CHAPTER THREE
Quietly Sara made her way down the corridor to find Gokudera. He knew that whenever she approached him it was his duty to take her to Tsuna as he always knew where to find him. Without a single word he led her to the study opening and closing the door and waiting patiently outside. What had slightly unnerved the male was the fact that the small woman had walked to him with her archery equipment. He didn't know much personally about Sara but within the mafia stories of her were like legends, she was said to be deadly with her bow in hand. She never missed her shot no matter what distance she was the deadliest assassin, deadlier than the Varia as they called her the Angel of Death in her glory days.
"Tsuna I need to speak with you most urgently." She whispered when a man stood up in the study. She looked at him suspiciously as he bowed, something about him was familiar. To be exact, it was something about his smile. He turned and sat down when Tsuna smiled warmly at his cousin.
"I see you got out your old weapons again Sara, you always were brilliant at your archery and your swordsmanship, I never understood why you never chose to wield a sword. "He looked at her and changed his entire facial expression when he noticed hers.
"I did, Tsuna I am going to be leaving for a while. I have plans I have made, really large scale plans but as always I will return in due time." Her simple sentence had instantly hit home as Tsuna shook his head slowly in disagreement.
"Sara are you insane or something? At a time like this when we are all aware of the intentions of the Millefiore?" he stood up from his seat and walked over to his cousin looking down into her eyes as they widened with shock. She had never seen this side of Tsuna, ever. He grasped her shoulders and looked down at her.
"I have to do this Tsuna. I don't want to be known as the reclusive little rich girl anymore. I have mountains of money I inherited. I want to throw just one grand scale ball and invite everyone." She was serious. But then again Tsuna knew that Sara was always dead serious. He tightened his grasp on her shoulders.
"Including them?" the bitterness and slight anger in his usual soft tone caught her off guard completely as she looked up at her cousin.
Sara nodded. "Unfortunately I am the link that bonds the Vongola to the Millefiore, as much as it is to my very own distaste, they are my family too Tsuna, but for the sake of my life I chose my mother's side of the family." Tsuna sighed looking down at the small young woman and nodded.
He knew that it was futile to try and completely cut off the Millefiore from Sara. They were from her father's side. There were things that Giotto had told him as a young boy of Sara's parents union that he wished with every fiber of his being he could tell her. He turned away from her and sighed. "Fine then at least take someone with you to protect you, I won't let you leave here alone." Much to his relief she didn't argue as she left the room knowing he would make all the necessary arrangements.
Tsuna sat down quietly and sent Gokudera to call the others. He would need to pick carefully if it was someone to protect her. He knew he could send anyone but he just wanted to be careful.
Hibari, Gokudera, Lambo, Reborn, Ryohei and Takeshi all sat before him on the large sofa as he looked over at each one. He sighed at his choice pointing out between three. Hibari, Reborn and Takeshi, when he dismissed the other three, he wasn't fazed if three guardians where with his cousin they weren't going to be far away at any rate and he still had the Varia beneath him if he really felt desperate for protection. Tsuna looked at the three and smiled at them weakly.
"I need the three of you to go with Sara." He said in a low voice. "She has decided to go to her estate and has her mind set on a grand scale ball. She's inviting everyone one, as you are all aware she is the link that bonds us to the Millefiore due to her father's deception, so I need you to look after her. You are all aware that she won't be any problems so it shouldn't be difficult. After the ball she is to return to the head quarters with you three gentlemen, am I clear?"
Reborn nodded in agreement, Takeshi smiled and nodded, Hibari mumbled something unintelligible and groaned but complied with the task at hand for them. They all knew that if something really important job wise came up Tsuna wouldn't hesitate to contact them while they were out.
Later that evening Sara stood in the drive and awaited the Limo that was to take them to her estate. She sighed when instead of one, three showed up to look after her while she was away. Reborn hopped up on her shoulder and grinned as Hibari scowled. Takeshi stood silently with his calm smile on his face as the driver brought the limo to a halt in front of them.
The drive to her estate was a short one, almost thirty minutes given the traffic at the time of traveling. She smiled as the large, elegant wrought iron gates loomed ahead of the limo. The others sat staring at the large home and its beautiful gardens. In front of the door, her staff stood in excited anticipation awaiting her arrival. They all knew as quiet as she had been their well being was always something that was on her mind and as such she always treated them well like they were her family.
Takeshi smiled fondly as he watched her staff welcome her home and hug her, all wanting to know if she was well. And then there it was something they had rarely seen. A warm, gentle smile formed on her lips as she tightly hugged one of the older maids. After making sure that all three men were seen to she settled in she went to her study and started on her plans for the grand ball having all of her staff before her, allocating them jobs to do in the preparation of the extremely large estate. As Takeshi and Hibari stood behind her and Reborn perched himself on the desk, listening to her make her plans.
Once that was done the cook bowed taking his leave so he could prepare their dinner happily, all she had done was nodded when she looked up at the two men who took a seat on a sofa across from her desk. Hibari grunted as he made himself comfortable. Takeshi was the one to break the silence.
"So what all do these plans entitle, you never said much to your workers so we couldn't catch onto the plans much." He spoke in a low voice as he always did with her. She wasn't fond of loud people. All she had done I front of them was write out instructions and hand them to the respective people.
"If you must know I am well aware of each talent each of my workers holds so I give them things to do that I know they will be able to manage and get done with the best possible results." She looked down at her desk and took a deep breath. "Many of them have been here on this estate since before I was born, serving my mother before even she was married. And when she passed they all took it upon themselves to raise me well as my mother would have. Each one taught me something that I didn't know. Some are children of Varia members they taught me how to fight."
The men around her simply nodded as she spoke. Hibari grew bored and left without a word. Feeling rather worried, Takeshi followed him as Sara was left with the more than capable Reborn in her study. "He really doesn't feel like been here does he?" she asked softly looking at the infant.
Reborn chuckled and shook his head, "that's just how Hibari is, I can tell your not to familiar with him." She nodded looking at the papers scattered before her across the large oak desk. "The bow you carry?" he asked inquisitively pointing at it.
"I brought it with so I could train before the ball, I'll be carrying a weapon that evening. The legends and stories are all true about me, they make me sound like a monster, so I hid myself away and took to learning the arts of alchemy it turned out to be a great help." She stood up and motioned for Reborn to follow her. He jumped onto her shoulder then watched as she walked up some stairs to a specific book case. Gently a slender finger ran across the spines of various books until she came to one book pulling it out and pushing it back in. Reborn kept a mental note of the location of the book.
She walked down a long spiral staircase, her boots echoing into the darkness as they clicked along the stone steps when they came to a single door. Pulling a key out from her pocket she opened the door into a small round room with candles everywhere. Mumbling a few words and blowing on the one nearest to her, he watched as all the candles lit in the room. He saw hundreds upon hundreds of books scattered across the floor of the room, books along the walls and large alchemy stations where he knew she would make potions and elixirs. To his left was a room with a simple piece of velvet cloth covering the entrance. He gathered it was where she kept all her supplies. To their right was a set of double doors which she walked too. Pushing them open Reborn looked up at shelves from the floors to the ceiling of millions, upon millions of bottles of different shapes and sizes all labeled neatly.
"Any potion or elixir as well as personal creations, various strengths and so forth of each are here. Alchemy is my secret talent." She smiled a small smile at her years of handy work before looking to the baby on her shoulder. Reborn nodded knowing he would have to look for a potion in the room and he knew who he could ask to assist him. He watched as the candles died out as she closed the door, locking it and walked back to the study. When they returned they found it empty.
"Even in death, sorrow follows the soul." She mumbled as she looked out the window. "A line my father always used." Running her finger over the oak desk she stopped and walked to the book shelf when she pulled out a book with no writing on the spine. Reborn watched as she dusted it off and placed it before her.
"All these years I never thought I would find this and now I know why the phrase was in the journal." She whispered. On the cover of the book was written in gold 'To my Daughter." She opened the first page and with in reading the first paragraph Reborn watched as the book fell from her hands, tears streaming down her face.
He watched as she fled from the room leaving the book behind. He picked it up and read it.
"Do not hate your father for what I am about to tell you my darling angel. My only hope is that you find this book soon before doing anything to brash. Your father was never aware of my knowledge f his secret. It didn't take me much time to figure it out after our marriage. It was all a lie. The Millefiore had planned it all and used your father to use me. The ring you will possess could only ever be worn by a woman of the Vongola bloodline as it is classified as its own Sky type ring. As there is a sun, there is a moon.
Your father lied to me in the start about been a member of the Millefiore family and in so after your birth he kept insisting he take you out with him, but been of the pure Vongola bloodline I had the gift of hyper insight and saw through his attempts to take you anywhere alone. This is a gift you shall inherit. I never meant for you to grow up been the link between the two families my Angel. Remember I will always love you no matter where I am.
P.S: please stay away from the Millefiore my child.
Reborn knew this was all true after what Tsuna had explained to them. Taking the book with him he left the study and looked around when he bumped into the old woman from when they had arrived. Her name was said to be Mavis. She smiled down at Reborn with wise eyes picking him up.
"There is something I need to give too you Master Reborn, do not tell the Lady. But I sense that with you, there is simply more than meets the eye." She walked into the study locking the door, at the book shelf she pulled out the book and produced her own copy of the key opening the door and walking straight to the library of potions and elixirs. Setting Reborn down, she climbed the ladder till she came in line with the shelf she was looking for. Slowly she pulled herself along the wall picking up two bottles carefully.
She walked over to the infant and handed him the one bottle. Nodding she urged him to take a sip. After that she took the bottle and poured some contents into another bottle which held ten adult mouthfuls, it was double for Reborn as he would be an infant when taking a sip from the bottle. Tying a string around the bottle neck she placed it down looking again at a handsome man who now stood in the room. His dark eyes resting on the old woman as she took another small bottle and labeled it placing some of the other dark purple liquid into it, turning and handing it to Reborn.
"Now remember young man, the teal colored one lasts exactly an hour and you can only drink the fluid once a day. So on the day of the evening of the ball take a mouthful of the twenty –four hour potion. It's the deep purple one. But remember on that day you can't drink from the teal one. "She eyed him up and down smiling when he nodded in understanding as to what the old woman was saying.
He watched as she pulled out a tape measure and motioned for him to come closer as she placed a pen and paper down on the seat beside where she stood. "What is this for?" he asked as she chuckled.
"The lady has put me in charge of all the outfits for you gentlemen as well as picking out masks. I have you al covered, all I needed was the right measurements." The old woman spoke as she diligently took all the measurements down that she needed as well as what styled costume would look best on the man before her. The sixty minutes seemed to be all she needed to get everything she wanted done. Once back in the study the old woman took her leave after taking Reborn to his room. He looked at the time on the old clock. It was shortly after midnight and he knew that it wasn't the same day so he took a tiny sip of the teal potion after hiding the other away.
Quietly he walked through the sleeping estate when he came to a set o elegantly carved wooden doors which he knew could belong to no one else but Sara's room. Silently he slipped into her room and made his way over to where her sleeping figure lay bathed in the pale glow of the moon outside. Gently he stroked her hair, running a hand along her cheek before placing a kiss on top of her head.
"Dream of me my princess." He whispered stroking her silky hair as it glowed in the moonlight. Before his hour ended her left her room after placing a final kiss on top of her head and then he made his way back to his room.
Sara's eyes fluttered open to the pale moonlight as she looked around her room. 'I must have been dreaming about him again.' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and fell asleep yet again.