✧THE GALA✧

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For the first day in nearly a week, Rhea had ventured out of the bedroom and taken a walk towards the porch—Only to be met with a breathless husband who was demanding to know what she was doing out of bed.

Only for her to point up to the sun, she was begging for sunlight or just some fresh air. She had to put her foot down after that, demanding to stay outside for at least an hour. Otherwise, she might as well admit herself into the hospital, since there wasn't much of a difference.

The color in her face had slowly begun to return, and now since Rhea had known that Regulus has a bit of an artistic ability as well, the two have been sending sketches back and forth.

Which of course, caused Alphard to throw his hands up. Regulus had never mentioned this before, and it left Alfie feeling left out in not uncovering this before.

Alphard was convinced that Rhea would not be up for the gala, but she had gone ahead and gotten the okay from both the healers and Maverick for clarification. Even with a few days before, he was adamant of going.

"Alphard Pollux Black! This is your gala and I'll be damned if you miss it! We are going and that's final!" He had tried every effort to be positive she was sure.

So after a rather intensive night and a count of three consecutive times of rejoining together, it was safe to say that both her tonic was working, as well as her health returning to normal.

Not to mention the stamina they fueled with one another, addiction. Even now she was fiddling with her tongue and spoon while having another serving of soup. "Rhea..." She blinked off towards him, not understanding his small warning.

"What?... Did you want a bite of—" She caught his curling fist at the table, his knuckles ultimately turning white in attempting to stop his own drive to minimize hers.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the gala. Lost in thought."

"Which part, considering I am still unsure if we should even attend. Wouldn't it be nice to stay in?"

"Not when I worked hard in my dress, and that this is essentially all your doing and design—I could do with some dancing and fun. Besides, I have a bit of a vendetta against one of the attendants." Another faithful mistake, the potion had made her a lot more loose in controlling her tongue as well.

"A vendetta you say? Who are we plotting against?"
"I don't recall saying 'we,' funnily enough."

"It takes one parcel and their entire family is uninvited."

"As beautiful as that sounds, she doesn't know who I am—Tried to steal the supplies for my dress right from under me. I did tell you that I like Victoria much more now." Alphard had wrangled in his memory and pouted, he hadn't managed to ask much more of the situation then because he was swamped with his own work.

"I'm sorry love, I didn't think I would become this busy."

"It's alright, honest. I just ask that in the future when we start having a family that perhaps you could cut back a bit." Her straightforwardness had caused him to nearly choke on his drink, but he quickly came to and caught his wife smirking up a storm.

"Of course I will, you've already voiced you didn't want to rely on a nanny as often."

"That's true, I don't. But also don't expect you to not ever have work either." Alphard knew firsthand how Rhea's parents had ultimately ignored her for the better part of her childhood and into adulthood.

"Would you be opposed to traveling with a babe?" Rhea perked her lips and thought about the question for a moment. Not knowing her stance so easily so she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe after they're a year old, just so they aren't so tiny. And are on the verge of walking. Why?"

"I was reading that most couples travel when the babe is young, before Hogwarts I mean. Since I plan on taking off of work, I'd say that would be a grand time to utilize it all. Of course, we'd stay at different manors at a time, and travel with an elf." It earned him both a brightened smile and a kiss to the cheek, though it still did not settle her urge of attending the gala.

Especially when he had offered to go by himself, that he didn't mind. Rhea called him a liar, and she said it was against her promise of attending everything with him.

Her words resignedated with him, even now, at the near stroke of midnight. "You're not a lone star anymore, Atlas. You're my star." He couldn't get enough of the devotion and settled their disagreement by coming to bide his time with a kiss.

Which Rhea chided was much too business-like, but regardless they would be attending the gala just until a certain time and with the motive of taking it easy.

She had other plans, including dancing the night away with her husband—In addition to Rolf and Orion. Perhaps even a stranger or two, it wasn't often she could be the princess at the ball, but as of right now she was thrilled.

And a part of her, the ruthless and devious part, couldn't wait for Mrs.Bulstrobe to see her sporting the desired gown. Or with her husband.

The celebration itself was a few hours away, but the women of the Black family were rushing around to take care of last-minute changes and issues. Rhea had stayed with Narcissa during this time. Considering her only other option would be Druella or Walburga—Rhea chose her kinder niece than either of her in-laws.

They were each at different stages of getting ready, Rhea had her hair still up in curling rods while Narcissa had hers in a bun with eye makeup being the only prominent feature that has been done thus far.

Otherwise, they were all sporting black silk robes and rushing back and forth.

It came to a shock that neither Sirius nor Regulus were invited for this evening, but it was strictly against inviting those under a certain age. Last year she had been utterly thankful in not being able to attend with Dolohov—But now she had the better opportunity to join Alphard's side as the host.

"Rhea...Little Goddess, the party is meant to start in less than an hour." She turned over her shoulder and smiled to her husband, he too was going up to their suite to get ready for the evening.

"Thank you for the reminder, there's just so much to do." He waved it off, pushing his party planner to take the reigns as everyone hurried up and away. Though she cursed in seeing Alphard following her.

"My dress was meant to be a surprise." She said with a saddened pout so he has scooped her up by her waist and continued forward in a sync walk.

"Then we'll utilize the dressing divider, hmm?" It earned him a bit of light laughter, though he caught sight of his scowling sister. He simply wished that Rhea had taken the night to get better, but he couldn't doubt the color in her face had returned and had returned to the bubbly Ravenclaw he adored.

When entering their suite, his dress robes hung at the hanger to the right and Rhea's dress was nowhere to be seen. "My things are in the bedroom, do I need to grab anything for you?" He remained unresponsive until a small kiss graced them both.

"Take your time..."

"Nonsense, we have to greet the guests. Don't we?"

"No. Walburga thankfully does that—She wants to make it seem like this gala was her idea when in reality...It's your's truly." She shook her head in delight before claiming their bedroom as her refuge to get herself sorted.

The musicians had begun to practice a few sets, and Rhea had hummed along as she fitted herself kindly—Wondering just how difficult this dress will be to take off when the enchanted corset has been disabled.

Sarah had put sweat and perhaps a few tears into designing this dress, course Rhea had scheduled their time accordingly. Unlike the wench who had come in with less than two weeks to prepare a custom dress?

It caused her smile to falter, the entitlement of some of her peers was too much for her to deal with on a regular basis.

Perhaps she should decline her mother's invitation to tea, it was more or less going to be bragging rights. That her daughter had married into the Black family.

"Love?... I don't mean to rush, but guests are starting to come in carriages." Alphard called out, and Rhea had pulled out her hair curlers and fluffed them while her wand was held in her mouth. "Just a moment!" Her voice had been mumbled, and thus she had come towards the door and nearly stumbled and fumbled with the earrings in her hands.

"I thought it was rude to be too early?" She questioned, but Alphard Black had remained utterly quiet as he stared at Rhea's dress. The only indication he had was from his waistcoat's pattern of pitch black and small gold stitches to create an intricate design.

But Rhea's dress held stars, making him realize the time she said 'You're my star,' her smile had only glistened higher with the way he walked forward.

The dress had fit beautifully against her small hourglass figure, her breast being tastefully out to showcase her youth—But also a bit conservative considering she was indeed a married woman.

"...Little Goddess." She swayed her dress and twirled. "How did Sarah and I do?" She said with a small teasing curtsey, one that Alphard had stalked forward and held her up against the wall.

The kiss had claimed her by both surprise and earnest submission as her legs wrapped around his waist and breathed heavily as his attention went directly to the base of her neck.

"Surely...We have a few moments to—" Alphard had not been able to finish his sentence as a disarming knock caused Rhea to squirm out of his tight hold, only to see Narcissa in the doorway.

"Goodness! You have plenty of time for that later! Come now!" He had cut back in saying anything cruel to his niece as they were indeed due to come downstairs. "Just a minute, Narcissa." Was all he could muster, and Rhea had bit back that it was his attempt at keeping his wits about himself.

After settling down his wife to her feet, she managed to flatten out her dress and run a hand through her hair. "Did my lipstick smudge at all?"

"No, it's alright. Let's leave the room before I'm inclined to see what is under this dress of yours." She smiled up to him, with a hint of cruelty she said, "Matching lingerie. With the stars and all." In straightening his tie, she hurried off to the door—Though not getting that far at all as he caught up just as easily considering she was wearing heels.

"You cannot run off after saying that love, it kills me." She thrived in realizing that he was getting sexually frustrated and quickly. "Perhaps we could sneak away to a broom closet, only after a dance."

"Deal. Thousand times over." The stairs had been rather difficult for Rhea, as her grip on both the railing and her husband were tightly gripped—Her knuckles growing white with tension.

"I would never let you fall...Leave your fears behind." She sucked in a breath, desperate for others not to see how her husband's words had nearly caused her skin to flush with heat.

Yet, he deserved a fantastic night beside whatever entailed in the broom closet.

The whispers had sparked as Alphard had taken directly towards her friends, they had thanked him endlessly for the chance to attend. And Rhea was downright in heaven, speaking with those she had never had the chance before. And overall, just shine the night away.

Course the ringer of it all, the proposal that was spoken to at the seamstress had happened—But never did she expect it to be Theo doing the prosing and Evelyn being proposed to.

Their parents must truly want them to move along, considering usually a wedding would have happened a few months after the proposal itself. "Alphard...Did you see Evelyn's face when she was proposed to?" Rhea whispered, and he hummed in recognition.

"Somethings not right there, Sirius keeps telling me not to worry—Same with the rest of my friends. But I can't help this gut feeling...What do you think?" He had taken a quick sip of his whiskey and held his little wife tighter.

"You can only do so much from a distance, Sirius has told me that she's quite the character?" Rhea nodded glumly, even if Evelyn acted a certain way—They had survived the stress of Hogwarts. Shouldn't they try to continue the friendship outside it as well?
Or was it only destined until graduation?

"This is nothing to worry about, even public proposals aren't set in stone." Rhea knew that well enough, but as she tugged at Alphard's sleeve once more—He could see the absolute fear in her eyes.

"Does she know what happened between you and that bastard?" Rhea shook her head. "No, not to the extent the birds know at least. They could tell, but what are my friends going to do in the situation? Their fear spiked up worse and they won't dare mention anything about a relationship or betrothed in my direction since...I don't think Theo is that bad of a man, but I'm not the one to know what happens behind closed doors either." She settled her sentence with a sip of her own wine before turning off towards the band

"Would you think a dance could distract us?" She said, tilting her head towards the few couples joining the dancefloor. And Alphard's only response had been to take away her wine glass and hurry to join them both.

"Could your hand get any lower, my goodness Atlas..." She said, and a giggle fell muffled into his chest as he squeezed her arse before spinning her around.

"Not just my hand could go lower, love...But my patience is wearing thin, did you say broom closet or—" Rhea's lashes had flickered up towards him, his little goddess had certainly turned into a devious minx right there in front of him.

"How about the study where we first met?" To see the excitement in her husband's eyes was one aspect. But to blatantly leave the party with dinner fast approaching, Rhea knew it was considered rude. Yet she couldn't care less, this was their first attempt at being naughty at a party—And here they were, Rhea being propped up on the very desk while being lavished in her husband's attention.

"So you like the dress?" She whispered, and Alphard had thrown off his outer robes as his hands reconnected to her waist. "Like?... Like is an understatement of the century. I will gladly get on my knees to worship my little goddess...If she lets me?" He had a bit of a panic, considering they hadn't explored in a study since the faithful day he had turned aggressive, but the consent had been whispered fluently as she continued to smother him in kisses.

His hand had expertly explored underneath the beautiful fabric, she hummed in recognition of his small torture and gasped once he'd touched her sex.

"I need you...Rhea." The way he had spoken her name had her moaning another round of consent. She hardly cared that they were the host and hostess of this party, the connection she had with her husband as of yet was damning her thought process and urged her to continue forward.

"Just as much as I need you?" She questioned with a smirk, which he mirrored all while parting a way for his trousers to fall down his waist. He hadn't responded, instead teased and ticked with her patience as she was nearly in tears—Begging for him to stop toying with her emotions...And at the final moment, he had plunged his all too willing cock deep into Rhea's folds.

The exhausted breath had escaped either the two, and Alphard had continued forward in sequence, though it had been an amount of struggle as he realized that he was on the verge of finishing far too early.

There haven't been many instances where he was worried, but after the build of teasing all night—He wasn't all too surprised. So he pulled out all the stops, using his skillful fingers to brush against her sensitive clit to drive her further over the edge.

He knew she was nearing her release as she fell forward and moaned even louder into his shoulder. "That's it, little goddess, let go for me. Let go, now." And she followed as she was told, she gasped partially muffled into his chest only to grip him tightly that he too groaned.

As the only sound in the room had turned into heavy breathing, Rhea had looked up with glossy eyes and a pleased smile playing on her lips. "What was that...?" She questioned and he chuckled.

"Which part?"

"The end, that was—That was—"

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve. This angle gives me the perfect to move differently than in a bed." She hummed and kissed him gently as he pulled out, yet her sensitivity had caused another gasp. "Alright there?"

"I just need a moment or two." He had taken his handkerchief and wiped her thighs clean. Yet she hadn't felt confident in standing just yet, not until Alpha had given her a sip of whiskey and her courage had risen tenfold.

"Must we return?... I rather enjoy the rest of the party here." He dwelled, but she kissed the better part of his hand and then his ring before looking up. "Yes we have to, otherwise Walburga will be up my arse for being a horrible influence on you."

"Funny. All the inquiries she tells me that you're doing wrong are the exact things I'm influencing you to do. Riding a broom or using your allowance. Now, we're going to wine and dine until your feet hurt."

"No more dancing?"

"Only if my wife is up to it." They had moved from the study in a bit of haste, and Orion was all too quick to point out that Rhea was blushing. So her admission of a bit of snogging on the balcony was enough for Orion to be satisfied in knowing the partial truth.

"My brother's a fool for believing I wouldn't take the opportunity to—"

"To what?" Rhea was certainly baiting him as she sipped her glass kindly, though her eyes were elsewhere. And Alphard was rather misplaced on not having her undivided attention.

"Sharing a beautiful intimate moment with my wife...Are you looking for someone?" Her shoulders fell as she shook off the feeling and looked back to her husband. "Yes, that blasted woman that caused a scene at the seamstress...I haven't caught her just yet. And as for intimate moments go, it's right beside our first night in my book."

"Oh? Is that so? Have I caught your attention now?"

"You've had my attention when I only knew you as Atlas. Though the time we used a mirror is up there as well." Alphard stroked his beard as he tried to defuse the tension in his lower half. "Oh blast, there is she...Fowl woman, and I mean that in the most hearty of ways." He chuckled.

"You certainly have a way with words, darling. Would you fancy a walk in that direction to go and...Say hello?"

"Alfie, you know how I feel about using the name like that." She said with a lightened pout, but he shrugged. "It's your choice, we've already scared your friend's future husband. So I don't see the right difference." Rhea rolled her eyes, yet the two had caught up in conversation with another couple that dawned on their attention.

Yet the moment Rhea had gone to get another glass of wine, she was interrupted by Mrs.Bulstrode and the same gaggle that she was with previously.

"Well hello, Mrs.Bulstrode. Are you enjoying yourself this evening?" Rhea questioned with a risen glass, partially tipsy considering she hadn't really felt much of care of how snobbish the comment had come across.

"Decently, until I caught your godawful scent parading the party as though you own it." Rhea bit back a smile and she simply shrugged. "Lovely dress, perhaps this entire incident has taught you to be more responsible and not wait last minute for something as important as attire for the gala." Rhea said with hardened eyes, thriving off her personally created motto of...

"What would Walburga say?"

"Bah, I couldn't imagine how someone of your low class could haggle their way for an invitation." Rhea smiled once again and allowed the comments to continue flow, only for a pair of arms to wrap around her waist. "I was wondering where you were off to...Good evening ladies." The glares had into flirtatious giggles and smiles, and Rhea had nearly felt herself vomit on site.

"We're having a wonderful time, Alphard...We were just wondering why on earth this young witch would be invited among the rest. You know my niece was proposed to...Even then her age hadn't helped with the invitation."

"Ah, you'll have to take that up with Walburga. I tend to stay away from the tedious details. But as for why Rhea was invited...Why wouldn't I invite my wife?" The silence had reigned in further and the young wife had turned up to her husband.

"I was just telling Mrs. Buldstode here that she shouldn't wait last minute to seek out a seamstress to customize a dress. Creativity takes time." It earned her a kiss on the cheek, as he stood taller in being in the company of a few former classmates.

They saw him much higher class than themselves, and that gave him an unlimited sense of power.

"Rhea...I did want you to meet someone—" The tut of a woman's voice had caught the attention of the entire group. And Rhea had nearly groaned, she had managed to stay the hell away from her sisters-in-laws, but here she was unable to escape.

After a bit of arse-kicking and the attention of three Black family members, Buldstode seemingly switched attitudes. And Alphard, unforgivingly, left Rhea in pursuit of a special guest.

"It astounds me that you allowed this marriage, Walburga. The head of the Black household deserves a better-established witch in its place."
"And it astounds me that you're still bitter about a dress." Walburga's brows had risen and a small smile had appeared, but only for a moment. "The wedding was not my doing, but is this the girl you were sharing about from Diagon alley?" Buldstode had soon gone into a tangent and Rhea laughed.

"What she means to say, is she threw a tantrum and thought my father would pick up the peddist lawsuit of the week because she was told no. Besides, I don't think gold is your color, Mrs.Buldstode." The elder of the two Black wives had glanced down in wonder, had Rhea drank too much?

Where did she come with so much ammunition to this?

Especially considering Mrs.Buldstode's current dress was featuring gold designs as well. Just not as intricate as Rhea's.

Walburga would bring it to her grave that Rhea certainly knew how to dress herself. And while her figure should be swelling with a child, she wasn't lacking in either department of slim or thick.

"Rhea...? Would you join me for a drink outside?" The loss of confidence had proceeded her as the young wife had followed after Walburga Black to a secluded Balcony that led straight to the garden.

"Do you make it your mission to annoy guests?"

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Date Posted: 01/30/2022

Time: 12:42

Words: 4031