Lovino spent much of his early childhood alone. Everyone was more interested in Feliciano than in him. Roderich and Antonio were happily married and fawned over Feliciano. When Elise was adopted Lovino saw her as merely another distraction from him. But as Elise grew, beginning to walk and talk, she would come to Lovino to play. Feliciano was always busy with Otto, but Lovino was always alone for Elise to play with. She would make him play dress up, make believe, and tea party and no matter how much Lovino pretended to hate playing with her, secretly he loved it.
It was a peaceful time, the house was happy, filled with the peaceful sounds of children's laughter and elegant piano, the air was thick with the delicious smells of exotic spices and meat. It was an exceptionally wholesome estate for a mafia.
Folkhert and Romulus, the family bosses, rarely came to Vienna. In Elise's fifth year they finally visited. Romulus spent almost the entire visit playing with Feliciano and Folkhert was drawn instantly to young Otto upon his arrival. On the last day of their visit there was to be a meeting to discuss relations between the families. This meeting was merely a formality as the families were practically one. Many even suspected the bosses had more than just a friendly relationship.
The House was at rest during the meeting, there was neither piano nor guitar, the children played with hushed voices, and all was calm. That is until a gunshot rang out and a scream pierced the silence. Everyone, assuming it was an attack on the house, rushed to protect the children. A few of the soldiers cautiously approached the meeting room door. The men nudged the door open to see Folkhert standing over the dead body of his comrade, bloody and broken on the ground.
This was the beginning of a gruesome war.
The Vargas soldiers began shooting at Folkhert and the Beilschmidt soldiers returned the attack. Folkhert was clipped on the shoulder by a bullet but escaped before any real damage could be done. He ran from the estate, taking Otto along with him. The soldiers on the property began firing wildly at one another. Antonio and Roderich took the children and ran for their lives. The children began to sob. The lovers kissed one final time and muttered farewells before running off in opposite directions to live life as enemies.
Antonio took Feliciano and Lovino to the Vargas estate in Spain and Roderich and Elise were rushed to Berlin. A grand funeral was held for Romulus in Rome, not a single Beilschmidt was invited. Folkhert died six months later of a mysterious illness. Otto died several days later, most likely of the same disease. The Vargas' saw these deaths as a victory. Nobody ever found out why Folkhert killed Romulus, and nobody ever would.
[an exceptionally short chapter this time as it is only a story within a story, reviews and critiques are very love 3 ]