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Chapter Two: The Sheriff's Ward

"Vasey," the young woman repeated for what seemed like the umpteenth time in her desperate mindset.

"For the last time: Someone has been sent to fetch him," one of the two guards tried to explain, seeming to begin to lose his patience very quickly with the entire affair.

Of course, these words were obviously wasted on her because she continued to repeat the same name over and over again, "Vasey."

Then just as the guard opened his mouth to say something else, another voice, a new voice, a very familiar voice, joined in, "Vasey is here!"

Both woman and guards looked. "Uncle Vasey!" the woman called in Italian before running past the men to throw her arms around the Sheriff.

"Mariella, my dear," he answered in a language that sounded like unpracticed Italian, even to the untrained ear of the born and raised English guards who had only heard the language for the first time today from this woman, "How are you?"

"I'm well enough," she replied in a dialect that was much more native to Italy than her pale skin had grown to be. At least... it was pale as opposed to the rest of her family's Venetian olive tones. "How have you been?"

"Good… good," he said as he pulled away so that the nearby men could see what seemed like a cheap and phony smile on their lord's face, "But what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years!"

"The family debt has finally been paid off," she announced with the most beautiful smile on her face, her green eyes lighting up like sunlight peeking through a forest's canopy. This new expression made even the bystanding guards curious as to what she was saying. Even more so it made one of them want to know whether or not she was single. Her expressions were so sweet and angelic now that she wasn't yelling in a persistent panic. But it felt strange for Mariella to be smiling, to be truly smiling. It felt like a great weight had been lifted. She had been living a pretty, smiling lie for years now. It was such an experience for her to simply see someone and grin.

"Is that so?" he grinned, "You and your mother have finally been able to work it off? That's wonderful news, my dear! But speaking of Rosalia, where is she?"

"Uncle Vasey…" Mariella trailed off as she pushed a few brunette waves away from her face, her smile quickly disappearing, "Uncle Vasey… That's why I'm here in the first place… Mama is… She died a couple of years ago."

"Did she?" the Sheriff asked, somehow able to reach into his bag of tricks and appear truly crushed by the news, "I… can't believe it… Then you've been working it off by yourself?"

"No, no…" she corrected, "Arianna has been able to send me money every now and again. That helped significantly."

"I see… But if your mother died so long ago why did you not tell me?"

"I didn't inform you because that would also mean that you would be obliged to assume care of me and therefore pay off my debts."

"So… you didn't want to tell me because… you didn't want to unload your debts onto me?"

"That's right."

"Oh, Mariella," Vasey said as a look of affection and appreciation swept over his face, "You didn't have to do that, but thank you." Little did Mariella know that she had misinterpreted his near escape as loving thanks. As far as she knew the Sheriff really would have gladly paid off what she had owed.

"Then I will keep to my word as your godfather, of course, but…" the Sheriff nodded, then lowered his voice as if someone might overhear, even though he was still speaking in a language that no one else could understand, "Certain arrangements will have to be made before I can make our relationship public."

"What do you mean?" Mariella questioned, not seeming to understand what possible complication could demand this sort of secrecy.

"Well, you may not believe this, but I'm not well liked around here," the Sheriff began to explain, much to his ward's genuine surprise, "and if my enemies discover your connection to me before I have been able to make arrangements for your safety then I am afraid that I would be putting you in danger."

"But why would your enemies who dislike you put me in danger?"

"My God, child, do you know nothing about politics?" the Sheriff questioned as if talking to a child, "Hostage, my dear. Kidnapping. Threats. These are all dangerous possibilities that could put your life in danger in order to get to me."

"Oh… Politics…" Mariella repeated, "Very well. What do you suggest?"

"Well, I suggest that you stay here as a servant," the Sheriff told her, "You've been doing it most of your life. A few more days won't hurt you, right?"

Mariella simply nodded her head in agreement and smiled. "Yes, Uncle Vasey." She didn't like it, but what choice did she have?

"That's my girl," he said, "I'll have these gentlemen take care of you." He then gestured to the two guards that were standing nearby. "Guards," he said in English, "This woman is now a new servant. Please see to it that she is taken to the servants' quarters and properly settled."

"Yes, my lord," one said as the Sheriff walked past them and back into the castle.

"Hand over your bag," the guard demanded, holding out his hand to receive it, "We have to search it."

Unfortunately, she could not understand the instructions. She knitted her brow with confusion and let her lily green eyes dart back and forth.

"Theo, Theo… Give it up," the other guard told his fellow at seeing the futility of the request, "She can't understand."

"Well, what do you suggest we do, Luke?"

The guard named Luke rolled his eyes and then turned on the young woman, snatching at her bag. Having taken her by surprise it wasn't hard to get it from her. Her hand quickly followed it, but after a reassuring look from Theo she let it go.

She would have tried to snatch it back anyway if not for the fear of causing trouble between them. She had barely gotten here and she was not about start off on the wrong foot.

The guard began emptying the contents of the bag. First he pulled out a wooden box that when pried at was found to be locked. "Could you open this?" Luke grunted.

Amazingly enough Mariella seemed to understand, pulling out a key from around her neck with which to unlock it. She inserted the key into the heart shaped lock to reveal objects of little cause for pause: a few dried flowers, a stone, and a couple pieces of mediocre jewelry. Nothing of interest.

So, having finished with that, Luke closed the box and began going through the rest of her bag.

"Okay, miss, I need to check you…" Theo began awkwardly, hoping that she wouldn't take offense when he started to pat her down to look for weapons… Unfortunately for him she did take offense and in response struck him right across the face and cursed at him in Italian.

"Ow!" Theo exclaimed jumping back, holding his cheek, "Fine. Let's just say that she doesn't have any weapons on her person. After all, the Sheriff wouldn't hire anyone out of nowhere so he must trust her."

"Yeah," Luke nodded as he replaced everything into the sack and returned it to its owner, "Let's just show her to her room."

"This way," Theo ordered as the two began walking into the castle, Mariella following close behind, clutching her bag to her chest but eager to see the interior of her Uncle Vasey's castle.