January 1580, Fortezza

Guido Parola

The red haired man stepped of the carriage he had arrived in. A servant started unloading his luggage while the man himself glanced over his home for this year. He, Guido Parola, was finally here. The University of Fortezza wasn't as old as the ones of Bellona or Padavia, but well regarded nevertheless. It was Silvia who had suggested Fortezza. With her generous payment for the time he had spent with her, Guido was now a rich man. This was the education he always had expected he would have. At least until the fateful day he learned his brother had gambled away the family fortune. Guido shook his head. He didn't want to think about his brother anymore. Considering the shady business his brother was involved in, no one expected him to live long. It was just a matter of time before Guido would have to replace him as head of family. Guido took a deep breath. Today was the first day of his new life. No one at this university knew him or his past. He was just another young nobleman here.

"Excuse me signore, where do you want us to take your belongings?" The sudden question interrupted Guido´s thoughts. After a confused second he managed to reply the servant's question.

"Take it to Signora Conti, she will tell you which room is mine. I'll be inside in a moment". The servant bowed quickly and disappeared to take care of Guido's stuff.

Guido gave the street one more fleeting look. He had decided to rent a room in a dorm during his stay. Signora Conti was in charge of one of the better dorms of Fortezza and Guido was assured to not be disappointed by the accommodations. The house was situated near the main building of the university, where Guido would study Grammar and Rhetoric. He had also chosen to study Economy, which was taught in another building a bit farther away. After a silent sigh Guido finally went inside.

Signora Conti only knew Guido as a young rich nobleman from Bellezza and had obviously decided to treat him as such. She wasn't overdoing it in any way, but it was still notable. "Ah, signor Parola, we are very delighted to have you here. I sent you servant to your room with your belongings, but I will be pleased to show it to you myself."

Guido nodded politely and followed the talkative woman up the stairs. She went on about the honor of him staying here, the beauty of the city he came from (which, it turned out, she had actually visited once) and the greatness of the university of Fortezza. After a slowly ascend the Signora eventually walked up to a door, which she opened carefully.

"This room will be yours for the year" she said. "I expect it to be in this condition by the end of the year, but I'm certain that won't be a problem?"

Guido, catching the question, immediately answered. "Certainly not, Signora".

Signora Conti nodded approvingly and let Guido walk through the door. The "room" actually consisted of two rooms, a small lounge with door leading to the bedroom. Through the door connecting the lounge to the bedroom, Guido spotted a bed, flanked by a bedside table. The lounge he entered was sparsely decorated with a single couch fronted by a coffee-table and an empty bookcase. However, through the elegant window he noticed he had a stunning view of a medium sized piazza. Guido walked observantly through the room, feeling Signora Conti's glace following his every move. After what felt like an eternity in Guido's mind, the Signora excused herself and left Guido alone in his room. When she closed his door, he let go of the statuesque expression he had adopted at first meeting her. He sunk down in the couch, letting his exhaustion from the long journey show. He was finally here, at the university, in Fortezza.


Lucia di Chimici

The black dress she wore mad her already pale complexion look even paler. Her usually fiery red hair also seemed to have lost colour. Lucia strolled aimlessly trough the big palace her family owned outside the city. A hint of tears in her eyes showed as she passed a window. Since the disastrous wedding, Lucia hadn't been her usual radiant self. How could she when her husband lay dead in the ground, murdered on their wedding day? The thought of Carlo immediately made her start crying again. The servants had learned to avoid her as she walked ghostlike around her home.

Lucia missed her sister, Bianca, more that she was willing to confess. After the wedding Bianca had moved to Volana with Alfonso. Lucia had acted strong, telling Bianca that she would return to Fortezza instead. It was here her mother and father lived, where she had spent her youth. Even so, without Bianca Fortezza felt oddly foreign. Even her parents weren't the same. The unsureness of Lucia's future had made her parents cautious around her after the first few weeks. She was certain her family expected her to take the vail, which Lucia had to admit sounded awfully tempting at the moment. Before Carlo's death she had never even imagined it in her wildest dreams, but nothing was the same as before. Her family had lost so much during these few years. First Falco, then her beloved Carlo and most recently Niccoló. The deaths had shaken her family, but Lucia didn't really care anymore.

Taking a turn, she entered the grand library. She remembered it had been years since her last visit. Her father love books, and as her father's daughter she had spent many hours piled up in a couch somewhere in here, absorbing the contents of the books. Had being the key word .Never during their youth, had Bianca understood what Lucia had felt for these books. She had lured Lucia with dress-ups, parties and embroidery and Lucia had become more and more distanced from her reading. During her late teens she had barely read at all. Her persona had opened up and all the young noblemen of Fortezza had adored her. Lucia sighed at the memory. Those days seemed so distant. She couldn't believe how happy and naïve she had been only months ago, laughing and dancing with Bianca still here. But Bianca was now in Volana with her husband and Lucia was now a widow, still in Fortezza.

Lucia returned to the present when a young servant entered the previously empty library. Upon noticing Lucia she quickly excused herself. "I-I'm so sorry principessa, I'll go immediately". Lucia thought for a second of telling the servant to stay, but he disappeared before she had made up her mind. Thinking about it, she shrugged. Looking at bookcase after bookcase filled to the brim had started something inside of her. Something she had forgotten. She knew she could never forget Carlo, but maybe these books could help her recover a bit.


A/N: First story, yay! After City of Flowers I was certain something would happen between Guido and Lucia. But no, they were barely mentioned in City of Secrets and City of Ships (were they even mentioned in Ships?). Anyway, I felt they just have to meet with Guido going to university in Fortezza. I plan to write this story in twelve chapters, each representing a month. I hope you'll like ^^