The Housekeeper (Ruby Rose/Terra Juana fanfic)

EPILOGUE (TERRA POV)

A/N: I'm sorry, dear readers, I think this epilogue will need a second chapter and maybe a third. I hope you don't mind if I keep writing, I'm really enjoying this. Wait for it...

Let's travel back in time...

Venice, 1265. 

"About 12 silver ducats..."

"For a bag of black pepper? You must be joking..."

"I'm sorry, my friend, since Venice wrested control of the Mediterranean from Genoa five years ago after a big naval battle, there's no competition and our merchants can price everything they want... Take it or leave it."

My father growls behind me and keeps arguing with the guy while I sigh bored and move away from the store, walking towards Rialto Bridge despite the evening sun is showing up from time to time behind the clouds and it's pissing me off. I pull the hood up to cover my head and lean my hip on the wood railing watching the good people of Venice passing by, busy with their daily tasks. I don't understand why Marcus is wasting his time like this, we both know he only needs to control that greedy idiot's mind to persuade him to sell spices for a cheap price, I know the vampire is a fair man and doesn't want to bankrupt this human but he's not going to pay 12 silver ducats, not a chance in hell...Maybe 9 ducats and the merchant would still earn good money.

I guess he has fun haggling over the price and enjoys keeping his mind busy for a few minutes, the same Aren does while designing a new boat and visiting the ship yard to talk about the details tête-à-tête with carpenters even if he knows more about their jobs than they do. I never thought the eternity would be like this, endless hours, days, months... years that stretch slowly. All of them are the same despite the world changes nonstop around me: it's sunny, it rains, it snows, a war breaks off, crops get ruined, peace comes, we dance during the patron saint festival, humans fight and reproduce, the King is dead; long live the King... Or the Dux of Venice, who cares?

When Aren and Marcus offered me freedom, adventures, trips and unlimited knowledge, I didn't think twice and followed them immediately. But they never talked to me about the routines, boredom, indolence, the lack of interest for everything around me... You could've thought that living in a city with a population that can exceed 80,000 people and connected to the biggest trade routes of the Mediterranean Sea, I'd be able to find lot of things to do, books to read and pretty girls to have fun with, but I can't stand it here, not another day. There was a time I was like any other human with worldly concerns: I wanted another cake and my mom said no, I swam in the river every summer with my siblings, I dreamt with escaping from the castle and seeing with my own eyes the beauties of other kingdoms... But now, human concerns aren't interesting anymore and my vampire life has lost its appeal after almost 300 years.

"Okay, I'll give you 15 silver ducats but I take the cinnamon too..."

"For God's sake..." I growl exasperated hearing Marcus' voice and turn around to look at the canal, ignoring him and other venetians. They ignore me too thanks to the tricks I learnt to control their minds when I became a vampire, my father was really proud of my skills but I was also determined to master them as soon as possible: I wasn't going to travel all over the world dressed like a woman, dragging metres of thick velvet only because I could afford paying a wonderful dress. It's ridiculous and really uncomfortable what aristocratic ladies are forced to do to show off their status and wealth. It's rather absurd to move through life wearing a fur-lined velvet cloak that sweeps the floor behind you getting stained with nasty things and so heavy that you need to hold it with your hand to pull it away from your neck because otherwise it could choke you out you as you walk.