A.N. All right, I'm back. Don't worry; I don't think I'll junk this story. It's just that I hit a major block and sort of lost track of how I want this to proceed. The original plan doesn't appeal to me much now. I think I can delve deeper than that. After all, this is my first story; and I have to admit that I've come a long way since I first started out. So there will be some changes to my plans for this story. For the better.
Lure: Chapter 10
The warmth of the morning sun gently roused a slumbering blonde from her sleep. Fleur peeled her eyes open with slight difficulty. She was not feeling any much better than the day before. The emotional stress still weighed heavily on the woman. Fleur let out a sigh. A particular brunette was going to drive her up the wall eventually if she continued plaguing her mind. The troubled blonde ran a slender hand through her tresses and swore to cleanse her mind of the girl.
It was not going to be the easiest of all tasks.
Going about her usual morning routine in a daze, Fleur almost tripped over the carpet twice. Grumbling in French under her breathe about bad carpeting, she proceeded to freshen up. Emerging from the bathroom while absent-mindedly drying her face with a towel, the young woman heard a sharp noise; a distinct knock on glass.
The sound gave her a little start; she took in a sharp intake of breathe at the shock. Glancing around for the source, it was then that she realized a handsome owl standing on the windowsill, a slightly annoyed look gracing his owlish features.
The woman brightened up, lips curling upwards at the sight. She had not expected such a quick reply.
The owl hooted impatiently and fluffed his feathers several times while waiting for Fleur to unlock the catch and allow him entry. After perching himself comfortably on the back of a chair, he nipped Fleur's finger hard.
"Ouch! All right, sorry! I didn't know you would be back so soon so I didn't bother to open the window. Sorry!"
Though still looking rather miffed, he grudgingly stuck out his left leg towards her. Fleur rolled her eyes, making sure that Edrin saw her doing so. She mumbled something about pettiness as she untied the letter attached, placing it on the desk before grabbing some owl treats reluctantly. A part of her did not wanted to do so after that unrelenting nip he gave her, but so as not to risk getting heavily pecked with that strong beak of his, Fleur smartly decided to concede, not wanting him to mar her skin.
After making sure that the glutton of an owl was satisfied, Fleur went back to her unopened letter. She had barely even unrolled it from its tight furl when another owl swept into the room, stirring up a gust of wind. The lady jumped in shock, dropping the letter she was holding.
The second huge, handsome owl landed on the chair that Edrin had just vacated and turned to look at the blonde with anticipation, fluffing his feathers out slightly. Edrin threw a disinterested glance at the newcomer before returning to his incessant gobbling, greeting the newcomer with a soft and slightly muffled call into the food dish. The other owl responded in his own deep call, which almost sounded like an owl-ish growl.
"Xavier!"
Xavier let out another deep call in response. Fleur petted him lightly on the head, curious to see that her grandmother had apparently also responded to her letter. Not that she was complaining. It was about time she get some answers. She reminded herself to thank Gabrielle. There was no doubt that her sister had forwarded her letter back home. It was just like her to do so; efficient and trustworthy Gabrielle.
Xavier had always been her grandmother's favourite owl. When she was still a small girl, she had always wondered why her grandmother did not choose a friendlier-looking owl. However, she grew to understand as she matured. Xavier was rather similar to her grandmother in many ways. His temperament, his character, and Fleur could almost even swear that he bore a slightest bit of resemblance to Madame Delacour, especially the eyes. She chuckled softly at that thought; that was probably what people meant when they say that pet owners tend to look a bit like their pets.
Fleur carefully undid the bundle attached to Xavier's coarse leg, all the while eyeing his claws vicious-looking claws that were scarily long.
"Share ze treats with Xavier, Edrin. Don't fight, all right?" She added more owl treats into the bowl. Edrin gave an assuring hoot, before moving aside to let Xavier have his share.
Fleur gazed absent-mindedly at the platonic interaction between the two owls. Although sometimes she could not help worrying that Edrin would be bullied by the larger Xavier, it never failed to amaze her how the two, with strikingly different personalities for owls, could get along so while as thought they were brothers.
She could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy, wondering if that would ever be possible between Hermione and herself. Then, she shook her head at her silliness; who would juxtapose a pair of owls to humans?
Heaving another sigh, Fleur bent down to pick up Gabrielle's letter.
0.0
Fleur,
Just TALK to HER ALREADY SISTER.
If you don't, you would never ever figure out what is wrong! Follow your heart!
Nope, not dreadfully shocked or anything. Though I have to admit that I was indeed stunned. Not for long though; about 5 seconds. No permanent damage!
Oh, and I forwarded your letter home. Which was what I expect you would have wanted me to do anyway. So I guess you will get a reply from them soon.
Love,
Gabrielle
0.0
Fleur gave a small chuckle. It seemed that Gabrielle shared her sentiments. Now, she would just have to find some way to confront the girl who was bogging her thoughts almost every single day.
Fleur ripped open Madame Delacour's letter and gasped in surprise at the length of it. The entire length of the parchment was printed in a delicate, cursive script. The letter was obviously penned down in a rush, judging from the occasional blotches of ink decorating the parchment.
0.0
Fleur,
MY DEAR! We haven't heard from you for eons! Imagine how happy we are when Gabrielle sent your letter to us! Are you really settling down fine over there? Do you need us to send more food over? I always thought that the English have something wrong with their taste buds. The kind of food they consume; mon dieu.
Forget about the food first, there are more serious matters at hand. You mentioned about your soulmate? All right, I know you and Gabrielle have heard me say this about a million times already (pardon an old woman for nagging), but this issue cannot be taken lightly. Your parents absolutely agree too!
About this fortunate young lady who caught your eye, I am not going to nag at you about your choice. Not like it's your choice anyway, if she really is your destined mate. Anyone whom you have taken a fancy to would definitely be of good calibre, seeing your tastes, so we are not really worried about that. OH je suis desolé! I am digressing! Tends to happen when you get older; pardon the old lady.
So you are having some troubles with the lady? That is actually good! OH NO, but you must not think that grandmother is going batty. I think it's time you get to know about this.
All that is happening between you and the young lady is not unusual. It is common for most veelas to have difficulty getting along with their mates in the beginning. This is because their destined other half still has not seen through their appearance. Unlike others, a Veela's destined mate will react more strongly towards the veela. Things are a bit complicated for same-sex veela couples, as the jealousy, or negative feelings against the Veela, will be amplified in the destined mate as compared to others of the same gender. The extent of these feelings varies between different couples though. This may explain why your young lady is treating you in that manner. I am sorry I had not told you this earlier. When one gets older, one tends to get more absent-minded. Do forgive this old woman.
So, after the mate realizes that the veela is not a shallow creature, like most people's misconceptions, the negative feelings will subside. Therefore, you need not worry too much about it.
Because of the fact that we veelas are such emotional creatures, the relationship will be rather different from others. Your mate will be the only one who can understand the true you, the one that is hidden under the Veela in you (or part-veela). This is sort of a realization that stems from the initial misunderstanding, which ensures that your mate is not bound to you by the pull from your Veela nature, or as we term it, your thrall.
So you can see, my dear, that her current attitude towards you is not that bad. It indicates that she is really your destined one. But it also means that you have to put in a lot of effort to win her over to, so don't be complacent, my dear girl.
Just follow your heart.
Love,
Grandmother
0.0
Fleur suddenly felt light-headed at the immense amount of information loaded on her. Sinking down on to the bed, the woman fell back and threw her arms wide open. She could not help but feel angry. She was angry that the brunette has to put her through all this confusion. She did not ask for it! Why couldn't her destined 'mate' be an ordinary, nice man who could just come and sweep her off her feet?
Not only must she deal with her own emotions now, she has to handle the complexities of the brunette as well.
Simply great.