Waters of Venice (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 1

The gentle noises of breaking branches and boots being sucked into the mud  were the only thing that indicated the presence of the small built teenage boy standing at the waterside.  His gaze wandered around the magnificent sight of La Serenissima, the city of water. It was dark, but there were still lights on. The water rippled against the edge of the small island
A soft ruffle from behind made the boy turn around.
“Louis” a suppressed whisper came from behind.
He narrowed his eyes and spotted the contours of a tiny gondola with the erect figure of a man standing in it.
“Filipo, you came!” the brunette whispered, a little relief sounding through his voice.
“It hurts me that you would even think that I would let you down” the other boy smirked.
“But come on, get in the boat. My dad will be furious if he finds out about this nightly trip. I have to be back soon.”
Louis jumped in.
Filipo shoved the boat away from the land with a long pole and smoothly started pushing the boat forward, his movements just as rhythmic as the water underneath him.
Silence filled the dark night.
“So what made you come back” Filipo finally asked.
Louis sighed.
“Just problems. Nothing special”
“Ok” Filipo said. Louis knew the answer hadn’t satisfied his friend.
“You think it safe enough for you here?” Filipo questioned
“I think so. Off course it’s risky, but it has been a long time since everything. I think people may have finally let it go”
“Okay”. Again, Filipo did not sound convinced.

The rest of the trip passed in silence. None of them neither spoke nor asked questions, although there were many of them. The lights that were once distant came closer and Louis was now able to distinguish the shapes of houses alongside the canals. Old  memories flooded into his mind, but he pushed them away and absorbed the sight of the city he once knew so well.

Filipo followed a complicated path of twists and turns, and eventually stopped in front of an imposing, majestic building.
“This is it” he said. “This is where you will be working for the following months. Everything has been arranged”
“Great! Once again: thank you some much for doing this all” Louis said.
“Nessun problema. You’re my friend. I want the best for you. This was the least I could do” 
Louis gave his friend a quick hug before stepping out of the gondola.
“I guess we’ll bump into each other sooner or later”
“I guess we will”
“Arriverderci”
“Arriverderci”
And Filipo was gone, swallowed up by the night.

Louis stood on the stairs leading to his new home. Better said: his new workplace.
He shivered, suddenly aware of the frosty night surrounding him. He blew some breath into his cupped hands, and then took the big, brass, lion-shaped door locker, gently pushing it onto the enormous mahogany door in front of him. The hollow sound echoed around in the hallway. For a minute, nothing happened. Just as Louis was about to knock for the second time, the door cautiously opened to a crack.
“Who’s there?” a high pitched female voice whispered.
“Buenasera. I’m Louis Tomlinson. I’m a new servant”
“Oh, sì, sì. I’ve heard so. The door opened further and Louis saw a tiny raven-black haired girl in front of him. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, accompanied by an old looking green maiden robe with a lace apron on top of it. Her big blue eyes sparkled and were full of life, her voluptuous lips forming a mischievous grin.
“I’m Eloisa. One of the maids here in Casa Serafina. Gabriella told me you were coming. Welcome”
Louis stepped into a high ceiled, marble tiled hallway. An enormous staircase swirled up the walls, and for a moment Louis was silent. None of the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were on, but Eloisa picked up a candle holder and lit it.
“Follow me”
As fleet-feeted as a cat, she made her ways to one of the oak doors in the hall and knocked on it.
“Gabriella. Gabriella. The new one is here”
There was some stumbling inside the room, and then the door opened.
“Come in, come in. We don’t want to wake the lords” a low voice whispered from the darkness behind the door.
Louis and Eloisa quickly slipped  through the door and closed it.
Eloisa immediately started lighting some of the candles present in the small room. There was not much in it: a bed with a checkered plaid on it, a nightstand with a dusty chandelier and a chair with a working uniform neatly stacked on top of its seat.
As the light started to spread across the room, Louis looked at the chubby lady in front of him. She must be somewhere in her thirties. Her short brown hair looked stern, as did her face.
“I’m Gabriella. I have the command over all the maids and waiters here, including you. You can wipe that smile off your face now. The work is tough and don’t expect to be able to sleep every night.
You share your room with Eloisa. I presume you have introduced yourselves to each other. Tomorrow you need to be up before dusk. I’ll give you a uniform and Eloisa will tell you all about how things work around here. Now get off, you need your sleep. I’ll see you in the morning”
And the two teenagers were shoved out the door. Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Eloisa’s look made him shut it again. He looked at her with a questioning look. She shook her head and directed him towards their room.

The room was very small. There was just enough space for a bunk bed and two chairs. Eloisa closed the door behind them.
“Well, she seems like nice lady” Louis said sarcastically.
“She’s not that bad, as long as she you just do what she tells you to”

Both of them put on their pyjamas, turning their backs to each other, not wanting the other person to see too much.
They crept in their beds and vastly fell asleep.

“Louis! Quickly, wake up. We’re late”
Eloisa’s warm breath tickled in Louis’ ears as he opened his eyes.
He set up, bumped his head against the rather low ceiling, cursed and got out.

When the two arrived in the kitchen, Louis was surprised to see how much people were awake already. Someone pushed a plate of porridge in his hands. He ate it quietly, overhearing the conversations in the kitchen, trying not to gag at the taste of the food.
“I heard the young lord did not sleep well again. His father will probably be in a bad mood again”
one of the maids sighed.

Suddenly the door slammed open, and Gabriella stomped in. Immediately all the talking was silenced and everybody focused on their porridge.

“Tomlinson. I have clothes for you” she said while pushing a bunch of green clothes in his hands.
“Wonder who picked this terrible colour” he mumbled.
“Scusa?” Gebriella asked, not even trying to hide the indignity in her voice. “If you have problems with the way things are around here you can leave now” she said in an icy calm voice. 
“Okay. I’m sorry” Louis said a little offended. He made his way to the bathroom and inspected himself in the small mirror.
“I look like a clown”

When he came back into the kitchen, everybody had finished their breakfast and was working.
“Scusa Gabriella” he tapped on the lady’s shoulder. “what tasks will I be assigned to do?”
“Hasn’t Eloisa told you yet? Well then, follow me”
Louis was led up the stairs and they stopped in front of one of the many doors.
Gabriella gently knocked on the door. “signor?”
“Come in” a deep voice sounded from the other side.
Gabriella pushed the door open.
The first thing Louis noticed was the size and the luxury of the room. He swallowed, processing the beauty of the place. The big curtains and heavy rugs on the floor.
His eyes moved down and rested on a big oak desk, a man sitting bend over all the papers on it.
“Signor, this is Louis Tomlinson. He will be your new servant.”
“Okay” was the only thing the man said.
Gabriella made a small bow and left the room.
As soon as the door closed behind her, the man lifted his head.
To Louis’ surprise he was not a man. He was a boy, a little younger them him. His head was framed by wild curls and his green eyes shone like emeralds.
“Buongiorno” the boy smiled.
“So you are my new servant… Great. I’m Harry Styles”  the boy smiled, revealing his dimples.
“So who do you share a room with? Antonio?”
“No signor. Eloisa” Louis said looking at the ground.
“Ah… Don’t be shy. You can look me in the eye.” Harry raised from his desk and walked up to Louis.
As he positioned himself against the wall, Louis looked up.
Was the boy in front of him still wearing his pyjamas?!
“So, Eloisa. She’s  a pretty girl right?” the curly haired noble said, giving Louis an expecting look.
“Well, she’s not ugly” Louis said, not really enjoying the small distance between him and his new boss.
Carefully taking a small step back he continued
“But she seems like a friendly girl”
“I have never really had the time to get to know her” harry said, taking a big step towards Louis.
“Well you should try” the older boy replied, again taking a small step back, now feeling the cold wall against his back.
“I don’t really talk to my waiters. Only to my servants” Harry whispered, taking away all the space between the two boys with one big step.
“Ehm..” Louis said, feeling the blood flow up to his head
“Is there a problem?” Harry said quasi innocent
“No signor. I will go make you some tea, signor”
He quickly slid away from Harry and scurried to the door, almost sure he detected a hint of amusement in Harry’s eyes when he turned around.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soooo I hope you guys liked the first chapter, big things are coming :) Feedback is always welcome. Anyways chapter 2 should be up soon so look forward to that. 
- Pizza pasta partytime x :) Renee