The Fiasco at Scala

The Forsaken, part eleven

11. Across the island at the manor of the Marquis, Ilaria and Ennio were speaking of their future plans with the owner as to return to the capital and remove Vico from power, preferably without killing him. As they convened, Ilaria caught sight of a young teenage boy wearing a white uniform who was cleaning up after the Marquis' every whim. Ilaria wanted to know why the boy was there, to begin with, but the Marquis explained the boy was Ali, a slave boy he had bought on a trip to North Africa, who now served at the manor as the Marquis' personal valet. Ilaria began an argument with the Marquis, calling him out on his blatant disregard for human life and freedom. 

Ennio was caught in the middle of a queen against slavery and a wealthy elitist who relied on it for his prestige. After the heated conversation at dinner and the Marquis' retirement to his bed-chamber, Ilaria took Ali outside blindfolded. She led him all the way down to the beach, where a wooden rowboat was waiting with a sack of supplies for the voyage. Ali did not understand what she was doing, but Ilaria was giving him his freedom once again, the two embracing under the cover of moonlight before Ali was pushed out to sea by Ilaria to row off into the distance for life without servitude. 

Her good deed completed, Ilaria returned up to the manor house to discover the Marquis in the dining hall, holding Ennio at gunpoint and demanding where Ali had gone. Ilaria simply told the truth as to where his destiny lay, a truth that made the Marquis scowl. She could see a written declaration on the table addressed from king Vico to the Marquis, who would reveal his true intentions to take them both back to the palace for a bounty that would cover the cost of his lost slave.