Midnight in Italia
Italia dungeons, May 16, 210
A whip slashes across my back and I scream. “Padre prega di smettere!(Father please stop!)” He looked back at me with menacing eyes. “Tu sai che questo è ciò che succede quando mi disobbedire. Anche se penso che mi sento l’altra punizione più.(You know this is what happens when you disobey me. Though I think I’m feeling your other punishment more.)” He laughed, his voice dark, as he ripped off the remaining clothing I had on and began taking his off. He moved closer to me, his eyes shining, and his laughter filled the room.
Princess’s Room, January 23, 1250
It is dark outside. The full moon bathed the world in a shadowy white. I sit in my bedroom’s window seat watching the outside nocturnal world, wishing I could go out and play. My navy blue dress flowed out around me as I move to grab my journal;
Dear journal,
This morning I awoke to a nightmare. My dad had killed a boy I have grown very fond of. I’ve been watching Kai ever since he was a small infant. His parents were nearly killed by a vicious band of demons. Kai was very lucky to have survived the demon’s mischievous plans. Since I’ve begun watching over him from the shadows, he’s become nefarious, and sneaky. Although his intentions are pure, he doesn’t know the truth. When I saved his parents they told me they had no intentions of harming their beloved child, so they had me take him to the High Priest. I did as they wished and then began watching him for Mary and James. Kai now has his heart set on destroying and ridding the world of demons. Which I can’t blame him for doing since he believes his parents were killed by demons. Unfortunately, this means I can’t get too close to him. Not only that but if I don’t turn him the next time I see him, my father said he would kill him in front of me…
I stand and set my journal on the window seat, under the small black throw pillow Mother made me. “Per l’amore della mia vita (To the love of my life),” is what she had embroidered onto the pillow. I walk over to my wardrobe and pull out the peasant’s clothes I found when we bought it. I haven’t been able to see Kai in about a week, so I’m not sure what he’s doing or whether he’s okay or not. After removing my dress I pull on the peasant’s dress and cloak. Pulling the hood over my head, I begin my descent out of my window.
I hasten down the vine and onto the moon bathed ground. As I stand there for a brief moment, the cold, brisk, night air rushes over me in waves. I then press myself against the castle wall and run down the corridor toward the front gate.
The guard looks at me funny, then asks, “Dove stai andando nel bel mezzo della notte principessa(Where are you going in the middle of the night Princess)?”
“In città, ho deciso di prendere un paio di cose dal shoppe di alimentazione, dal momento che ero sveglio ancora (Into town, I decided to pick up a few things from the supply shoppe, since I was awake still),” I reply.
He looks at me a moment longer then opens the gate to let me pass. I walk through stopping long enough to say, “Non dirlo a papà su questo per favore, sai come odia me la pittura (Don’t tell father about this please, you know how he hates me painting)” then continue forward.
As I walk into town, I wander over to the supply shoppe. Upon entering I see a puzzling sight. An immortal, not one of our own, is feeding on the shoppe keeper. I notice he isn’t Italian, and that obviously he isn’t from around our province at all. I’ve been around the grapevine a time or two, so I more or less knew a few languages. Not very well though. “Look, I don’t know where you came from, but here, in Italia, we like to keep our existence a secret,” I say, just as he turns around. He is quite handsome, even with the blood dripping down his face. He has dark, emerald green eyes, and shoulder length black hair, hair so black it is like looking into midnight and seeing absolutely nothing. “Well, my apologies Miss, I was just having a snack. I didn’t know someone would stumble in here. Obviously, I was mistaken. I hope I haven’t offended you, Miss..?” He looks at me in puzzlement for a moment. I guess trying to figure out my name, but I hear something just then, so I turn to look out the window. As soon as I do my heart stops and my breath locks in my throat.
Kai! He is walking straight into a vampire’s den, and I have absolutely no idea what this vampire was capable of.
“Che diavolo sta pensando, poteva farsi ammazzare (What the hell is he thinking, he could get himself killed),” I say, just as he walks into the store.
Lucky for me the other guy had enough sense to hide.
“Well, hello good sir. What can I get you today?” I ask, my Italian accent pushing through barely. He looks me up and down, shocked for a moment, and I slowly become impatient. “Well?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shakes himself, stepping forward and bowing as he says, “My name is Kai milady. I’m sorry for the intrusion, but I need some paper and quill pens.” He straightens back up, looking at me again. I shake my head, my hair cascading over my shoulders in lengths.
“Well I don’t know for certain if we have those, but you can certainly look,” I say politely, smiling as I did so. Kai nods, then begins to walk around the store.
“Did you find what you’re looking for sir? Do you need anything else?” I ask, when he comes back, hoping he didn’t hear the urgency in my tone.
He looks me over for a second, then shakes himself again and replies, “Yes ma’am I did.” He reaches into his pouch and pulls out five lira, then places them on the table and leaves.
I sigh with relief, then turn to the major problem at hand. “So are you going to volunteer to be the shoppe keeper, since you drained him dry and all?”
“Well I don’t have the resources to be here during the day, so,” he pauses and shakes his head slowly. “Can’t we place a help wanted sign in the shoppe window? Then come back later to see who comes in?” he finishes. I look at him for a moment. That was an idea, and all we had to do was watch for those who came in. But I couldn’t stay here, I have to go back home. I sigh, shaking my head as I walk up to him.
“I have to go home, so I won’t be able to stay. Come with me, and we will just come back early tomorrow night.” I say, almost exasperated. I walk to the back of the store and pick up my required art supplies, place five lira on the counter and leave the store, with him following close behind.
I couldn’t just leave him there. He didn’t know our ways or laws and that could get him killed. Just where did he come from though to think that was acceptable? “Just don’t say anything, okay? I have enough explaining on my own to do, I don’t need your help on screwing things up,” I toss over my shoulder, barely glancing to check if he is still there.
I continue walking back, with or without him I am going home. I reach the gate and find the same guard on duty. The guard, who I believe is named Incy, looks back and forth between me and the boy.
“Lo trovai a succhiare la vita fuori del detentore shoppe nel shoppe di alimentazione . E ‘ uno straniero, e sarà alloggiato con noi finché non trova una casa adatta per se stesso la sua in Italia . Io parlare con il padre per la situazione, ma non dovrebbe avere molto di un problema con esso (I found him sucking the life out of the shoppe keeper in the supply shoppe. He’s a foreigner and will be staying with us until he finds a suitable home for himself here in Italy. I’ll speak with my father about the situation, but he shouldn’t have much of a problem with it).” I made sure to explain fully, so there wouldn’t be any questions. I don’t believe that guard ever liked me, because he always gives me a hard time about everything. He nods once though, surprisingly, and opens the gate to let us through.
“Stay here while I get changed,” I said. He waits outside and I set my supplies down and change back into my navy blue evening gown. This would definitely be interesting, I think. If he didn’t die first
“I need to speak to my father about getting you settled in for a little while. Stay here until I summon you inside,” I pause thinking briefly. “What is your name? So I know what to summon you with.” I ask. He looks at me for a moment and then bows. “My name is Alexander, but you may call me Alex or Xander. Whichever you prefer.” He straightens as I open the door, and go inside.
“Ah, padre, come stai (Ah, father, how are you)?” I ask as he turns to look at me.
“Molto bene la mia cara figlia, cosa ti porta a mie stanze questa sera (Very well, my dear child, what brings you to my room tonight)?” He beckons me forward, and I slowly walk over to him.
“Mi piacerebbe parlare con tuo padre. Sono andato questa sera per trovare uno spuntino adeguato (I’d like to speak with you father. I went out this evening to find a suitable snack).” I lie but continue on. “E mentre la mia caccia ho trovato un uomo di alimentazione su un custode shoppe. E ‘ uno straniero, e ho pensato che forse avrebbe potuto rimanere per un po’ finché non trova un luogo adatto dove stare. Volevo parlare con te prima di decidere su qualsiasi cosa (And while on my hunt I found a man feeding on a shoppe keeper. He’s a foreigner, and I thought perhaps he could stay for a while until he finds a suitable place to stay. I wanted to speak with you before I decided on anything).”
He looks at me and seems to consider that a moment before he says, “Va bene, può stare. Ma non voglio tollerare alcun comportamento scorretto da questo giovane. Se è di rimanere deve imparare i nostri modi, o può essere un momento molto male per lui qui. Do Sono stato chiaro Lilja (Alright, he may stay. But I will not tolerate any misbehavior from this young man. If he is to stay he must learn our ways, or it may be a very bad time for him here. Do I make myself clear Lilja)?”
“Sì padre, farò in modo di fargli sapere. Lo troverò una stanza di rimanere in domani. Grazie. Hanno un grande riposo di tuo Padre serata (Yes father, I’ll make sure to let him know. I’ll find him a room to stay in tomorrow. Thank you. Have a great rest of your evening Father).” I reply, curtsy and leave the room.
As soon as I step out, I am bombarded by questions. “So? Am I allowed to stay? Is he going to kill me? Do I get my own room, if I stay? Oh, do I get my own maid to bring me stuff?”
“Alexander, please do me a favor, shut up, okay?” I walk down the hall toward my room. “Yes, you get to stay. No, he’s not going to kill you. Yes, you get your own room, just not tonight. No, you don’t get your own maid service.” I say exasperatedly.
I enter my room, and he follows me inside. “You will sleep on the floor. I’ll get you a pillow and blanket. But when I say I need to change clothes, you will leave my room, and stand outside the door. Is that clear? And you better get some sleep, because we get up during the day, so your training starts bright and early tomorrow.” I smile and wave him off. He looks shocked for a minute, then sighs and leaves.
I quickly change into my navy blue nightgown which is short, lacey, and see-through. The only thing I wear underneath it is a navy blue pair of underwear and bra. I didn’t care about what he thought of me, nor what he could see since it wasn’t much, so I told him to come in and threw on a robe. He immediately starts asking questions again.
“What do you mean you wake up during the day? And what training? I don’t–” He stopped abruptly when he saw what I was wearing. He smirks, then says, “Wow, princess, if you wanted to seduce me, all you had to do was ask. With such a beautiful face I wouldn’t have turned you down.”
I give him an unamused glance, then reply to all his questions, “I was born a vampire; so were my parents. We can go out during the day. Any vampire with our blood in their system can travel out in the day as well. As far as your training goes, if you’re going to stay in Italia, then you need to learn our customs, and our language, so you are able to speak with my father. I have training as well so you’re not the only one that has to learn certain things. Although mine’s a different type of training.” I look over at him and find him staring at me.
“Unfortunately, once I give you my blood we will be tied until my blood leaves your system. After that, we won’t be tied anymore, obviously.” I turn and sit on my window seat, staring out my window.
“So, wait, let me get this straight. I’d have to drink your blood? Isn’t that illegal? By the rules of the king and queen, they’ve strictly forbidden that kind of thing.” He says, astonished.
“Okay,” I say with a sigh. “So, if you haven’t noticed by now, I’m actually the princess of Italia. Every hundred years or so I’m forced to fake my death, then come back as the daughter or granddaughter of one of the kings or queens of this time. Which happens to be my mother and father. They are forced to have children with mortals, so the offspring grows old and dies. As far as parliament goes, we must follow its rules. No matter how stupid we may think it is. We also have our people and our brethren follow parliament as well.”
I pause at the sudden knock at my door. Figuring it is a maid, I call out, “Entrare (Come in).” On cue, a small petite girl comes in wearing a maids’ uniform.
“P-principessa, volevo solo sapere se avete bisogno di qualcosa (P-Princess, I just wanted to know if you needed anything),” she stammers.
“Hey, that’s not fair. You get maid service, but I don’t? I’m your guest after all. I should get maid service, especially from such a fair lady as she,” he walks over to her and places an arm around her waist, pulling her toward his side.
She freezes, looking frightened. All the maids are humans and know about us, but are sworn to secrecy. The older ones are used to our rantings however, the younger ones are more scared. After all, they had every reason to be.