Obey
When Solana was a child she used to dream of her wedding, she would picture herself in a long white gown, she always wanted her mother to walk her down the aisle, her guests would be sat on satin white chairs, and the hall would be filled with sunflowers, including the bunch in her hands.
And she would be so in love with the man waiting at the altar, she would smile at the tears falling down his face because she looked so beautiful. She imagined all of her sisters watching her at the front, and the night before her wedding she would have a celebration.
But Solana never thought she wouldn’t get that.
She never expected a loveless marriage.
5th June 1978
Solana sat with her head against the glass, hugging her knee’s, she had no idea what time it was, what day it was, how long it had been since she left Remus.
She looked around the portrait, it hadn’t changed since she was a child. It was a small room, there was a bed with a thin mattress and a small fake window.
She closed her eyes, ignoring the burning in her stomach. Ziggy had been giving her a ration of food each day, but she was still hungry.
She opened her eyes when she heard the door unlock, she looked up.
“You look dreadful,” Antonin’s voice came from the shadows.
“Fuck you,” she muttered.
“I’ll let that slide,” he said, walking towards the portrait, he admired the golden frame that she could not see, a sly smirk on his face. “You know… your father has already given us our wedding gift, he’s very generous.”
Solana looked at him.
“I bet you’re wondering what it is,”
She didn’t answer.
“Well,” he gestured to the frame like he was a child showing off his favourite toy. “Here it is,” He tilted his head waiting for a response. “You don’t seem happy, Solana.”
It was a moment like this she expected her heart to falter or for her to start crying, but she felt nothing, she couldn’t cry, she had lost the ability to feel sorry for herself.
“We’re going to make it nice for you though, don’t you worry, we’ll get you a nicer bed, maybe a bit of furniture. Because this will be your new home after we are married.”
She stared at him, her throat burned, but she still didn’t shed a tear.
“The only time you will be able to come out is when we are conceiving for an heir,” his face changed from a smile to a glare. “And I swear Solana if you give me just daughter’s like your mother gave your father you will be fucking sorry, do you understand me?”
Solana nodded.
“Good.” he said, “You should get some sleep. It’s a busy day tomorrow.”
5th June 1978
Solana didn’t move from her spot Antonin had left her in, she had her eyes closed, she opened them slowly as the door creaked open.
“Mother?” she said, it hurt to move too much, but she managed to pull herself up to her knees, her palms against the glass. “Mother,”
Druella’s silhouette walked towards her, appearing with a sad look on her face, she connected her palm with her daughters.
“Please help me,” Solana’s voice broke.
“I’m sorry, mi amor–”
“Please,” her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head.
“I can’t help you, I’m not even supposed to be in here–”
Solana pressed her forehead against the glass, her eyes closed. “Please,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry, Solana, I just wanted to speak to you one last time–”
Her heart jolted. “What do you mean–”
“I love you–”
“Mother!” Solana shouted, “Mother!”
Druella wiped a tear from her cheek turning around to leave.
“Mama!”
It had been years since Solana had called her mother that, she paused, her back facing her daughter.
“Mama, please, he uses the imperius curse on me,”
Druella turned her head to the side, she could see the bump in her nose.
“You should have listened to him,” her mother said, with no emotion. “I always taught you to listen.”
Solana banged against the glass, “Mama please! Please don’t make me do this!”
But Druella left her alone, she let out a frustrated scream, still punching the glass, blood treacled down her fist as she managed to make a crack. She let out a soft gasp, never had she been able to crack the glass, but that all faded when the glass began to fix itself.
She kept punching until both her fists were bleeding, resorting to kicking the glass but every time she made a crack it would always disappear.
“No!” she cried. “Just let me out! Please!”
She would cry, she would scream, she would shout, but no one would be coming for her.
She fell to the ground with exhaustion and hunger, her eyelids felt heavy so she welcomed the darkness, hoping to never see the light again.
☀︎
6th June 1978
Solana struggled to open her eyes when she finally woke up, she stirred looking around, she wasn’t in the portrait anymore, she didn’t know where she was.
She sat up with ease, looking down at her fists that were no longer bloody or cut up.
“Good, You are awake,” a thick Russian accent came from behind her.
Solana turned around to see Mrs Dolohov with her hands on her hips. The woman hadn’t aged a day since Solana last saw her, her jet black hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her eye makeup was subtle, but the dark red on her lips was clearly her signature look.
She tutted as she walked towards Solana, “I told them not to starve you, you are skin and bones,” she took a hold of Solana’s cheeks, “Your cheeks are too sunken,”
Solana avoided her eyes, catching sight of a large white gown hung up by the door.
“Is that–” she breathed out.
Mrs Dolohov grunted a yes. “Your wedding dress, I’m here to help you get ready–”
“Why can’t my mother help me?” Solana asked.
“In the Dolohov family the mother-in-law helps the bride to get ready, signifying the bride leaving the family home.” She said as if Solana should have known that. “Now, undress and I will draw you a bath.”
Solana stared at her as she walked over to the large bathtub, kneeling down to turn the tap on.
“You are not getting undressed Solana, and I don’t really think you would like to get off on the wrong foot right at the beginning.” Mrs Dolohov said, without looking at her.
Slowly Solana stood up, unbuttoning her shirt, she looked down at her chest, the A. Dwas still branded on her skin, she touched it softly, it still stung despite how long it had been.
Mrs Dolohov turned around to look at her, her eyes guided straight to the initials, she stood up and cursed loudly in Russian making Solana flinch.
“My son he–” she turned up her nose in disgust. “He gets his temper from his father” she pulled out her wand from her bag. “It won’t heal, the knife he used was a gift from his grandfather, it’s enchanted– not enchanted, cursed, when it touches human skin it makes sure it will not heal. The cloaking charm will hide it,” she said, her wand pointing at the letters, and made them disappear. “It won’t last though, you will have to cloak it again after a while.”
“He broke my wand.” Solana muttered.
Mrs Dolohov nodded. “That’s too bad,”
After Mrs Dolohov had bathed her she handed her a soft satin dressing gown, and began doing Solana’s make up.
Neither of them had spoken in a while, Solana kept eyeing the white dress, it wasn’t what she had ever envisioned, it was long and big, covered with small diamonds she knew were real, and it had a corset.
She hadn’t worn a corset since the Christmas Ball, she couldn’t help feeling sick from the thought.
“The dress was mine,” Mrs Dolohov said, looking at it. “It’s a horrible dress, I didn’t even get to pick it out,”
Solana tore her eyes away from the dress. “I always wanted a simple wedding dress, I hate all these diamonds,”
Mrs Dolohov nodded in agreement. “These men think diamonds fix everything, it doesn’t.”
“Was Mr Dolohov nice to you when you first met him?”
“Adrik was–” she began letting out a small sigh, “You must know that I did not come from a family like yours, my father was not rich, he had plenty of sons so that they would make him rich, I was the only girl,”
She finished with Solana’s make up, then stood up to start on her hair. “We lived up in the mountains, I loved it there, it was… serene, I never wanted to leave. And there was a boy– there’s always a boy,” she rolled her eyes, brushing through Solana’s golden locks. “He was so sweet, and I wanted to marry him, in fact he proposed to me, and the wedding was planned. But my father was greedy and my brothers were useless, lazy arseholes, and Nikolai wasn’t rich. So my father sold me off to a man I didn’t know, and I’ve never been back to the mountains since.”
Solana chewed her cheek, she couldn’t see Mrs Dolohov, but she knew from the tone of her voice she was crying a little bit.
“And you know the worst part?” Mrs Dolohov said, “my father died two weeks after I was married. He didn’t even get to spend the money, and I thought my brothers would have helped me, but they didn’t care. I made them rich, they could do whatever they wanted, and I was stuck.”
Solana swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Mrs Dolohov–”
“My name is Sofia, and there’s no point in sympathy for me Solana, not when you are in the same situation. I feel sorry for you, your parents didn’t even need the money.”
She felt her throat burning. “I know,” she whispered, looking down at her hands.
“Now, you must start learning Russian for when you move…” Sofia’s voice carried on, but Solana wasn’t listening, move?
She hadn’t even thought about that, of course she would have to move, Antonin wouldn’t want to live in England.
“Did you ever try to leave?” Solana asked, and she looked up at Sofia.
She cleared her throat, “They will catch you Solana, even if you think you’re smarter than them, they are always five steps ahead of you.”
Solana swallowed hard, this was it.
This was the end.
☀︎
Solana looked at herself in the mirror, she hated to admit that Sofia had made her look completely different, she hadn’t tied the corset too tight which Solana was grateful for but couldn’t help think about how Antonin would probably tighten it later on.
The door that had been sealed shut opened, she saw her father walk in the reflection.
She turned around slowly, looking at him.
He was wearing his best robes, he had worn them for Bellatrix’s and Narcissa’s wedding, and now hers.
“I’m here to walk you down the aisle–”
“I want mother to do that–”
“You don’t get that choice,”
Solana scoffed a laugh. “I never get a fucking choice,” tears began to fill her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “Never have I once had a choice, nothing in my life has ever been my choice, you forced me to do everything, you forced me to stop talking to Sirius, you forced me to be engaged with Antonin– you’re my dad, you’re supposed to protect me,” her voice cracked. “But you have never shown that, I’ve known my entire life that you have hated me, just because I wasn’t a fucking boy!”
Cygnus showed no emotion on his face. “You’re right,” he said, clearing his throat. “I have despised you since the day you were born, because you failed me–”
“I was a baby–”
“You were not an heir! I needed an heir–”
Solana let out a sarcastic laugh. “I can’t believe you, is this all punishment? Because of something I couldn’t control. You sold me– for money you don’t even need, all because I am not an heir?”
Cygnus’s face contorted into hate, “You were so easily led when you were a child, you were obsessed with muggles and all unnatural beings, I knew you would always fail me. Antonin told me about you and the half-breed, you’re lucky Antonin didn’t kill you.”
“I wish he did,” she muttered, then she wouldn’t have to go through with the wedding.
Cygnus cleared his throat, “I think it’s wise that you say goodbye to your sisters before you go,”
Solana stared up at him.
“I doubt Antonin will let you visit,”
That was when her heart faltered, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes started to fall. She flinched as her father walked towards her, pulling down her veil to cover her face.
“I hope Antonin treats you well,” he smirked, he took her wrist and pulled it towards a large oak door which opened as they got close to it.
She could see Antonin’s back to her at the end of the aisle, the guests had stood up for her entrance, she could see her sisters at the front. She took a deep breath as the music began to play.
With no flowers in her hands and no happily ever after in sight she walked slowly down the aisle.
The guests appeared to be happy, but they couldn’t see her face, they couldn’t see her tears under the veil, she saw Alecto next to her brother in the middle of one of the front rows.
Her cheek wasn’t red like it had been the last time she had seen her, she finally saw Bellatrix’s and Narcissa’s faces, they both gave her a sympathetic smile, which made her want to cry even more, her mother had her head down, she wasn’t even looking at Solana.
Antonin didn’t turn around until she was next to him, he shook her fathers hand, nodding at him, then turned his attention to Solana, he lifted her veil to see her face.
“Stop crying,” he snarled under his breath, she turned her head away from all the guests, wiping her cheek, quickly.
A wizard wearing dark purple robes, looked at the two. “Dear guests, we are welcomed by Antonin Adrik Dolohov and Solana Lune Black…”
Solana focused her attention on a bee trying to leave, bumping into the window each time, the gap was right above it, but the bee was none the wiser, she felt the bee’s helplessness, she wondered where Remus was and what he was doing, she wondered if he knew that she was getting married today, she imagined him running down the aisle and saving her, but she knew that was impossible, he wouldn’t know.
How she wished she could have just one more moment with him, just to say goodbye, to feel his lips on hers–
“Miss Black?”
She looked at the officiator raising her brows.
“Do you take Antonin Dolohov to be your husband?”
“Oh,” she whispered, she looked at Antonin, the vein in his forehead prominent, “I-I–” She looked at the guests who were waiting for her answer, she saw her mother, she wasn’t smiling.
“I–”
She furrowed her brows as a small black object rolled down the aisle, she stared at it as it got closer then stopped.
“Solana?” Antonin growled.
A second later the room erupted in green as the black object exploded leaving a foul odour. Solana felt an arm pull her back into a dark room.