Disclaimer: I still DON'T own Thief Lord. Anyone who says otherwise is w-r-o-n-g. I don't own it! Right Scip?
Scipio: Uhhh... yeah?
Disclaimer: Thank you for that very point-proving answer. *rolls eyes*
Scipio
I stared out my bedroom window at the scene in front of me. Bright sunlight, blue sky, barley a cloud, a day I would much rather be with Prop, Hornet, Bo and the rest of the gang. But, here I was, stuck doing lessons from my uncle.
It had been two years since the merry-go-round didn't work, two years since the gang at the Stella had found out my secret, who their beloved Thief Lord was. Who I was.
I sighed.
They had finally forgiven me, after I tried to help them get their money back. "The Break-In", as we call it. Since the Conte scammed them with fake lire, he knew we'd try to get it back. Even though I failed to retrieve the money, they thought better of me after that. I did manage to "steal" enough to help them along.
"Scipio!" my father yelled from downstairs. "Get down here!" I rolled my eyes and stood up, stretched and walked down the long staircase and into his study.
He was nearly glaring at me as I entered the room.
"Yes, father?" I asked politely, trying to keep the spite out of my voice. My father and I were alike in looks and height, but I was, and would never be, in any way like him.
"Get cleaned up, your lessons are finished for the day. I'm having important guests tonight for dinner and I expect you to stay out of the way. I need to pitch a deal with them, and you're to be gone before and after the meal." he said, turning away from me, speaking to the wall. "Understood?"
"Yes, father." I left the room then, knowing if I stayed longer, he'd grow angry with me. I'd head to the Stella after, keeping "out of the way". Reentering my room, I fell onto my bed on my back, staring at the ceiling.
The only reason I put up with my father and his hatred towards me was to help Prop, Bo, Hornet, Mosca and Ricco. Bo still thought me a hero, even after I lied to them. I stole from the mansion to help them stay afloat, and, after meeting my father, they realized how much I was doing for them.
I had a sense Ricco and Mosca were never going to fully forgive me, though, and Prosper hadn't yet, I was sure. They glared at me every time I came to the Stella, and smiled when they saw my back heading out the door.
An hour later, I walked back downstairs, wearing a white dress shirt and black pants and shoes, my dark hair tastefully mussed. I joined my father at the door, standing two steps behind him, waiting for whoever was coming.
Maria
"Mum," I said, hugging my mother and father again. "Dad."
"Maria, tesoro." My mother was beaming at me. "How was school?"
"Fantastic, mum." I put an arm up and around Marco's shoulders, giving him a one-armed hug. "How was your school?" I asked him, ruffling his hair. He swatted my hand away and tried to push me off of him, but it soon turned into a mini wrestling match. Kat was standing near, egging us on, while our parents shook their heads and walked inside, leaving us in the front yard.
"Mar! Stop it! Getoffme!" he yelled at me. I ignored him and persisted. He finally picked me up over his shoulder to get me to stop tackling him.
"Hey! Who got some muscle here?" I laughed as he set me down. "Did a certain someone cause that? Are you hot under the collar for a special person?" I asked, accidentally using the British term.
"Hot under the collar?" Marco asked, questioning my sanity.
"He's got a girlfriend from school." Kat said simply, answering my question.
I raised an eyebrow. "Alright. One," I looked at Marco. "I've been living as a Brit for the past four years, cut me some slack, and two," I looked at Kat, then at Marco again. "Who is she?" I elbowed him in the stomach, then picked up my guitar and backpack. Kat took my suitcase for me. The rest of my things from high school had come earlier.
"No one." he said, studying his shoes as we walking inside.
"Fine. But, as I am your older sister, I will find out who she is, understand?" I asked, looking up at him. Even though I was two years older than him, he was two inches taller than me, and still growing.
"I'm scared." he said sarcastically. "Oh, and Mar?" he added as I took my suitcase from Kat and began walking up the stairs.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"We're going out to dinner tonight. Dad's trying to pitch some business deal. We're supposed to wear something nice." Then, he walked away.
Later that night, I met Marco and Kat on the landing of the second floor. I was almost as tall as Marco now, in my new, black, two-inch heels.
I was wearing a black, strapless dress that fell just above my knees with diamonds encrusted into it. I was also wearing my crystal necklace and earrings , and my hair was twisted up into a black, metallic hair clip with diamonds set into it. The rest of my hair fell to the right side of it and over my right shoulder.
Kat was wearing a simpler black dress, which fell just below her knees, black ballet flats and her blonde hair was in ringlets around her head. Marco had chosen simple, with a silver dress shirt and black dress pants and shoes.
We met with mum and dad at the bottom of the stairs and then proceeded to the dinner, wherever it was.
Scipio
The door swung open and my father greeted a man in a suit similar to his, and the man's wife, who was wearing a black dress. Behind them were three others, a girl who seemed to be my age, a boy the same height as me, but seemed younger, and a little girl.
"My son, Scipio." I heard my father introduce. The man extended his hand and I shook it, then his wife's.
"My eldest daughter, Maria, my son, Marco, and my youngest daughter, Katerina." the man said, introducing his children.
"Scipio, show them around the grounds." my father snapped. I nodded and gestured for the three of them to follow me. The eldest girl, Maria, took her little sister's hand and followed me, their brother following slowly.
When we were out of earshot of the adults, I stopped to formerly introduce myself. "Scipio Massimo." I said, extending my hand.
Maria took it. "Maria Vargo." Her eyes met mine and she studied me for a moment. Then, she proceeded to introduce her siblings. "This is Katerina, usually known as Kat, and the one sulking over there is Marco. Katertina beamed at me while Maria put an arm around Marco. "He's in that awkward age that we all go through." She ruffled his hair and he pushed her away.
Her accent was reminding me slightly of Prosper and Bo's accents. We were walking again, I realized, and were now in the grounds.
"Are you British?" I asked. She smiled.
"No, I'm Italian. I've been studying in Britain for the past four years and have picked up an accent." She smiled. "I haven't been able to visit Venice for the longest time. I've missed it." She looked around the grounds, sighing.
"I couldn't imagine not being here." I said, agreeing. Katerina was hovering around us, so I knelt down in front of her. "So, how old are you?" I asked.
"I'm eight and a half." she said proudly, reminding me of Bo. 'I'm six and a quarter.', like he always used to say. "Marco's sixteen and Maria's eighteen." she informed me, making Marco roll his eyes.
"Eight and a half is a good age to be. For me, that was ten years ago." I said, letting her do the math.
"So... you're eighteen too?" she asked, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. I noticed Marco say something to Maria, who shook her head and otherwise ignored him.
"Yes, I am." I saw movement at the doorway and looked up to see one of the maids watching us.
"Your father wishes your attendance." she said, then left with a curt nod from me.
"Follow me." I said, standing and offering Maria my arm. She took it with a raised eyebrow from Marco. Katerina and Marco followed behind us, Kat telling Marco random facts, Marco all but listening to her.
We reached the dining room to find that the table had been shrunk down to seat seven. My father sat at the head of the table, Maria's father to his right, Mrs. Vargo to my father's left. I sat next to Maria's father, Marco beside me, Maria across from me and Kat to her left.
We were brought food and my father began talking with Maria's father about business. Her mother said nothing, as did we. I was surprised at eight year old Katerina's table manners, however. Her's rivalled Maria's.
Finally, we were dismissed. Marco took Katerina home, as she needed to go to sleep, and Maria and I returned to the gardens, allowing the adults to talk. Maria sat down on the edge of the fountain and I sat next to her. We were silent for a moment.
"I'm getting the sense that the relationship between you and your father isn't one of father and son." she said suddenly, catching me off guard. She was watching me out of the corner of her eye, waiting for my answer.
"No, it's not. More like a business owner and investment." I said.
"He thinks of you as an investment?" she asked, turning to me.
"When my parents split, my father fought and paid a good sum of money for custody. After my mother was gone, I began fending for myself, as my father couldn't care less about what happened to me. About two years ago, he gave my uncle control of, well, basically my whole life, but he didn't care much about me either." I said, sighing.
Maria was quiet for a moment. She probably didn't know what to say to that. I had just given my whole, horrible life story to a near stranger, which was a lot to take in. "That's horrible." she said finally, and I saw concern in her eyes, something I had missed for most of my life.
Again, we sat in silence for a while, and I saw Maria shiver.
"Cold?" I asked.
"A bit." she said, shrugging.
Just then, a maid entered the garden. "Miss?" Maria looked up. "Your parents are leaving now." she said. Maria nodded and the maid left with a pointed look at me.
"I'll be seeing you, I guess." I said as both Maria and I stood.
"Yes," she said.
I took her hand and raised it to my lips, kissing it gently in farewell. She froze for half a second, then smiled. We walked inside, and I watched the three Vargo's leave the mansion.
A/N: There, Scip's finally in it. And, I told you it would be a longer chapter! Ha! Anyone who didn't believe me is wrong! Hope you liked it! I'm going to upload the next chapter tomorrow, I hope, so please be patient. I'm going to make sure I have it all done, so... yeah. R&R if you'd like. Wait... I guess you already read, unless you skipped down to the authours note, but I mean, seriously, who skips the story to read the authour's note?
Cheers!
Translations (Italian-English):
tesoro- darling
