The Fiasco at Scala

The Forsaken, part two

2. The interior of the palace was adorned with red carpets, family portraits and glazed woodwork by the fireplaces. Most of the premises were now dark with the absence of the king and queen, with only a soft breeze wafting through the long hallways. Ilaria was reading in her room on the bottom floor, while her brother was on the second floor in his chamber, scoffing and cursing the priest for not choosing him as the heir he so rightfully deemed himself. The noises and groans from the second floor were noticed by Ilaria as mere mumbles from her crazy sibling. Vico sat down at his desk by candlelight, hands-on his forehead in despair, before he came up with an idea that would change everything. The groans changed to maniacal laughter as Vico began plotting a way to become king at the expense of his sister. The two days passed before coronation day arrived. 

Flower petals rained from the sky and townspeople danced in the streets cheering Ilaria's name while a large crowd made its way into the local church for the ceremony to begin. Across town, in the enticing sights and smells of the market stalls, a raggedy peasant named Ennio was dashing through the crowds, pursued by royal horseman. Ennio wore a holey shirt and shorts like those of a pirate under a black trench coat which his father had stolen from a pirate. He wore no shoes and made it out of sight of the guards with ease behind a shadowy alcove on a summer's day. He casually made his way through town unhindered, eventually catching a huge crowd following the newly crowned queen Ilaria to the palace in her white carriage. Ennio knew there would be an afterparty, an afterparty attended by rich people, with money and plenty of shiny things to steal.

 After a couple of hours, the afterparty began on the palace grounds, attended by white wigged lords and ladies from other lands who had holiday villas and manors on the island of Scala. Ennio had swiped the black and white uniform of a butler and had infiltrated the party unnoticed by anyone while holding a platter with nothing on it, at times even pretending to be a guest. He was in search of the ultimate prize: the new queen and her crown jewels, worth enough to give him a happy retirement. Ennio snooped around, but his target was nowhere to be seen until he saw her through a back window looking into a small box holding her mother's amethyst encrusted necklace.

 Ennio again evaded capture as he went inside the palace. He saw her leave her room without the purple necklace to join the festivities, wearing an emerald necklace instead. When he was about to open the chamber door, he was snatched back by a long rope that tied around his legs and dragged him up to Vico's chamber. Ennio saw the mad prince holding a dark green codex written in yellow strings of Arabic, a holdover from the Arab invasion eight hundred years before. The rope was twirled around to encase Ennio in a cocoon before Vico spoke words from the book, casting a spell that turned Ennio's eyes green and placed him under Vico's control. Vico would leave his captive quietly in his chamber to join his sister at the afterparty for the rest of the night.