Angel Face

Ricordi

Unknown POV (Age 05)

My eyes snapped open as a loud thud sounded nearby. Sitting up on my bed, I rubbed my eyes sleepily, as I looked around the dark room. It seemed no one was in my room. Then where did the noise come from.

Seeing no sign of any kind of danger, I decided to go back to sleep. I was just pulling my galaxy duvet over my head when the sound of something crashing came from the adjacent room. "Mama? Papa?" I wondered as I pushed the duvet off me and got off my bed, after a little struggle. I maneuvered my way in the dark, around all of my toys that were scattered on the floor, as I made my way towards the door. Standing on my tippy toes, I pulled the handle down and opened the door.

As usual, low lights illuminated the otherwise dark corridors. The lights were installed for the benefit of anyone who needed to leave their rooms late at night for any reason.

I drowsily walked to the door on my... I still don't know which side it is. Anyways, this room belonged to mama and papa, which was also from where the noises were coming. "Mama? Papa?" I mumbled as I went to knock on the door. But maybe they forgot to close the door since it opened a little, which was enough for me to look inside.

"What makes you think, I'll listen to you?" Papa was speaking loudly and harshly as he stood over mama, who was sitting on the floor near a cabinet with her head bowed down. "He's my son. Mio figlio. He will be the one who'll carry on my legacy. He will be the one people look up to, but would shudder even at the thought of looking into his eyes."

"He is my son too! And I don't want him to be like you." Mama cut papa off as she looked up at him. Papa stared at her before grabbing her by her hair and pulling her up as she cried out in pain. "How dare you talk to me like that?! Who gives you the right to say anything about the matter? Non è per la discussione, tu fanciulla ingrata." He shoved her back. "But you said one thing right. He will be nothing like me because he will be a better version of me. A me who will be scarier, colder and more ruthless."

"No."

"No?" Papa's face morphed into a scary face as he looked at mama. "You think you can meddle with the plans I have for him? You think you've that much control?" I shrunk behind the door frame, scared by papa's tone. I could hear sound of things breaking and other noises but didn't have the courage to take a look.

"I won't let my baby be anything like you! He will be a much better human being. One who is kind, gentle, respectful, loyal, honest and most importantly, merciful." Ma said with determination, earning a scoff from papa. "Human? Make your other kids that in the future if you will. But not il mio primogenito. Yes, he will be loyal, but only to the family. He will be respectful, but only to his superior. There is no room for insignificant things like mercy, kindness, honesty and specially, affection." He said the last word as if it was a bad word.

"You're not going to listen to me, are you?" There was silence before ma continued. "Fine then, I'll resist no more, if it means you that you'll not pull this little one or any of the kids to come, into your mess. But, I'll ask one last thing from you. If you ever loved me even for a fraction of second, you'll promise me this." She begged as I hugged my knees closer to myself.

There was a long deafening silence, which made me squirm in unease.

"What do you want, fiore? I promise I'll fulfill your one wish." Papa's voice although stern was surprisingly soft.

"I-- I want you to promise me that you'll not make my baby go through the bonding ritual before he turns 18. I don't want him to suffer the weight of it during such a crucial period of his life." I remember papa telling me about that ritual. He said that if I train hard enough, I could go through it really early which would make him really proud of me. But I still don't know what one has to do to complete it.

"Usually we do the ritual when they turn at most 15 to show off our strength but all I care is for him to join me. So, you have my words, fiore." I stared hard at the carpeted floor as I pulled at the fabric. "Now, go get some rest. I'll go check on your bambino and my soldato." I looked up with a start as I heard footsteps approach the door. I hurried onto my feet and made sure I was light on my feet just like papa had taught as I rushed to my room. Closing the door to my room, I ran and jumped into my bed.

Just as I pulled the duvet over my head and screwed my eyes shut, the door opened. I felt a dip on the bed as papa sat next to me. He lightly pulled the duvet off my head and folded it near my shoulder. I didn't dare open my eyes as I faced the other way. "You're made for greatness, mio piccolo diavolo. Always remember that. Don't be a fool like your old man and get entangled with a woman. But if you still make that mistake, be smart like me and crush it before it can blossoms. Trust and love should never be a part of our vocabulary, mio figlio. It only leads to one's damnation." I felt him stand up and go to the door but didn't hear it open. I muffled my gasp when he suddenly spoke up.

"Buonanotte, soldato." The door opened. "And this time really go back to sleep."

The door closed, shut.