I don't own General Hospital, GH or any of the characters therein.
marmocchia = Brat
Come With Me
"I'm confused. Where are we going now?" Jason asked his grandmother.
"We're going on trip...to the past," Lila stated.
"To the past?" Jason questioned as Lila.
"You're clearly the kind of person that the phrase 'seeing is believing,' applies to," Lila replied. "Now hush."
"I don't know what you mean," Jason said.
"Evidently," Lila replied with finality as she snapped her fingers and both disappeared into the night.
They reappeared in a tiny room. What almost looked like an attic. There was a girl who looked to be about 6 or 7 shoving something rather roughly into a closet and locking the door. The girl quickly ran out of the room.
The handle to the door started to jiggle. "Wet me out. Pweas, wet me out!" A little voice begged as the door handle jiggled and little hands banged furiously on the door. Jason walked to the door to open the handle, but his hand went through the knob.
"We're in the past, remember Jason?" Lila replied.
"Pweas let me out of here," the small voice begged as it continued to jiggle the door knob.
"The poor dear," Lila said and snapped her fingers again. Suddenly they appeared in a dining room- dimly lit and very rustic looking. The home was clearly a mansion. A miserable looking one at that. Jason recognized the man at the head of the table. It was Anthony Zacharra, maybe about 20 years younger- he would guess. He recognized the man pouring himself a brandy in the corner of the dining room too - it was Trevor Lansing. Suddenly, other footsteps could be heard. What looked like a younger Johnny and Claudia Zacchara ran from around the corner. Now Jason recognized the little girl that had been upstairs. It was Claudia who was messing with the closet door.
"Ah...my children. Come sit...mangia before it gets cold."
"But Papa, Whada 'bout Awizabef?" A very young Johnny Zacharra asked.
"Where is that little marmocchia?" Anthony asked.
"She was coloring upstairs, papa!" Johnny answered.
"Trevor, go get her," Anthony demanded. "Defiant, piccola merda. Start eating, we will not wait for her."
Trevor walked out of the room, and for some reason Jason felt compelled to follow him. He couldn't stand the Lansing's, whether it was the father or the son. They were both typical mouth pieces- arrogant, self-obsessed, assholes who thought the world owed them. While Trevor walked Jason could hear him mumbling about spending seven years post graduate studies to be an errand boy.
"Elizabeth, where are you?" Trevor called as he turned around a corner. Jason realized that they were back in the small room that he originally thought was an attic. "Answer me, you little shit."
Unaware of his reaction to the insult that Trevor called Elizabeth, Jason growled and ground his teeth.
Suddenly the door started jingling again. "Help! Pweas help me!" The small voice said behind the door.
Trevor let out a breath of annoyance and walked toward the closet. He unlocked the door and opened it. "What are you doing in there?" He asked.
"Cwadia putted me in the cwoset and wocked the dwoor," The little voice said. Jason watched as a very tiny girl emerged from the closet. She had long, dark hair and big blue eyes- Dark blue- Like sapphires, Like Elizabeth's. Her face was tear-streaked and she was trembling from being locked in the dark. He, of course, realized before when Johnny was asking if they should wait for Elizabeth for dinner, that Elizabeth was the one in the closet. Seeing her so tiny and innocent did something to him. As he looked at her, he could see a bit of Sonny in her and he could also see her resemblance to Cameron.
"Your dinner's ready. Your grandfather doesn't want to wait for you. Let's go." Trevor said as he grabbed Elizabeth by the arm rather roughly. "Get your ass down the stairs," Trevor said as he pulled her forward.
Jason lost his cool and went to push Trevor forward, but like before he went right through Trevor. "What have I told you, Jason?" Lila asked.
"That we're in the past. What is the point of showing me this?"
"Do you listen to nothing that I say Jason?"
"I've been listening," Jason replied.
"I mentioned before that because of your injury from the crash you can't empathize and put yourself in someone's position. I've noticed over the years that you're very reactive. You don't respond well to what you perceive as injustice when you see it, so I'm going to show you, and hopefully then you're going to understand." Lila said.
Jason just bowed his head slightly, trying to hide his irritation, not wanting to upset his grandmother.
They followed Trevor and Elizabeth downstairs and into the dining room when they heard the ensuing conversation.
"I found her locked in the closet," Trevor stated as pushed Elizabeth toward the table.
"How did you do that?" Anthony asked Elizabeth.
"Cwadia putted me in the cwoset and locked me in," Elizabeth said honestly.
"I did not," Claudia stated.
"Did too!" Elizabeth stated as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms, "You're a wiar, Cwadia." She stuck out her tongue for good measure too.
"Papa, I did not," Claudia stated.
"How did she get locked in then?" Anthony asked.
"-I don't know. She just did," Claudia replied.
"I don't think the little brat locked herself in the closet," Trevor stated while looking at his nails in boredom.
"Elizabeth, go sit down. The next time I call you for dinner you better come quickly. I'll give you this one chance, understand?" Anthony asked.
Elizabeth nodded her head yes and sat down.
"Claudia, go get my cane and follow me," Anthony demanded.
"No, Papa! Please, I'll be good. Don't make me do this."
"Go get the cane, now, damn you," Anthony demanded.
Claudia reluctantly got the cane for her father. "Turn around Claudia and accept your punishment."
Claudia turned around and Anthony struck her with the cane 3 times.
"What is the point in showing me this?" Jason asked. "Am I supposed to feel sympathy for Elizabeth or Claudia?"
"Why can't it be both? These children had horrible childhoods. Besides, do you have somewhere better to be?" Lila asked. "In case you've forgotten your body is probably at the hospital by now." Before snapping her fingers before they disappeared again.
They reappeared again. This time they appeared in completely different location altogether. This was not the mansion but still a large building. "Oh how nice to be back again," Lila said.
"You've been here before? I don't recognize it," Jason said.
"Of course, you don't recognize it. This is my Alma mater, St. Agnes...and Elizabeth's too." Lila said as they made their way down the hallway.
It was daylight. They walked passed the staff- All very stern looking nuns, which made Jason's spirit visibly shutter. They came to a door that was labeled "Headmaster's Office," and stopped just outside.
Lila looked at Jason, "Shall we?" and proceeded to walk through the door. Jason shook his head because this so called dream was the strangest thing that he'd ever experienced and then followed his grandmother through the door.
Once inside they noticed a middle aged woman sitting next to a little girl. It was Elizabeth, she was a little older she looked about 5 or 6 years of age. "Sit still!" The woman said in a rough whisper. Elizabeth was a typical little kid. It appeared that they'd been seated for a while and she was obviously bored so she was squirming in her chair. "Would you behave?" The woman continued and roughly grabbed the girl's shoulder to force her to sit still.
Elizabeth sat back and kicked her leg back and forth letting them dangle. The woman's irritation only grew. Jason found this adorable. Elizabeth was a very cute child. She was the definition of incorrigible and didn't like following the rules laid down by those around her. Her has was long. Part of it her hair was pulled back and part of it was down. She was wearing a school uniform and a beret. "Dis is boring. Why are we here?" Elizabeth asked the lady next to her.
"We're here to enroll you in this school." The woman said.
"But I don't wanna go to school here. Why can't we go back to the cottage? It was funner there." Elizabeth said as she began to climb around her chair.
"The reason we've been here the last few weeks was to sign you up for school. Now sit still and behave yourself. Do you understand me, young lady?" The woman said firmly.
"No, not really." Elizabeth said as she shook her head no, and sat back down to sit with the lady who escorted her. After a few minutes, a nun came out and escorted Elizabeth and the woman with her back to the headmistress' office.
A very serious Nun was sitting behind the desk, when the woman and Elizabeth walked into the room, with Lila and Jason following from behind.
"I'm Sister Mary Margaret, and the headmaster of this school, and you might be?"
"I'm Teresa Russo, and this is Elizabeth Zacharra. I've been charged by the Zacharra family to bring her to this school, so that she can be educated here. Her family feels that she would do well with a more formal education away from home."
"Please take a seat," said the Headmaster as Teresa and Elizabeth sat down, "You're an American. Am I to assume that you intend for her to attend our boarding school?"
"Yes, her grandfather wishes her to start school immediately."
"She appears very young. Pray tell, what is her age?"
"She's nearly six years old," Teresa replied.
"That is quite young," the Headmaster replied.
"Her grandfather thought you might say that but wanted to remind you of the sizable donation for the facility upkeep that he recently made, and he wanted me to tell you that he's willing to make another one if needed."
"That won't be necessary. Do you have her paperwork?" Sister Mary Margaret asked.
"I do," replied the woman, now known as Teresa Russo. She handed the file regarding Elizabeth.
The headmaster reviewed her paperwork, "It looks like all her medical records are satisfactory. Please follow me. We will get her fitted with her uniforms and a student mentor that will help find her classes and assist getting her around the campus. -This way," The surely Headmaster said as she walked to the door and walked out of it.
"Not to be redundant grandmother, but why are we here?" Jason asked.
"I was merely trying to illustrate a point," Lila replied.
"And that would be?" Jason asked truly perplexed.
"-That Elizabeth was raised in a milieu that kept her innocent, for the most part. While she was far away from everything that she knew thus far, she actually flourished here. Her student mentor was very kind and she received a parochial education. She didn't understand when she was little the danger she was in and luckily, she was kept away from the mob underworld. It was one of the few kindnesses that Anthony Zacchara provided her, considering she was a stolen child. Of course, that was more about protecting himself rather than her. He couldn't risk placing her with the Russo's because her mother was searching for her and would have claimed her. Anthony needed Elizabeth to be hidden until the right time. Sonny ruined his chances to pawn Elizabeth's mother Serafina off on Tagliati when he was newer to the game, thanks to Sonny impregnating her. You ruined it for him when you eliminated Tagliati. When you did that, Anthony decided to reel Elizabeth back into the fold. It took some convincing but somehow he convinced her to give you a chance. He kept her in the dark regarding his motiviations."
"I still don't understand why she cares about me so much. I don't deserve it. I haven't been kind to her," Jason said.
"I understand why that might confound you. You live your life in such a black and white mindset, but love isn't logical," and with a snap of Lila's fingers they disappeared again.