In total darkness Severus reached instinctively for his throat, managing only the barest movement. Untold weight held him down. He opened his eyes, grit gouging into his corneas. His mouth clogged with dirt, panic was a description far too insipid.

His heart didn't race.

Hours of twitching, then scrabbling followed. His fingertips bled freely before he felt the flow of air and finally crawled free.

Tiny hands clapped enthusiastically. "Come to Mummy, my Dark Prince!"

Severus stared into winter eyes of boundless beauty, a gothic princess to his prince, a tyrant as crazed and power-hungry as any he'd ever served.