The Housekeeper (Ruby Rose/Terra Juana fanfic)

EIGHTEEN

The cry of a child startled me and I averted my eyes from the stunning façade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, the golden mosaic tiles sparkled under the sunlight and I blinked blinded for a second, before realizing that some kids were playing and running through the big square zigzagging among tourists ignoring their parents calling them. I smiled amused and turned around to walk towards the old Procuratie where my girls were waiting patiently under the arches that allowed them to hide from the setting sun. Actually, Venice's streets were very narrow and they could walk across the city without problems wearing the hoods of their sweatshirts but that square was too exposed.

"Here you have, Terra, thank you for letting me borrow your camera..."

"You're welcome... Damned kids..." I heard her growling while shooting a glare at some children who were running around stomping in puddles and almost staining Ruby's spotless sneakers and my coat. I couldn't help smiling hearing her upset tone of voice because I knew that, actually, the vampire loved children. "Only if they have good manners like your nephews..." Terra answered my thought through the bond, she didn't even speak loudly, and her sister snorted before turning around to walk towards the Mercerie, the street that led to Rialto Bridge and where all the luxury brands had a store opened.

"No, wait." Ruby grimaced and pointed at an alley to her right. "There're too many tourists here, we better go to the Frezzeria, the maze of streets between St Mark's square and the Fenice theatre, there're bookshops and very interesting antique shops..."

I shrugged and followed her not caring about where we were heading, to be honest, Venice was fascinating and every corned deserved a picture despite the most touristic areas looked like theatre set. Hordes of Japanese people carrying cameras and bags of souvenirs walked around, Americans coming from a massive cruise ship stared at the buildings with their mouths wide open and they were led by their guides like sheep going to a slaughterhouse while French and Spanish tourists took a break looking for a restaurant where they could have a good dinner without paying lot of money. The contrast between the old city, with wonderful palaces that remained standing for centuries, and tourists buying small gondolas made in China at souvenir stores was a bit shocking. It felt surreal, like a group of curious aliens exploring a human city... Where were the true inhabitants of Venice?

"Hiding... They'll go out later, when most of those tourists are back on dry land and streets and channels belong to them again." Terra growled behind me and I had to nod, agreeing with her opinion.

We had arrived to Italy the day before after spending some days with my family and I must say I was pleasantly surprised when Ruby picked out a small boutique hotel that had been an old palace in the 16th century, it was fancy and full of charm but not overwhelming like a luxury hotel and was conveniently located in front of the Grand Canal. Later, I found out that the palace had been built in the very same place where she was born, near Rialto Bridge, but even if her father's gothic palace had vanished without leaving any trace, the vampire was doing better than Terra in Spain. In fact, Ruby had visited Venice a handful of times over the past years, she had witnessed changes in the city but remained tied to it and even could introduce me to the descendants of her nephews.

I couldn't help remembering my own nephews... who had fallen in love with Terra. My family had welcomed the vampires with open arms despite my anxiety: my dad cooked meals for them, my mom went shopping with Ruby, my sister introduced them to our friends and my nephews seemed fascinated by the blue-eyed vampire and they followed her everywhere, asking her to read them a story before going to bed. Terra rolled her eyes hard and pretended to be upset but I knew deep inside she loved to be the centre of attention every time she took a book and they smiled excitedly, knowing that she wasn't going to read the story to the letter but embellishing it with some other stories coming from her head, with stupid princes and very smart princesses, brave knights, Vikings sailing the seas and an old wizard who appeared out of the blue from time to time to help the main character. My nephews never knew that she wasn't making the stories up but telling them her some of her own memories.