Chapter 6

Dafne woke up to the sound of a scream. Her eyesight still muggy from sleep, she sat up, trying to make out of the source of the noise. A figure appeared in her clouded vision and it was only after moment that she could identify the form as Giovannetta. She was already out of bed and her round face was white as chalk. The others were also awake and from their various points in the room, they turned to her as well. The stricken girl was pointing frantically at something on the floor and cried out,

"There's a snake!"

Dafne looked over the spot she was indicating, half expecting the girl's alarm to be simply a case of the shadows playing tricks on a sleep-dulled mind. But then she saw the writhing black body winding its way across the room. She drew in a sharp breath, which seemed to immobilise her at the same time. The snake's head was reared up and swayed from side to side like a rudder on a boat. The first rays were streaming in from the window and the oily scales gleamed in the light. Dafne watched it blink its eyes in the sunshine.

The snake reminded her of Capricorn with its impassive expression and the sinister protrusion of its tongue. You could sense the danger of snake even before it opened its mouth. The same thing could be said of the colourless man. His outward indifference belied an evil nature that Dafne had yet to experience but knew existed. But like a snake's fangs, Capricorn would only reveal his true self when he was about to strike. She wondered if the author of Inkheart had ever used the word serpentine to describe his character, as it seemed like the perfect metaphor.

The ongoing silence made Dafne think that the same frozen panic had seized the rest of the women. However, the snake seemed oblivious to the fear its presence had produced. It was more interested in the pool of sunlight it had propelled itself into. Then out of the corner of eye, Dafne saw Resa begin to move. She slid off her bed and approached it from behind. She was carrying a pillow. Her tread was quiet but Dafne was still afraid of snake suddenly whipping around and sinking its teeth into her. Yet she didn't dare speak out in warning in case it alerted the creature's attention to Resa.

Resa was closing in now, only centimetres away. In that distance, the snake could have easily turned around and bit her. But her face was calm and her concentration was solely on the cold-blooded intruder. She threw the pillow and it dropped onto the snake's head, blinding it. In one quick movement, Resa's shot out and each hand grabbed a section of the serpent's body. Securing her grip on her captive, Resa held the snake up, keeping her arms outstretched so it remained a safe distance from her body. The snake thrashed about discontentedly, trying to break free of her grasp.

There was a single window in Dafne's new room. The pane could be opened and closed but a row of bars had been put up on the outside to prevent any of the smaller women from fitting through it and potentially escaping. However, the grooves were wide enough apart for Resa to feed the snake's body through and release it. As the room was on the first floor of the house, the fall wasn't great enough to hurt the animal. It would no doubt start slithering away as soon as it hit the ground. She looked at Resa in stunned gratitude. In dealing with the snake, she had been fearless.

However, Agnese didn't share that opinion for just as Resa was stepping away from the windowsill, she shouted at her, her voice full of accusation,

"This is all your fault!"

Dafne turned to her in surprise. She had thought that Agnese and Resa were friends.

"Why is it her fault?" She asked.

"Because this is Basta's doing and she's the one who upset him," Agnese told her angrily and Dafne saw the ordeal had obviously unsettled her.

Meanwhile, Resa had gone over to place a comforting arm around Giovannetta. The girl was on the verge of tears.

"How do know it was Basta?" Dafne said.

"Because he's done it before. If a girl doesn't like him, he sets a snake on her. Basta must have pushed it through the bars last night while we were sleeping. There's no other way it could have gotten in here without us knowing about it."

So once again Basta was responsible for threatening Dafne's life. Although in this circumstance it had been indirectly. What kind of madman had his affections spurned by a woman and then decides to drop a snake into her room as petty revenge? But if the aim was to scare her, Basta had failed for Resa had not shown any sign that the attempt had frightened her.

"Then it's Basta's fault," Dafne said to Agnese, "Not Resa's. She's the one that got rid of it."

Resa smiled at her from across the room.

"I don't blame you, Resa," Giovanetta spoke up, her cheeks damp, "You saved us."

Resa stroked the girl's wispy hair tenderly. Agnese looked guiltily at her,

"You're right. I'm sorry, Resa, it's just that after Cecilia, you know…"

Resa nodded understandingly.

Outside, the lock clicked and Orlanda opened the door.

"I heard someone yelling before," She said gruffly.

The women exchanged glances.

"No." Agnese answered for the group.

Orlanda eyed Giovannetta's puffy face unsympathetically.

"Get ready the lot of you. Mortola wants you all in the kitchen."

And with that statement, she marched out. As the women went to dress, Marianna leaned in towards Dafne to whisper,

"Don't be too hard on Agnese, Basta did the same thing to her friend and she got bitten."

But Marianna needn't have worried; the only person that Dafne held in contempt over the incident was Basta.

The six of them joined the rest of the maidservants filing into the kitchen. Mortola glared at them imperiously from an armchair as she listed her orders for the day ahead. Dafne now wore the cotton dress ascribed to Capricorn's domestic servants and no longer stood out in crowd. Mortola's eyes skipped over her and fell on Resa.

"After you take Capricorn his breakfast, there are clothes of his which need to be washed and when you go, take your little shadow with you."

Her eyes shifted to Dafne and she guessed that her new uniform hadn't made her entirely unnoticeable to the woman who had threatened to poison her.

There was a nearby stream that was used to wash clothes. This was where Resa and Dafne took Capricorn's laundry along with a group of maidservants burdened with piles of black uniforms. All the loads were carried in wicker baskets. When they arrived there was a lone person sitting by the water's edge. It was a woman and Dafne had no trouble recognising her. It was the guest of honour from last night's dinner.

Fiammetta.

She was smoking a cigarette while she dipped her feet into the water. The other women avoided her as they reached the stream whereas Resa headed straight towards her undeterred. She settled down on a spot beside her and began pulling items of clothing from her basket. Dafne joined her.

Fiammetta puffed on her cigarette, exhaled and grinned through the spiralling smoke,

"Hiya Resa. Long time no see," She drawled and she had a predatory feline-like quality about her that made Dafne think of a lioness at a watering hole. Yet Fiammetta looked as though she had only recently risen from bed. There were shadows under her eyes and her teased hair was flattened in places. She was wearing the same orange dress as before.

Resa gave her a sideways glance in reply.

"Still no voice, huh?" Fiammetta continued on, "Some things never change, take Basta for instance, I see he's still using snakes to solve his girl troubles. You'd think he would have learnt by now. I bet you got a surprise this morning."

Dafne's eye widened, "You knew about that?"

Fiammetta flicked ash as she replied airily, "Knew about it? I saw the whole thing happen. Cockie and me were heading back to his house when we ran into him. He was off his head drunk and he already had the snake in his hands. It's a small wonder he didn't end up getting bitten himself. Then I watched him take the thing and drop it into Resa's room."

Dafne starred at her incredulously, "And you didn't try and stop him."

Fiammetta shrugged, "Like I'm going to argue with Basta. He's dangerous and I'm not stupid, I wouldn't go about trying to get on his bad side. That's why he set a snake on Resa in the first place, isn't that right?" She eyed Resa, "But if I know you well enough, an itty bitty scaly wouldn't have been much of match for you."

In response, Resa simply smiled. Fiammetta tossed her head back and laughed, causing several maidservants to look over in their direction.

"I knew it," she said, seeming delighted, "Basta should have known better. Besides if you had been hurt, Capricorn would have had his head for it."

Dafne was taken aback by the sudden familiarity between the two. Fiammetta must have seen the confusion on her face as she said in a teasing tone,

"Your friend's not sure of what to make of me, Resa."

Resa put a hand on Dafne's shoulder and looked chidingly at the other woman.

"Don't worry, I'm just having you off," Fiammetta told Dafne nonchalantly with a wave of her hand, "You're new, aren't you?"

Still slightly uncertain, Dafne introduced herself.

"Dafne? I think Cockie mentioned you. Maybe I should be a bit jealous," Fiammetta said but not with any seriousness. Her manner was impish.

"I wouldn't be" Dafne replied, "He's the third last man I would ever want to be with."

"Oh? And who are the other two?" Fiammetta asked.

"Basta and Capricorn."

Fiammetta found this incredibly funny.

"Well, I've had at least one of those two. Doesn't say much for me does it?" She said and then her voice dropped to a more confidential tone, "Speaking of men. Guess who I saw on my way here, just a few villages over?"

Resa's excited expression suggested she already knew the answer.

"Dustfinger. I met him busking in the square. Weird guy, never really know what's going on in his head when you talk to him. But I expect that he'll show up here sooner or later," Fiammetta stubbed out her cigarette, a playful smile on her lips "Just thought you'd like to know."

Resa nodded and reached out to squeeze Fiammetta's hand appreciatively.

"You're welcome," she replied. Then she stood up, stretching like a cat, "Ah well, back to work. Have to make a living as long as I'm here," She wriggled her dripping feet into her unlaced boots, "I'll see you around."

She skipped off, issuing a loud "Goodbye all" to the rest of the washing party as she went.

"Well, she was interesting" Dafne remarked to Resa after Fiammetta had gone but the other woman just smiled joyfully at her. The news of Dustfinger had brought a change over her. She was radiating with energy and determination and Dafne understood why. Her plan to escape and find her family seemed to be falling into place.

They finished the washing, wrung off any excess water and bundled the damp garments back into the baskets to take them back to Capricorn's house to hang on clotheslines. Resa and Dafne were walking side by side and suddenly Resa's arm shot out to halt her.

"What is it?" Dafne asked.

She soon wished she hadn't as Resa pointed to over to a rock not far from the path. There was a snake strewn across it, bathing in the sun. Dafne cringed. One snake had been more than enough for her. The dense and rocky undergrowth circling the village must be an ideal habitat for them to live. Resa set down her basket.

"Resa, what are you doing?" Dafne heard the anxiety leap into her voice.

The snake might have been nearby but it well enough away for them to avoid it as they passed. Yet Resa had chosen to stop and Dafne could not conceive any positive reason for doing so, given her experience from this morning. Now Resa had opened her lid and was gesturing back and forth from the contents to Dafne's basket. As she began heaping the clothes into her arms, Dafne understood that she meant to transfer them. Reluctantly she held her basket open so Resa could unload her share of Capricorn's laundry on top of Dafne's, pushing down afterwards so it compacted.

Dafne felt the pressure of the new weight shooting through her arms and was glad when Resa relieved it off her, putting it on the ground. Then Resa began moving towards the snake, giving Dafne little time to protest as she watched her. But within moments, Resa was holding the snake the same way she had done earlier and was lowering it into her emptied basket. She did it quickly, swiftly closing the lid as soon as she let go of the creature. Dafne looked at her in amazement,

"What, what are you going to with it?"

Resa turned to her and mouthed a single word, a name. BASTA. She picked up the basket and held it out to the air then drew it back then held it out again. The motion produced a muffled hiss from her cargo.

"You're going to… give it to Basta?" Dafne guessed confusedly, "I'm not sure I understand… just be careful, okay."

Resa nodded and clutched the basket in the nook of arm. She reached out to grab the other basket with her free hand. Dafne went to help her and between the two of them, the heavy load was cradled the distance into Capricorn's backyard. Once there, Resa left Dafne to start hanging up the washing as she disappeared over the back fence with the basket containing the captured snake. She returned a short while later without the snake or the basket. Instead she held a note, on which she had penned an explanation,

Left snake at Basta's door, it read, to teach him a lesson.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Dafne said uneasily, although by now it was too late to say so. It wasn't Resa's intentions that she was worried about; it was Basta's reaction. He was the type of person to take retribution and she didn't want any harm befalling her friend. Resa was brave but if Basta came calling with his knife Dafne feared she might come off the worse for it. Even Resa's reassuring smile could not comfort her from the sense of foreboding she now felt. She glanced at Resa, in the middle of pegging up a red shirt, and knew it would be her fault if she got hurt. It would be her fault because she hadn't stopped her.

It was ironic that when Basta did appear, it was in the same place later that afternoon when Dafne came back to bring in the dried clothes. She had left Resa preparing the iron for when she returned. Giovannetta accompanied her after shyly offering to help. The two had not been out for long when they received a visit from a marmalade cat. It seemed to be acquainted with Giovannetta as it came over and rubbed against her legs. The girl bent down and gave it a scratch under its chin. She giggled as the cat began to purr and Dafne noted that this was the first time she had seen her happy.

"His name is Ignazio," Giovannetta told her and it seemed as though the cat's presence had caused her shyness to evaporate, "He always comes to see me when I'm out here. He's been here for as long as I have."

"How long is that?" Dafne asked.

The girl's eyes were sad as she answered, "About a year. My family have a farm. It's not far from here. One day Capricorn's men came and took me away. I haven't seen my family since then. I've heard of Capricorn having houses burned down and the people inside being killed," Giovannetta picked up Ignazio and hugged the cat protectively to her chest, "I can only pray that my family is still alive."

"I'm sure they're fine," Dafne told her but felt the assurance was not much to offer a girl who had been forced from her loved ones so she could spend her rest of her youth in slavery. Little wonder she was so withdrawn. They were probably many stories like hers amongst the ranks of the maidservants. It reaffirmed Dafne's belief in Capricorn's cruelty.

"Ignazio is good company," The girl told her, "He makes me feel better. He can't talk but if I'm by myself, I can whisper all my problems to him. He's lucky to be alive too. The men use cats for target practice. You can hear them shooting at them at night. I try to fall asleep quickly so I can't hear it. But Ignazio never gets hit. He's a lucky cat."

Dafne reached out to stroke behind the cat's ears. Ignazio was complacent to her ministrations. Giovannetta smiled,

"He likes you. He likes Resa too. She knows about him. I always wanted a cat of my own. My papa had a rat-catcher but he was a mean old thing. Not like Ignazio."

She put the cat down, who continued to roam about the yard like a watchful sentry as they resumed their work.

"So what about you?" Giovannetta asked, "I mean, were you taken away from your family?"

"Well I guess you could say that," Dafne answered, "The man I was working for was kind of like a grandfather to me. Capricorn's men came to his house to steal a book and kidnapped me as well."

"So you had a job before you came here," Giovannetta said curiously, "What did you do?"

"Oh I was… a maid," Dafne said lamely, to her it was an occupation that had never sounded particularly impressive, "That's probably why they decided to take me."

"I used to go to school," Giovannetta told her and the girl's tone was nostalgic, "I didn't know much about being a maid before they brought me here. All I had ever done was chores like collecting the eggs from the henhouse and milking the cows," Her voice turned mournful, "I had to learn everything else and Mortola always kept saying how useless I was."

"I wouldn't listen to her, Giovannetta," Dafne said angrily, flinging the pants she was holding into the basket, "She's a horrible, hateful woman. I doubt she's ever had a kind word to say about anyone."

There was a pause before the girl spoke up again,

"You can call me Vannetta if you like. My mama and papa call me that. Only my grandmamma calls me Giovannetta and that's because I'm named after her."

Dafne smiled, touched by the request.

"Okay, Vannetta it is."

Vannetta smiled back, but only momentarily.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to go home?" She asked.

"I hope so," Dafne said, knowing that it was the only answer she could give, as it was the only one she believed in. With the chance for freedom edging closer, she could only hope that everything would go according to plan. Until then all she could do was count down the remaining time. It made her feel helpless like being caught in the tide without knowing wether the waves would sweep her back onto land or leave her drifting in the sea. However, Vannetta seemed satisfied with her reply.

"When we go, I'm going to take Ignazio with me," she declared, looking over to where the cat was now sitting, in the middle of cleaning himself. He raised his head as if he had been following the conversation the whole time.

Dafne thought of another stray. This one was a boy. Silvio. If she asked him to leave this place, would he go with her? But if he did, what would happen after they escaped? She couldn't just adopt him. He might have a family he could return to but she didn't know. In truth, she didn't know much about him at all yet there was something about him that made her want to consider it.

"He can be a rat-catcher and he'll be much better at it than old Fausto," Vannetta was saying, "He's even caught snakes before, though I keep telling him not to. I don't want him getting…"

She trailed off suddenly, starring ahead at something that Dafne could not see as a hanging shirt was blocking her vision. She hastily shoved it aside to look. What she saw was a disheartening sight. It was Basta and he was striding towards them. Ignazio had already jumped to his feet, alert, and now as Basta approached, he fled. But Basta paid no attention to the cat clambering over the fence in retreat. His movements were aggressive and his face, as he came closer, was furrowed in anger. He shouted at the two women in a grating voice,

"Where is Resa? Tell me where she is!"

To Be Continued…