blessings?” Rabastan asked, gesturing towards the well.
She nodded. “I did.” She paused. She had asked to find someone to love her, and out of nowhere, Rabastan had appeared… Was he? Did that mean? She looked him over. “Are you…?” she trailed off.
“Am I what?” Rabastan asked her. When she didn’t answer, a knowing look appeared on his face. “Did you wish me for, Cissy?”
“Call me Cissa,” she corrected. Lucius called her Cissy, and she hated it… It made them sound like a thing, and they were not.
“That’s not a no,” he sang out teasingly. “Since you clearly wished for me, and I appeared at the same place as you in a stroke of Beltane magic - how else would I have ended up at the same well as you?”
“You could have asked Bellatrix where I was,” Narcissa pointed out.
Rabastan laughed. “There’s a nice pub two villages over. They have good fish and chips, are you interested?”
Butterflies fluttered in Narcissa’s belly. Was he asking her on a date? She knew that Lucius would never set foot in a Muggle pub, but Rabastan, on the other hand…
“Come on, Cissa,” he said, his voice low. “Join me for dinner. I promise I won’t bite.”
“I…” When he gave her another look, she felt her resolve weaken. “I’d love to, Rab.”
His gaze was practically smouldering as he nodded. “Good girl,” he quietly praised.
A chill ran down Narcissa’s spine. She wondered if Beltane had any more magic in store for her that night.
Taking Rabastan’s hand, she allowed him to lead her down the cobblestone road.