Closed Old Habits Die Hard

[Marleigh Hayes]

New Zealand. Marleigh hadn't stepped foot on soil in this country since the day that a Ministry official showed up at her door early one morning telling her that the muggle airplane that had been carrying her husband had crashed. He'd been on assignment, scouting for Quidditch World Cup locations in Africa. There had been no body recovered of anyone on that flight, which meant there was funeral, which in some respect meant there was no closure. All Marleigh Hayes was left with was a broken soul and a lot of unanswered questions. This place that had once held such love, life and magic for her, now felt empty and void, but nonetheless...here she was.

Nicolae had left enough money for the witch to be able to live comfortably for a while. They had both worked hard to build the short life they had together and her husband had wanted nothing more than for Mareligh to be able to live her music. It was the only thing, other than him, that she loved the most in the world. For months the young witch couldn't bring herself to even look at her guitar, much less produce any new music from it. For the longest time it was like her muse had died the day the life left her husband. But eventually, one day at a time, Marleigh was able to begin the process of working through her grief the best way she knew how...with music.

Years and years had passed, though most days the sting of it still felt like yesterday, and the forty-four year old had built quite a career for herself. She wasn't someone that you'd hear on the radio, but she had quite the fan following and record sales had been good over the years. The brunette felt that she'd worked hard towards the goal that she and Nicolae had shared for her. That, oddly enough, is how she landed herself back in New Zealand all these years later. Up until this point she'd managed to always avoid having shows scheduled in this place. Up until this point she'd managed to not have to come back and face her demons she left all those years ago. The witch sat down at a corner café with her agenda for the next two days and glass of wine. She sipped quietly, trying to avoid the fact that it wasn't too far from here that they'd found her husbands body. Once that thought crept into her mind she quickly downed the remainder of her beverage before ordering another one. Tipsy to slightly drunk was the only way that Marleigh Hayes was going to be able to make it through these next several days without completely breaking down.

 

[Cameron Kingsley]

Cameron Kingsley had only just been adjusting to life as the former Minister when life had thrown him another curve ball in the shape of a divorce. Even though they had told the children it was mutual, it was really Cyndi's choice, and Cameron was having to readjust to life without her. He still loved her, and he knew he always would. She was the mother of his children. However, he could no longer make her happy as she said, and all Cam wanted was for Cyndi to be happy. It was still being kept quiet out of respect for all of their privacy, and Cameron was using his connections to make that happen as best he could.

Tonight, Cyndi was home from the castle, and she was spending time with Eleanor while Noah and Jacob were both at school. Cameron had an apartment that he kept for nights like tonight when Cyndi was with the children. They had agreed that it would be least disruptive to the kids to have Cyndi and Cameron alternate between the house instead of moving the children about. So, Cameron had left the house with the intention of heading to the apartment, but he ended up at a small cafe nearby.

Scanning the room, Cameron was surprised to find a face that he thought was familiar. She was older, but it was definitely the same girl he remembered. She was still as beautiful as she had ever been. An old emotion stirred in his heart, but he pushed it away. He was not the same man that he had been when he asked her to marry him. The pain of the rejection had long since faded. Instead, Cam smiled and headed in her direction to say hello. "Marleigh?" he asked as he reached her. "My, it's been a long time. Mind if I sit down?" he asked, running a hand through his hair that had more grey in it than it should at his age.

 

[Marleigh Hayes]

The waitress had just delivered the brunette another glass of wine when she heard a voice that she hadn't heard in probably fifteen plus years. She grinned crookedly at Cameron. "The New Zealand Minister of Magic. Wanting to sit with little ole me? Whatever did I do to deserve this pleasure," she said with a slight chuckle. Her eyes grazed over him briefly. He still looked the same, only older, but she assumed that he could probably say the same about her. Marleigh motioned to the seat across from her saying, "Good to see you, Cameron. How's life treating you these days?"

 

[Cameron Kingsley]

Cameron chuckled at her comment and shook his head. “Ex Minister actually. My term is over. Claudia Holland has that title now.” he said as he slid into the seat opposite of her. He ordered a beer from the waitress before she flitted away. “It’s been better. Truthfully, running a country for ten years has left my personal life in shambles. Though it is a pleasant surprise to see you here. What brings you to New Zealand?” Cam asked as the waitress returned with his drink.

 

[Marleigh Hayes]

Marleigh's brow quirked as she heard Cameron say that he was now the ex-Minister for Magic. Though she wasn't exactly up to date on all things magical and especially anything to do with the magical world in New Zealand. Somewhere inside of her she was happy to see Cameron. Her first love. It felt odd to even acknowledge that here of all places. The brunette smiled at the man across from her as she heard him speak, but something caught her attention that she hadn't expected. "Shambles? That sounds unpleasant. Anything I can do," she smiled crookedly. Upon hearing his next question she took a sip of her wine and answered, "I have a couple of shows over the next two days. First time I've performed in New Zealand in quite some time. Haven't really had the heart to come back here to be honest" Marleigh observed Cameron for a moment. "I can get you a set of tickets if you'd like!"

 

[Cameron Kingsley]

Cameron shook his head at her question. "No. It's entirely my own doing." he said, taking a sip of his drink as Marleigh said why she was in town, even offering tickets to her show. The brunette man grinned easily at her. "I always knew you'd make it, Marls." he said, generally happy for her. "I'd love to come, but only one ticket needed. Cyndi and I are recently divorced, and she'd rather not be anywhere near me these days. Things changed between us when Kiera died. The final straw was when I let our oldest transfer to Durmstrang when she didn't want him to go. So, she left me once I was out of office." he said, his voice tight. He knew she probably didn't really care, or want to talk to him about this, but Cameron didn't really have any friends. His life as Minister hadn't left him too much time to keep up friendships.

 

[Marleigh Hayes]

Marleigh flushed slightly when Cameron told her that he always knew she'd make it. Partly because she was flattered to hear it from him and partly because it was the same thing that Nicolae used to tell her every day. A light breeze blew across the pair and she was thankful for it as she felt the flush fade from her cheeks as it touched her skin. Her jaw almost hit the floor when she heard that Cameron and Cyndi had recently split and then her heart crushed for him when she heard him say that Kiera had died. The last run in that the brunette had had with his sister had been less than pleasant, but she knew how incredibly close the two of them had been. Marleigh Hayes felt genuinely heart broken for the man sitting opposite her. It didn't feel real that the two of them could have endured such major losses in their lives and yet somehow it seemed to have brought them back here to this place. She reached across the table and grabbed Cam's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. Her brown eyes searched his face for a brief moment. "I'm not going to tell you that I'm sorry because that doesn't mean anything. Not with everything that's happened to you, but I am sorry that it's hurt you so much. You deserve all the happiness in the world, Cameron Kingsley. I hope you know that," she said sincerely as she squeezed his hand again. She wasn't sure if it was the fates or just sheer dumb luck that had brought them back here together all these years later, but she knew what it felt to be completely alone in the midst of tragedy and not know where to turn exactly and she didn't want that for the man sitting across from her. "So, one concert ticket it is. Rumor has it that I know the band pretty well so I might even be able to swing it to where you can come back stage as well. I mean, if that's something you're interested in." The brunette grinned brightly at her ex love and winked playfully.

 

[Cameron Kingsley]

This day was turning out to be very different than Cameron Kingsley had planned. He had not imagined that he would be sitting across from Marleigh, making her blush. He could tell she was trying to hide it, but the slight tinge was there on the face that he had once been his favorite face to see many, many years ago. Cameron was surprised as she reached out to hold his hand in hers, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he smiled at the girl that had once broken his heart into a million pieces, and he felt happier than he had since the divorce had been decided. Cam squeezed her hand back before she let go of him. "You don't know what it means to me to hear you say that." he told her, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones. He chuckled as she joked about knowing the band. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Cam said, grinning crookedly. Fate had a funny way of throwing exactly what you needed in your life, and Cameron found it impossible that seeing Marleigh was just a coincidence. "Have I told you how good it is to see you, Marleigh Hayes?" he said, still grinning at the woman.

 

[Marleigh Hayes]

For the first time in so many years, Marleigh felt incredibly relaxed in New Zealand. It was an odd feeling and one that she had a slight guilt for, but nonetheless she felt at ease being in this place at this particular moment. A text chirped from her phone. "Excuse me for just one moment," she said as she checked the message from her manager. She chuckled slightly and shook her head. "Erm, it seems I have to go. Adam, my manager, seems to have a bit of an emergency," she said as she tucked her phone back in her purse, "Of course the last time he had an emergency it was when his husband had set the stovetop on fire and neither of them knew how to use an extinguisher." The brunette looked across the table to Cameron again before standing and gathering her belongings. "So I'll see you tomorrow night then," she asked hopefully.

 

[Cameron Kingsley]

Cameron nodded his head at Marleigh as she returned, saying that she had to go. He smiled at her as he spoke. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm glad I ran into you today, Marleigh Hayes. Deal with your crisis, and I will see you tomorrow." he said with a grin at her.

 

[Marleigh Hayes]

Marleigh flushed and nodded with a smile. "I'll see you then," she said as she walked off and then turned to add, "It was really good to see you Cam." The brunette walked away, feeling like a bit of the weight that she'd been carrying with her earlier was now gone. Nicolae was gone and there was nothing she could do to change that, but if he could see the way she'd been living, afraid to open up to anyone else, he'd be livid with her.