Blank Canvas (A Risotto Nero Love Story)

A Dark Place

"I know where your brother is."

Those haunting words echoed within her mind. No... no how could he know that? No one knew that. No one he could possibly know about, anyway.

"You're bluffing."

"Am I? Do you want to test that theory?" He asked. She could tell by his tone that this was no empty threat. Even if he was lying, she couldn't take that risk. Luca meant everything to her. If she lost him, her only family left in this world, she'd... No, she couldn't focus on that. She had to protect him. At her silence, Illuso smirked. "Smart girl. Now, as I was saying before you oh so rudely interrupted me: I have a task for you." He reached into his vest and pulled out a manilla envelope. "The information you need is in here, dear tesero."

"Don't...!" Aurora raised her voice, anger seething within her eyes. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Don't, call me that." Illuso smirked, ignoring her words as he dropped the envelope onto the table.

"See you soon, Tesoro." Before Aurora could react, he vanished. She grit her teeth, finally letting the tears fall freely down her face. With a quiet sob she stumbled to the table. Her hands shook as they clutched the envelope, barely having the strength to keep them still so that she could open it. Could she even look at its contents? She didn't really have a choice, she quickly realized. With a sigh she tore away the opening, her eyes heavy as she looked down. There was a single piece of parchment inside.

——

Aurora glanced around anxiously, ears straining to hear for anyone that may be coming by. She was trying her best to remain silent and hidden, but in a den of assassins, that was near impossible. Truth be told, she wanted absolutely no part in this, but she lacked the choice. It was this or be alone in this world. Risotto's face flashed by in her mind, as if trying to tell her that she had people to rely on, but she quickly shook her head. She couldn't tell him. She can't. Instead, she quickly side-stepped into his office, determined to find whatever it was that that dreadful man needed. She remembered the paper and it's instructions to find a specific folder. There wasn't any detail as to why he needed it, but she guessed that wasn't really any of her business. Aurora released a shaky sigh, trying to shake away her nervous thoughts. It didn't really help.

The painter quickly began to rifle through the filing cabinets and drawers around the office, trying her best to leave everything exactly the way it was. She was almost certain that Nero would be able to tell if even a single dust particle were out of place. She also wasn't sure if that was exaggeration either. "Come on..." she pleaded under her breath, thumbing through the tabs of the folders. "Aha! Marco Russo..." She pulled out the envelope, not wasting any time to rush to the printer/scanner to make a copy. It was important that she left the original here. Her hands were shaking to the point that she could barely press the buttons or handle the papers. She felt so incredibly awful, but what choice did she have?

After receiving the copy, Aurora shoved it into her bag, replaced the folder to its original home, and quickly fled the office. She had to fight back the tears pricking in her eyes, and as she turned the corner to make a break for the door—fwump!

"O-oh!" Aurora cried, bumping into something solid. Or, well, someone. Pesci rubbed his chest as he took a step back, apologetically nodding at her.

"Ah, sorry, Aurora. Wasn't paying attention," He said quickly, reaching forward to stabilize her. She quickly backed away in response, however, stammering a quick apology before speeding past him. The young man looked after her, tilting his head in confusion.

"Oi, what's wrong?" Prosciutto asked, walking down the hallway. "You enjoy staring dumbly at walls?"

"N-no! Aurora was here. She seemed really sad about something. Pretty sure she was crying... think we should check on her, bro?" Pesci questioned worriedly, scratching his neck. The blonde thought silently about something before shaking his head.