Despite the fact that spring was almost over, the snow barely started melting properly up in the untouched mountains containing the Dragon Sanctuary. The cold always had a way of making Talia feel as if it existed only to hurt her, chapped lips, rough hands and irritated skin attesting to that. To say that she was your typical city girl would be an understatement.
She had never felt as cold or as lonely as she did during her early stay at the sanctuary. The harsh mountain air and cold winds kept her inside the tent for most of the time, huddled in a thick blanker near one of the heating sources. She even started drinking tea just to warm her up since coffee in such large quantities made her far more jumpy than regular.
Now however, she settled into a routine that made her feel more normal with each passing day. The sun finally had enough power to heat up the frail tent, Talia lavishing in every ray she could. And that was the plan she had in mind, as soon as she finished writing her letter.
"Dear Talbott,
While I did expect to be met with silence as I have not written to you at the beginning, it had been more than six months without a word from your side. I know what you're doing and to be franc, I don't like it, but for whatever reason you keep telling yourself in order to sleep at night, you keep on doing it. You got what you wanted, you won. I am here and you are there, the separation complete, yet it appears we have to continue suffering from it further." A steady hand continued to pour letters upon the empty paper, quickly filling it as emotions bleed outside the quill.
For the first three months, Talia did nothing more other than hide. Inside the tent they had given her, inside the untouched mountains in the Romanian dragon sanctuary. Away from the world, away from her own broken heart. Letters from people left behind started coming in, yet it took her some time to pick up a pen and write on her own. At the beginning she just played over and over inside her head all the events that transpired during her short return to England.
At the end of her analysis, more questions surfaced, each one more painful than the other. What if she had listened to Snape and had not returned? Talbott would not have met her, he would not have been hurt by her past, he would have not been hurt at all. He would have not ignored her as he was doing.
They would have never met…
"I want something from you. I left in such a hurry, I did not bring a picture of us with me. Please send me one, even if it's just the picture and not a letter. I miss you, despite it all."
Bill had related to Charlie all that he knew, his little brother being the only one who knew who the mysterious girl actually was. However, despite the information he possessed, not only had he not uttered a word to anyone, but he also did not speak of past events. He let her, slowly and gradually come out of her shell, acting towards her as a brother would, including Talia in every activity he did.
Alongside him, Felix also took it upon himself to make her feel welcomed.
He started teaching her where to go, how to act around the dragons, everything to ensure she would be safe. He considered it a win when she finally began speaking to him in a soft voice, fire filled eyes watching him with interest.
She refused to show anyone the darkness that threatened to color her eyes, she refused to also show anyone the turquoise depths she inherited from her father, instead keeping alive the embers burning in her orbs, causing people to stare even more and whisper behind her back.
But their words meant nothing to her.
Charlie would always silence them, Felix eventually beginning to do the same and stand up for her. She never asked them to do so, yet also never stopped them. It was their decision, it meant they saw more in her than an aloof, quiet girl. While at the beginning she could not care less for anyone there, slowly she fell for their charm and caring nature, deciding it was not so bad to keep Felix and Charlie near her.
Reading over the first page of the letter, she sighed, leaning back into the chair, closing her eyes as she discarded the quill from her hand, fingers massaging her temples before focusing back on the letter, deciding to tear it up to pieces.
Picking up a new sheet, she dipped the quill once more in ink.
"My dearest Talbott,
I hope that time is kind on you, as kind as it can be given the chaos we are living in. Despite you knowing exactly where I am, I have yet to hear anything from you." It had been getting harder and harder for her to maintain a neutral tone throughout her letters, especially with how he always countered in typical Talbott fashion, with silence.
On her desk a stack of recent letters stared back at her. Tonks, Mirunna, Moody, even Snape wrote to her.
Before she had any more time to dwell on her loud thoughts, a voice distracted her "Talia are you in there?" glancing over at the mirror, the color of her eyes shifted upon hearing Felix voice, her trying to relax her face muscles, schooling her features in that neutral mask she chose to show them.
"I'm here, come in." peaking inside the tent, Felix offered her a smile however he did not make his way inside.
"I am going to clean up before we head out to the village alright? Did you drink your coffee or do you want me to bring you one?" Glancing over at him, Talia shook her head slightly. Such a gentleman, never too pushy, always considerate from the mud he would more than likely track inside her tent, to her daily dose of coffee, such was his way of ensuring he did not push her.
However, despite his attention to details and her, Talia always kept the ruse going, chosing to act as if she barely noticed him "All good Rosier, shout out when you want to go."
A small frown appeared on his face, eyes rolling "How many times do I have to repeat it to you Talia? Please call me by my first name."
Waving her hand, she turned back to the desk "In your dreams Rosier, now hurry up." Suppressing a chuckle as he huffed before leaving her alone once more, Talia tried to focus all her attention back to the letter.
"I know why you are doing what you're doing, but I can't imagine it's easy on you. You are once again alone by choice, just like before. People aren't meant to be alone Talbott, it's not in our nature, no matter what we chose to tell ourselves. But I am respecting your wishes, staying hidden, safe in this boring sanctuary. If not even dragons can provide a source of entertainment for me, then I am really starting to believe something is wrong with me."
Shutting her eyes, she frowned whispering to the air "I can't keep doing this." Picking up the letter from Snape, she almost wore the edges thin with how many times she read the events of that year with Harry and the chamber of secrets. However despite Voldermort managing to slither his way into Hogwarts, from what she picked up, things were quiet her end.
Too quiet.
But it was not like she could return to England in order to help. She would never return, it was a promise made to herself, one she wanted to keep with every fiber of her being, despite multiple voices in her head telling her to just walk all over her heart and go back.
"And do what?" she asked once more to the empty space, cradling her face in her hands.
She had lost herself, more than she was willing to admit. Talia had never poured herself into another person before, never invested feelings of such caliber. So when it all crumbled, something snapped inside her head, almost to the point that she scared herself with the wild thoughts blooming inside her mind, suffocating each breath she dared to take.
So she made a decision to march her butt out of the tent, sit by the fire and take whatever those men wanted to throw her way.
She was no longer worthy of the name Hayes, even the Ministry took it away from her, all her papers now showing the name Crane in big bold letters. Yet she had always hated that name. And so the decision came, she would be just Talia, she even signed the letters like that. And those that did write to her, used the name Hayes, never Crane.
"I will never be a Crane." Letting out a shaky exhale, her eyes rose back to the desk, a letter from Tonks distracting Talia. She shook her head once more at the unorganized handwriting, however it fell more or less in the style she had imagined for her.
It was probably Tonks that kept her right above the surface as she was the only one willing to still talk about Talbott, despite her spilling the beans and confessing he expressly told everyone not to share any details about him. He wanted to make himself unknown to the world, towards Talia especially and that stung deeper than anything.
However she still wrote to him weekly, detailing adventures or stories she heard, anything that might take his mind off the missions that were growing in number, becoming more and more dangerous. She tried to keep him afloat if that was even possible, push down her own pain and the thoughts hammering against her skull, painfully drilling doubt inside her.
"Well I need to be off as we are heading to the village and guess what? I am taking the car, if I can even start it. I bet you ten galleons that Rosier will yell at me again, I swear, he knows nothing about Muggle contraptions and I intend to torture him with everything I know. This is my goal for the upcoming summer.
Take care of yourself, don't forget to eat a proper meal at least once a day."
Pausing, the tip of her quill hit the paper as tears threatened to drown her eyes. Instead of signing it with her usual "Love, Talia" this time she just hastily scribbled her name, softly blowing to dry the ink before taking an envelope and shoving the letter inside.
Countless times she fought the urge to write to him, each week the same battle beginning and ending on the same note. However, frustration managed to rear its head more often with the passing months. At one point she even thought he had left the apartment they rented, however Tonks assured her he still lived there.
Placing the letter inside her bag, she grabbed her coffee cup and headed outside, inhaling the crisp morning air, pulling the shawl tighter around her body. She wondered how the apartment look like after half a year. Was he cleaning it properly? Was he cooking for himself? Did he remove the pictures with them?
"What's with that sour look on your face?" turning her head, Charlie smiled as he approached her tent, taking a seat on the available chair she pulled out to create a small terrace, the furniture squeaking under his weight "You should be happy, it's warmer out now, perfect for a walk."
"Mhm." She just forced herself to make a sound in order to show him she heard the words coming out of his mouth. Stealing the cup from the table, he took a sip, no protest leaving Talia.
"Come on, talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
Rolling her eyes, she finally looked his way "My head is just fine Weasley, don't test my patience please."
Shoving the cup her way, true concern set in his eyes as his brows furrowed "That's just the thing Talia, it seams that lately there isn't much of it to go around." Taping his fingers against the small wooden table, he insisted further "I'm not saying talk to me if you don't want to, but you need to talk to someone. Maybe in your letters?"
Forcing a bitter smile on her lips, she pulled her legs up, resting her head on her knees "Too bad the person I want to speak to isn't talking to me." Taking the cup back to distract herself from the feelings threatening to overflow, she took a sip "I don't know anymore, maybe I should stop trying."
Charlie bit down on his lower lip trying to formulate a response without uttering Talbott's name. She never mentioned him, Bill did and he would be damned if he would be the first one to make a mistake and let his name slip from his mouth "Look" he extended a strong hand to touch her shoulder "You don't appear to be a quitter, not by a long shot, maybe you just need a different approach."
"Maybe." She uttered softly, offering him a genuine smile "Alright, come on, let's see if that old car will start. I am taking it to town today."
Charlie chuckled, imagining the face Felix would make "You know he won't get in with you."
"Well maybe he needs to give it a chance and not yell at me I will not get into that abomination." She giggled offering her best Felix impersonation causing Charlie to let out a loud snort, laughter catching him off guard.
By the time Felix finished getting ready, they managed to get the car running and as expected, he was not happy. Cocking a suspicious brow, he eyes Talia intently "And you wish for me to accompany you in that horrendous Muggle contraption? Over my dead body." He did not even have time to contemplate why Talia and Charlie doubled over in laughter. The following moment, Charlie forced his slender friend in the passenger seat, pulling the belt, securing him in.
"Hold on Rosier, this will be a fun ride." Talia yelled over the sound of the engine as she started driving on the path.
"Let me out of here this instant!" laughter filled the car as Talia changed gears, winking at him.
"Live a little would you?" as she concentrated on the road, Felix settled down just due to the fact that was the first time he actually seen Talia not only smile, but genuinely laughing. He would endure a car ride for that sole reason.
Author note: Well people, we are diving in Arc Three. Yes, finally. This will be interesting and we will be shifting between Talia and Talbott, following closely with all the events.
Stay tuned, this will be wild.