A/N: Don't forget to favourite, follow, and review! This chapter has been updated to include translations of the Italian at the bottom of the chapter (thank you to the guest reviewer for commenting on it!) I will only be including translations of full sentences, not single words/ greetings/ or endearments etc. Hope you enjoy x
Chapter Four
The elderly Italian couple who ran Volterra's small, low budget hostel, Antonio and Loredana D'Agostino, were incredibly kind and welcoming to me the moment I stepped through their tattered yellow doors. The hostel, whilst cheap and in a great location, looked like it had seen far better days. The tiled floor was chipped and dulled from years of feet trampling across it, and the overall appearance was rather shabby.
However, if you looked a little closer, you could see the hard work the older couple had clearly invested in their hostel. Because, although it was worn, the place was clean and tidy, the foyer sweet and welcoming.
"It's a shame we not have more young men staying, no?" Loredana winked at me over a cup of coffee. Even after having been here for two days, I still couldn't keep up with Loredana's excessive caffeine intake. Nor her sudden interest in getting me laid.
"It's a shame we not have more people staying, full stop, eh?" Her husband grumbled behind the morning newspaper, glancing wistfully at the mostly empty visitor's book that rested against the wood of the front desk.
"Famiglie, amici, amanti, turisti... They all come for a day, one day! They come on big coach to eat gelato and eat a pizza, then back to Pisa or Florence, o un grande albergo stupido ed elaborato nella città!" Loredana spat indignantly, her coffee cup clattering against the saucer.
"But you! Ah, mia bellissima ragazza, you do right. You stay! You draw, si osserva. You learn!" She grinned toothily at me, gesturing at my sketchbook, currently sat in my lap as I doodled. I glanced down to see I had doodled a crude drawing of a penis and balls and winced. Loredana followed my embarrassed gaze and peered into my lap.
"Eh, you observe and learn most of time." Loredana cackled as I quickly slammed the sketchbook closed, my cheeks flushed red.
"Grazie, Loredana." I cleared my throat in embarrassment, smiling at her sheepishly. "Thank you for the wonderful breakfast this morning. It was delicious."
"Pah, pah!" Loredana wafted her hand at me, nudging me out of my seat. "Now go! There is so much to see, you should not waste your time parlando ai vecchi sciocchi piace Antonio ed io, eh?"
Antonio snorted, "Parli per te, vecchia donna." Loredana gasped at him dramatically, smacking him softly on the arm. After they started bickering lightheartedly in very fast Italian, I quietly excused myself. I think, alongside my drawing and adventuring, it might not be a bad idea to try and learn to speak Italian.
The day moved along quickly. Whilst the sun shone brightly throughout the warm morning, by lunchtime it was hidden behind soft, bright clouds. I packed up my work and ended up wandering through a small market by the piazza, casually looking over the different stalls.
I stopped by a mystical looking stall; lumps of gemstones, tarot cards, gorgeous smelling candles and incense, and a wonderful selection of beautiful vintage jewelry adorned the table. As I looked, I absentmindedly trailed my fingers across a selection of hanging scarves, feeling the soft fabrics with the pads of my fingers.
I startled slightly when I felt a gentle hand grasp my own. I flinched, drawing my hand away as I looked up and away from the jewelry. A deeply tanned woman, draped in numerous scarves, smiled back at me.
"Um, buon pomeriggio, signora. You have a beautiful stall." I nodded politely, a small smile on my lips. My fingers fidgeted with the hem of my left sleeve, itching to gently rub my shoulder and upper arm in comfort, a habit that had formed over the past few years.
"I miei ringraziamenti a te, dolcezza." She replied warmly. Her whiskey coloured eyes twinkled at me mischievously. "Can I interest you in anything? Perhaps, a new ring?"
"Oh, no, I was just looking, thank you though." I felt a little unnerved by her, as when she looked at me, it felt like she was seeing far more than I might have expected. I murmured a soft goodbye as I moved to step away but she reached out to me once again, this time lightly tugging on my non-bruised wrist.
"Ah, signora, please! A moment of your time!" She beckoned me to follow her behind her stall into a small tent. She disappeared through the opening before I could say a word.
"Ah, shit. I better not get murdered." I grumbled under my breath, reluctantly following her. The moment I stepped through into the tent I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes. I think I might have found the Italian Mystic Meg. A shroud of darkness covered the tent, illuminated by soft candles. A small table held a glass ball which was cradled in a stunning bronze claw. However, the woman gestured me over to a small selection of pendants that hung off another well crafted bronze claw.
"Nice place." I commented dryly, eyeing the tent.
"Gli affari di famiglia..." She murmured quietly in reply, the warm glow of a nearby candle casting a flickering light across her face. Her eyes stared me down, a thoughtful frown settling on her face.
"Non posso sbagliarmi. So che ho ragione. Questo giorno è stato previsto per molte lune." The woman began muttering to herself. She shook her head, turning to the pieces of jewelry. Her tanned hand softly stroked a pendant holding a moonstone of some kind.
"Sì, chiaramente. La pietra di trasformazione." She carefully lifted the pendant and turned towards me, a soft look on her face. "Please, accept this gift. For help and protection." She offered the necklace to me. I could see my eyes widen in the reflection of a golden mirror propped up behind her.
"Oh! I-I don't think-" I stuttered a little. "Please, at least allow me to..." As I pulled some euro's from my pocket, she promptly shook her head.
"No, no, nessun pagamento, per favore. Sarebbe un onore, la mia signora." She moved behind me to secure the pendant around my neck. I restrained from pulling an unhappy face when she touched the curls of my hair to move them, so she could fasten the necklace.
"Oh..." I breathed out, my gaze locked on my reflection in the mirror. The pendant nestled between my breasts, the silver metal contrasting well against my tawny brown skin. I turned towards the woman, who stood to my side, smiling wistfully. "I... Thank you, signora. It's gorgeous. But, I don't understand, why?" I trailed off, chewing the plump flesh of my full bottom lip.
"Shh, why not, eh?" She winked at me. "It is labradorite. Or you might recognize it as rainbow moonstone?" I nodded in response.
"Yes." I gently touched the gemstone, feeling an odd, reassuring warmth.
"It is a stone of many properties... But it's energies shall boost your ability and sharpen your intuition. L'aiuterà a divenire la persona Lei è destinato per essere." She cupped my cheek and held my left hand in her other hand. "Take care, young one, and do not fear that which you do not understand. C'è sregolatezza in te, ragazza mia. Li mostri il fuoco all'interno di Lei... Accendi in loro il fuoco del tuo amore."
A soft breeze blew through the tent, sending an odd shiver down my spine. It seemed to break the moment, as the woman released my hand and cheek stepping away respectfully.
"It is time for you to go, young one. Buona fortuna, la mia signora." She bid me goodbye.
I'm sure I must have thanked her, but for the ten minutes following our encounter I seemed to space out, so when I found myself sat on an old stone bench in a quiet side alley, I felt a little unsettled. I glanced down at the curious piece of jewelry, the surface of the metal was cool against my chest. The large smooth lump of labradorite was set in a beautifully crafted piece of silver, held in place by three distinct claws, each carefully and thoughtfully designed.
I quickly stopped staring at it when I realized that anyone who saw me, might just think I was staring at and admiring my breasts. Of which, I mean, they are admirable, but I do have self restraint. Not that I had to worry as the alley was remarkably empty.
Or so I thought.
No less than ten seconds later, a man suddenly appeared in front of me, his stature practically looming over my seated self. This might have seemed reasonably normal and nothing to worry about, were it not for the fact that, a) he had bright, almost abnormally red eyes, and b) he was snarling and growling at me, in a way that I had only ever associated with dangerous, carnivorous animals.
I had barely a second to take in the man's bizarre, crazed appearance, before I was roughly slammed up against the cold stone of the wall that lined the alley.
My hands flew up, clawing at the man's cold hand wrapped around my throat that had me pinned against the wall, my feet kicking and flailing several inches above the cobbled floor.
"Hmm, aren't you a delicious little mortal." The man moved in close. He ran his tongue against the soft skin of my cheek, collecting the salty tear drops that had leaked from my eyes. His eyes fluttered closed perversely, only to spring back open when I attempted to kick him in his balls.
"Ah, ah, ah. That's not very nice now, is it?" He hissed, his grip on my neck tightening. My vision was quickly fading in and out as I wheezed and sobbed in panic. I couldn't breath, let alone vocalize any words, and clearly the son of a bitch knew that too.
"You owe me a little taste, you know? I was ready to leave, to run... And then your scent, hmm, my God, your scent." He snarled menacingly, a dark smirk praying on his lips. His blood red eyes trailed over the skin of my neck, the unwanted leer sending a chill through my bones, and causing me to buck against him, struggling as best I could with a restricted airway.
"Pl-ple... Pleasss... N-n... No..." I choked out painfully, my hands slipping each time I tried to push him away.
The man merely grinned and slammed me against the wall again, my head ringing. Panic flooded my chest as I whimpered and painful dry gasps broke out of my mouth.
A cool, emotionless voice broke through my terror, causing my attacker to freeze. He dropped me harshly, and I fell to the floor, landing badly on my already aggravated wounds, my left side banging against the stone with great force.
"Honestly, Gustavo. You would think that after all these years, you might have learnt."
Through my blurred, shaken vision I could make out two figures standing slightly further down the alley, both shrouded by long, old fashioned cloaks.
"What!" The man - Gustavo - hissed at the two figures.
"You always were distracted by a pretty face. It's just rather unfortunate that this time, it happened to be when you should have been running." The monotone, blankness of the young voice was terrifying. I struggled as I pushed myself off the floor into a seated position, pressing myself against the cold stone. My right hand, it's wrist still bandaged, gripped at my damn left shoulder, the pressure doing little to ease the agitated wound. Small whimpers of pain broke from me, but I muffled my mouth by biting into the crook of my right arm, determined not to draw back any attention to myself.
"Oh well. Too late now I suppose." There might have been a touch of underlying amusement in the voice, but it was hard to tell.
Of the two figures, the smaller one was the one speaking. The taller one just stood there menacingly, a pair of extremely large and brawny arms folded across his very, very broad chest. Well, guess we know who the muscle in this duo is.
"Goodbye, Gustavo." The small one spoke calmly, ignoring Gustavo's horrified cries and pleas.
In the blink of an eye, the tall man had detached his head, and pretty much most of his limbs. I gasped in horror and turned away, pressing my cheek against the biting cold of the stone wall. My eyes pressed shut tightly and I fought to regain control of my breathing. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work, and I found myself gagging and retching, an action made all the more painful by my bruised throat.
Ominous footsteps moved closer towards me, causing me to spin around, struggling to stand. The two men stood before me, in a stance of power and intimidation. The smaller one, who only looked about fourteen years old at most, stared me down, whilst Mr Big looked at me with an oddly goofy grin. They both stayed unnervingly silent as they seemed to appraise me, their red eyes bright and vicious.
"Um, not that I can't say that he didn't deserve... Well, whatever that was but... What the fuck? Better yet, who... No, what the fuck are you?" I shuddered in pain, my entire body felt inflamed and sore. Shaky breaths wracked my body as I fought off an impending panic attack. "Just... Please don't hurt me." I tried to look angry and fierce, though the result was perhaps more of a deranged labradoodle.
"Alec? Shall I?" Mr Big glanced down at the boy, who only continued to stare at me. There was a brief pause before Alec spoke.
"No. You know the rules. We take her to the masters, they will decide."
There was a nagging feeling in the back of my brain telling me to just stay quiet and suffer through my pain and confusion in silence, but my dumbass mouth opened before I could stop it.
"Sorry, man, but I'm not really into that kinky shit."
The big, buff white guy barked out a laugh as he tugged me up, his hand firmly clamped onto my shoulder. I clamped my mouth shut to avoid crying out in pain as his cold, hard fingers pressed against the tender, scarred flesh in my shoulder.
"Come along, kitten. Its unfortunate that you likely won't have that sense of humour much longer." Mr Big smirked at me in a teasing manner, which was offset by the horrifying memory of him literally decapitating that other man who attacked me. Who the fuck can decapitate a person with his bare hands?
I was dragged through the side streets, keeping in the shade and away from prying eyes. Eventually, we marched through a set of beautifully made pillars and into a huge castle like building through an extravagantly engraved wooden door. My overwhelming pain was beginning to get to my head, making me a little lightheaded and dizzy, but Mr Big's tight grasp stopped me from falling to my knees.
Alec knocked on the door of another ridiculously extravagant door, and made his way in, Mr Big pushing me in behind him.
He dumped me on the cold, hard stone floor, granting me a moment of brief relief as his fingers released my shoulder. However, the throbbing soreness quickly returned just as bad, if not worse, agitated by the rough handling, and causing me to clutch at it once again, whimpering quietly in distress. My watery eyes were pressed shut, as I bent over trying to ease my discomfort.
My voluminous, curly hair bounced over and around my head, hiding my face from view- I knew, realistically, it would probably be within my best interest to actually take in my surrounding so that I can form some idea of what I'm dealing with. But I could feel the tell tale signs of an incoming panic attack, and was trying my utmost best to keep in control. This was all shot to hell, however, when a smooth, new voice reached my ears, it's tone bordering both terrifying and delighted.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
Translations:
Famiglie, amici, amanti, turisti... - Families, friends, lovers, tourists...
o un grande albergo stupido ed elaborato nella città! - or a big, stupid and fancy hotel in the city!
parlando ai vecchi sciocchi piace Antonio ed io, - talking to old fools like Antonio and me,
Parli per te, vecchia donna. - Speak for yourself, old woman.
I miei ringraziamenti a te, dolcezza. - My thanks to you, sweetie.
Gli affari di famiglia... - The family business...
Non posso sbagliarmi. So che ho ragione. Questo giorno è stato previsto per molte lune. - I cannot be wrong. I know I'm right. This day has been coming for many moons.
Sì, chiaramente. La pietra di trasformazione. - Yes, of course. The stone of transformation.
No, no, nessun pagamento, per favore. Sarebbe un onore, la mia signora. - No, no, no payment, please. It would be an honour, my lady.
L'aiuterà a divenire la persona Lei è destinato per essere. - It will help you become the person you are destined to be.
C'è sregolatezza in te, ragazza mia. Li mostri il fuoco all'interno di Lei... Accendi in loro il fuoco del tuo amore. - There is a wildness in you, my girl. Show them the fire within you ... Light in them the fire of your love.