The Hearts of Venice
Prologue
"Hurry up, Bo! We need to get back to the hideout soon!" Prosper, an average height, 13 year old boy with curly brown hair called out to his younger brother.
"I'm coming Prosper! Just one more steal? Please?" The angel-faced 6 year old gave a pout that no one could resist. The taller one sighed. What a mess… We need to be back in a matter of minutes!
"Fine, Bo. But hurry it up because Scip and the rest are-" He didn't finish. There was a hand right on his shoulder. Prosper quickly jumped back and flung his arms in the air. Although there really wasn't any need for it…
"WHAT! What are you guys doing here?" Prosper yelled at his friends, who took him by surprise.
"Change of plans Prop." Scipio replied with a knowing smile.
"Scipio!" Bo gleamed with joy and leaped onto the leader of the group. Scip was a 14 year old teen with chin length midnight black hair and gorgeous bone structure. He was the one to keep things under control; the collected, suave one.
"Actually, Mr. Thief lord, over there, came an hour early!" Hornet, a 13 year old brunette with bangs and a long braid that hung down her back, glared over at the tall boy. He just replied with a small shrug. Prosper had always loved her hoarse voice. It was music to his ears.
"Yeah, so we decided to come and get you guys as a surprise." Mosca, the beautiful dark skinned boy, said.
"And, boy, did we scare you good!" The mischievous one, Riccio, slapped Prosper hard on the back with a hardy laugh. Prosper sighed… He loved his friends, but their shenanigans scared him to death!
"Well, how bout you all go off for a little round of burglary?" Scipio asked his gang of thieves.
"What about you Scip?" Bo gave off his famous pouty face.
"I have to go plan our next break -in Bo… You go on ahead." Scipio insisted.
"NO!" Bo said with his arms crossed.
"C'mon Scip, can't you let him have his way for once?" Hornet questioned.
"He always has his way, Hornet…" Riccio moaned.
"Fine, I'll come" Scipio hesitantly agreed. He then proceeded to ruffle the young blondie's hair. Bo giggled and returned the favor with a large hug.
"Let's go!" Riccio cried as they all ran off towards the marketplace, like a pack of hungry wolves skewering for their prey.
Venice was such a beautiful city. That was one of the main reasons why Bo and Prosper had run off to it. Their mom was very fond of it, and told them many stories of its wonderful sights. Now here they were, living life in the place of their dreams.
"Where to first?" Mosca asked as they were trotting past multiple shops.
"Why don't we check out to the clothing store? Tons of tourists go there daily to buy Venice clothes, so we'll be able to grab a few wallets." Hornet grinned as they headed towards the store.
A twelve year old girl with large chocolate eyes and wavy, long brunette tresses was making her way towards the clothes store as well. Her little five year old sister was close behind her. The little one had shoulder length light brown hair, little bangs, and hazel eyes. The younger one had slightly tanner skin then the older one and they both were dressed in skirts, collared shirts and warm fashionable jackets.
"Selena, what are we doing? We can't just leave mom and dad like this!" The younger one asked, looking concerned.
"We have to, Marie. Do you want to end up scarred for life…?" The girl asked her sister rhetorically, paused to stare into her naïve eyes, and then quickened her pace.
"Whoa! Look at all these clothes!" Bo smiled with fascination.
"Eh, who needs clothes?" Riccio made a skeptical face.
"Riccio! Without clothes, you'd be in Venice Jail at this very moment!" Hornet shook her head. He just rolled his eyes back and playfully shouldered her.
"Hey! Look! Those girls over there look like they might have some from their parents in their hand!" Bo, without hesitation, ran towards the pair.
"Wait! Bo!" Prosper ran after him and was followed by Scipio. The others stayed back, knowing they shouldn't get into this.
"Bo don't!-" It was too late.
The little blonde haired angel had slipped his finger into the girls coat pockets.
The taller girl quickly turned around and took a step back.
"What-"She said, trembling, before noticing who she was dealing with. The littler one turned around after a second. To them, Bo was only a little boy. He didn't seem like much harm. Of course, they were to trust no one but each other.
Scipio felt his heart skip a beat. The taller one was gorgeous. Her perfect wavy tresses, perfect features, perfectly slim body, and most of all, her perfect eyes. They were like deep, thorough pools of milky brown. They say the eyes are the windows of the soul, and Scipio was analyzing every aspect of this girl through them.
"What do you want?" The little one asked Bo with a little bit of hostility and a smirk. She was rough and had the attitude of superiority.
"I'm…I'm… sorry…" Bo replied with tears suddenly dripping down his cheeks. He quickly buried himself in Prosper's chest.
Prosper nudged Scipio, signaling for him to say something. But for once in his lifetime, Scipio didn't notice him. He was too focused on the girl in front of him. He was speechless.
"Ummm… We're sorry. It was an accident; we didn't mean to harm you girls." Prosper finally spat out. Usually Scipio did the explaining, if they ever got caught, but he was distracted this time.
"It's ok…" The taller one said with her eyes lain on Prosper, even though Scipio was the one speaking.
Prosper was confused. Why was the girl looking at him like that? The only other person who gave him those looks was Hornet. It felt weird when the girl looked at him like that… It didn't seem right.
Scipio on the other hand, was shocked. What was so amusing about his Prop? He needed to find a way to get her attention diverted. Just as the two girls were turning around he called out to Selena, "Wait!"
She looked in his direction as he asked, "What's your name."
She simply replied "Selena," and turned around to walk off with her sister.
"Who were those girls?" Hornet asked, glaring at the older one's back. She had seen the whole scene and wasn't happy about it!
"Nothing. Bo was just caught by them." Prosper answered.
"Good…" She muttered under her breath.