Stripped Bare

I am your visionary...

A/N: We now jump back into Dante's story, as the strange event the evening before, was never discussed or mentioned by anyone at the mansion. All traces of that ceremony and what had taken place was mysteriously swept away. But Dante's powerful psyche was able to re-collect every single thing that occurred that evening, causing the young detective to wonder about a similar event that happened in his past...

Dante looked at his watch impatiently. The royals were unusually late. He had considered leaving them already but his commander had been kept in the loop of all circumstances.

He had taken Dante's situation into consideration but his superiors had asked for Dante to continue the charade for a little bit longer while they gathered more evidence against them before their subsequent arrests.

Dante conceded, not wishing to go against this organization which he was now working for. He had been informed that someone from the organization, stationed in Florence, would be contacting him very soon. All he had to do was sit, and wait.

The dark limousine rolled up the driveway to the hotel where they were supposed to meet. The two men had been patiently waiting within the coffee shop, since they had left the villa early in the morning.

Dante had found it quite strange that they were asked to leave the villa so early after breakfast and meet somewhere outside in the city, at a hotel. The royals entered, taking the seats adjacent the two men.

"Did you get a good night's rest, Dante?" the prince asked, eyeing the young man in front of him with such vested interest.

"It was very peaceful, your highness" Dante responded politely, nonchalantly as to throw off any misgivings the prince might have against him.

Walid kept his gaze centered on the prince and his wife. He was wary of them now that he knew what they were up to, since Dante had told him of the strange experience that he had in the basement of the mansion.

Walid still had to play his role as the faithful bodyguard until they could make their escape. He was on Dante's side now, and happy to have met his acquaintance and subsequently becoming the young detective's friend.

Dante had not yet revealed to Walid his actual position as a detective simply because it would throw any plan of action he had into disarray. Now was not the time to be careless, especially with so much at stake. He had to tread lightly where the royals were concerned, and not create a panic as a cause for alarm.

"Good, good!" the prince seemed to relax a bit, calming the tense air between them.

"We have some guests who are arriving later this afternoon, Dante. I want you to be on your best behavior and entertain them later this evening...We will send the car around by 8pm to pick you both up wherever you may be, so be ready" the princess notified him.

Dante nodded in acknowledgement. The royals then got up and took their leave, presumably to go back to their residence to prepare for their guests.

Dante groaned inwardly at the so-called 'entertainment' he was commissioned to provide at the party. He shuddered in disgust at having to peddle his body once more like a common prostitute, just to satiate the sexual lust of the princess and her guests.

Walid could see the tension furrowing Dante's brows and suggested they both take a walk and explore the city. Dante reluctantly agreed, since it would at least take his mind off of what was to come.

Walid took him to several famous landmarks in the beautiful city: the famous bridge The Ponte Vecchio, the glorious Piazza Della Signoria but he was quite surprised that there was even a place aptly named The House of Dante or Museo Casa di Dante, the house of the famous poet, Dante Alighieri whose works Dante was quite familiar with.