A difficult decision [Tag: Amelle] on Labyrinth Gardens

Rory Taransay

February 13, 2017 4:32 PM

A difficult decision [Tag: Amelle] by Rory Taransay

The end of the term was fast approaching, and with it had come a letter, delivered to Rory by owl that morning. His first thought upon reading it had been excitement, but something else had quickly occurred to him: what about Amelle?

Over the last year, Amelle had become one of the most important people in his life. He loved their time together, the dates they’d go on, her laugh, the fun they had together. Quite simply, he loved her. Which was why, that evening, he sought her out, to ask her opinion on the letter. He tried the library first but, upon finding it largely empty of students and fully empty of Amelle, he headed to the Labyrinth Gardens, knowing that she liked a spot of fresh air.

“Hey, love,” he said in greeting, kissing her, and moved quickly on to the matter at hand. If he had a problem, or at least something to discuss, he liked to deal with it sooner rather than later. It was more practical.

“I got a letter today, from my old friend Brett. Here, you read it – it’ll be easier than me explaining.” He handed her the letter, giving her time to read it before he continued speaking.

Brett had been at Hogwarts with Rory, a few years older but a close friend. The two had bonded over a love of magical creatures, getting shared detentions for keeping ‘unsuitable’ pets, and hounding their Care of Magical Creatures teacher for more experience. Now Brett had written to him, detailing a two-month expedition to East Africa to research Nundus, in preparation for writing a book. And he was suggesting that Rory join him in both endeavours.

Normally, Rory would be thrilled by such an idea. Research into such a creature, in addition to increasing the small amount of literature on the Nundu, was right up his street. He’d been considering writing for a while, seeing it as some way of contributing to his area of interest whilst still teaching, and the expedition fell perfectly during the holidays. However, there were new things to take into consideration. He and Amelle hadn’t made any specific plans for the summer, but Rory had assumed that they would be spending at least some of it together, and had wanted to take her to the Isle of Taransay, to meet his family and see his childhood home. He was torn between excitement at the prospect of a new adventure and his desire to spend more time with Amelle.

“What do you think?” he asked Amelle when she seemed to have finished reading. “It’s a great opportunity, obviously, but it would leave me barely any time to spend with you, and you’re important to me.”

9 Rory Taransay A difficult decision [Tag: Amelle] 33 Rory Taransay 1 5

Amelle Nicchi

February 13, 2017 10:34 PM

How difficult? by Amelle Nicchi

It had been a long day couped up in the library for Amelle. With exams around the corner, the library was packed full if students and she was constantly reminding the students to keep their voices down or cleaning up messes that were left behind. She had no idea what it was about this time of year that had the kids forgetting their manners, but it was an exhausted period of time. Not all students were like that of course, but sometimes it felt like they all were.

So after her long day and the monitors took over, Amelle decided that she wanted fresh air. It was a nice evening anyway. She hadn't been sitting on the bench with her book for long before she was joined by her boyfriend. A giddy feeling engulfed her when he sat beside her and kissed her. She wished they didn't have to be discrete but they had to be professional while on school grounds. So since she couldn't just snog the heck out of him, she instead basked in the knowledge that she would likely be able to do so when the weekend came. "Hey Sexy." She greeted back after the sweet kiss.

"Oh?" She commented, taking the letter from him curiously. It felt a bit weird reading his personal letter, but since he asked her too, it must not have been too personal. As she read it, she became excited for her boyfriend but also acknowledged the pang of disappointment she felt knowing that he was likely going to spend his summer away.

They spent little time alone during the school weeks that she had been hoping that they would make up for the lost time by spending some if their sumer together. They hadn't talked a out anything yet but she had assumed Rory was on the same page. Of course, this didn't mean that he wasn't since he seemed to be asking her opinion regarding the letter, but what could she really say? This was his passion and if she denied him that than he would likely grow to resent her.

Amelle wanted to be selfish and tell him to stay with her so that they would have the honeymoon phase of their relationship that this job had prevented them from having, but instead she smiled at him. "You should definitely take your friend up on his offer." She told him. "You'll regret it if you don't and I don't want to be the reason you dont take this opportunity."

She let her fingers trace along his jawline with affection. "I'm disappointed that I can't have you to myself this summer, but maybe I can visit you while you work? Unless you prefer that I didn't."

6 Amelle Nicchi How difficult? 32 Amelle Nicchi 0 5

Rory Taransay

February 15, 2017 3:25 PM

Everything is easier when I can talk it through with you by Rory Taransay

Amelle’s answer was, to be quite honest, what he had expected from her. He hoped she wanted to spend the summer with him, but he knew that she would be selfless enough to suggest he join the research team. She was wonderful and supportive like that, and Rory really did appreciate it.

Joining the research team did make complete logical sense. Brett had already published a few books, and a joint endeavour would help Rory get his foot on the book-writing ladder. Of course, that didn’t mean he would always consider spending the entire holidays researching for books in the future, but just this once it was definitely the logical thing to do. Even if his heart wasn’t fully in the idea of research trips anymore, a thought which concerned him (he’d always enjoyed them so much!) until he realised that it was because he was so happy with Amelle. That was a more pleasant thought, and made the idea of leaving her all summer even harder to bear.

He sighed, and wrapped his arms around Amelle, resting his head on her shoulder. Having her in his arms was always comforting. “I really wanted to spend this summer with you,” he confessed. “But going on this trip would make things easier in the future, if I want to write more books – and I do.”

Amelle’s suggestion of visiting him cheered him up a little. Of course, he wouldn’t put her in harm’s way, but there were bound to be less dangerous times.

“Of course I’d love you to visit, provided it’s safe for you,” he replied, confused as to why Amelle would think otherwise, and wanting to reassure her that her company was always wanted. He was always happy for more opportunities to spend time with her and to introduce her to other parts of his life.

“And I could see if I could leave the expedition a little bit early,” he suggested, hopeful that Brett wouldn’t be too miffed if Rory left a few days or a week before the trip was officially meant to end. They were old friends, after all, and Brett knew Rory was a hard worker. “We could spend some time just the two of us, or we could visit Scotland together, if you wanted?” he asked, hoping that Amelle wouldn’t be worried about meeting his family, which would inevitably happen if they went to Scotland. Rory knew they would love her, and that they were all excited to meet the woman that he’d fallen in love with.

9 Rory Taransay Everything is easier when I can talk it through with you 33 Rory Taransay 0 5