Alicudi
12:30 PM
Warm, salty, lemon-scented air wrapped around Sirius as he jumped from the carriage and onto the cobbled pavement.
Ignoring the 'tsk' of disapproval from Kreacher, he turned and extended his hand to Aeliana, who hesitated before wrapping her soft fingers around his. Letting go the instant her feet touched the ground, she looked up at him, with a quizzical expression on her face.
Sirius understood the hint, so he nodded to the street in front of them, which sloped down to the coast, and asked, 'Do you want to eat somewhere in particular?'
She did not respond, instead she turned away from him and was gazing almost longingly at a group of teens gathered around a nearby ice cream cart. Their carefree laughter and banter juxtaposed the continuing atmosphere between Aeliana and Sirius.
'Instead of going to eat.' She said finally, while biting her lip. ' I would like to charter a boat and try to see some Hippocampus calves.' She turned her gaze to his and batted her eyelashes ironically.
Sirius's cheeks heated 'I have been instructed to take you to lunch.' He countered firmly, glancing at Kreacher, who was undoubtedly going to report both the day's events and his conduct to Orion.
'My brother and your father, have allotted us four hours here.' Aeliana stated, waving her hand as annoyance crossed her face, 'And considering how our previous meal went, I doubt either of us wants to be stuck at a table together for any length of time.'
'You'd rather be stuck on a boat, in the middle of the sea?' He asked incredulously, running his hands through his hair, and feeling thoroughly annoyed that this girl was going to cause him yet another row with his father.
'Yes,' she said as though speaking to someone who was particularly stupid, 'I'd rather be watching the calves, then gazing awkwardly into my wineglass as we sit in silence.'
Sirius was loath to admit that he both agreed with her and found himself intrigued by the Hippocampus calves. The Italian coast was famous for its herd, and he had only ever seen pictures of them in his Uncle Alphard's travel diaries. But enticing though it seemed, he refused to give her the satisfaction of thinking she could order him around.
'What if my father only gave me permission to purchase lunch?' Sirius asked, knowing how gauche talk of gold was and hoping she would agree to lunch to shut him up. But it surprised him when Aeliana's derisive laughter prevented him from continuing.
'You are not my first suitor.' She said, her eyes sweeping over him appraisingly. 'And if history has taught me anything, it is that your father, like theirs, has given you a king's ransom to lavish upon my every whim.' Her smile was bitter as she said in a determined tone.
'So, if you want to buy my affection, you can start by commissioning us a boat.'
And as she continued to stare up at him, her direct haughty gaze never wavering, a parade of preening wizards rose in his mind's eye, each of them pathetically vying for her affection. Feeling a stab of annoyance, he closed the space between them.
'Ah Marcellus...' He said drawing out her name and staring down at her with what he hoped was an equally haughty expression. 'Hoping that telling me about your other suitors will inspire me to do exactly as you please?'
She once again raised an eyebrow. 'Firstly, I have not given you permission to call me Marcellus, you may refer to me as Aeliana.' She replied coldly, despite a small smile tugging at her lips. 'And secondly, I would not deign to believe that I could inspire jealousy in you, Black,' She emphasised his name, mischief dancing in her eyes, 'My aim was to illustrate my awareness of how you have been instructed to treat me'.
Sirus cocked his head and could not quite contain the amusement in his voice. 'I've not given you permission to call me Black.'
'Then I apologise wholeheartedly for my overfamiliarity.' She stated while pressing her hand over her heart, 'Especially as you have been nothing but a paragon of good manners thus far.' Her eyes glimmered in mock-innocence as a breeze ruffled the stray tendrils of her midnight hair.
The sea glittered temptingly in the distance as Sirius finally relented. Turning to Kreacher, who was standing by the carriage and was studying the teens with an odd expression on his face, he asked,
'Oi - did the old man, say I couldn't take a boat?'
Kreacher threw him a glare. 'Master Orion.' He said, emphasising each word. 'Gave permission for you to do as the lady pleases.' He said while bowing low to Aeliana, who turned and smirked at Sirius.
'Fine,' Sirius said, half exasperated yet excited by the relative freedom of the open sea 'I'll get us a damn boat.'
She smiled triumphantly before stating, 'It is a short walk to the harbour.'
Sirius found himself enthralled by his new surroundings. A cacophony filled his ears, from Vespa engines to swing music and chatter in a wide variety of languages. Shoppers thronged the pavement, and people sat outside cafes drinking coffee and playing chess. Some wore more fitted variations of English robes, whereas others wore traditional Italian robes which were cut from silk and draped like ancient togas.
As they walked through the street, some people nodded their heads in greeting to Aeliana, whereas others stopped to talk, all while shooting inquisitive glances at him. When his companion was occupied for the umpteenth time, Sirius excused himself, retreating into the cool interior of the nearby owl office.
Stepping over the threshold, the hooting of a magnificent eagle owl and the cawing of several large tropical birds greeted him. And he spent several enjoyable minutes poking his hand through the cage bars and allowing a particularly striking macaw to nibble his finger. Increasingly hypnotised by its deep crimson feathers, he was contemplating hiring it to send a letter to James when an unwelcome voice broke his peace.
'Master needs to return to the lady, abandoning her is ungentlemanly.' Kreacher said impatiently.
Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes.
'Give me five minutes.' He declared, while choosing a postcard from a nearby stand. Kreacher looked reproachful and was about to talk when Sirius interrupted him.
'She's still busy chatting.' He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the door. 'And she's not introduced me to whoever that is, so hovering around like a doxy is not behaviour befitting of the heir of the noble house of Black.'
He added a wink at Kreacher, who glowered but did not make a counterargument. Sirius felt a quick surge of triumph. He had long learned that playing to the family vanity occasionally allowed him some leeway with his manners.
Grabbing a quill from the oak counter nearest the cage, he dipped it in ink and hurriedly wrote:
Dear Prongs,
Hello from Italy! I am off to see some Hippocampi with my child bride. If you fail to hear from me in a few days, I have been lost at sea and you need to send help.
Also, I hope you enjoy the bird, such a subtle way to send post.
Your loving husband,
Padfoot.
He quickly re-read the postcard as he greeted the clerk seated behind a counter at the back of the shop.
' I'd like to send this to England using the red macaw.'
The man looked at him blankly and shook his head.
'Non parlo Inglese.'
'I' said Sirius loudly while pointing at himself.
'Send this.' He pointed at the postcard.
'To England….erm…. to... Inglese.' His voice growing louder as he gesticulated towards the bird.
The man watched him, nonplussed, as Sirius repeated himself with larger gestures. And as the man shook his head once more, Sirius knew he needed a translator. Making a gesture for the clerk to hold on, he hurried outside, hoping that this would not be yet another uncomfortable exchange.
Aeliana glanced up at him as he approached, before returning glazed eyes to the mousey-haired witch she was speaking to in French.
'Sorry to interrupt, but Aeliana, I would like your help in the post office.' Sirius said somewhat more abruptly than he had intended. So, he hastily added, 'I would really appreciate it.'
For the second time in five minutes, Sirius was the subject of a confused expression. But to both his relief and surprise, Aeliana politely kissed the other girl on the cheek and bade her farewell. This caused the French witch to stare at Sirius and give him a lascivious wink while suggestively licking the ice cream she was holding.
Sirius rolled his eyes at her as irritation prickled inside him. He hated being on the receiving end of such behaviour. Despite James insisting that most men would revel in the attention that Sirius received so effortlessly, it always provoked a desire to pull his robes up to hide his face.
As they entered the post office, he heard the curious sound of Aeliana giggling.
'Do you find something funny?' He asked her with a faint sense of lingering annoyance.
'A little.' She replied, causing him to bristle.
'Care to share the joke?' He countered, unable to keep the slight bite out of his voice. She turned to face him, her eyes dancing with amusement.
'Elodie.' She gestured to the street. 'Is in my potions class at school and is known for being as quiet as a ghost.' She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before continuing.
'She blushes when addressed by the teacher, so it is quite amusing that underneath her timidity lurks such an inappropriate flirt.'
Sirius's annoyance grew, but he plastered a mock smug smile on his face. 'I guess I just have an effect on witches.'
Aeliana snorted. 'Such modesty.' She said dryly.
'You're the one saying that a few minutes in my presence, turned a timid girl into a harlot.'
'I never called her a harlot, I said inappropriate flirt.' Aeliana shrugged and continued somewhat more seriously, 'And if I am honest, ill-mannered given she had not even introduced herself to you, nor acknowledged your existence until that point.'
Sirius experienced a jolt of shock, and in a softened tone he replied, 'As a paragon of good manners, I have to agree.' And for a moment, the two stared at each other and shared a grin.
Florence, Tuscany
13:00 PM
Regulus gazed at the paper in front of him in frustration, his fingers covered in charcoal and his neck aching from looking up at the marble statue. No matter how hard he tried, he could not seem to accurately capture the breathtakingly delicate veil covering the weeping woman.
It had been a peaceful morning, which was an increasing rarity. Leone had toured him around the Marcellus collection, providing interesting details about the artists who had created the statues and paintings. Leone had then summoned a house-elf to provide him with sketching supplies before promising to return in two hours.
He sighed and wiped his fingers on a handkerchief while rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension. Back at home, he would often retreat to the art and music room of Grimmauld place, whenever a family battle was raging. So, he basked in the pleasure of enjoying his art, without the distant shrieks of his mother and yells of his petulant brother.
Bile rose in Regulus's throat at the thought of his brother. He shook his head, refusing to allow Sirius to interrupt his precious peace. Yet much like their real-life counterpart, thoughts of his brother stubbornly refused to leave. He sighed as the memory of the last day of summer term replayed itself, transporting him back to the Slytherin common room, and Evan Rosier informing him of his brother's latest exploits.
'…Wilks saw him alone in a corridor with that red-haired Gryffindor mudblood…..' Rosier's plummy tones filled Regulus's mind as his cheeks burnt and a sickening emotion filled his stomach.
'….A man may take his pleasure with women of lesser blood, but he should do so discreetly …...' He recalled Yaxley adding to nods from the boys seated around them. Regulus had been utterly humiliated at the gall of a Yaxley, a family of upstarts from nowhere, correcting the conduct of a Black.
He had even said as much before, stalking off to his dormitory and wishing he could punch Rosier for humiliating him so.
The Rosier family had always coveted the social position of the Blacks and had thought they had secured a modicum of it when Druella Rosier successfully seduced his uncle Cygnus. However, the unhappy marriage had only produced girls and once the primary branch of the Black family had an heir in the form of his idiot brother, any hope of the Rosier's gaining influence within the Black family had been extinguished.
Upon reflection, he could not entirely blame Rosier for basking in the humiliation wrought on the family by their heir. Openly courting a mudblood. What was his stupid brother thinking? Plus, he was sure she was the same filth that beggarly half-blood Snape seemed to covet.
Seducing a woman so far below his station just to goad an enemy was just the sort of unbecoming conduct that Sirius revelled in. Conduct that was aided by how witches pathetically fawned over his good looks- falling to his feet whenever he turned his arrogant face in their direction. Regulus felt a surge of blood through his temples as he remembered various society functions, where his mother would proudly boast about how handsome her eldest son was. All the while, he sat beside her, silently sipping his wine.
He gazed into nothingness for a few minutes before remembering that Aeliana Marcellus did not seem impressed by his brother's beauty. He smiled to himself. It would be poetic justice for Sirius to end up married to a woman who placed no value in his handsomeness.
He basked in this thought for a few minutes until he realised that Aeliana's dowry would make Sirius one of the wealthiest men in England. Plus, Leone's political connections and both the Black and Marcellus name would make his brother's spawn some of the most powerful in Europe. Frustration rose in his chest, and he tore his drawing to pieces.
Alicudi Harbour
13:00 PM
Having sent the macaw on its long journey to England, the rest of their walk had been uninterrupted, and they charted a small azure-coloured gondola from a portly man, with a sun-beaten face, named Enzo.
It transpired that Enzo would not allow house-elves on his boat, as he believed them to be bad luck. So, Sirius had taken Kreacher out of earshot to insist that it was best that he stay on land.
'But young master, can order any number of these layabouts to take him to see the half-fish abominations.' Kreacher had argued while gesturing to the groups of men sitting on brightly coloured chairs.
'I know.' Said Sirius, struggling to suppress the anticipatory joy of being rid of the elf. 'But Father, insists I secure her hand, and she wants this boat in particular.' He schooled his features into neutrality, hoping that using respectful language would persuade the elf. 'Plus, can you imagine mother's reaction if I disappoint Grandfather again? I have to fulfil my duty as heir Kreacher.' He finished earnestly, looking at the elf through half closed lashes.
Kreacher glowered at him for a few minutes but conceded, murmuring something under his breath that Sirius was too excited to pay attention to.
To celebrate ridding himself of the elf's stifling presence, Sirius had asked Enzo via Aeliana, to wait for ten minutes as he hurried to a nearby patisserie.
The sugar-scented air added to his ecstatic joy, and he spent a ridiculous amount of his father's gold on snacks and drinks. His wild gestures and very broken Italian providing much amusement to a group of old men who were seated near the counter that Sirius had emptied of its contents.
On his walk back to the boat, he spotted a small stall with blue striped awnings and purchased a large bucket of chopped sea-bream to feed the calves.
Returning to the Gondola, Sirius grinned at Aeliana's expression of shock at the bucket of fish and boxes of cake, enjoying a thrill of excitement as he threw himself onto the cushioned floor next to her. He nodded to Enzo, who immediately cast both a propelling and steering charm that catapulted the gondola out into the bay. And as the island disappeared, Sirus closed his eyes and basked in the Mediterranean sun, taking deep breaths of briny air as a rare weightlessness overtook him.
They were moving through open water before Sirius opened his eyes again and remembered the cake boxes. Unsure of what he had bought during his euphoria; he stared quizzically at the contents for a few minutes before Aeliana spoke.
'Need some assistance?'
He glanced at her and smiled slightly. 'I think I got carried away. I'm not actually sure what some of this is.'
She laughed in a way Sirius had never heard before, and he momentarily wondered if she felt the same thrill of freedom as he did.
'I can help guide you, but first I insist on payment in the form of my favourite pastry.' Before Sirius could say anything, she defied all sense of propriety and ate a crescent-shaped pastry using her hands, all the while smiling like a mischievous child.
They then demolished the pastries, the feeding frenzy only pausing when Sirius delivered a monologue about why uncooked fruit had no place being in a pastry, and for Aeliana to insist that hazelnut chocolate was the closest thing to immortal ambrosia he would ever taste.
With both boxes now empty, Sirius had undone his robes, and was fully reclining against the pillows, basking in the glorious sun, and hoping his skin was not turning too red. He had just taken his first sip of a pleasant, bitter, orange flavoured drink when he noticed the boat had stopped moving and was instead bobbing close to a large rock.
There was a sudden splash as several Hippocampi lifted out of the surf near the boat. Their coats slick with water as they catapulted themselves through the air in graceful arcs, sending a shower of water in their wake. They were truly magnificent, and both Aeliana and Sirius stared in awe as the sun glinted off their iridescent tails and the wind whipped their manes into a great stream behind them.
'Enzo said now would be an appropriate time to feed them.' Aeliana said, not taking her eyes of the majestic display. 'Unless that bucket of fish is for us to share on the trip back?'
Sirius summoned the bucket with his wand, not wanting to look away from a Palomino Hippocampus that was now sunning itself on the nearby rock, its tawny mane and tail contrasting against the basalt.
He offered it to Aeliana, who paused before plunging her hands in and flinging a piece of sea-bream into the water. Where it floated for a few seconds, a red speck in the ultramarine expanse, before a small black head rose from the water and devoured it.
'I am going to smell as bad as you did last night.' She said while laughing in delight as the same calf tentatively approached the boat and she reached out to stroke its silky ears.
'Stop exaggerating.' He gasped in mock exasperation as they both leaned over to pet the creature on the head. 'I couldn't possibly have smelt as bad as a bucket of fish that's been in the sun for an hour.'
She chuckled, and Sirius grinned at the sound.
'As I'm in such a good mood, I will lie to you and admit to exaggerating.' She snickered as the calf licked her fingers and nuzzled into her hand.
They spent the next hour feeding the herd, taking it in turns to refill the bucket using Gamp's duplication. The Hippocampi cavorting amongst the waves until they reached satiation and retired to the rock to sunbathe. Sirius watched them in fascination and considered sending an account of his day to Alphard.
He turned back to Aeliana, who was leaning over the side of the boat to wash her hands now that her favourite calf had eaten his fill, and smiled.
'This was a delightful afternoon.' He said with such obvious sincerity that she beamed at him.
'I told you this would be a better time than being stuck at a meal.' She responded, her eyes sparkling. For the first time, Sirus noticed she had a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks and that her hair had a red glow in the sunshine.
'I concede you were right.' He said, experiencing a slight giddiness and assuming that he had probably spent too long in the sun.
'My initial urge is to lord my victory over you.' She replied while taking a long drag on a bottle of the orange drink.' But for the sake of our newfound and potentially fragile cordiality I will be magnanimous.'
'Potentially fragile?' He asked while nodding to Enzo to start their journey back to the island.
'Yes, you might return to being sullen the second you see your elf.' She stated, craning her neck to get one last glimpse at her little favourite.
'He has that effect on people.' Sirius said darkly as he gazed at the rapidly retreating rock, the lightness evaporating as the boat ferried him back to his elf and family. They sat in silence for several minutes, with Sirius fighting an internal battle to hold on to his good mood. And as the harbour approached, he surmised he owed her for translating in the Owl office, so he should at least attempt to end the afternoon well.
' I am actually supposed to ensure that you eat a solid meal for lunch….so….do you want to go and eat somewhere?' He offered haltingly.
'That would be nice.' She said while scrutinising his face with an indecipherable look in her dark eyes. 'I know a place that serves excellent pasta.'
He attempted a grin but was stopped by the expression of anxiety that flickered across her face, as next to a triumphant looking Kreacher stood Leone Marcellus.