A/N: I'm so sorry! I meant to update this ages ago. I guess college managed to brainwash me over January exams. Oh well, all done now. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Thief Lord. I just wish I did.
Scipio
Aletta sat at the little table across from me, drawing me. It was quite good for such a young child, she was currently colouring in my eyes, and colouring them purple… well, maybe she wasn't very observant. I allowed myself a small smile as I watched her dark hair fall over her eyes the same way Eva's did when she was concentrating. I twirled a pencil in my hand and began sketching; my hand had a tendency to do that. After a while Aletta looked up at me, "What are you drawing?" she asked.
I looked down at what I had drawn, it was Eva. Those beautiful eyes gazed up at me, a smile playing on her luscious lips. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and I felt tears trickle down my cheeks. "Scipio? Who's that?" Aletta asked, oblivious to my pain.
"Eva…" I whispered through my tears.
"She's really pretty." Aletta smiled, she beamed up at me, but the smile faltered at the sight of my face, "…Scipio, what's wrong?"
I dashed away the tears, "Nothing, nothing's wrong." I forced a smile on to my face and sighed, "Would you like me to draw a picture of you?"
Aletta grinned again, and nodded. I took a new sheet of paper and began to sketch the little angel, my glimmer of light in this darkness. I kept glancing up at her, checking my drawing was accurate, something I didn't even need to do any more with Eva, I knew every strand of hair and each curve of her perfect face. I knew how best to draw her eyes to make her face light up when she was happy, to darken when she was thinking. I knew no face better than hers.
Once I had finished shading the thick black hair of Aletta's picture I spun it around to show her, she squealed, "Scipio, it's beautiful! I love it!" She bounded off her chair and threw her arms around my neck, planting a kiss on my neck, "grazie! Oh grazie Scipio!" she scooped up the picture and folded it neatly before placing it in her pocket. "I'll show mama." she decided. She skipped over to me and hugged me again.
I felt I should hug her back, instead of sitting there awkwardly like usual, I wrapped my arms around her slender waist and hugged her, "I'm glad you like it Aletta." I murmured.
"Mama told me to pass on a message," Aletta whispered in my ear as she hugged me tighter, "Be ready, it's almost time." She pulled back and smiled at me as though nothing had happened, and skipped over to the door and knocked. The door opened and she bounded out of the room. I glimpsed the slender figure of her mother as she stood across the hall from me. She was watching me intently; she gave me a small nod of acknowledgement before turning her attention to the picture in Aletta's small hand. She smiled and glanced back at me again. I saw something in those eyes I hadn't seen in years – the love of a mother. I felt my chest burn as a sob escaped my lips.
The door slammed shut and I was left alone to wallow in my self pity and boredom again. I turned back to the small table in the middle of the room; I stormed across to it and gripped it tightly before throwing it at the wall, letting out a roar of anger. I'd had enough of this godforsaken place. I wanted out! I slammed my fist into the wall again and again, until finally the numbness I had been feeling subsided and pain seeped into my consciousness. I gasped and drew my bloodied hand to my chest. My knuckles were throbbing and glistening with my own blood. I sank to my knees and cried, I must have stayed in that position for most of the day, I think I fell asleep at some point because when I woke much later there was a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Scipio…" I knew that voice.
"Scipio, please darling, wake up." Donatella whispered to me, she shook me slightly until my eyes fluttered open.
"Donatella? What time is it?" I asked groggily.
Donatella smiled, "It's time, that's all you need to know. Come on, you're leaving."
I was suddenly wide awake, leaving? Leaving this dreadful place? It couldn't be true, but apparently it was as Donatella took me by the hand and led me silently from the room. I noticed both of the men stood outside my room were asleep, a mug of what looked like coffee beside both of them. "Did you drug them or something?" I asked, it was meant to be a joke, but the look on Donatella's face told a different story.
She held a finger to her lips and raised an eyebrow, ok so maybe this wasn't the time to be joking. I followed her as silently as I could, wincing slightly as my hand brushed against my leg. Donatella noticed my pain and turned to look at my hand, she frowned but said nothing. She led me expertly through the complex I was being kept in and suddenly stopped next to a door, "Wait here." she said, her voice barely audible in the darkness. She slipped into the room and re-emerged with Aletta by her side.
Aletta gave me a smile and fell into step beside her mother; we walked with relative ease through the building until at last Donatella opened the final door and I saw outside for the first time in what seemed like forever. I took a deep breath of the sweet, cool outdoors air. It really was the most wonderful thing in the world. But my little bubble of happiness was suddenly shattered by a loud wailing sound, a siren had gone off and the complex was buzzing with activity.
Donatella muttered something under her breath and turned to me. "Scipio, take Aletta and get out of here. Go to the Stella. You'll be safe there." She turned her attention to her daughter, "Aletta, my love, do everything Scipio says and I'll find you. I promise."
Aletta had tears in her eyes but nodded and slipped her small hand into my own. "Si mama, ti amo." I love you. And with those final words, we turned and ran; I was mostly relying on Aletta to get us out of here, but she seemed to know the way pretty well. We managed to get as far as the gates before people noticed us and began shooting and yelling at us. I lifted Aletta up over the fence and watched her scramble down the other side, now it was my turn.
I clambered up and managed to get my leg over before I heard a very disturbing buzzing sound beneath me, it was electric! I leapt from the fence and rolled on impact with the compacted earth like I'd been taught. My hand was killing me and now my foot was tingling. Ow! Well that was certainly an incentive not to play with wires anymore in physics… if I even got out of this.
Aletta offered me her hand and helped me up, "Thanks," I smiled, "Let's go." I span on my heel and scooped Aletta up onto my back, "We'll be faster this way." I explained as Aletta gave a whoop of… excitement? Quite possibly.
I ran off into the darkness and sped instantly down a nearby alleyway. I could map out Venice in my mind and instantly find my way home… to the Stella. I didn't stop running for about half an hour, scampering along rooftops and dropping into alleys to evade my pursuers. They were good though, better than I had expected. I thought at one point I had finally lost them, only to see them at the other end of the alleyway, I'd had to push Aletta up onto a nearby ledge and clamber up myself, but one of them managed to grab my ankle and yank me back down to the ground with a painful thud. I heard Aletta scream my name, but ignored her, I had bigger problems to deal with right now.
"You can't escape." one of the men chuckled, his voice deep and heavily accented.
I smiled, "You sure about that?" I curled up my fists and crouched down in a standard fighting pose, it wouldn't have been too hard to take them, if the others hadn't come from behind me and surrounded us. Someone leapt at me and I had to roll quickly to get out of his way, unfortunately I came up just in front of another attacker and he kicked me hard in the face, I groaned and twisted away from him before he could grab me. I dragged myself to my feet and whacked the nearest person in the groin; that was one out of the equation at least. I spun around and lashed out wildly at the next guy to close in on me, I caught him square in the face and he stumbled backwards, creating a weird sort of domino effect as he took the guy behind him out as well, which left only four more. I realised I had turned my back on one of them, but I was a little late, something collided with my already throbbing arm and I cried out. I spun and smashed my fist into his stomach, ow, my bloody fist. It killed! I was preparing to take the next one out when a voice from above me made us all look up in confusion.
"Excuse me boys," the voice was dark and cool, and very female, "care to get off my property?" The men around me all looked at each other before fleeing for their lives; it would seem this young woman held quite a bit of power now that the position of Thief Lord was open. I felt my shoulders sag and I sighed, I glanced at Aletta and gave her a small smile. I turned my attention back to the girl who had probably saved our lives.
"Thanks," I nodded in gratitude.
"You're welcome Scipio." … Had she just used my name? I thought about it for a nanosecond. Yes, she had!
"Who are you?" I asked, getting straight to the bottom of the matter.
The girl stepped forward, and I stepped back, "Hornet?" I asked, my head a storm of thoughts.
"Hi, Scipio. Bring Aletta, we've got to go quickly." And with that, Hornet spun on her heel and disappeared into the shadows.
I ran back to where Aletta sat huddled against the wall on her ledge, "Come on Letty, time to go." I whispered as I gently lifted her into my arms, she clung to me tightly and sobbed into my shirt. My arm was killing me and I tried to move her a little, but stopped when she gripped tighter.
"Why did you call me Letty?" she asked after a while of walking silently through the darkness with Hornet by my side.
I frowned, "I don't know really. It's a shorter way of saying your name; I can stop if you want."
Aletta shook her head, "No I like it. What's your name shortened?" she asked drowsily.
"Scip, I get Scip." I smiled.
Aletta made a small noise of agreement and snuggled her head into the space between my shoulder and my chin. I smiled again and glanced at Hornet as she walked stoically beside me, "Cute kid." She said calmly.
"Yeah." I replied quietly.
"Come on, they'll be waiting for us."
"Who will?" I asked, frowning, surely she didn't mean the goons who had run off?
Hornet allowed me a small smile, how long had it been since I had seen that smile? Too long. "You'll see."
So we walked a little further until Hornet placed a hand on my uninjured arm, "Wait here. I need to check something." I obeyed without question, and wondered when Hornet had grown into this bright young woman who demanded respect and obedience from everyone around her. She came back within seconds, "Follow me." she gestured with her head; we walked out into the plaza and crossed it swiftly.
I recognised this place as being close to the Stella. I followed Hornet as silently as I could with a sleeping child hanging around my neck, until we had finally crossed the plaza and were stood just outside my Star Palace. I smile spread across my face, my glorious Stella. I glanced at Hornet; she smiled slightly and knocked four times on the old wooden door.
A series of clicks and the scraping of bolts later the door swung open and I found myself looking into some very familiar eyes, more familiar to me than my own.
"Scipio?" she breathed.
A/N: I had fun writing this chapter, I hope you had as much fun reading it. Please Review, it doesn't take much to do, but it means a lot to me. Thank you. :)
