Carnevale (#Wattys2015)

Chapter 9

One Month Later

Cinzia strode briskly through the market, waving every few moments at people she recognised. She made her way towards a dark blue door and peered through the window, Cinzia then twisted the brass door knob and shoved the rain swollen door open.

"Buongiorno Leo!" Cinzia called out. A man with sandy coloured hair straightened up from beneath a bench.

"Ah, Cinzia, good to see you!" Cinzia nodded at her enthusiastic boss and made her way between tables to the back room. She shut the door gently behind her and slid down the solid wooden door to sit on the cold tiled floor. Her fake smile slipped off her face and she buried her face in her hands.

***

Twenty three days earlier

Cinzia awoke to a slowing rocking motion as the carriage slid to a halt. She picked her suitcase off the lacquered seat beside her and stepped gracefully out of the carriage. The horses made a soft whickering noise as she walked infront of them.

Cinzia reached out tentatively with her left hand. The palomino pushed his velvety muzzle into her palm and shook it's mane, the cream hair swishing along the length of his pristinely white neck. A memory flashed to the front of Cinzia's mind, fruit orchards and two horses racing each other as the riders collapsed with laughter.

Cinzia abruptly turned and hurried away, throwing a 'Grazie' over her shoulder at the carriage driver.

She made her way down a dark and narrow side alley towards a doorway, lit upwith only a dimly flickering lantern, the pale yellow light casting shadows up the tightly packed walls.

"Alfonso" She whispered to the beefy man standing just inside the rundown building's entrance. He nodded once and waved her inside. The chestnut haired girl nervously walked over rotting floorboards, wincing as the creaked and moved with each step she took further into the building. She kept moving, expecting the floor to collapse at any moment and take her with it. Cinzia pushed open the door at the end of the hall, stepping through the cavity.

A figure dressed fully in black sat at the end of the long room. Cinzia squinted to see his stony expression. He held out a sheet of parchment.

"On this is the address. Tell the guards 'fretta', they'll be expecting you. I hope you enjoy seeing him." The man's deep gravelly voice rumbled through the room. Cinzia nodded and hurried back out of the room.

***

Cinzia shook her head sharply and brushed away a few stray tears. She reached over to a bench and plucked a dress off of a large pile of 'to-do's'. She also picked up a needle and thread and began fixing the torn hem of the rose pink and gold bodice. She began to hum the opening notes of a song as she sewed, taking several moments to realise that it was one of the songs from her mother's most famous opera.

Cinzia gritted her teeth and forced herself to put all her attention into sewing up the shredded hem.

***

Twenty days earlier

Cinzia hopped from foot to foot, anxiety bubbling in her stomach as she waited for the guards to return. She stared around at the cold unforgiving walls and shivered inaudibly. The room smelt vaguely of unwashed feet. There was an underlying scent of misery and dejection hanging in the musty air.

Cinzia turned as the guards returned and nodded as the officers ordered her to follow them. She stayed a step behind them, fiddling nervously with the end of her braid. The two guards stopped in front of a thick metal door. The guard with short, close-cropped, black hair stepped forward and tugged open the door. The other guard smiled at Cinzia in a way that could've been perceived as reassuring but came across as a leer. Cinzia shivered as his col blue eyes pierced her and she stepped hurriedly through the door. The small, frail man in the corner jumped as the door slammed shut with a metallic clang.

"Papa!" Cinzia whispered, hands flying to her mouth. "What have they done to you?" She flew to his side and grasped his trembling outstretched hand.

The girl stared at her at the once strong proud man that had been reduced to a pale shaking mess.

"Oh my Cinzia, I am so sorry." The man - her father, Cinzia harshly reminded herself, sounded so disappointed in himself that Cinzia felt her heart shatter into a thousand fragments. A tear escaped its way out the side of her eye and trekked its way down flushed cheeks and over her quivering chin.

Her father reached out with an unsteady hand and wiped the droplet off her face.

"I hope you lead a wonderful life. Make sure to fall in love and to love even harder. Don't regret anything." He paused and he dislodged something from his back tooth, working the thing out with his tongue. "I am so sorry. So, so sorry." His words faded into a mutter and his lips formed a watery smile.

"I'll see you on the other side, sweetie." His voice shook on her childhood nickname and Cinzia's mouth dropped open as he crunched down on the dark indigo pill that he had pulled from his molar. His murky eyes rolled backwards in his head and his arms shook violently. Cinzia gasped, then screamed as she realised what had just happened. A hand clapped itself over her mouth and the guards dragged her backwards out of the cell.

***

Cinzia jolted herself out of the memory, tears forming and dripping rapidly down her face and onto the bench. She picked up the unfinished dress and finished sewing up the hem.

The rest of the day sailed by in a blur of chemises, skirts, blouses, petticoats and gowns. Cinzia busied herself with chores and buried herself in sewing to distract herself from the flood of memories.

By the time she had finished, the sun was just kissing the horizon and the sky had been painted meticulously with hues of satiny orange and blushing pink.

Cinzia picked her weary self off of the stool and picked up a dress which had hints of blues and pinks peeking through pierced lace and smooth silk layers. She dressed herself quickly and picked up a small sheet of parchment as she slid her feet into flat sandals.

She smiled weakly at Leo and closed the door shut firmly behind her. Cinzia read the address printed on pristine paper. The paper had a stamp marked S.D. in the corner and smelt faintly of lavender. She navigated her way through the streets and stopped infront of a large manor house. The blue front door had a large lion's head planted squarely in the centre of it.

Cinzia set her shoulders and placed a beaming smile on her mouth. She rapped loudly on the door with one hand and raised her chin. The smile slid off her rosebud lips as the door swung open to reveal a familiar face.

Sebastian smirked out at her,
"Hello darling."

~FIN~

*AN: It's done!! I loved writing this story so much and thank you to everyone who stuck with me to the end! Thank you most of all to lemonstories for telling me to get off my butt and write.

And for the last time,

xoxo

~howling-wolf~