WHO: SEBASTIAN AND MACKENZIE
WHAT: HE FOUND HER. FINALLY.
WHERE: FREAKING RUSSIA
WHEN: UHM.
"доброй ночи, бабушка," Mackenzie spoke softly as she leaned down to kiss the cold side of her grandmother's cheek. It was getting late, and with no entertainment for the night, it was easier to retire in hopes of a good night’s sleep and a more thrilling tomorrow than to continue reading in the parlor. A small smile formed on Mackenzie’s face as she affectionately squeezed the older woman’s hand lightly.
Katherina Putin responded to her granddaughter in the only way she felt appropriate; with the slightest incline of her chin and the pressing of her lips together. "сон хорошо внучка,” she breathed, taking the book from Mackenzie’s hands to briskly wave the younger woman away with it.
Not needed to be told twice, Mackenzie exited the room with care. Once far enough away from her intimidating grandmother, though, she began to take her time, looking out the windows and the general decor of the corridor as she passed. Outside was already beginning to show signs of winter approaching, and apart of her wished summer would last just a bit longer in Russia. It did in other places, didn’t it?
Feeling the sudden urge to step outside, Mackenzie quickened her pace. Her room, albeit on the second floor, had a beautiful view of the estate’s gardens. With the moonlight, it would almost as stunning when the sun was in the sky. Upon reaching her room and locking her door, Mackenzie grabbed a fur shrug from her closet and stepped outside onto the balcony connected to the room. Instantly relaxed, she glided to the banister to perch on it. A light breeze picked up behind her, and she pulled the fur tighter around her shoulders as she looked out.
It had taken--very much restraint on Sebastian’s part not to chase after Mackenzie when he and Sirius had spotted her a few days earlier. His brain could barely control his legs; it had defintely helped that Sirius had been there to hold him back. His wife was alive! She was alive, she was looking well, but---she hadn’t been fighting back. That was what had forced Sebastian to a halt. Something was wrong, he knew Mackenzie. If she was being held against her will, she would not have been walking around this Russian marketplace like nothing was wrong, with some ridiculously old, nasty looking woman on her arm as if she cared for her.
Maybe she did care for her. Sebastian had heard stories of brainwashing, hell, they’d done a right good job of it on Christopher (who had actually been the one to mention his and Mackenzie’s Russian grandmother who still lived in the motherland). What if Mackenzie’s mind had been completely addled, and shaken? What if he had been completely wiped from her memory? As hard as it had been to keep himself from running after her, Sebastian was also terrified to confront her. The pain just the thought of Mackenzie not having any recollection of their life together nearly paralyzed him, and after hours of getting himself ready to do this Sebastian found himself hiding in the shadows of her grandmother’s home.
His plan was to climb the vines up the side of the house, because apparation was definitely restricted with the wards, but the door of the second floor’s room opened and Mackenzie stepped out, like a vision. Sebastian stared up at his wife from the shadows of the balcony, the moonlight illuminating her every feature. He grew jealous of the fur around her shoulders, wishing he could be wrapped around her now.
Sebastian found himself frozen, however, and it was only the cold breeze that made him move and step on a stick that was lying about. It cracked under his weight and the sound reverberated across the empty fields of the manor. He winced, hoping she hadn’t heard.
Maybe she would even see a deer! Mackenzie shifted from her slouched position on the banister to standing up straight at the sound of twigs snapping below. A lot of smaller animals like rabbits and birds were always on the property, but she had rarely seen anything bigger than that. Or at least, big enough to make that kind of sound. Intrigued, she stared in Sebastian’s general direction, but had turned too slowly nor was not looking hard enough to notice his silhouette.
After a few continued moments of staring into the darkness, she gave up, coming to terms that this night would just simply be uneventful in every way possible. Tomorrow had no prospect either-- her grandfather had requested to spend most of the day with her, which meant sitting in the library silently all day, the only reprieve being the house elves bringing in lunch.
Speaking of house elves... her grandmother’s personal one, whose name Mackenzie still couldn’t quite remember, suddenly appeared behind her, beckoning for her to come inside. “уходи,” Mackenzie replied offhandedly, brushing the small creature’s grip off of her. It slinked away, as ordered, but mumbling a promise of returning eventually. Shaking her hair, Mackenzie turned back to the gardens, still unable to find it within her to go to bed just yet. An unsettling feeling was slowly beginning to fill her.
Oh God.
Sebastian felt as if her eyes were boring burning holes through his chest, and he nearly jumped to get away from the feeling, but then he realized that she hadn’t seen him. She couldn’t see him in the shadows, and if he wanted, he could stay here all night and watch her. He could just stand there and gaze upon his wife, his beautiful, lovely wife who was imprisoned here in Russia, away from him, their children, their life. Sebastian had tried to think of a span of time during his entire relationship with Mackenzie that had been relatively drama free, but he’d always been able to find something that caused a fault.
The thought had occurred to Sebastian that maybe she’d be happier here, away from all the trouble that their time together had brought. Maybe if she didn’t have the stress of the Order of the Phoenix, or death eaters knocking down their door--she could be happy. Sebastian tried to force down the thoughts as far away as he could; he loved, loved, loved Mackenzie more than his own life, and he would do anything to keep her safe and happy. If it weren’t for the children they had waiting for them at home, Sebastian had the strong inclination to let her live her life.
Anthony. Elijah! All the babies Mackenzie still wanted to have! Sebastian allowed the thoughts of his two sons and all the talks he and Mackenzie had about expanding their family even further wash over him and give him the courage to step out of the shadows. He put his hands up in an innocent fashion and hoped that no one else was awake to hear him call out to her, “Mackenzie? Mackenzie---Loftus?” She would respond to that name, that was for sure.
Mackenzie turned, showing no sign of shock to the fact that a man had just appeared a floor below her, calling out her name. It was almost as if she had been expecting him, with her lack of fear or reaction to his presence. And in all honesty, he was on the ground; whatever he planned on doing, she would have more than enough time to react appropriately. But until then, it was of the utmost importance to keep true to a demure manner.
Blinking slowly, she stared for a while into the darkness, focusing intently on this intruder’s face. It would be highly improper to forget a person’s name that she had previously met, so Mackenzie took special care. It was a man, for that she was positive, and a familiar one at that. Inclining closer, her hand gripped the marble to keep herself steady. Luckily the moonlight was bright tonight, or else this impromptu (not to mention terrifying if she wasn’t so far up) meeting could not be taking place. She knew this man.
She had faltered for a moment, needing a second to think back to her school days. They had previously know each other, his identity at the tip of her tongue. At once, it came to her, and a polite smile appeared on Mackenzie’s lips. “Sebastian--- Goldstein?” Her voice came out in a cautious manner, seeing as it was very strange to see someone she barely knew five years ago was here on her grandparents estate, inquiring her. Very strange indeed.
She wasn’t running away screaming. She wasn’t pointing and yelling, calling for help at his sudden appearance. Sebastian would take anything that kept him from panicking as a good thing, and he quickly made his way closer to the balcony, looking up at Mackenzie the entire time. His cloak was pulled tightly against him, and as he reached the manor he realized that once again he would not be able to apparate on the property. Sebastian frowned, wondering if there was an easy way for him to get up there. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he let out a sardonic laugh at the beautiful trellis covered in vines that led straight up to the balcony.
If they weren’t star-crossed lovers before, this moment set it in stone.
He had done a lot of tree climbing in his youth, mostly to keep up with his brothers, so Sebastian wasn’t too wary about making his way up to Mackenzie. He was making a slow effort, though, to keep her from getting frightened. These past few weeks, months, have been full of people reminding him that when they did find Mackenzie, she might not have any memory of---anything. Anything from her youth, Hogwarts, or after could have been wiped away through her time of captivity. Sebastian was being cautious, maybe because he was absolutely terrified, but he was cautious and keeping a calm expression on his face as he finally reached the balcony. It wouldn’t last. Or, well--his stoic state cracked at the sight of Mackenzie’s face so close to his as he sat upon the ledge of the balcony. He could touch her, he was that close. Sebastian let out a nervous laugh, feeling very much like the fifth year he used to be, unable to control his twitches whenever he was in the vicinity.
“How are you?” he let out stupidly. Sebastian blinked and swung his legs over the ledge to stand, before his shaking body caused him to slip the two floors down to the ground. He closed his eyes for a moment; he had to stay calm, but he needed to work fast, “I have something very important to tell you, Mackenzie--” just saying her name... “--and you need to listen.”
Oh dear god he was climbing up here. Eyes going wide, Mackenzie’s calm exterior quickly broke and she stepped backward away from the ledge as she heard him begin to climb. What was he doing? Why in the world--- since when did people do this? What was going on? She hadn’t been that serious when she had wished something entertaining would happen tonight...
Her thoughts snapped to the location of her wand, contemplating whether or not it would be wise to go and get it. It was in her drawer, in the nightstand next to her bed; would it be prudent? But by the time she had decided it would be, Sebastian’s head had already begun to crown over the ledge, leaving her no time to obtain and hide it within the folds of her clothes without him noticing. She watched him pull himself over with ease while she tried desperately to control the emotions running on her face.
Mackenzie began to brush her hair down nervously, feeling anxiety rise within her. He was--- a muggleborn, she remembered that. And there was a distinct difference between having a small chat two floors apart and having a full-blown conversation outside of her unlockable bedroom door.
She did not like this. He was confusing her with his passive nature and unassuming stance. They did not know each other, hardly at all--- how could he look at her like that? Mackenzie watched him smile so widely and laugh. Laugh! As if this was completely normal. Was he aware that her very conservative, old, and powerful grandparents owned this property that he was breaking into?
Something important to tell her? At that moment, Mackenzie felt her body tense and her mind kick into a faster pace. This would explain why he was here. Too willing to have him farther away from her, she played along. With her hands at her side, she spoke in a cautious manner. “Go on.” What was going on?
Sebastian wondered if he had taken a breath within the past minute as he waited for Mackenzie’s reaction. She looked scared of him, and it hurt his chest. Mackenzie was scared, or at least cautious, and it was all because of him. When, in reality, the home she was living in was full of kidnappers and brainwashers, it---it made absolutely no sense to him, but Sebastian knew that he couldn’t blow off the handle in this delicate situation. He needed to convince his wife that she was, in fact, his wife without making her scream for help.
He let out a breath and pulled out from his inner cloak a book, a photo album. Photography had always been the best way for Sebastian to express himself, so when Dumbledore told him that he needed a non-verbal, non...frantic way of explaining to Mackenzie what had happened, he’d gone straight to work. Frames were emptied and sleeves of albums were pulled. Sebastian had made a literal photographic timeline of his relationship with Mackenzie, from his first snapshot of her during a set of prefect rounds in fifth year, to the day he proposed, their castle, the ducks, wedding shots---various stages of her pregnancy, birthdays, newspaper clippings---Anthony’s birth certificate, Elijah’s adoption papers...Sebastian had even owled Matilda Mulciber for pictures of their years at Hogwarts and beyond, begging and pleading for her help. She complied, and along with Emmet Belby and Caradoc he was able to gain more proof of this true history of Mackenzie’s. Giada, Graciela, Gabriel Corner---they all provided letters and thoughts, prayers for Mackenzie. Sebastian’s brother, Christopher! Christopher with his new sense of mind and his scrawl provided him with some key tools to help fix her mind---
The pages explained that the pictures in the album were her life, and Sebastian handed Mackenzie the leather-bound book with a soft smile, hoping he didn’t need to do any more than this. Sebastian knew in his heart that if she didn’t believe him he’d have to---he would have to simply grab her and disapparate, but that could cause permanent damage, that could make it impossible for her to believe him or trust him ever again. Sebastian leaned back against the balcony’s railing, his hands clenched against his sides in anticipation.
“It’ll explain everything.”
Mackenzie hadn’t wanted to take the book Sebastian produced for her, but he had placed it into her hands too quickly for her to push it back. What if it was cursed? And then by simply by touching the binding she would be subjected to unrealistic pain? Her grandparents had been very expressive about strangers and receiving things from them in the past month or so, especially-- so her mind couldn’t help but go to that before noticing that it was obviously just another book.
The realization that no harm would come to her from what Sebastian had given here did not curb her confusion, however. Did he expect her to look through it now? From the looks of it, perhaps. And how could this book explain anything? What was ‘everything’? She didn’t understand... Mackenzie sent him a questioning look before tenderly flipping open to a look at a random page.
She was very shocked to see herself waving back at her through the pages. And at first, Mackenzie thought this was just a normal photo album; there were pictures she remembering taking, things she knew had happened. But as she began to flip further, her head began to hurt. These things, these events the pictures showed--- it wasn’t possible. She wasn’t married, or with children; she had come straight to Russia after school had ended, her family insisting it would be for the best after Caradoc and Evan. But that was not what these pictures showed. These images showed her hugging Caradoc and Evan, kissing them on the cheek, with children in her arms, and---
Mackenzie struggled for a few moments, unsure of what to do. It seemed that the longer she tried to focus and think, the more her head began to throb. And here--- she stopped at one photo showing her and the man standing before her dancing and laughing and kissing someplace else that was not here.
She didn’t--- she didn’t--- “I--- I don’t understand,” Mackenzie spoke slowly, her head pounding harder with every passing second. Her face contorted severely, half in pain and half in confusion. Why how was this possible?
Sebastian felt himself grow more worried and concerned and--panicked. He was panicked, and he wanted to throw up, but his fingernails kept pressing into his palms as she flipped through the book. Mackenzie wasn’t completely losing her mind, but she was obviously confused and---Sebastian couldn’t move. No sudden movements, Sirius had told him. Sudden movements could set off a chain reaction of very, very bad things. He waited a moment to catch his breath and kept his hands to his side.
“You were kidnapped from England, from your job at St. Mungo’s two months ago, and you’ve had your memory altered,” he breathed, blinking quickly. Sebastian gulped and shut his eyes. “August 5th. We’ve been searching for you, I’ve been searching--” Sebastian rolled his eyes to the sky, wondering if he could wish on the stars or something like that. Why couldn’t real life be like the fairy tales? Why couldn’t he just kiss the princess that was locked up in the tower and live happily ever after?
He couldn’t help his feet from moving him closer, his hands out in a peaceful manner, “I love you, Mackenzie. I always have and I need you to remember that you love me too.”
She didn’t understand, she didn’t--- how was this all possible? It wasn’t, she couldn’t--- her head continued to pound louder the more she tried to focus on what she was hearing with what she thought was true. Kidnapping, altered memories-- love? That was impossible, she had been here since school in England, she was positive. But then--- where could all these pictures have come from? So many pictures, and documents and emotions....
It was strange. She couldn’t help but feel--- the more she seemed to focus on Sebastian’s face, the more she felt warm. And comfortable, like chocolate. His face was familiar, yes, but the more she stared at it... her body and her brain were feeling two very different feelings at once.
But it hurt, thinking of all of this hurt, so Mackenzie closed her eyes as the book fell from her hands. Confused, she pressed them into her face, shaking. She wanted to believe him, she did, but how could she? How could something she was so sure about be a lie? And her family? Why would they--- she saw no reason for either parties to telling her anything but the truth. It just didn’t make sense, it didn’t at all, and Mackenzie wanted to say that, but her voice felt suddenly caught in her throat.
“I--- I---” Mackenie muttered lowly, her knees beginning to feel weak. Suddenly, something within her snapped as her knees buckled completely, leaving her to slip unconsciously toward the ground.
The last thing Sebastian had wanted was to put Mackenzie into such a shock, and he thought the gradual flipping of the photo album’s pages would be an easier way to reveal the truth to her, but---that didn’t seem to be the case. Maybe it was the memory spells fighting against her true memories that caused her pain, but whatever the case, he felt terrible for the anguish he’d brought upon his wife.
Sebastian jerked forward and caught the falling Mackenzie, and sat, crouched with her in his arms for a moment before deciding that he had no time to waste. He sent out a quick patronus to Sirius and hoped to God that he’d figured out the disapparation wards as he shut his eyes and clutched Mackenzie close.
