Pretty Poison

Five

The kitchen is quiet, no one else but me inside the expansive space. I rummage through a cabinet quietly, searching for something to eat, some bread or perhaps some peanut butter, but my searching is cut short.

"You won't find anything in there, bambina," Gianna says, sneaking into the kitchen behind me quietly, scaring me half to death.

A hand involuntarily raises to my rapidly beating heart, "Mio Dio, Gianna, you scared me!" I say.

"Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to," she slyly snickers, chuckling slightly under her breath, the way she always did when she purposefully teased me.

I don't know why, but Gianna is different from the rest of the servants here, perhaps it's because she's the only one that talks to me. Sergio doesn't seem to mind this, and I can't help but wonder if she is the only one allowed to converse with me. Which only raises more questions.

"You need a proper meal, Beatrice, you aren't eating enough. Sit down, let me fix up something for you," she warmly states, gesturing for me to sit down, and I do. She strides the opposite way of me, rounding the long island from the other side and immediately reaching for the fridge handle.

"Grazie," I convey with a warm, appreciative smile, for once I feel comfortable, the usual feeling of being watched, gone.

She brushes off my thank you and immediately starts a conversation, "So I saw Signore Bianchi giving you a hard time earlier. What happened?" She asks, cracking an egg over a saute pan.

I look down to my dangling feet, "Luca came up to me while I was outside," I say, then averting my gaze to meet Gianna's. "He started talking to me, but I didn't talk back to him, I promise. I was scared to, I know the rules. I wanted to tell him to leave me alone, I wanted him to just go, but he didn't. Then his father came, and that's what you heard."

Gianna sighs under her breath sorrowfully.

"That's too bad, my dear, I'm so sorry that happened. One way or another we always get blamed for others' wrongdoing, but we can't speak for ourselves," Gianna cracks another egg, stirring the frying protein with a black rubber spatula.

"I just don't get it, Gianna, why does he tell everyone to stay away from me? Is there something that I don't know? I just don't understand!" I exclaim, begging, pleading with her to give me an answer I so deeply crave.

"We all have reasons for things, bambina, sometimes those reasons are kept secret. I don't understand either, I don't think anyone does, but we know not to question it," she turns around to see me slumped in my seat. A look of sorrow inundated her aging face as she came around the island towards me.

"It'll be alright, little bambina, I promise," much to my dismay, she touches me. Her soft fingertips drag me in close for a tight embrace. She whispers softly into my ear, "Don't you worry, I will always be here for you," she pulls away and places a small kiss on my forehead, her eyes full of love and affection, something I'm not used to seeing.

A weak smile takes hold of my lips to the powerful gesture, "Thank you," I say, trying to hold back the tears threatening to break through the dam.

"Of course, such a beautiful girl like you doesn't deserve to have to go through something like this alone," she tends back to the pan, shuffling and stirring the eggs. "A word of advice though, Beatrice, stay away from Luca, at least try to. Sergio is a powerful man capable of powerful things. He has killed before, but has enough money to hide the evidence. He has killed those close to him before, knowing that he definitely will not spare the life of a servant, especially if that servant is as young as you. Just do as he says, don't ever fall out of line."

Her words send a chill down my spine. "I will," I say quietly.

"I know you will, you are a good girl. I just hope that soon he will let you go free, like the rest of us when we pay off our debt to him."

I stay silent for a moment, a certain question of Luca's ringing in my mind.

I inhale a deep breath, "Gianna?"

"Yes?"

"Luca asked me about my family, how come I don't remember them?"

"I don't know, Beatrice, I hardly remember my own. But you being so young when you first came here, might explain why you don't remember them."

"But why am I here?" I question, the ball of my inquiries beginning to roll in the back of my mind.

"I'm assuming for the same reason that we all are here, your family has debt to the Bianchi family, and the only way to ensure their safety is by working a portion of your life under an indenturement to him."

I lean back in my seat, taking in every single word of her answer. It kills me that I don't remember anything, anyone, the only thing it seems like I can remember about myself is my name...that's it. But why?

All I remember is that I woke up here one day, completely lost and disoriented. I have no idea how I got here, it's as if I spawned here from some far distant land, dropped off with no explanation at all.

"Don't dwell on it too much, bambina, just live in the present, forget the past and worry about the future another time. Come on, eat up, you need this," she places a steaming hot plate of freshly scrambled eggs in front of me, the aroma flowing through my nostrils.

"Grazie," I say gratefully.

"Naturalmente, just clean up once you are finished, I must go to bed before I make myself late in the morning," she says, placing the pan back in the cabinet. "Sleep well, bambina, remember what I said, live in the present, don't think about anything else."

She strides towards the door to the kitchen, but before she pushes it open, she stops to say something else.

"And remember, stay away from Luca. He's a very sweet young boy and I know means no harm to you. But I don't want anything to happen to a beautiful girl like you because of one wrong move."

I nod, swallowing a piece of food. She smiles at me weakly.

"Goodnight, little one, sleep well."

"You too," I state in response, then, she leaves, her words repeating in the back of my mind like a mantra.