The vineyard was greener than it had been in years.
A middle-aged man with a mess of graying curls sighed as the sun rose up over the Allegrian countryside, shading the plants into a mosaic of greens. The grapes hung on the vines like bunches of waxy jewels, their skins dripping with dew. The leaves were broad and healthy, and the little curls of vines wrapping close to them bounced in the cool morning breeze. Beneath his sandaled feet, the earth was rich and moist. Nature had created something truly wonderful this season.
"Roma! There you are."
At the sound of footsteps, Roma turned. His four long wings, curled at the tips, perked curiously behind him. They caught the light of the sun and glittered scarlet with little flecks of gold.
"We didn't make it before the sunrise, but he was fussy this morning," came a woman's voice. Its bearer strode up to the man while struggling to keep a squirming toddler from escaping her arms. His chubby little face was red and sticky from the paths of tears, but when he saw the glory of the sun in the distance, he stopped pulling his mother's hair and looked on toward the horizon with awe.
Roma laughed. It was a musical laugh, perfectly in tune and light like a dance. Fairy dust spilled from his wings and littered the ground beneath him. The tiny boy reached out his arms, begging to be held by his grandfather. The old fairy obliged and scooped him up.
"And why are you fussy, Lovino? Not a morning person? Don't worry, you don't have to be one in this family. Is your papà still sleeping?"
"I don't think he'd want to miss it when he promised me he'd be here," the woman said sharply. Her lips twitched in annoyance.
"Eh, that's just my Gigi. He'll be down soon, and if he isn't, I give you my permission to yell at him," the man mused.
Just as was predicted, a whining countertenor swelled as a much younger and leaner fairy trudged down the rut between the two rows of vines toward them. Gianfranco Roma rubbed his eyes, bronze wings drooping behind. His auburn hair was even messier than his father's, and his wrinkled sleeping shirt was slipping down on his chest.
"Gigi!" Roma chirped.
"I don't see why we can't all watch the sunset together. Why get up so early? You both know I'm going right back to bed after this! Look at little Lovi. Look at those tired eyes! You know he's going to be just like me when he grows up. He already knows it's important to get enough sleep."
"Papà!" Lovino whined as he reached out yet again. Then he was in the arms of his father, who tousled his hair and gently stroked his little wings.
"Maybe, but he looks like his mother," the woman said. "The dark hair and dark wings. His judging green eyes."
"His wings are green, Tina," Gigi scoffed with a wild gesture.
"Dark green, almost brown. They always remind me of boiled grape leaves. And what kind of argument is that? He looks like his mother, and he's going to grow up like his mother if you keep going off on your excursions with the humans."
"They pay so much more, as if magic is more precious than gold. It makes a difference when they don't see it everyday. Poor creatures. Why shouldn't I share my gift? At least I'm not arrogant about it like someone." Gigi grinned and poked his father in the ribs.
"Magic is more valuable than gold, and that's why fairies can be arrogant about their talents," Roma said with a smile.
"Of course, and that's why I'm so excited to see what little Lovino will become," Gigi replied. He smiled at his little one before setting him down to run around. The boy twirled the little green curls of vines around his fingers and hopped under the thick tangles of leaves, trying to reach the grapes growing in bunches above him.
"Well, he's my grandson, eh? I'll love him no matter who he becomes," Roma chuckled.
Gigi crossed his arms, looking out upon the sunrise almost sadly. "It does feel good to hear you say that again. I'm sure you've heard the backstabbing as well. You'd think your jealous siblings would find some satisfaction, as disturbing as the thought may be, but they were all really mean the last time we had them over for supper. I guess they all expected that he'd be born with the Gift, and when he wasn't… I won't let people insult him. Lovino will be a powerful fairy even if he doesn't have the Gift. He'll study at Straffino and make us all proud."
"Papà! Mamma! Help!"
The little cry came from a few rows over. Gigi came out of his rambling and pushed through the trees of vines to see Lovino kneeling down and facing away from him. Little green wings flicked up and fluttered in anxiety.
"Lovino! Are you hurt?" Gigi cried as he rushed to the child. Then, his bronze-colored eyes widened and brightened, and his mouth fell open at the sight.
Both of Lovino's hands were placed on the soil in front of him and glowing a faint olive green. His fingers twitched at the little crackles of static pulsing between them. Above his head, the grape vines were twisting and curling and growing from their sturdy trunks, the leaves broadening and the grapes swelling to nearly bursting.
The other two were gaping at the sight soon enough. Lovino's mother beamed and clapped her hands together in pure excitement.
Gigi laughed in the same musical way his father did. "His first spell! Maybe that fussiness was just because of a little magic bubbling up inside him! Oh, don't be scared, Lovi! This is a very good thing! It feels strange but wonderful, doesn't it?" He spread his arms wide and let a very distraught son cuddle up to his chest in fear of the power he had wrought. The grape vines continued tangling, and the grapes all the way down the row continued to ripen.
Roma kept whipping his head around to look up and down the row like he simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"He may not possess the Gift, but it looks like Lovino is a natural garden fairy! This kind of power will only grow stronger!"
"A gift of your own? And already so impressive? I almost want to give this to you now," Gigi mused, pointing to his hair clip. "Don't worry, I'll give it to you when you're strong and powerful, so you can wear it and show everyone you're the perfect heir to the House of Roma, no matter what! Now, how are we going to celebrate? I guess I can't go back to bed now. Do you want pasta, Lovino? I'll spend all day making pasta! And I'm buying you your own pair of scissors. With grape leaves engraved into them so you always remember you're our special little garden fairy."
He hugged Lovino tightly while the tiny boy sniffled, confused by all this sudden adulation.
"We're celebrating two," Tina said as she knelt down to wipe some new tears off the boy's face.
"Two? Who's the other?" Gigi asked.
"There's a reason why I decided to have us all meet here so early in the morning." She raised her eyebrows and smiled, but her husband couldn't catch what she meant to convey.
"What?"
"Our special little garden fairy is going to be a big brother."
Needless to say, after this reveal, the vineyard was full of joyful cries and endless smiles and tight hugs and the wildest of gesticulations. Roma and Gigi burst into song, their magical voices swelling with power, and their spell of happiness spread through the vineyard and all throughout the environs of Roma Villa. Happiness that was bound to last forever and ever.
Except it didn't.
"Will you stop already? It's annoying!"
"Stop what, Lovi?"
"Stop talking! It sounds weird!"
"I can't help it! My voice just started cracking one day just this past summer, and now it's all deep! Well, not really deep deep, but deeper than it was before. Like, I don't sound like a girl anymore! No more 'pretty soprano' as Grandpa Roma used to say! Did Papà have a voice like this?"
Lovino huffed as he stared out onto the misty September vineyard through the door of his balcony. He strained to place his consciousness so far back in time. How old had he been when it happened? And what was life like before then? The only memory that came to mind was not a set of moving images, but rather a blurred and neglected collection of sights and sensations. An orange sunrise, a gasp of amazement, a strange yet wonderful pulsing in his chest… it could have only been his imagination.
But his father's magical voice could never be imagined with the power he remembered it having.
"It wasn't stupid like yours," he growled. "About the same pitch, maybe lower."
"And was it really pretty? Could he sing arias to bring storms like Grandpa Roma could? I bet he could work some wonderful magic! Not like mine. All my spells are just made up. I don't even understand how they work. And Herr Edelstein never lets me work magic. He hates magic! But it's so hard to make music without anything happening. Every time I try to repress my power, it just grows stronger, and soon the pianoforte is floating again!"
"Felice, you're rambling again."
"Tell me what Papà's voice was like, please? Was it as wonderful as Grandpa's?"
"Sure it was. It was beautiful," Lovino said. He stood up from his chair and stretched, his wings flicking up and fluttering a bit.
Feliciano came to stand by his side, smiling like he hadn't a care in the world. Lovino let his eyes settle on his brother. Who did he think he fooled? Except for the amber eyes and the tannish-gold wings, he was the younger image of Gigi Roma. The resemblance was only exacerbated by his wearing of a golden hair clip in the shape of a laurel branch.
Feliciano had inherited the Gift — a natural musical ability steeped with magic power. His very birth crying had not been throaty and distressed, but rather melodious and pure, and anyone who happened to hear it was overwhelmed with joy. It wasn't until he was a few years old that he was able to open his mouth without causing some minor miracle. But by then, he was playing musical instruments, and his magic found even more ways to cause trouble. No amount of studying mundane music under a tutor could tame the Gift's ability to sway emotions and toy with nature.
Needless to say, the rarity and power of Feliciano's talent christened him heir to the House of Roma not long after Gigi so passionately supported his firstborn, and Lovino had a very clear memory of Grandpa Roma plucking the clip out of his coffee-colored hair and fastening it in his gurgling brother's amaretto.
Now here they stood, seventeen and fourteen, in a villa that seemed strangely quiet in the morning with their mother still in bed and the two previous generations existing only in memory.
Feliciano broke the silence. "Are you ready for another year?"
"What do you think? You think I want to be stuck inside sniffing paper when there are flower boxes in the courtyard that need weeding? My fate is to be a garden fairy. Why not actually practice with real plants?"
"Well, I don't know. Maybe you have to learn how to use your powers so you can use them more effectively! I'm sure I'm far from my full potential, and that's why I'm going to school in just a few years, too! It's just what Grandpa wanted for me."
For you… Lovino thought.
He couldn't have possibly known of the disaster that the little thought would bring.
"I wonder if they'll use the same methods with me that they used when Papà and Grandpa Roma went to school. I bet they don't have classes in music casting since the talent is so rare, but great-uncle Luigino said the professors know a lot about how music and magic are so similar. You've learned about it, right? I at least hope they can teach me to control my power. I don't want to make everyone cry every time I sing a sad song! Oh, I just can't wait to study magic! I have to go back to Herr Edelstein in a few weeks and just learn boring music theory before he tricks me into scrubbing his ballroom. But if you tasted his sweets, you'd forgive him for anything."
Lovino just huffed. "Lace my jacket for me."
"Sure, sure. You know, you're supposed to tell me I'm wasting my time."
"Am I?"
"That's what I'd expect from you, and then I'd tell you I only do it because Herr Edelstein is actually a very miserable man, and if having a music student brings him joy, then I'll be the joy in his life."
"Sing him an aria for all I care. Make him so happy, he covets you and locks you up like humans did in ancient times. Now that's something you learn about in school. They thought our dust could make things fly — Eh! Too tight! Not through the top holes! What did I tell you last time!?"
"But this kind of jacket is supposed to fit tight—"
"If it's that tight, I can't maneuver quickly enough, and I won't be able to balance, and I'll fall out of the sky and land in the depths of hell where plants frost over and die. Real responsible, Felice. Real responsible."
"Maybe it would be a good place to be, considering the sticky weather we've been having," Feliciano mused. "But I've seen you fly just fine with the jacket laced tightly like it should be." He grasped the laces of the other slit in both hands and weaved them through the grommets from the bottom edge of the jacket right up to under Lovino's left wings before tying them taut. Lovino scowled as he fluttered in and out. The fabric chafed around where his wings met the skin between his shoulder blades.
"If it's this tight every day, the fabric's going to bunch up after a while, and then I'm going to have one hell of a time trying to scrub all the extra fairy dust off every night."
"That's why you can't forget to wash your wings with soap every day. Yours are more oily because you work in the sun—"
"Do you not see me washing them every day?"
Feliciano caught his warning edge and, with a humble smile, put space between them.
"You look very handsome with that red pin."
The tiniest bubble of pride surfaced in his annoyance. Lovino straightened the little butterfly-shaped pin on his lapel. It was the mark of a second-year — proof that Lovino had already gone through one whole year at that school, doing nothing but twiddling his thumbs in lecture halls while there was an entire green world outside that needed his care. There was a world of plants just like there was a world of people! And yet, in this modern Allegria, fairy magic wasn't feelings or intuition, but diagrams and frequencies and things that could be written down on paper and studied, studied, studied.
He may as well get the studying done so that snooty board of whoever made the rules could smile down on him and somehow make him more powerful.
Lovino sighed.
At least another year away would save him from dealing with Feliciano.
Straffino was nestled in a valley in between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the mountains. The grand, snow-capped wall that separated Allegria from the human lands of Amotoile and Volkerburg dominated the northern horizon, while the salt-laced scent of sea air eased up from the southwest. Placid lakes filled the area, while the city of Tor complemented the natural greens and blues and purples with its man-made reds and silvers.
The school was separate from the city in its own little part of the valley. Its main complex on campus was a castle — of a century past and stately with its many peeping windows and towers at each corner. But one was never far from magic in Allegria, and the castle was accompanied by a number of free-standing towers that slowly inched of their own accord around the area and a host of floating buildings that could only be reached if one had the power of flight.
By the time Lovino reached the courtyard of the castle after a long three days' travel, it was about two in the afternoon, and he was late to orientation. He weaved through masses of bodies to find his place among the other red-pinned second-years. Eugh, had he worn that stupid, slack-jawed expression as a first-year?
A new face in the system was obviously a thing of attention, and Lovino found himself eyed by faces arrogant and humble, learned and callow. His wings twitched, and a heat came to his cheeks. His saving grace was that the spying eyes soon returned respectfully to Headmistress Barbalosa and her predictable welcome speech. Lovino tuned her out immediately. If this was going to be anything like last year, he wasn't going to be on her good side, so he may as well start his personal rebellion early.
The assembly finished with the announcement that schedules would be sent to dorms later and that breakfast would be served at seven the next morning. The students broke out of their rigid formation and scattered in abstract clouds of friends and acquaintances, leaving one green-winged fairy to himself. Lovino took the time to fish out his dorm assignment. He dreaded recognizing it for fear of having to live another year with that stupid Flavio.
And yet he did. Catolavie Hall, Floor Two, Room Four.
It was one of the floating buildings. At present, it was hovering about fifty feet above the middle of the roiling campus lake. Dark, soupy clouds had rolled in, and a chill sea wind whipped through the trees. Wings of every color and sheen fluttered anxiously in the ominous breeze. Then Lovino felt tapping on his shoulder.
He whipped around and cursed, expecting it to be that horrid roommate, but his own internal storm grew even darker when he realized he'd cursed to Barbalosa herself. She tucked graying curls behind her ears and snapped her great blue wings together in surprise.
But she knew Lovino. Or she thought she knew him. And in her mind, this was only to be expected as his usual mode of language.
"I noticed you arrived late, Signor Vargas Roma." Her voice was stern-ish. The emphasis was heavy and held with it a certain tone of scolding as if he didn't deserve such a powerful name.
"A storm was coming. I flew cautiously over the final stretch to the castle… against the wind."
The old fairy's lips tightened. Lovino had scarcely the time to mentally call her a hag before she placed her long fingernails on his shoulder and looked at him with a strained kindness.
"If you need anything these first few days, please do come speak to me. I know this different environment can be difficult for you, and all we want is to help you become stronger—"
"I'm not a child," Lovino snapped. Why was he getting so flustered all of a sudden? Was she talking down to him? He could adapt perfectly to this different environment. He thrived in any place where Feliciano couldn't cloud his chance at success… well, perhaps not any place, but school was supposed to be a haven for growth and fulfilling one's potential. Becoming stronger. Why, then, was he feeling so uneasy?
Perhaps it was because last year had held too many conferences between Lovino and the faculty about his behavior, his attitude, and his mouth — conferences that he thought were wildly unfair. And now, as expected, Barbalosa was already on his case for this year. He wondered how many days would pass until he found himself in her office waiting to be told off for something or another before being sent away without even candy for compensation. How many days until he was found taking respite in the library and yelled at simply because he'd fallen asleep in a book and missed class? At least he'd fallen asleep reading that time!
"Don't see me as an enemy, Lovino. If you need to talk about anything at all, my door is always open."
Lovino snapped back to reality. Like she would even care. His heart still burned whenever he thought of the time in the library. He'd been up so late the night before! Studying! And not studying botany, but general algebra — a stupid subject that every teacher lied about young men needing.
When the headmistress left, Lovino picked up his suitcases, his mind now a turbulent storm of bad memories and uneasy feelings. He folded his wings up, bent his knees, then kicked off and ascended, the wind carrying him far above the ground. His heart lurched when a rogue squall picked up and threw him off balance for a bit. He worked quickly to right himself, a squeak escaping his throat. While he'd improved over the years, he'd never been the strongest flier. Skilled wings were yet another thing gifted to Feliciano.
No, no, he wasn't supposed to think about Feliciano. Not his inheritance nor his games of ignorance. Lovino was at Straffino, the best fairy school in Allegria, if not all the world. He had been accepted, and he'd passed his classes his first year. Sure, there were rough memories, but he'd survived! That was why he now wore a red pin! The year was what he made of it. Now, if everyone would just allow him peace of mind and stay out of his way, he could fly through this second year with little trouble.
He stepped onto the stone foundation outside the floating building and quickly threw himself inside the door. The inside of Catolavie Hall was eerily quiet. Dim yellow orbs hovered over vintage torch-holders on the walls. Peeling pink wallpaper and tarnished chandeliers left a wistful feel in the stagnant old halls. But the marble floor had been freshly polished, and muddy footprints had yet to stain it.
Then a faint pittering of rain came down to bead on the dusty windows. Lovino let out a sigh. Amid the chaos, there was a space to escape to. A place where there was coziness in the storm.
With a timid smile, he reached out to touch a potted petunia on the front desk succumbing to the stifling lament of the place. There came a faint pulse of magic in his chest, and as he stroked the little flower, he could feel its own pulse of life — weak and fading.
As he'd done so many times before, he weaved his inner magic into the shape of a spell for growth and healing. A few green sparks dropped from his fingertips. The magenta petals flushed with color, and their crinkly brittleness softened and returned to life as if gasping in a breath of fresh air.
"All by yourself in this place? I can't let you dry up again. Whoever is supposed to be taking care of you will get a talking to," he told it.
He took his room key and ascended the spiraling marble staircase to the second floor. The room numbers were painted in purple on the wooden doors. Ragged carpeting and little paintings of fruit made it look almost like the hall of a dollhouse. He turned the key in the lock of Room Four's door and stepped inside.
It seemed the accursed Flavio hadn't moved in yet. The room was gray and empty without his flamboyant furnishings making a mockery of the Hall's pleasant melancholy. When classes started up, Lovino would bring in an assortment of flowers and ferns to decorate his side, but at least those were of naturally-occurring colors and not the atrocious dyes invented in textile factories.
Lovino unpacked and dressed his bed. Earth-toned sheets and a green set of pillowcases made the place feel instantly homier. Then he took from a pouch on his belt a pair of scissors. They were shaped like garden shears and were meticulously engraved with hundreds of tiny gold grape leaves. He hugged them to his chest, wishing in his heart that there was someone to reassure him. Then he placed them on his nightstand.
Seeing as he wasn't needed anywhere except breakfast the next morning, he pulled the laces on the back of his jacket loose and slipped it off. His red satin tie he loosened next. Then he unlaced his shirt and carefully pushed his wings down and out of the slits. Lovino grimaced at the oily glitter staining the fabric a deep brownish-green. The back of his shirt looked as if it had been dipped in a pond full of algae.
But he would worry about it later. Right now, he was exhausted. Too much stimulation in one day. Too many negative feelings. Too many doubts.
Not enough sleep.
He was aware enough of himself to suddenly notice the severity of his tan lines. The skin of his torso was a patchy two-tone — pale under where work clothes had been and furiously tan where the sun had shone down. All summer he'd practiced his craft outside to keep carnations and tomatoes healthy, just as he had every summer since he was nine years old.
I can already tend plants with the passion of an old retired man. What's the point of more work? He thought.
Over the cracked marble sink a minute later, he took a cloth and reached back to squeeze the tiniest bit of soapy warm water over his delicate wings. Green glitter streamed down his back and stained the towels on the floor. He fluttered a bit to rid him of the faint slithery feelings his wings registered, and little sparkling droplets rained all around him.
With a curse, he set to work scrubbing the walls with even more towels.
Of course, deep in his mind, Lovino knew why he was here. He knew why he had to suffer through the boring classes and deal with people who saw him only as the persistent weed of the Roma family. He knew he had to become a stronger fairy because his Papà had wanted it for him. And before Feliciano had come along to sing his way into everyone's heart, Lovino wasn't a weed, but a vine.
This year, I'd better become the most powerful garden fairy who ever lived, dammit.
~N~
Here is part one of Lovi's little adventure~ Those who have read my main story Hetafata may have an idea of where this is going... but if you're new to Fataverse, welcome, and make sure to follow this story for parts two and three!
Published on FanFiction by Syntax-N on September 23, 2018. Reposting is not permitted by the author.