The Raven and the Rose (Part 1)

Chapter Fourteen ~ The Raven

A few days ago...

I have to admit I didn't want to attend the banquet hall. Every year it would take place at a different Mafia mansion and it was always the same: loud noises, instrumental music in the background, people from everywhere around the world. Of course, only the people in the Mafia were allowed to attend the banquet hall. I was about to call for Leonardo, my right hand man, to say that I was not going to go to this year's banquet, when he suddenly entered the living room. I looked up to see him walking towards me with his head bowed, which made me frown because that was something he usually didn't do. Once he stood before me I raised an eyebrow at him, noticing how nervous he was. "Well? What is it? Remember to not look so glum in front of me, Leonardo, unless you have a perfect reason to." I told him. He kept his eyes down as he continued to look down at the floor and licked his lips before saying: "The, uh, banquet hall, sir, is to take place at the Ravino mansion." My eyes widened and I refrained from grabbing his shoulders and throwing him across the room. "Leonardo, I swear that if you are playing me you will be punished." I warned him. He finally looked up from the floor to meet my gaze. "I'm not playing you, sir. The banquet hall is to take place here, at the Ravino mansion." I suddenly felt a puddle of dread appear in the depths of my stomach as I laid my head back against the chair's headrest. After exhaling a shaky breath, I said: "Fine. Tell the rest of my men to gather some decorations and everything else we need," I looked at him before saying: "Now get out." He left without another word, leaving me in my chair and wondering how in the world I am going to host the banquet hall when I was already busy enough worrying about my sanity.

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"Is everything alright, sir?" Leonardo asked as he handed me my silver necklace which I then placed around my neck. I didn't want to wear colorful clothing; it was never my thing. So I just decided to wear all black, that way it'd be easier to blend in with the crowd and hopefully avoid some unnecessary distractions. "Don't worry, sir, I am sure everything will go well tonight." Leonardo said, and patted me lightly on the shoulder before retracting his hand when he saw the look I gave him. "I wish that could be true, Leonardo, but unfortunately, I have something to do tonight which I had hoped to avoid in order to escape having a war with all the other Mafia parties. And if only I wasn't hosting the banquet hall, I would have been able to execute my plan much easier." I said, tugging on my black shirt. Leonardo cocked his head to the side, a curious expression on his face. "And what were you hoping to avoid doing, sir, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked. I sighed and rubbed my chin with my hand as I spoke: "Before my father passed away a couple of weeks ago, he told me that in order to take control of the entire Mafia I had to kill Dolor De La Rosa, but only because he was second in line for command of the Mafia council." When I finished, I felt kind of bad for not telling Leonardo the full truth. Because deep down, I knew that the story was far more complicated than that. Leonardo nodded slowly. "And what if he's not at the banquet hall, sir? What will you do then?" he asked, curiously. At this I grinned and met his gaze in the reflection of the mirror. "Then that would mean he has sent his daughter Valentina. And from what I have heard, she's dangerous, ruthless and cunning." I said. Leonardo frowned at me, although I could see that he was trying to understand what I was telling him. "So, let's say Valentina De La Rosa attends the banquet hall. Then what? You're going to kill her just like you planned on killing her father?" he asked, suspiciously. My grin widened and threatened to split my face in half. "We'll see," I told him as I ran a hand through my hair. "We'll just have to see."

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The banquet hall had started out greater than I would have thought. People arrived, people talked, all while the music played in the background and drinks were being served at the makeshift bar in the far corner of the hall. People even went outside to talk and drink and have a fun time talking about how their Mafia is going. I thought that this night couldn't get any better the sooner because that would mean that it would end my never ending conversation with Leonardo and I could get out of here. But then the doors to the grand hall opened and my stomach flipped at the sight of a girl standing in the doorway of the entrance. She looked to be about two years younger than me and wore a red spaghetti strap dress that hugged her curves and- Oh God. I looked away at the sudden feeling of red creeping up my cheeks. Lowering my head so that Leonardo could not see my reddened face, I said to him: "Excuse me." And that's when I turned and headed for the makeshift bar.