the hourglass

the masquerade

she couldn't breathe. her corset was slowly suffocating her, but she was unable to change into a pair of nike sweats.

why, you may ask?

arabella de luca was not at home binge watching something on netflix, no. she was waiting to be escorted to an italian masquerade in venice, 1866.

—

"madre, please."

a young girl beckoned her mother, who was not paying any attention to her in the slightest.

arabella took several breathes before gliding toward the girl.

the young girl's eyes opened wide and she stared intently at arabella before speaking in clear english:

"he is coming. don't trust him."

arabella's heart raced as she watched the young girl quickly walk away.

arabella had been to this exact same masquerade several times, and she knew for a fact that this young girl could only speak italian, and italian alone.

—

danger, she's in danger.

the girl muttered over and over again as she quickly weaved through the dancers and out onto the terrace. she knew that arabella would find her, so she needed to vanish.

"where do you think you're going?"

before the young girl could scream, darkness engulfed her.

—

arabella's heart continued to race as the valet escorted her inside .

was she hallucinating?

was the girl truly talking to her?

was she losing her mind completely?

arabella sighed deeply before entering the ballroom. she would let her problems consume her after a drink .. or two.

arabella floated across the room while adjusting her delicate cream colored venetian mask. it was a gift from her grandmother, several days before her death.

as she made her way towards the butler, she felt the eyes of everyone staring at her. arabella was beautiful. she has silky black hair that fell to her lower back. her caramel skin seemed to turn gold in the sun, and her almond shape light brown eyes were mesmerizing.

"mi dispiace."

arabella twirled around and smiled.

"calimero, where have you been?"

he has been serving the de luca family for a millennia. as far as arabella knew, one of her early ancestors saved the young boy's life, and he has been serving her family ever since.

the young boy chuckled before bowing.

"signora arabella, you need to come home, immediately."

arabella sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

"cal, you need to start calling me ari."

she smiled.

he nodded vigorously before continuing —

"your mother knows."

arabella's heart dropped.