Miss Quinn

185 ~ The Acropolis

It took some convincing for Beatrice to allow Emma to travel alone to Greece. First, because of the obvious threat of Death Eaters. Second, because despite Emma being a full blown adult, Beatrice was worried about her going on a trip with her boyfriend. Most likely because of what had happened to Beatrice when she'd gone traveling to a foreign country alone. But also because it was a place neither of them had been to, and even Cadmus wouldn't really know his way around.

But in the end, even Beatrice couldn't deny that out of anyone, Emma was probably the most equipped to go off to Greece. And, she decided, it would be nice for her to visit the temples and ruins. Experience what was left of her paternal heritage, so to say.

So, two weeks after Cadmus had invited her to come, Emma finished packing her bag for the weekend trip. She'd placed an undetectable extension charm on her knapsack so she wouldn't have to carry anything else, and bought a few disposable cameras to take along so she could snap photos of everything. Cadmus had sent her an itinerary in his last letter, which included how to Floo to the Greek Ministry of Magic from London, and then how to get to the hotel from there. He said he'd be waiting in the lobby for her.

Despite Emma's disbelief, Cadmus had been true to his word on communication. He sent her a letter every three days, recounting his adventures and talking about how excited he was to be around so much art. He gushed over the museums in Florence, and the architecture as well. He'd taken to sitting at cafes and sketching the buildings around him while he sipped his cappuccinos and ate his pastries every morning, then wandering the city and stopping to sketch in various places. He'd done a few day trips to other cities nearby — apparating, so he wouldn't waste time on a train. He recounted the hours he spent in the gorgeous seaside towns of the Cinque Terre, the hustle and bustle of Rome, the impossible city of Venice, and a smattering of small mountain towns. He told her how he'd brought three sketchbooks with him, and he'd have to buy another soon enough because of how much he'd filled already.

Cadmus's letter from Amsterdam was full of somewhat philosophical thought provoked by the paintings of Van Gogh. He was in awe of them, most definitely. And inspired by the man who'd gone mad but painted such beautiful imagery. Emma read the letter every night before she went to sleep, feeling as though it was a window into the way Cadmus's mind worked. The way he saw things.

Next, Cadmus had gone on to Paris, and his letter to her contained a doodle of the Eiffel Tower with a boy and a girl kissing in front of it. The words "wish you were here" were scrawled underneath. Emma hadn't stopped smiling for hours after.

The letters she sent in return seemed so boring compared to his. She wrote about work, exciting things she'd been able to help heal. She wrote about how much her family was enjoying being together. She wrote about how excited she was to see him again.

She did not write about the Death Eater attacks. She did not write about the nightmares she kept having, of Will and Nico trapped deep under the earth. Further into Hell than any mortal had gone before. Nor did she tell him of the nightmares that had begun resurfacing, dreams she'd had as a child that popped up again. Visions Venus woke up screaming about, that not even a sleeping draught could take away.

A small amount of guilt crept its way through her heart every time she pretended she was fine. But withholding information like that from Cadmus was a kindness, not a sin. He didn't deserve to be the bearer of her baggage. Only she could carry that burden.

Emma stepped out of the fireplace at the Athens International Travel office gracefully. Which, of course, meant she stumbled slightly on the landing and barely caught herself before she fell flat on her face. Apparating was so much easier than Floo, she'd decided. Though Floo was still infinitely better than Portkey.