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This is a story idea I had a while back. I never really got to write it until now. So here goes!
ENJOY!
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PROLOGUE
1848// NAPOLI, ITALIA
Awakening from the deep slumber into which I had fallen, the sounds of cries and screams reached my ears. Feeling my heart pounding like the wings of a caged bird, I rose from my bed, instantly heading over to my sister, Rosabella, to see if she was safe. A small feeling of relief swept through me, which all too soon faded, as the echoing sounds of pain and fear resonated through our mansion. Meno Male, my little sister was still asleep, her tiny, delicate frame rising and falling softly. I did not want her to hear all this, whatever this was. Luckily she was a deep sleeper.
The shouting got louder and I concentrated hard, straining to see if I could hear anything. My mother's frantic voice reached my ears, making my heart beat faster, as my pulse started racing faster. Swallowing, I listened to all that was being said. "We don't want to have anything to do with this! We want to stay out of everything!"
Nothing to do with what? Stay out of what? I thought to myself as I shuffled quietly along the floor to the door. My door was open, so I slithered out and walked silently to the wooden banisters, hiding securely behind a thick wooden pole. I could see the lounge from here and looked down to see two men in neat clothes yelling at my parents, their voices rising with each word they spoke. They were speaking about how we needed to revolt and that people had better lifestyles and treatment in Rome. The conversation was persuasive, even to the point that I found myself wanting to go to Rome, but my Mama was steadfast in her opinion. She wanted nothing to do with the Revolution.
The men stared at Papà, waiting for his opinion and he nodded in agreement. The rest was all so fast; one minute the men were standing there, the next they had retrieved the guns that they had kept hidden. Four loud, deafening gun shots later, in less than a heartbeat, my Mama and Papá fell to the floor, a bullet-sized hole in their heads and chests. The sight made bile rise to my throat, and I fought back a scream that threatened to escape, tears blurring my vision, as I stuffed my fist into my mouth, to stay silent. The words of my parents' killers' rang in my mind, as I ran back into my bedroom, my pounding triple times.
"Distruggere tutto!"
My heart was beating frantically in my chest as the words ran through my head. Destroy everything. There was the sound of scrambling as the two men rushed to destroy the evidence of my parents' death. How, I had no idea. I rushed into mine and Rosabella's room, running to my sister's side. "Svegliati! Rosabella, svegliati!" I hissed, frantically, shaking her, lightly. A small moan escaped from her lips as I continued to shake her, until eventually she woke up, her eyelids fluttering. "Rosa, we need to leave. Now!" I whispered, tugging on her arm. Passing her a coat, I shuffled on my feet, nervously, as she slid into it and slipped on a pair of shoes. My heart racing, I grabbed Rosabella's hand, as we ran into our parents' bedroom, scrambling in their drawers' to find some coins. "Dove sono mamma e papà?" Rosabella questioned, softly, from beside me. "They've gone to find money," I replied, lying uncomfortably, "for us to leave."
She nodded hesitantly, and grasped my hand as I rifled through the drawer trying to find a map. A small breath of relief escaped my lips as I found a map entitled 'The Papal States and Kingdom of Sicily', and left the room, running to the nearest exit with Rosabella. We couldn't afford to be seen, not when our lives' were in danger. Ducking down beneath the vases and stone pillars, we ran out of the back door. The sound of a loud explosion of fire, accompanied by the smell of burning, filled my nostrils as Rosabella and I ran for cover, as far from the house.
We stood silently, in the shadows of the trees, as we watched our family home burst into flames, breaking and crumbling to dust. "Valentina, where are we going to go now?" Rosabella whispered, fear evident in her voice. "Allo Stato Pontificio, a Roma, di sicurezza." I replied.
To the Papal States, to Rome, to safety.
