The Fiasco at Scala

The Forsaken, part three

3. Early the next morning, Ennio was released from his bonds by his puppet master Vico and sent to the throne room at the back of the palace, where queen Ilaria was seated to be painted for a royal portrait by a renowned local artist. With no attention paid by anyone, Ennio approached the queen with his glowing eyes. He took a small knife out of his front pocket and held it up to the queen, but she managed to defend herself and overpower the attacker after a bout of fists and kicks. Ennio was left knocked out to be escorted to the palace dungeon by royal guards, while others tended to the shocked queen. In the dark dank dungeon, Ennio was lifted from his possession by a visiting Vico, who also enlightened him to his execution art first light for attempts assassination of the queen. 

Since the moment he had discovered the snooping Ennio, Vico had worn the beak-like mask of a plague doctor to conceal his identity from his victim. With no memory of the event, Ennio used his cunning and charm to lure a benign guard to his barred cell before swiping the key and lunging out to escape. Ennio managed to run unharmed into town, urging Ilaria to declare him an enemy of the state. Despite officials of her court urging her not to intervene in Ennio's apprehension, Ilaria insisted on finding him herself and bringing him to justice.

 At first light, she left the palace under the cover of a blue hood into town, leaving Vico in charge of royal affairs while she was gone. She asked around town to many a kind stranger as to where Ennio had gone, eventually being led to a seedy tavern nearby, where a bumbling man by the name of Ennio was woozy and intoxicated. Ilaria demanded by her royal authority that he surrender to her will, but his woozy drunkenness soon turned into a mad dash out of town, followed by a determined Ilaria on horseback. He made it all the way out into the wooded expanse surrounding the capital before he was finally cornered on his fallen knees by Ilaria.