Carnevale (#Wattys2015)

Chapter 7

Sofia stretched her arms above her head and raked her hand through her messy hair, yanking her way through knots and tightly wound curls.

The copper-haired girl padded down the stairs, ignoring the throb of worry deep in her stomach. She was probably just nervous about seeing Fabian again anyway. She sat down opposite Nico at the long oak dining table. Her twin looked up at her in surprise.

"Where's Cinzia? I haven't seen her this morning." Nico questioned his sister, who pressed a hand to her stomach, the seed of doubt having grown larger at his remark. She grimaced in pain, calling out to Maria.

"Maria, have you any idea as to the whereabouts of Cinzia? She wasn't in bed when I woke." Maria walked out of the kitchen bearing two bowls of eggs and vegetables.

"No, I don't know where she could've gone, but I wouldn't worry, she's probably just gone for a walk." The housekeeper reassured the now frantic girl.

"Please inform me if she returns, I shall be going to have a rest." Sofia pushed her chair backwards and walked up the stairs.

She lay down on her unmade bed and racked her brains for possibilities of where her cousin could have gone. Sofia turned over onto her side, turning her attention to the bed on the opposite half of the room. Her gaze flashed over to the chest of drawers, the drawers hanging open and a blouse caught on the corner of one.

Sofia stood and crossed the short distance between her and Cinzia's beds. Her fingers brushed over the soft blue silk of the blouse, a fingernail catching on torn fabric. She dropped to her knees and pushed the bedsheets roughly out of her way. The auburn haired girl was greeted with the sight of dusty floorboards. Sofia groaned and picked herself off the wooden floor.

She ran into the kitchen, spinning around to locate Maria.

"Cinzia's run away!" She blurted out as Maria came out of the pantry. The housekeeper's cheeks paled.

"Her suitcase is gone and... and." She cried out half a sentence before tears overwhelm her and sobs clog her voice. Maria wrapped an arm around the adolescent's shaking shoulders.

"Oh, darling, why don't you take some of this and share it with Angelique. You two could ask around and see if anyone has seen Cinzia." The housekeep handed Sofia a tray of torrone (Italian nougat) and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. Sofia maneuvered her way around Maria and out of the kitchen. She made her way towards the back door and slid her feet into the shoes that waited there. The tray wobbled alarmingly as she shoved the door open and her copper curls swished across the back of her dark purple blouse as she made her way across the square towards Rizzo Manor.

Sofia shifted the tray to her left hand, raised her right and knocked firmly on the door. A woman, no older than 20 opened the door and greeted Sofia with a beaming smile.

"Good morning Anna, is Angie awake yet?" Sofia questioned the maid. Anna nodded and ushered Sofia inside.

Sofia hurried quickly through the sunroom and hall, gravitating towards the marble stairs that led to Angelique's bedroom.

Angelique opened the door at Sofia's knock, greeting her friend with a tired yawn.

"Oh, it's you Sofia! Where's our darling Cinzia this delightful morn-" Her sentence broke off midway as her voice was engulfed by a huge yawn.

"That's why I came. She's missing. Even her suitcase is missing. I think she's run away. Oh, Maria made these to cheer us up" Sofia added as an afterthought. Angelique covered her gasp with her hands.

"That's terrible! Come on darling, we can have a piece of torrone and then ask around, see if anyone knows where she might be." They each picked up a piece of nougat, chewing it as they made their way down to the back door.

***

Sofia slumped down next to Angelique at the fountain.

"Thirty-seven "no, I'm sorry, I haven't seen her since last week"'s, twelve "of course I'll keep an eye out"'s, and one offer to help look. I. Am. Exhausted." Sofia declared.

"Yes, as much as I love Cinzia, I don't think it is possible for us to continue searching. We've got a lot of people looking and all of the stall owners at the market are going to ask people for us. If anyone knows where she might be, we'll find out. Chin up, we can look tomorrow." Angelique smiled half-heartedly at Sofia, who nodded dejectedly and stood up to make her way home.

*AN: As promised, here is the chapter I meant to publish two weeks ago, I am so sorry!

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~howling-wolf~