Towards Cardiff
It was a sunny morning in London, the sun rays beat down like gold on the emerald grass in the courtyard where the kids were reunited around Maeve.
“Okay everyone, today we are going to learn Apparition. Does someone know what I’m talking about?”
Helga raised a hand.
“Yes?”, said Maeve.
“Does it have something to do with making things appear?”
“Yes, it does. More specifically, it is the ability of making yourself appear. We can say that Apparition is a way to transport yourself: disappear from a place and go to another. Now, please stay to the side. I’m going to demonstrate it.”
The kids moved near a column of the ones that enclosed the courtyard.
The witch, who had taken her wand from under her robes, waved it and, with a twirl, vanished into nothing, just to reappear one moment later on the other side of the courtyard.
The kids gasped and clapped their hands, reaching their teacher.
“And now, to the theory.” She made a gesture to the kids, that sat down on the grass, pulling out their parchment and quills.
“To properly Apparate, you have to remember the three Ds: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. You have to be determined to reach your destination, moving not with haste, but with deliberation…”
★★★
At that time Rowena hadn't seen her parents for nearly a year. After they tried to arrange her marriage with that Thomas Ravenclaw, she left her childhood home.
Obviously she tried to save her relationship with them, she wasn't such a wench to go and live on her own without being married, if she could avoid it.
But Lord and Lady Mac Alpin were immovable: they decided that, if she didn't want to get married, she had to find her own means of survival.
She knew that if she changed her mind they would greet her with open arms, but she thought that at seventeen she had to enjoy life, learn new things, explore lands.
So, now that she had the possibility to travel to Cardiff – thanks to Godric – she didn't really have anyone to say goodbye to before leaving.
The next day after Godric’s arrival, Rowena got up early to pack. She didn’t have much with her, mostly books and dresses.
She didn’t care much about having a lot of clothes, but she knew that being a girl means that people are gonna judge her from her look.
Rowena opened the door of her room with a foot and brought her trunk in the hallway, making a loud bang. She stopped and listened. The other guests of the inn were probably still sleeping and she didn't want them to wake up.
The innkeeper had already made her several discounts, and she was planning on staying there after her trip to Cardiff. She had to keep him quiet if she wanted a place to sleep.
Godric had slept in a room on the floor below hers. She went to his door and knocked. No answer. “He's probably still sleeping”, Rowena thought.
She carried the heavy trunk down the stairs for another floor. There, she found Gordic sitting at a table and drinking a glass of juice, finishing his breakfast.
“Good mornende, I thought thee were still in bed.”
“No, I've been awake for some time. I was talking with Elric there.” He nodded to the innkeeper, who was reading some papers behind the counter.
“Yeah, the super-friendly Elric…” The innkeeper turned his head hearing his name and Rowena smiled at him.
Rowena took a piece of bread with cheese from Godric's plate before heading towards the door.
“Ready to go?”
★★★
Apparating in front of the whole of Edinburgh wasn’t really a good idea, some people would have found it a bit…surprising, to say the least, seeing two persons disappearing in front of them, closing and bending on themselves.
And, even though in Edinburgh there wasn’t a persecution in progress against wizards and witches, it wasn’t safe to let people know who they were and what they could do.
Rowena and Godric decided to go outside the town, to avoid suspicious looks.
Godric had found a good spot to Apparate when he arrived, but it was far from the centre of Edinburgh, and they couldn’t go by horse, or they wouldn’t have known where to leave them during their travel.
So they started to walk.
“Still better than riding all the way to Cardiff”, Rowena said to herself, avoiding a sharp twig, a little too close to her long skirt.
After some hours and many stops to drink at a stream, they arrived at a random point in the woods.
It didn't show any sign of human activity, except for a piece of cloth hooked to a low branch.
“A bit tricky, but we can manage it.”
Godric showed his cloak, which was missing a piece.
“When was the last time you Apparated, Rowi?”
“Uhm…let's not talk about this, should we?”
“Do you want to Apparate with me?”
“No, I’m not a child anymore. I can do it on my own.”
“If you say so. Good luck.”
Rowena hesitated for a moment.
“You go ahead, though.”
Godric turned on himself and disappeared into nothing, with a small crack following him.
Rowena waited for some seconds, listening to the silence of the woods.
What was she doing? She lived there, she never left her town on her own. And now she was about to travel all alone.
Well, not all alone. She was with Godric.
She turned on herself, picturing the grove behind Helga’s house.
She never saw it in real life, but Helga, three years before, had sent her a letter describing it, in case she wanted to Apparate there. Rowena just hoped it hadn’t changed too much.
Everything went dark and she immediately felt as if she was being pulled through a tight rubber tube. She had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to Apparate.
She heard a light hum, as if her ears were ringing.
And then, light again. Rowena covered her eyes with a hand, blinking rapidly.
“Hey, are you all in one piece? Did you leave something at home?”, Godric joked, approaching her quickly.
“Very funny. Indeed, I didn't splinch. Let’s go.”
They reached the end of the grove, coming out in the daylight. It was a sunny day in Cardiff, very differently than in Edinburgh, where clouds and rain reigned supreme.
Godric and Rowena arrived in a garden to the side of Gwyther’s manor. There, a shrill voice was singing:
“Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
And you should be, a true lover of mine.”
Rowena ran to her, her face lit up.
“Helga!”
The owner of the voice suddenly stopped singing and turned her head swiftly, getting off the swing where she was sitting.
“Rowena!”