Destination Unknown

[Isabella Ormonde]

Isabella Ormonde had come along way since she had regained the last dregs of her memories. She had been able to mourn the loss of her daughter and was now on a better road to recovery regarding this tragic loss; her past with Izaak Finch was completely and utterly in the past. There was no more dragging it up to wound her, no more mentioning of his name in hushed tones or otherwise. She had laid that particular ghost of her past to rest, her heart was no longer sore because of him and she was so glad of this. Now that she ran the tavern single handedly with no more help from Goia, she had decided to move out of the pokey room and with the money she had saved had put down a deposit on a beautiful old lakeside cottage. It looked somewhat out of place alone by the lake and looking more wizarding than muggle but she did not mind and certainly did not mind the strange looks that she received from the muggles who passed it to go fishing on the lake. It was all hers and the privacy it afforded her, the peace and tranquility it rendered was priceless.

As days had passed to weeks and eventually months, her thoughts had never strained too far from Canada and the family who had taken care of her. She wrote often to them letting them know how she was and that her entire memory had at last been restored. But one person in particular she wrote too and one person in particular she delighted hearing from and that was Luke. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever she had once felt for Izaak was but a drop in the ocean for what she felt for the kind and gentle muggle. Her was the soul mate she had been searching for and yet she had been unable to tell him, had been so afraid that it was her veela nature that he had found pleasing and not her. But they wrote so often and their letters had been filled with so many things of their ordinary day, their hopes and dreams.

She spoke her heart in those letters without ever actually admitting to loving him, always hoping that he would come to visit but something always happened, always came up either on her side or on his. So she was certain that fate had not intended them to be. After leaving the Leaky Cauldron straight after the lunch time rush, she returned back to her cottage and gazed from the porch steps out to the side of her house where the shimmering water of the lake seemed to beckon to her. Sliding her feet from her high heeled sandals she strolled barefoot though the shrubbery to the edge of the lake, dipping her toes into the cold water. Her arms circled her waist as she sighed deeply gazing out at the beauty that had drawn her to this place. In her mind she began to pen Luke another letter, it was how she always wrote to him. First she would feel the letter out with her heart as she gazed out across the lake and later that night as if it had all been consigned to memory, she would write out out word for word. As she gazed out now she imagined telling him at last the words that had been so long in coming but part of her feared she had already left it too late. Much too late.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke didn't know what made him stuff his suitcase, drive to the airport, and hop on a plane. He wasn't aware what made him endure the 20 hours of nausea, stinging ears, and lightheadedness. The only thing he was certain of was that he missed Isabella Ormonde. She had captivated him like no woman had before, and he was no longer content with just writing letters. He wanted to see her in person.

The small, irrational voice in his head told him that he had no business bothering her. Their worlds were not the same. Though he'd been exposed to the wizarding world before, it was only just. He was more an outsider looking in. Something made him ignore those murmurs and whispers and turn the keys in the ignition.

While the rental car was a smooth ride, Luke found himself backtracking quite often. He didn't know where he was going half the time. Having brushed up on this area's driving laws might have been a good idea. Thankfully he managed to stay on the road and not get pulled over.

Halfway there, he realized that he should probably get her something. He had to lose his way even more by finding a floral shop. The man walked away with a bundle of daisies. Maybe she would like them, and maybe she wouldn't. He had to make the gesture at least.

Luke finally found the strange looking cottage. Strange to him- well, to muggles in general- anyway. He thought it was interesting and couldn't have been in a more beautiful spot. The young man hadn't seen much of this country outside of The Lord of the Rings, which was pretty embarrassing.

Parking the blue car on the side of the road, he was slow to get out. A wave of nervousness washed over him as he grabbed the flowers and started up the walkway. He didn't know what he was setting himself up for. It was too late to turn back now. Really, it had been too late once he'd first stepped into the airplane. Breathing in sharply, he knocked several times before staying his hand.

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

As her thoughts consumed her a distant tapping slowly edged its way into her consciousness. Looking around her she tried to decipher just where it had come from when at last it dawned on her that someone was at her front door. The walk back wasn't long at all, she picked her way over the gravel carefully though it was charmed to feel smooth underfoot. The sun shimmered in the sky behind her, casting her golden hair in an almost halo against her honey toned skin. As she turned the corner to greet whoever was on her front porch, her silver orbs lit up in bewilderment and disbelieve.

If this was someone's sick joke then she was falling for it hook, line and sinker. If he was real then she would always believe in the goodness of magic and the wonders of fate forever more. Had her wishing so hard for him brought him here? Bella didn't think her magic was nearly that strong but it was a nice sentiment all the same. Her feet continued to move slowly around until she was at last near the steps of the porch. Her gaze had not wavered from him once.

She wanted to pinch herself to make sure he was real, pinch him to make sure he would not just leave instead she stood rooted continuing to regard him as if he were the most precious thing she had ever seen in her entire life.
"Luke... is that really you?" her soft gentle voice was nothing more than the beat of butterfly wings on the gentle breeze, her heart seemed infinitely louder. If she had a cup of joy at that moment it would be filled to overflowing and that was simply from seeing him again after so long.

 

[Luke Bennett]

It was impossible not to stare at Isabella as she was at him. Once again, Luke was the slackjawed idiot that infatuation made out of every male. He would've gazed into her eyes forever if that was possible. Unfortunately, it wasn't. His cheeks reddening, he held out the daisies. "I tried to find flowers as beautiful as you, but since there weren't any, I settled with these," he said quietly. He couldn't believe the sentence that had escaped through his teeth; it was dripping with cheese.

There was no turning back time for that one. Grinning, he tried to save face. "Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" Isabella was the only girl he would fly across the world for. He would have swam the entire Pacific if he had to.

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

The slight wave of his hair was the same, as was the sparkling blue eyes that drew her in. She couldn't help but smile at him, couldn't help her feet as they moved her ever closer. Her hands reached out to take the flowers, she looked at them and then to him. Had he remembered that these were actually her favourite flowers or had he just gotten lucky, either way it didn't matter. Lowering her face into the bouquet of large daisies she inhaled the familiar scent. She had always loved these, they were unpretentious and so pretty.

Shaking her head as she gazed up at him she continued to smile still dumbfounded that he was here.
"I love them, they're perfect" she told him as tidal wave after tidal wave of emotion assaulted her. Why had he come? Why was he here on her doorstep? Did he ... could he feel the same way as she did? Afraid to say anything for a moment she buried her face once again in the flowers, thoughts rushing at her from all sides.

How many times was she going to let love slip through her fingers? How many times would she come so close to happiness and let it slip away? She was done with questions, she wanted only one answer. With the flowers held tightly by their stalks in one hand she cut through the space that seperated them and wrapped her arms about his neck. Embracing him as if her life depended on it.
"I missed you" she moved her face to look into the blue eyes she loved so very much, "I missed you."

 

[Luke Bennett]

Nothing about Isabella failed to be picture-perfect. Luke could have snapped a photo of her at any moment and would never catch one for the trash bin. It wasn't just her looks that strummed his heartstrings; no one who knew him could say that. No, for Luke, this mysterious woman was in command of an orchestra.

The young man might as well have been a clown, what with the dopey grin and lead feet that only Isabella could induce. He was glad that she loved the daisies. While it had been corny, he hadn't been lying at all. Luke knew instinctively that Isabella had been and was going to be the best thing that had ever happened to him. When she snaked her arms about his neck, he could have died right there. Whether he would go to heaven or hell was quite debatable.

His own arms wrapped around her, he smiled. I missed you. Those three words couldn't have been sweeter. "I missed you too; so, I'm here to fix that."

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

She felt his arms go about her and instantly relaxed against him, as if her entire being had been waiting for that reassurance from him. His words were a bonus and instinctively she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, wanting of course to kiss him properly but not being brave enough to make that kind of first move. Isabella was bursting with one emotion at that point, she was so afraid of blurting out that she loved him that she had to look to the flowers again.

"You're ... here to fix that?" she hoped beyond everything that he meant that he was here to stay but she couldn't be certain of course. How many times had she been left down before? And yet a voice whispered to her that Luke had never let her down, that he had always been there for her and somehow she knew he always would be. She took his hand and opened the front door to let them inside.
"You must be exhausted" she could only imagine what it must have been like to travel in one of those muggle contraptions that flew in the air and for the duration it took as well. As they went inside to was to walk directly into the small living room space, a stairs led from that downstairs to the kitchen, dining and utility area while another staircase led upstairs to the only bedroom and bathroom.

inside her cottage

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke's cheeks were soon burned by stinging lips. When she had turned away, he brushed his face, as if to preserve the kiss with his fingers. He followed her inside her home. The place was the perfect size, not too spacious. It was cozier than a giant's mug of hot chocolate. He shrugged at Isabella's comment. "The jet lag hasn't kicked in just yet; and it's nothing that won't be cured with sleep." The young man smiled, looking around the house. "When did you move in?"

He was careful not to reveal that a monster was chewing away his insides. What needed to be said and/or done was berating him at every moment. He should have kissed her back, should have made that second move, considering he was too chicken for the first.

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

Isabella smiled attempting to understand what this jet lag must feel like but seriously couldn't comprehend it at all. She did have a few potions brewed though and thought that one to help unwind and simply relax him might help him after such a long journey. It couldn't have been very pleasant to travel in what resembled a metal bird. Suddenly the word 'sleep' hung in the air and she blinked, her mouth opened and closed a moment before she blinked again. There was only one bed here and certainly no room for another, unless of course she put him up in the attic. She could make it extremely cosy with a flick of her wand, her new wand.

"A few months now, nearly three" she told him, suddenly feeling awkwardly shy around him. Even when they had been together in Canada she didn't think they had much alone time, the threat of Eric or Christian racing in was always there.
"How are the boys? And Julie and Tristan?" she asked walking over to where a narrow stairs was situated and indicated for him to follow her. Removing her wand she cast it towards his bag and sent it ahead of them to the attic. It was easier than lugging it up the narrow stairs at any rate. At the top of the stairs was her bedroom, no corridor or landing as she being the soul occupier had not considered needing one and the elderly lady who had lived here before her had pretty much been a spinster. Her eyes darted to her large comfy bed glad that she had dressed it at least that morning. They had to pass the bed to get to the even narrower step ladder that led up to the attic but at the foot of it she stopped and turned to face him.

"I can't" she suddenly said, "I can't let you sleep up there. It's just too cramped and pokey but there's only..."
her gaze shifted to her bed, Bella's bravado floundered just a moment before she gazed up at him.
What would he think of her if she mentioned sharing?

 

[Luke Bennett]

If Luke wasn't careful, he was going to take a nice tumble down the stairs. Isabella may have magic at her fingertips, but he wasn't sure he was so confident of her ability to heal a snapped neck. The young man gripped the railing and trailed after her. What a view... If Luke could have slapped himself without looking the total idiot, he would have. He swallowed his thoughts and continued up the steps.

"I'm pretty sure they're doing well, I haven't been to visit in a while." He glanced at the step ladder; the thing a sure promise of accident and agony. With a gulp, he was geared to follow her. And then she stopped. He hadn't even bothered to think of his sleeping arrangements. To be fair, though, he hadn't been certain before if Isabella would invite him inside at all.

Luke's suggestion seemed lamer by the nanosecond, in no doubt helped by bashfulness. "I could, um, uh... sleep on the floor?"

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

Bella listened to him and sighed.
"I miss those two rascals, always up to mischief" she grinned turning to look at him and almost drowning in the instant she did, in the deep pools of his beautiful blue eyes. Hastily she averted her gaze afraid in case she would definitely say or do something out of character or outlandish completely.

"I can't have you sleep on the floor!" she sounded extremely vexed that he would even suggest it and as she fell into contemplation only one thought came to mind... for now. With a flick of her wrist a large duffel looking bag moved out from beneath her bed, dust billowed a little and she was more mortified now by her dust mites than about the possibility of sharing a bed with Luke Bennett.

"There's a lovely spot on the other side of the lake, we could camp out tonight and give the sleeping arrangements another review tomorrow" she wasn't sure if Luke understood just how big the inside one of the wizarding tents actually was. From the outside it seriously resembled a patchwork two man tent while on the inside it had three rooms and a main sitting room where they could also eat. Each bedroom came with its own beds and bedding, the flooring carpeted with Persian looking rugs. It was quite impressive to see for the first time.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke shrugged his shoulders in a display of defeat. He wasn't about to argue with Isabella, though he'd spent many a night on the floor. A few blankets and a pillow were all a man really needed. Isabella's suggestion seemed reasonable enough, and solved their situation temporarily. "Sounds good to me," he responded, grinning, "Do you have a tent or do you prefer the sky as a ceiling?" The corny lines rolling off his tongue were nothing short of horrifying. Perhaps he should can it and allow Isabella peace and quiet? The way she could strike him with a bad case of the dumb just wasn't fair.

 

[Isabella Ormonde]

She tapped the duffle bag as she smiled up at him.
"This is our tent" she grinned, gazing down at it. It wasn't long with the help of a bit of magic of course before they had the tent set up down by the lake. She had asked Luke to start up a fire though she could easily have done up but she wanted him to feel needed here. Bella also put her new wand away for the rest of the evening, planning on putting it away completely unless she absolutely needed it. With Luke here she wanted things to be as normal as possible now, well as normal as possible for him. She felt out of her depth no matter what, it was only being around Luke that she felt any way calm.

As the evening sun set they sat on opposite sides of a camp fire staring out across the lake. It had been a pleasant day, the cooking over the fire had been beyond difficult but she had eventually managed it without the aid of magic and was proud of herself as a result. Stealing a glance over at him she could not contain the smile that graced her features, she felt happy. Happier than she had felt since ... well, since she had left him to return to New Zealand. She hoped the days ahead would be just like today and maybe somewhere along the line, she would feel brave enough to tell him that she cared for him.