13

Grabbing her clothes, Nonna followed Captain Govone out of the cell, and it took just a few feet for the girl to notice half a dozen guards along the corridor, all of them taking a nap like Solokoff was.

"I guess you have nothing to do with this, do you?" she sarcastically asked.

"It's easier than coming up with some weird explanation." replied the Captain smirking, as they kept walking. "Then, how would I have explained getting out of here together with you?"

"About that, you haven't told me yet how you managed to get here. I thought I had had an escort assigned to you."

"Too naive. You'd better teach your guards not to trust any priest they meet. But I admit that the Mickey Finn in the milk was quite good. Miss Nina's poor little kitten went out like a light after just one lick."

At that, the girl had no longer any problems in seeing the real measure of the deception she had fallen into.

"Now it's clear. You suspected of me from the beginning."

Govone's expression was transparent enough.

"That's why you revealed your identity to me. If I had tried to hurt you or something had happened to you, you'd have the proof that I was the spy."

But then, a thought went through Nonna's mind, and it made her stop dead in her tracks despite the situation.

"Wait a minute." she said with wide eyes, while the Captain turned to look at her. "If you really had suspicions about me, why did you let me be at Her Highness' side?"

"And deprive the Grand Duchess of the company of the sole person whom she considered her friend? Do you think she would have forgiven me for that?"

"What?!"

"I admit it; to the last I hoped that your conscience would have prevailed in the end. Only when I understood the reasons that had brought you to join the plot I understood I had to act, but by then you had already beaten me to the punch."

All considered, though, I think I ought to thank Mr. Parson."

"Mr. Parson?!"

"Judging by your expression, I guess I wasn't the only one to underestimate the ability of that fatso. It seems that he had discovered my little secret as well. So, just before he was dealt with, he chose to send me a copy of part of the documentation he had prepared to flush out the conspirators. It's probable that, knowing who I am, he thought I could be the only one beyond suspicion."

That said, the two of them resumed walking towards the exit.

"For what it's worth, I give you my word that I had nothing to do with Mr. Parson's homicide. There are others inside the court involved in this plot. One of them must have feared he had been discovered."

"I am aware of that." replied Govone, his gaze incredibly worried. "And believe me, you don't have the slightest idea of the mess you've let yourself being dragged into."

Passing the exit, they went for the stables, and took two horses.

"We'll take the South Door. I have already struck a deal with a few guards. They'll cover our tracks and will help us get out of city undisturbed."

"It won't be easy to leave the palace." Nonna commented. "All the doors will be surely under guard."

"By this time, my better half will already have taken care of that."

"I didn't think you were married."

"Not quite." the Captain winked.

Just as they were finishing saddling their horses, Nonna could not help but let out a thought that had kept inside her from the moment she had been brought into that huge deception.

"In any case, I just don't understand. What did they hope to achieve? They should have predicted that the Tsar would have never accepted to negotiate."

"I am afraid that the target of this mess is not him, actually." Govone shot back, fastening the straps. "There is someone else who can give them what they want, and to whom Her Highness' fate is much dearer than for His Majesty."

Nonna thought for a moment, then she got it.

"Prince Alexandr."

"When the news of Ekaterina's kidnapping will reach Sevastopol, it's likely that the Prince will immediately accept to negotiate for her freedom, even if it means challenging his father. Perhaps he'd manage not to lose the city, but the Tsar's reputation would be destroyed out of all this. Who would accept as his sovereign a man who abandoned his own daughter?"

Pulling the horses by the bridles, Govone and Nonna went to the South Door, finding it wide open and abandoned, just as predicted.

"What happened here?"

Just two seconds passed, and out of nowhere a familiar shadow appeared, one that Nonna recognized at once.

"It's you!" she blurted towards the hooded shape that had managed to drop her the night before.

"It's all good." said Govone, before the girl could go for her saber. "She's with me."

Only then Nonna saw the thin lips of the newcomer curl up in an enigmatic smile.

"You took your damn time." said a young and cheerful voice.

"When will you put a lid on it and grow up a little?" the Captain commented.

With that, the young woman finally let down her hood, showing a thick red mane, big dark eyes and an absurdly beautiful oval-shaped face that incredibly did not seem to clash with her assassin's outfit.

"You'll have to suck it up. You should have gotten into your head that this is how I roll."

"Miss Nonna, allow me to introduce my better half, not to mention incredibly wretched apprentice."

"Pleased to meet you." the girl chirped, grabbing hold of Nonna's hands as if she were a close friend. "Virginia Oldoini."

"M... My pleasure." the maid replied, speechless, unable to reconcile that girl of her own age with the shadow that had outmatched her in a legitimate fight and left her for the guards to find.

"You're good in a fight, you know? It was really fun getting it on with you."

"Virginia." Govone called her, reproaching.

"All done. Don't worry, we won't have any trouble."

"Still, I'm surprised. How did you manage to open this door all by yourself?"

"Well, actually I kind of wasn't alone."

That said, the girl snapped her fingers, and from a small door under the arch Nina, Aina and a few more personal maids of the Grand Duchess walked out, all wearing travelling garb.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Miss Nonna!" said Nina. "Thank goodness you're well!"

"Hadn't we agreed on not letting anyone else into this wreck of a plan?"

"It's what I tried and make them understand. But that girl must be really good at gaining people's trust. All of them are ready to come with us, even if they risk their necks."

"And what are you doing here?"

Nina and the others huddled around Nonna's horse, looking at her with gazes that held anything except hate.

"Miss Oldoini told us everything. We want to help."

"That's out of discussion. If you come with me, you might end up being accused of treason as well."

"We don't care." Aina stated. "Her Highness has always been good to us. It's time to repay it."

"We know why you did it. And nobody blames you for it, believe me."

It was clear as day that it was pointless to try again, not to mention that Nonna felt more than a little relieved hearing that her companions still trusted her despite everything.

As if expecting that neither her nor her mentor would disagree any further, Virginia strutted forwards in a little time with three more horses, more than enough to carry her and the group of tiny handmaids between them.

Unfortunately, any other hopeful feeling was destroyed as soon as the tower's bell began to rumble before its time, followed by screaming and voices that made everyone's blood run cold.

"Golly, that was fast." Govone commented, with a terrifying calm.

"We have to move!" said Nina. "They'll be here soon!"

"Quick, onto the horses!" Virginia ordered.

Nonna made to take a step back to let the Captain mount, but she was left speechless for a moment, when Govone instead lifted Nina behind her back.

"But what..." she stuttered, looking at the Captain who was making no motion to suggest he was going to follow them. "What are you doing?"

"Go. I'll try and gain you some time."

Nonna and the others took a full second to understand what their new Italian friend was thinking.

"Are you crazy?" Nina said. "You'll get yourself killed this way!"

"Think about it, Captain." Nonna told him. "If they were to discover your real identity, the agreement between your country and the Tsar could be voided."

"Too bad. It's evident by this time that the Grand Duchess is not fit for the life her father chose for her."

The Captain then turned to the gloomy and detached glare that Virginia was giving him.

"Now it's you who wants to show off."

"Take care of them."

"I will."

The screaming and the steps closing in behind them were the signal that it was high time to book it out of there.

"Tell this to Her Highness." the Captain told Nonna. "The truth is within."

"What?!"

"If I know her, she'll understand. Now go!"

Nonna tried to object one more time, although she knew it was pointless; then, as soon as everyone was onto the horses, the caravan ran off as fast as they could, crossing the doors and disappearing into the city's alleys.

Govone, or Padre Ansaldi as he was known, was left alone, and as they came the soldiers found him there, immobile before the open door, with the most serene and seraphic expression that could be conceived.

"Good evening, gentlemen." he said, unsheathing one of his kukris. "Terribly sorry, but I cannot allow you to go any further."

Despite everything, the Captain was unwilling to hurt those boys who were just doing their duty and unaware of the whole matter.

So, he used only his bare fists, using his kukri from time to time to cause small wounds to incapacitate his enemies and get them off his hair.

A noble tactic, but an extremely unpractical one, and extremely risky as well when one's opponents, not only with the numbers, had muskets and bayonets.

At length Govone was able to move with the agility of a ghost, stepping all over the place to make the soldiers shoot, then swooping in to disarm them and get them to sleep with one or two well-aimed blows.

But his enemies, despite his successes, kept coming; so, first came one scratch, then another, then more serious blow, plus a couple of bullets.

In the end, spent, the Captain was cornered, shivering and covered in blood, with hardly a body part without a wound, serious or not.

Despite that, the soldiers were reluctant to come closer, fearing to deal with that kind of demon any longer.

It was obvious that they wanted to capture him alive, so they were waiting for the wounds and the pain to do their part and weaken him enough; but they hadn't predicted the Captain's unwillingness to let himself getting caught, however.

Govone looked up at the starry sky for a moment, as the first tendrils of the dawn were showing, thinking over on what had happened in those three months, and on how for the first time in a very long time that task, accepted despite a thousand doubts, had made him feel truly alive and happy.

"Princess..." he wheezed with the little breath he had left. "Live your dream."

That said, brandishing both his kukris, he leaped, charging forwards like a wolf cornered by the hunters.

"Fire!"

She felt pain.

Excruciating pain. Right in the middle of her chest. As if her heart were acting up, alternating furious beats with moments of complete stop.

Once more, screaming was not an option, as well as moving.

To make the situation even scarier, there was that intermittent sound, which had turned out of a sudden into a constant rumble in her ears.

She wanted to breathe, but each mouthful of oxygen was an agony.

This time, around her she could distinctly feel more than a presence; at least three.

"Blood pressure 160-120! 300 beats a minute!" said a female voice.

"What's happening?" The authoritarian male voice thundered.

"She's going into fibrillation, Doctor!" a deeper, older female voice answered hurriedly.

"20 mg of epinephrine, NOW!"

"Katyusha!" she heard that friendly female voice, anguished and desperate now, scream out.

"What is she doing here? Get her out!"

As that fourth presence went away, she began to feel a series of violent pressures on the middle of her chest, without the pain getting any better though.

Meanwhile, she felt her being getting weaker and weaker; not like the other times, when she felt as if she were about to wake up.

This time it was different; she was disappearing. Forever.

"Blood pressure 60-40. 40 beats a minute."

"Goddamn, she's flat lining! Defibrillator!"

She felt someone uncovering her chest, on which something oily was hurriedly applied, followed closely by two smooth, cold, perhaps metal surfaces.

"Charge at 200! Clear!"

A violent discharge, together with an extremely strong spasm that stiffened all of her muscles, but that was not able still to free her from that torpor in which she was losing herself.

"No effect, doctor."

"Again! Clear!"

Again her muscles tensed up to a dangerous degree, with her back almost breaking from the unnatural pose it must have taken.

"Still nothing!"

"Charge at 300! Clear!"

This time it was even worse; it was as if she had been hit by lightning, and for a moment the pain in her chest was so great that she thought her heart was about to burst.

A long silence followed, a haunting silence that she felt as if heavy with distress, while that intolerable ticking sound was turning into a long and unending shrill whistle.

Her mind was getting more and more clouded, and she felt as if she saw a light before her, a warm light that began to wash away any penance, any sufferance.

"Again!" that male voice roared.

"Doctor..."

"I said, again! Charge at 300! Clear!"

While this is a work of fiction, several characters are of historical domain. Among them, two that featured prominently in this chapter were; so I'd like to share a bit about them.

Giuseppe Govone (1825-1872) was an Italian soldier, diplomat and politician. Born into a noble Piedmontese family, he joined the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. He fought in the Crimean War, as part of the Piedmontese intervention alongside the United Kingdom and France, and then he organized the first organized intelligence organization for the Second War of Italian Independence (1859). After the Unification of Italy, he led efforts in Sicily to combat the widespread draft evasion, with controversial methods; he contributed to the draft of the treaty of alliance with Prussia for the Third War of Italian Independence (1866), in which he gallantly led a division at the Battle of Custoza. In 1869 he was named Minister of War, but was forced to step down a year later after showing sign of a mental illness, that would eventually take his life in 1872.

Virginia Oldoini (1837-1899) is better known with the title she gained after marriage, Countess of Castiglione. Born into the aristocracy of the Kingdom of Sardinia, she was notorious for her exceptional beauty. Cousin to Count Camillo Benso of Cavour, she agreed to become the mistress of the French emperor, Napoleon III, to sway him for the side of Italian unification and alliance with Piedmont against Austria-Hungary.