Il Sesto Storia: Sogni e le Tentanzioni

Her eyes cracked open a minute amount, and she groaned. Too much light. It was so bright it blinded her, painting the world a radiant white. She squinted her eyes in attempt to discourage the throbbing ache that sprang to life behind her eyes. Without a point of bearing, she could feel the ground begin to shift beneath her feet. It started as a slow spin that grew in momentum, and sloshed the contents of her sensitive gut. Her arms coiled around her painfully nauseated stomach that to her utter shock was devoid of clothing.

Amica's snapped open. The white light was no mere illusion as she once suspected. It was a place with no horizon, no borders, and no defining characteristics. Not even the sea could rival the vastness of this place. It was empty, but then somehow not, for she was filled with the strangest sensation. Such as one gets when walking in an empty alley at midnight, the tingling of skin, the feeling of eyes upon her even though she knew she was alone. Immediately she felt vulnerable and exposed. Her hands and arms moved to cover herself, in a pose reminiscent of the great Venus di Milo.

Dark, perverse laughter echoed through the void. "Such a naïve little girl. Don't bother to hide. You already belong to me." The rich, masculine voice jeered, ringing with the peals of mirth.

The pirate turned on her heel to face the origin of the voice. The sight made her jaw fall slack in shock. An enormous Tarot card loomed before her. It's face depicting a gruesome scene. An enormous satyr reclined on a throne constructed of human bones. Between its curled horns, a crown resting on his wicked brow, adorned by a large golden pentagram. Two naked women caressed each goat-like leg, their faces frozen in a mask of lustful pleasure. And such was each deadly sin depicted. Wrath, Envy, Avarice, Sloth, Pride, and Gluttony all took their place at his side, like some wicked raiment, resplendent with the pleasures of sin.

"You..." She could barely choke out the words. "It's you. Il Diavolo."

"You've been ignoring me, mia amica. You do not rely on me as you should," Il Diavolo intoned sweetly.

"I'll never rely on you! Who would trust a wicked, evil creature like you?" Amica flared.

"Good? Evil? Who are you to decide! I am the mirror set against a man's soul. How am I to blame for the wickedness that resides within? It is they who indulge. It is they who drink of my pleasures beyond their fill! It is their fault, and theirs alone, for possessing such fragile, corruptible hearts!" Il Diavolo thundered.

"And it is your machinations, your manipulation that drive them to this folly!" Amica shot back. "It is you, who twists the beauty of a good man's heart."

"You speak of the young man? The one called Debito, no? Did you see something in him, mia amica? Something that reminds you of your own desires? Such a tender little flower, you are. You're still so incorruptible, even after all your cruelty. You're so beautiful to me, and with such a perfect existence that your heart would be so pure in all your depravity," the disembodied voice crooned. His confession turned her stomach. She looked to the card in disdain, hovering ominously in the white void.

"Do not blame me. Do not blame our power. You think it was we who corrupted him but it was nothing of the sort. It was always thus," Il Diavolo continued.

"You're lying! I saw it! I saw it with my own eyes! You enticed him with his fantasies, used them for my benefit," she yelled, defiantly. Even now, she could still see the longings of the young man's heart, the desire of true belonging. It was so beautiful, so pure, and she exploited it, tarnished it.

"Pray tell, mia amica, in what ways did I corrupt the Lust that exists in that man's soul? He, who longs for the past. He, who lusts for his first love, the childhood friend who was stolen from him. His precious, Seraphina," Il Diavolo snickered.

"What do you know of him?" she shouted.

"Know? I know many things. I know the darkness that consumes his heart even now, the Wrath, the Avarice, the Lust that he nurtures. It is the fertile soil for where sin takes root. He hunts, and only I can save you from the darkness that comes."

"And what would you have to gain, Diavolo, from helping me?"

"Perhaps I have not made myself clear, Amica. You are bound to me. Do not deny me. Do not deny this gift, the love of your mother and father."

"My parents? Tell me what you know!" Amica yelled. His coarse laughter filled the emptiness.

"That, mia amica, will be revealed in its own time. This exchange has reached its end. Remember this, mia amica. Remember well. Use me, and I will give all that you desire. I know your desires. I see the hearts of all men. Your longing to provide for the crew, your desire for safety, your newfound longing for righteousness, all are known to me, mia amica. Use me. Then all will be within your grasp."

The white void drifted into darkness, and she reemerged with her eyelids tightly shut, tears leaking from behind the long fringes of her lashes. Her whole body was rigid, and breathing was difficult. But it was just a dream.

"Please, let it just be a dream," she begged. Even if it was a dream, it was one that felt so real, so felt sick. The oily coating of his words still surrounded her mind. She leaned over the side of her bunk and purged her the contents of her stomach into the copper chamber pot.

A harsh knock at the door filled her cabin, and hobbled to the door, her whole body aching. She cracked the door, the eager sun glaring into her eyes. She starred into the blurry silhouette of her crewman.

"What do you want?" she gritted out.

"Captain, we've made port," he answered.

"Great… Let's get this over with," she muttered and stalked out onto the deck.

A/N: I changed my mind about adding the second part. Sorry about that, folks. I just thought it was too opened ended and disjointed from this part. So we'll be picking up with that next chapter.

I hope that you like where this is going. I've already got the next few chapters plotted out, and I am really looking forward to them. Next one is probably a little filler, and then expect a little gap in the update between Ch. 7 and Ch 8. I want to make sure I do an especially good job on that one. So I need to daydream about it a little.

As always, thanks for reading. If you have any comments, I'd really appreciate them. If there's something that you want to see and I haven't been delivering, please don't keep it to yourself. PM me, I'll do my best to cater to it, depending on how it fits with what I've already got mapped out. I'm always looking for new inspiration.

Previously hitherto forgotten disclaimer:

Oh, and I forget to type this out, because I feel like it's obvious. I don't own La Storia della Arcana Famiglia. Those honors belong to someone else, whom I don't really know. I just like to play in their world.

Translation:

This chapter is called The Sixth Story: Dreams and Temptations

Mia amica = my friend (feminine)