one// two
Paris was similar to London in a lot of aspects. It was loud. It was busy. People were everywhere and speaking all sorts of languages and the flash of cameras was blinding even in the midday sun. But they were different, too. The music that played, and the scents that filled the air. It was refreshing, and terrifying, and when she stumbled into the first shop she had seen and asked them in English where the closest inn was, she found herself on the business end of the nastiest stare she had ever received. It made her laugh--probably something she shouldn’t have done, considering the local seemed like her very existence was causing him harm--but all of her emotions were swimming in her head at once. It was true, she had thought dazedly. The locals really do hate tourists.
Saying she was overwhelmed was an understatement, but in that moment she was happy for it. Being in such a foreign place sent her mind reeling and it took all of her focus and effort to try and find her way around. Thoughts of what was waiting for her back in London quickly fell to the wayside.
It didn’t take her long to wander off and find herself in a part of the city she didn’t know about. It took even less for her to decide that following a group tour was clearly the best course of action. Briefly she thought of what her family would say, of how irresponsible she was being, but the thrumming in her veins and the racing of her heart was enough to squash any of those thoughts.
It was nightfall by the time Cadence had enough of wandering. Her legs were aching, her eyelids heavy, and the overall excitement at being in a new city was starting to wear off. She felt drained, exhausted in an entirely new sense and when she let her mind drift back to London, she found herself fighting back. No, she told herself, forcing her legs to keep moving as she caught sight of a hotel. You have no reason to worry. Everything will be fine.
She knew, deep down, that there was a chance she was wrong, but Paris was beautiful and Cadence--Cadence was easily distracted.
--
Luxembourg Gardens. The Pantheon. The Bastille. Notre Dame. Lunch at a bustling cafe filled with tourists that looked much the same as her: wide eyed and awestruck, fascinated by the sheer history around them. A short walk and she was at the Louvre. The night finishes off with sandwiches at the Place de la Concorde.
The days continue much the same as the first one. Cadence walks. She finds all of the major landmarks and makes sure to buy a postcard at each one. Hovering around them for any length of time makes it easier to find the hidden treasures, the places she feels the biggest pull towards. She gets lost in those places for hours and emerges with a lighter pocket and a brighter smile. The thoughts of sickness and responsibilities drift further and further away in her mind, and before she knows it the week is up.
She knows she could go back. That she should go back, but she’s not ready. She hasn’t seen enough, she tells herself. So she books out another week in the room. She goes and visits the Eiffel tower. She walks down Champs-Élysées and has lunch with a fantastic view of the Arc de Triomphe. She does more shopping, picks up more post-cards, and she meets the locals.
Because Paris is unlike anything she’s ever experienced, and Cadence wants to be selfish just this once.
--
A week passes. And then another. She’s got a bundle of postcards and letters all wrapped up and ready to be sent off, but every time she makes her way to a post office something changes her mind. So, another week passes. She finds herself standing outside the inn she’s called home and wondering about what she could do. She’s been in Paris for quite a long time, now, and while the sights and sounds fill her with amazement, she can tell that it’s starting to wear off. It doesn’t seem all that exciting when you’re starting to pick up the language, she thinks, and she wonders for the millionth time if she’s ready yet.
She’s not. She knows she isn’t, but she isn’t sure where else she could go.
She could travel south. Maybe even see the coastline. She didn’t remember reading much about France’s beaches, but she’s sure they must have something. She stares up at the building and sighs, tucking a stray strand of hair that escaped her braid behind her ear. She pushes open the door and makes her way up the familiar old staircase and tells herself she’ll decide tomorrow.
--
Cadence was a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. No matter how big or small, or how negative or positive. If it happened, there was a reason for it, and for the most part the reason was a good one.
She had to remind herself of that when she suddenly found herself wandless.
Realistically, she knew something of the sort was bound to happen. Cadence was, as several people liked to put it, a space cadet. She forgot things all the time, misplaced things even more than that, and overall wasn’t a very well put together person. Which was fine. The only things she felt were important were her wallet, her journal, and her wand. Normally the three things she always kept on her person. But Cadence wasn’t in Diagon Alley. She was--for all intents and purposes--living as a Muggle. She hadn’t used magic properly in what felt like ages.
Upon returning to her room, she had dumped out her bag and began sorting through it, making sure everything was there. It took her a moment to realise she was missing her wand, clearly more focused on sorting through the plethora of receipts she had accumulated over the course of her trip, but when she did notice it took nearly everything in her to resist swearing.
That was how she found herself frantically rushing around the streets of Paris, trying desperately to remember where she had gone that day. It was proving to be a lot harder than she had intended, especially with it being so close to night time, but the only thing she could think of was the pressing matter that she needed to find it fast, before a Muggle got ahold of it. (Realistically she knew it shouldn’t matter if they did. Nothing would happen, and they’d mostly just be holding onto a stick, but it could still run the risk of her getting in trouble with the Ministry and that was the last thing she wanted to do.)
It takes nearly two hours of her searching before she finally gives up and accepts that fact she’ll just have to get a new wand once she gets back, but then she’s passing a small little table and it pops out in front of her. It takes her a moment to register the fact that there’s something in front of her face, and even longer for her to realise it’s her wand, but the confusion as to how it got there sticks until a voice picks up.
The words are in french, so she only understands half of it, but then her gaze is following the line of an arm and meeting the face of a very amused girl. At first glance she seems friendly, Cadence thinks, so she relaxes her shoulders and offers a tiny smile before speaking in her own broken french, “Je ne parle pas.” She knows she probably butchered it being that languages were never her forte, but the amusement on the girl’s face only grows and she nods in understanding.
She presses the lost wand into Cadence’s fidgeting hands and glances around as if to make sure the coast is clear. (It surprisingly is, but she assumes with how late it is everyone’s off on the busier sides of town, not hidden in the back streets.) When she notices that they are, for the most part, alone, she offers a wide smile at Cadence and holds out her now-empty hand. “My name is Annabelle, but you can call me Anna. You?”
Cadence fidgets, awkwardly trying to stuff her wand back in the safety of her bag while also trying to shake the proffered hand, and Annabelle laughs, clearly amused with the stranger in front of her. To her credit, she’s patient, and when Cadence finally grasps her hand and gives it a firm shake, Anna is already motioning to the small table and offering her a chair. She sits, and then when Anna simply raises an eyebrow at her, Cadence finally realises that she was asked a question. “Sorry, I’m Cadence. Thank you?” She starts, and when the other girl simply stares, she motions towards her bag again. “For finding that for me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t found it.”
Anna nods, making an ‘ah’ sound as she does before she’s offering another bright smile. Cadence wonders if the girl’s friendliness is something to be worried about, but she’s tired and had a long day so she pushes the worries to the back of her mind. If Anna wanted to hurt her, she thinks, she wouldn’t have given her her wand back.
“You are English, yes?” Cadence nods and Anna leans forward, clearly interested now. “I visited once. A long time ago. I hear it is not safe there, now. Is that why you’re here?” The look on her face is earnest, as if she’s seen a lot of people defecting to France lately, but Cadence simply shakes her head with a small smile, eyes falling to look at the table where her hands are picking at loose fibers on her sweater. “Oh! Then you are on holiday?”
“Sort of,” she finds herself speaking up. She offers Anna a half-hearted shrug before turning her eyes to look towards the streets. It’s beautiful, even at night, and Cadence finds herself not wanting to leave. She’s been feeling that a lot lately. “I’ve never travelled before, so here I am. I thought it was time.”
“Ah…” Anna leans back with a knowing smile on her face. She’s got one eyebrow raised, assessing Cadence quietly. She fidgets in her spot again, uncomfortable with the attention, but before she can question the girl, Anna’s speaking again. “You’re running away.”
Cadence flounders, clearly caught off guard by the statement. “I’m not--That’s not why--How--” but Anna just chuckles. She waves her hand to cut off Cadence’s tirade and leans forward again. She covers one of Cadence’s hands with her own and shushing her, tells her it’s okay until Cadence finds herself nodding. She doesn’t pout.
“It is okay. I have seen many like you. I know the type now. No need to feel embarrassed.” She pats the back of Cadence’s hand twice before she stands, swinging her purse over her shoulder and pushing in her chair. “Come. I trust you haven’t seen our community? I would’ve recognized you if you were there. It is like your Diagon Alley, only much bigger. And not full of holes,” Anna jabs, and Cadence can’t help the laugh that gets out of her. She nods, standing up and grabbing her own things. Anna links their arms together and starts leading the way, yammering on about this and that, and what Cadence should expect when they get there. It isn’t until they’re just inside the threshold that she remembers what Anna said.
“You said that you would recognize me. How?” She asks, curious. She’s even more curious by the massive buildings that unfold out in front of her, looking just as familiar as Diagon Alley but with such a different feeling to them, but she’s taught herself to take things one at a time.
Anna simply reaches over and pulls on a lock of Cadence’s hair, snorting when Cadence feigns pain, before saying, “Because you are very, very blonde.”
Cadence laughs, and then she drags Anna into the street further to explore.
--
It takes a whole three days of her being there for Cadence to find like-minded individuals. Anna spends most of the time showing her around and introducing her to people, but it isn’t until she runs into a group of backpackers that Cadence feels that sudden urge to simply leave again. They’re staying at a hostel just outside the alley, and when Cadence listens to their travel stories, she finds herself fascinated. Anna simply laughs as she listens when Cadence tells her what she heard, patting her hand and shaking her head. “You are adorable, Cadence. Truly. I have never seen someone get so genuinely excited over hiking in the Polish countryside.”
With Anna, Cadence feels comfortable. She starts letting the girl in, telling her things about herself and about London. She doesn’t every discuss her family, a topic she obviously avoids at all costs, but Anna just gives her one of those looks that says I understand and drops it, and Cadence has never been more grateful.
She tells her about the vampires, too. About how she’s fascinated with them, how she’s read nearly everything she could about them. How she’s always wanted to meet one. Anna, to her credit, takes it all in stride. She just smiles and tells Cadence what little information she knows, but tells her there are lots of stores around with information. Their contents aren’t anything new to her, but she thanks Anna anyway. Their close, she thinks. She could even say they were friends and she had always wanted more friends. Thinking about it, though, has her missing home. She tells herself she’ll write Caroline. Later.
She doesn’t get around to it. Marcus, the self-proclaimed tour guide of the group of backpackers, tells them they’re stopping off in Germany for a bit. “There’s another group,” he tells them over a hastily prepared lunch of sandwiches and crisps, “A couple’a mates we haven’t seen in awhile are gonna be there and we thought we might as well meet up. Trade stories. You know how it is.” Cadence feels bad when she hears the news. She likes Marcus and his ragtag group. None of them are much older than she is and they’ve all got that same familiar look in their eyes. She tells them she’ll miss them, that it was lovely meeting them, and she even makes sure they’ve all got her address. She tells them it’s in case they ever visit London.
Anna just stares at her with a weird sort of look in her eye, as if she noticed something and she can’t believe Cadence missed it. She responds with a confused look of her own, but then she’s distracted by the group slowly splitting off. Marcus tells them they’ve got to go get ready, that they’ll be taking a portkey out that night and Cadence waves them off with a sad smile. Almost as soon as their alone Anna is in her face, speaking in rushed French that has her head spinning. She can’t even question the other girl before Anna is letting out an exasperated sigh and collapsing back into her chair. “That was your chance!” She shouts, her arms up in an odd gesture. Cadence stares, clearly confused before glancing around.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she mutters, blushing when a few other patrons turn and look in their direction, their quiet meal disturbed. Anna swears under her breath, shaking her head at Cadence before sighing again. She leans forward quickly once more, nearly sending Cadence’s head spinning, before taking her hand in both of her own.
“Ma chére,” Anna shakes her head but that amused smile is playing at her lips. “They’re going to Germany. And you do know what is in Germany, yes?” She’s got that earnest look in her eye again, the one that makes it seem she always has Cadence’s best interests at heart, but Cadence is still confused. There’s lots of things in Germany, she wants to say, but she can’t recall anything that would make her want to visit. Anna seems to understand her confusion so she reaches over and plucks Cadence’s bag off the seat next to her. It doesn’t take her long to drag out the familiar worn journal and then she’s waving it in Cadence’s face like all of the answers rest somewhere in the pages.
It takes her a few long moments before she gets it and it’s like a lightbulb going off in her head. “Oh!” She shouts, the energy of it having her stand abruptly. A wild smile is stretching across her face before she can even realise it and she’s pointing at the cover of the journal. “The forest! You want me to go to the forest! Wait.” She freezes, staring at Anna and taking a moment to think. Everyone knows the story of the Black Forest, and the kind of creatures that inhabit it. It’s a dark place. Much darker than anything she had ever been near. Darker even than the small venture she took into Knockturn. “You want me to go to the forest?” she hisses, leaning over the table herself. Anna just keeps nodding, the bright smile on her face never diminishing. She stands up herself, taking Cadence’s shoulders in hand and giving them a good shake.
“This is your chance. They live there. All of your research says that they are there. Why not go? You need to go.” She sounds so sure of herself. She’s excited, obviously, and worst of all she’s supportive. Cadence wasn’t sure she’d ever meet someone who actually wanted her to realise her dream. For years she had to listen to people tell her that it was ridiculous, or that it was dangerous. That she was childish for thinking like that. But Anna wasn’t any of that. From the moment they met she had made sure to support Cadence, in whatever it was. She spent hours with her, listening to her and going along with whatever she had wanted to do. And now this. Cadence wasn’t sure what to think.
“I--I don’t know. Anna, the Black Forest is dangerous. Vampires--They aren’t the only ones who live there. Plus, how would I even find my way around? I even get lost back in Hackney--”
“Ma chére, you do not have to go alone. I will go with you. I’m sure the two of us could find our way around. There are maps.” They’ve shifted a bit without her knowing. Anna’s got her arm linked with her own now and she’s leading them out of the restaurant and into the alley. Cadence isn’t entirely sure she knows where they’re going, but she has a feeling. She’s excited, and nervous. The more Anna talks, the more possible it sounds and the more excited she gets. “I must admit, it is not only for you. These past few days you have taught me much. Things I never thought I would care about. But I’m interested, now. And you are an expert! If anyone can find these elusive creatures it is you, and it would be an experience for the books if I were to come along. Perhaps we could even be famous. ‘The Vampire Huntress.’ It has a nice ring to it!”
It doesn’t take them very long to end up outside of the hostel Marcus and his group are staying in. For the first time in several days Cadence feels nervous, as if she’s imposing, but when Anna tells him that they’re coming along he just grins and nods, telling them to have their things ready by six. “You know how portkeys are, yeah? Finicky as all hell. If you’re not there, you’ve got to find your own way to Frankfurt.”
“Six on the dot,” Anna says, beaming up at Marcus before laughing quietly and dragging Cadence back to their room at the inn. Briefly, she wonders if she’s got a say in any of this. It seems Anna’s got everything all figured out, and that her mind is made up. They’re off to Germany, and then they’re going to wander off to search the Black Forest. It sounds so simple when she puts it like that, and Cadence thinks not having a say in the matter is better. She’s far too excited to speak.
--