Ticket to Verona

fourteen

~Aria

Leo led me through the house, to be honest, I had no clue where we were going.

After a few minutes of me blindly following him, we stopped in front of some big wooden doors. A golden plaque that had 'Capo' in-scripted in ornate letters was on the door. There were two guards stationed outside, both were wearing black t-shirts and black cargo trousers. I noticed also that they both had a gun in a holster around their waists.

Why is everything around here so dark and depressing? Even the guards wear black.

"I didn't realise you felt that way about my house amore mio," Leo replied, a small smirk on his face.

"Oops. did I say that out loud?" I felt my face heat up and suddenly my shoes became very interesting. Leo lifted my chin with his index finger, giving me a smile and a kiss on the cheek. He nodded, a small laugh escaping his beautiful lips.

"Don't worry bambina, now, shall we?" He gestured to the door. I took a deep breath as I nodded and the guards opened the double doors.

I was faced with a very, very large table. With a lot of people. All of them stood up as we entered, bowing their heads in respect. There were about 18 people in total seated around the table, 9 on each side. There were two seats at the head of the table on the other end of the room. Leo placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the end of the table.

He pulled a chair out for me and I gratefully sat down, allowing him to push my chair in. He then also sat down. Once he was comfortably seated, all of the other men and women sat down again.

I recognised the guys, obviously. By the looks of it, the higher your rank, the closer to the Capo you sat, So Enzo was on the other side of Leo, opposite me. Theo sat beside me, and beside him sat Gio. Killian was next to Enzo.

Leo cleared his throat and stood up.

"Ascolta, questa è la tua donna. Il suo nome è Aria. Deve essere trattata con lo stesso rispetto di me. Qualsiasi mancanza di rispetto nei confronti della tua regina risulterà una dura punizione. Comprendere?"

{Listen up, this is your Donna. Her name is Aria. She is to be treated with as much respect as myself. Any disrespect towards your Queen will result in harsh punishment. Understand?}

I understood the majority if what he said, albeit my Italian is a little rusty. I stayed silent throughout this, despite all of the eyes on me. Leo sat back down, grabbing a hold of my thigh under the table.

Everything was silent for a minute and I continued to feel everyone's attention solely on me. Leo started talking again.

"Amore mio, these are the most trusted members of the mafia." He started. "Of course, you already know Theo, Enzo, Gio and Killian, but I wanted you to meet the other people that will be protecting you." He explained to me, I nodded in return.

He looked at a few people and 3 men and one woman stood up. He pointed at the woman. She was of average height, well, taller than me anyway. Her blonde hair was braided in a side fishtail braid and she was wearing cargo trousers and a long- sleeved black top.

"This is Astrid. She is one of our best assassins in our mafia, or even the world. She is primarily based here, but she follows us when necessary."

I looked at Astrid and she gave me a kind smile, bowing her head in respect. I smiled back and turned back to Leo, indicating that he should continue introducing me.

"This is Matteo, Silas and Damien. They are responsible for training and security. They also assist me in running the mafia when I am overseas with my other men." Leo explained. I smiled at all of them and they also bowed their heads.

Theo must have sensed my look of confusion as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"You're Leo's woman, Ria. In our eyes, you're royalty."

I nodded in understanding, giving the men a curt nod.

"This is Genevieve, Oskar and Athena," Leo introduced them. "They work undercover to help me to get information on rival gangs."

Wow.
Imagine if I was a spy.
Like all those films.

Leo squeezed my thigh gently, snapping me out of my daydreams.

"Finally, this is Archie, Dylan, Samuel and Nero. They are some of my most trusted bodyguards and will often be nearby to assist you, amore mio."

They all once again bowed their heads.

Leo nudged me, signalling to me that he wanted me to say something. Slowly, I stood up out of my chair and cleared my throat.

"Um, Hi, As you all know, I'm Aria. I apologise for speaking english right now, I can speak italian but I'm a little rusty, so better not to embarass myself."

I hesitated and looked at Leo. He smiled at me and nodded at me, encouraging me to continue.

"I'm going to be honest, I'm new to the mafia. But I will do whatever it takes to prove to you all that I can be the Donna you all need and deserve. I already trust you all with my life, and I hope one day, you all will trust me also. Grazie." I took a deep breath and sat back down. Leo had a proud smile on his face and Enzo was smirking at me.

"Now, I do believe that Aria has made a dozen lasagnes for everyone, so you are dismissed for lunch. Astrid, Matteo, Silas and Damien please stay behind." Leo spoke, again in his 'boss' voice that freaks me out.

"Do you want me to go?" I whispered.

"Of course not, mi amore, I will not hide this stuff from you." He replied before turning to the other people in the room.

"Anything happen while we were away?"

"No, Capo, everything was in order, the two shipments that were scheduled arrived promptly and with no further issues. Silas and Damien have contacted 11 men and 4 women that wish to be part of cosa nostra, and their training will begin next week, if you allow it." One of the men, I think it was Matteo explained.

Leo gave him a short nod. "The Russians are causing trouble again. They attacked Aria in the park 3 days ago, which means that they know how important she is to the mafia. I want the number of guards doubled and I want 2 bodyguards on standby if she or myself would like some extra support." Leo explained to them, taking a hold of my hand to settle my nerves. I was very grateful for that. This is all a lot of information.

"Sì Capo. I will assign Samuel and Nero to guard la nostra Donna, and I will brief the guards on the current situations." Matteo replied, in a very thick accent

Leo gave him some sort of look and Matteo, Damien and Silas left, leaving only me, Leo, the guys and Astrid left sitting at the table.

"Astrid, I'm asking you to be Aria's personal bodyguard, as well as friend. I want someone to show her around and protect her if I am unable to." Leo explained, giving me a smile.

Astrid nodded her head "Yes, Don."

"And I think that-"

Leo was interrupted by Enzo "Now enough mafia chat, let's go have some food!"

I laughed and stood up, taking Enzo's outstretched hand. All of the men and Astrid also stood up while Leo picked me up, which I am very thankful for because this stupid bullet wound makes it hard for me to walk everywhere around this house.

"Thank you, Leo, for everything."

"No, thank you, amore mio, you have changed me for the better, and I couldn't be more grateful."

~~~

Author's Note:
Not the happiest w this chapter but I wasn't sure how else to end it :)
Thanks for reading!
<3