For Eternity II: Clandestine Preceding (Vampire! 2p! Italy x Reader)

Chapter Twenty - What's the Verdict, Doctor Skeller?

        Four hours had passed since Florentina and Giovanni had been shot during tea. You were still in your room with Anna and Lauren. They had drawn a bath for you as soon as you stepped foot in the room and helped you bathe. You told them to leave you be in a nice way so you wouldn't hurt their feelings in some way. They did as you requested and let you bathe in peace. In the meantime, they took your dirty clothing and washed the blood out. Luciano was going through the same process with Sergei and Terran in his own chambers. The only difference was the Luciano refused to talk. His face held a sullen look to it as he bathed and redressed in clean clothing. He then left his room and went to yours.

        By the time he knocked on the door, you were already in a new dress. You stepped out of the room and immediately hugged him close. He hugged you back and buried his face in your still damp hair. You didn't want to break the silence that had washed over the castle. Luciano decided to do so though.

        "Come with me to the medical wing... I don't want to go alone..."

        "Alright..." You broke away from the hug and took his hand in yours as you walked with him, letting him lead the way.

        The two of you had fallen back into silence during the walk. Once in the medical wing, Luciano led you to where he needed to go. He stopped in front of a wooden door with a brass knocker on it. He lifted it and banged it against the door softly. A tall woman with mouse brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail opened it. She had on thin wire frame glasses that reflected the candle light. You could tell that she had olive green eyes though. She was pretty pale, but her complexion was fair. The woman immediately pulled the two of you into a hug.

        Luciano put a hand on her back. You awkwardly hugged back, having no clue as to who this woman was. You assumed she was a doctor or midwife of some kind, the latter option being the more likely of the two. When the lady pulled away, she cleared her throat.

        "I don't believe that we've met before," she said in your direction. "My name is Karen Skeller. I'm the royal family's doctor and midwife."

        "A female doctor? It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm (y/f/n), Luciano's fiancée."

        "The pleasure is all mine then."

        "Karen..." Luciano said quietly.

        "Yes?"

        "My parents... Please tell me that they're alive..."

        Karen sighed. "I wish I could, hun. I really wish I could."

        "Was it silver?"

        "The bullet? Yes. It burned me when I put it in my hand to inspect it. Your parents suffered too much brain trauma by the time they got to me. I couldn't do anything to save them. I'm so sorry..."

        Luciano waved a hand dismissively. "It's not your fault... You tried at least, right?"

        She nodded. "I did all that I could in case saving them was possible."

        "How bad is the damage to their bodies?"

        "They have holes where the bullets entered their heads. That's about it for external damage. The internal damage, however, is hard to tell."

        "Would you be able to preserve their bodies?"

        "Do you mean like the Ancient Egyptians did?"

        "Sort of... I don't want them to be wrapped up. I want to put them in sarcophagi with glass lids. They'll be put in a mausoleum in the garden once I have it built."

        "I'll see what I can do. I make no promises."

        "That's fine. Please, just try."

        "I will. Don't worry."

        "Thank you."

        "You're welcome."

        "May I see them?"

        "Of course. Follow me please."

        Luciano followed Karen, and you followed him closely. You honestly didn't want to be in a room with two dead people, but you also didn't want Luciano to have to face his parents' corpses alone. Yes, Karen might stay in the room with him, but it was the principle of staying by your partner's side through thick and thin. Karen opened up a door to reveal a dimly lit room. In the center were two tables with white clothes draped over two human shaped lumps: Florentina and Giovanni.

        "I'll leave you alone with them," Karen said before she closed the door behind the two of you.

        Luciano said nothing and walked to stand between the two tables. He knelt, facing the wall ahead of him. He pulled out a cross on a thin chain and placed it between the palms of his hands as he bowed his head. He muttered Latin words under his breath. It sounded like he was praying, so you kept quiet for him to have his little moment. Suddenly, the words grew far and few between as his shoulders began to shake. He was crying as quietly as he could so that you wouldn't hear him, but you did anyway due to your increased hearing.

        You walked over to him and put your hands on his shoulders. He turned on his knees and hugged you around your waist, his face becoming buried in the material of the skirt of your dress. You carefully put a hand on his head, the other remaining on his shoulder. The young prince gave up on crying quietly and was full on bawling his eyes out. You quietly hushed him, telling him that it would all be okay. He didn't seem to be having any of that and cried harder. You sighed softly and pet his head gently. Luciano seemed to be calming down slightly.

        He nuzzled your stomach softly as he moved his head up. He looked at your face before standing an hugging you properly. He kissed you softly, and you returned the action. His hands settled on your waist as yours went back to his shoulders.

        "Let's go..."

        You nodded and wiped any stray tears away before exiting the room with Luciano in tow. He kept an arm around your waist as you walked back to the room you had found Karen in to tell her that the two of you were done in there. She nodded and said goodbye before the two of you walked off back into the main part of the castle.

~Author's Note~

DreamsForDays here! I hope you all liked this chapter! I still feel bad about what happened in the last one, but it was critical to the plot of this story. I believe I'm going to do the funeral and some detective and building stuff. I'm not sure yet though. Anyway, there are no translations for this chapter, so I'm going to end this here. Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated! Until next time!