In my heart there was a kind
Of fighting
That would not let me
Sleep.
-Hamlet
Lucca spun the striped hat she was forced to wear. The tailor was boasting on the technique and the quality of the fabric but she was not after the setting the trend when the vivid colors of the hat would not match with her neutral colored suit.
"It is not that bad, my lord." Cianna tried to hide her amusement by biting her lips.
"Then wear it!" Lucca threw the hat at Cianna who languidly caught it and placed it on her head. Lucca rolled her eyes when Cianna gave an elaborate bow.
"Would you look at that? Orange matches my pink dress." Cianna declared, earning the attention of Enzo and Cesar.
Enzo gave a glance at Cianna who was standing by the carriage door, and had been convincing the young lord to come out. The new parish priest will be welcomed at noon, where a small feast shall be shared after the opening of the new orphanage the Orseofilo sponsored.
A subtle nod towards Cesar, and Enzo continued with his conversation regarding the census of the place and the information on the new parish priest. It seemed that the nuns have a great opinion of him, despite being recently ordained.
Cesar knocked on the side of the carriage to further irritate Lucca. "Is our young master having wardrobe problems, head maid?"
"How bold of you to imply that our perfect young master have such predicaments!" Cianna gasped audibly, making a show on wearing the orange and white striped hat. "Anything our young master would wear becomes a trend across Sicily all the way to the Vatican! Surely, young master will not retreat in the corners of the carriage just because of some mismatched clothes."
Cesar cupped his cheeks, imitating the voice of ladies who constantly tries to be the fiancee of the heir of Orseofilo. "Oh my, I do hope Lord Lucca would appear before us clothed with clothes he wore the day he was born! He needs no clothes!
"Oh goodness-" Lucca exasperated.
"What would I give to have my hands-"
Cianna smiled when the hat was swiped from her head. "And I do not doubt that my lord is the bravest of the brave. Not even a second."
Lucca touched her cufflinks, and arranged her dreadful hat she was forced to wear. "How inappropriate! Vulgar words in front of a church for the welcoming of a new parish priest no less." She scolded her subordinates.
The head nun finally caught sight of Lucca who raised his hat in greeting.
"Mother Natasha!" Lucca greeted, kissing the hand of the old nun. "I hope the little boy I dropped in your care-" She did literally drop the boy in front of the nun who scolded her with no regard of the consequences of pinching the young lord's cheeks until they are as red as cooked lobsters. "- is not causing any trouble for you."
"I can assure you, my lord, that our dear Emanuel is the most well-behaved child since Enzo." Enzo bashfully looked away.
"I am not assured by that then." Lucca responded cheekily.
"I am more unsure about your hat that you dropped in a colorful mud, my lord." Natasha quipped with more sass. "When I was a charming young lady, that is the kind of hat worn by men who will die a bachelor!"
"I did not know Adam and Eve wore hats back in the day." Lucca earned a slap in the shoulder from the nun. She may be old but the punches she throws are not to be taken lightly.
"Careful with what you say, rich lad."
Natasha perked up at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Zia Natasha ate the snake for dinner after it has tempted Eve." A rough-looking man came into view. He was the opposite of the things Lucca was taught how to be. He wore his tie loose, his shirt untucked on one side, and his hair in an oddly pink neat mess.
"And I say you are not lean enough that I can serve you to my children when the orphanage's stock goes dry, G!" Natasha engulfed man in a huge embrace, holding him so tight she may have been the snake trapping her prey in her embrace. G seemed not to mind though.
"Is that what a nun is supposed to say?" Lucca rubbed her aching shoulder. Beside the pink haired male was a known boxer wearing black robe. "Are you the new priest of our humble county?"
G snorted. "Are nobles focusing on earning money that they ignore their education?" He smirked at the glare he received from the flashy noble. "Just because I wore white and Knuckle here wore black does not mean I am so pure that I am the one sent by the church to preach sermons and collect money from the rich."
"Do not be so rude, you brat!" Natasha smacked G on the head, as if the adult was one of her wards. "You look like an angel, that's why the young lord mistook you for the new priest. Now if only you could shut up."
Lucca's anger was alleviated by the cheeky remark of the nun. "This dumb lord could only infer that the new priest is the gentleman beside the educated peasant then."
"You can laugh now, but it shows how ignorant you are by that remark." G fumed, grabbing Lucca by the tie of her suit, his hand grabbing a handful of the dress shirt she wore and Lucca would feel the fabric against her chest. "It is your responsibility to make sure that every one gets their fair share, but you guys chose to sacrifice those who needed your strength the most!"
Panic filled Lucca's head as he easily swatted away the hand before Enzo could react. "Do not touch me!" She warned as she straightened her tie and straightened her shirt, making sure that it was loose enough not to outline her figure.
Enzo was about to give an example in breaching the protocols, fighting G's fire with a blaze of his own. G, being a wise man, readied himself despite Natasha's protests.
"Enough, Enzo." Lucca's authoritative voice grounded both men from getting any further blows. "And the gentleman who loses to Mother Natasha." That no one can argue. "We can all agree that these children had already seen enough violence to last them ten lifetimes."
Shame rushed over both men when they realized the little ones hiding in various places of the courtyard, too curious for their own good.
"Now that is settled," Lucca turned to the man wearing black robes. "Forgive me for my rudeness. I am Lucca Orseofilo, the representative of the Orseofilo sent by the Count, himself. I welcome you to our town, Father-"
"It's Knuckles!" The youngest child exclaimed in excitement. He rushed to the priest with glee as he showed him the torn boxing gloves he owned.
The others followed suit.
Every one knows of the rise and fall of the youngest boxer known as Knuckles in the boxing world. He made a name for himself and rose to the ranks through his iron fist which ironically led to his downfall. It was unexpected of him to appear as a priest after two years from his rise to fame, really.
To the kids, Knuckles arriving in their orphanage was like a celebrity welcoming them.
To the adults, Knuckles arriving in his priestly robes was a waste of raw talent.
To Knuckles, arriving as a priest is a new life he chose to have so he could continue to live on without any regrets.
"Now, now, children." Knuckles' voice got them to settle down for a bit. "How about we enjoy ourselves inside where we say how thankful we are for having each other, and partake in a meal to celebrate a new chapter in our lives?" The enthusiastic response was enough for him to lead every one.
The youngest came to Lucca and asked that he be carried towards the church.
G had expected that the young lord would refuse but to his surprise, the child was given a piggy back ride by that dumb lord. Enzo followed behind the pair, being the dutiful bodyguard.
"Heh! It's nice to know that he allows children to touch him." He muttered.
"It's not nice to touch people without their consent, G." Natasha reminded him.
"It's not-"
"That child is not as bad as you think." Natasha's smirk made the man roll his eyes. "Now, what brings you here? It's not as if you wanted to be a dutiful friend to our new priest, is it?"
"He is not my friend!" G protested.
"If you say so." Natasha teased. "Or perhaps my nephew missed me? I also miss you and my stupid brother."
"Are nuns supposed to be kind and gentle and all good things in this world?" G placed his hands inside his pocket.
"I may be a nun boy, but I am also human not a saint." Natasha fished out a cigarette and a lighter from her pocket and enjoyed the feeling of the nicotine rushing in her system. "So how's my good-for-nothing brother?"
"Zio Diego is doing well. He is in the northern part of Sicily tending to the wounded soldiers there. The marquis and the duke are having some conflict, I think." G informed. "He said he would visit after a month." He followed his aunt's example, both of them smoking under the shades of the tree.
"Yes, that would be nice. He should visit his hometown once in a while." Natasha watched as Lucca was blinded by Vicente's act of pulling down the hat while the latter was on the former's back. "He should see how that child he helped birth turned out to be."
G raised a brow at that statement, and followed the sad gaze of his aunt. He wanted to think that his aunt was referring to Vicente but he knew that his uncle rarely accepts pregnant women as patients for the last decade. His eyes landed on the young lord who was trying his best not to drop the child while walking blindly.
"He does look familiar. I wonder if we have met before." G took another puff. He could not really pin it to something, but somehow, there is a sense of familiarity with the profile of Lucca's lower face.
Natasha laughed. "Is that how you catch ladies? Oldest pick up line I have heard."
G groaned in irritation.
But people are oceans. She shrugged
You cannot know them by their surface.
-Beau Taplin/ Surfaces