And They Called Me Assassin: One Last Dance in Venice
( E Mi Hanno Chiamato Assassino: Un Ultimo ballo a Venezia)
He sat quietly on the bow of the bireme that belonged to Althea's uncle and aunt who he
was to accompany to his old city of refuge, Venezia. He had not seen the city in years but feared not that he wouldn't remember his directions. It was a glorious time to arrive in Venezia, Carnevale was to be under way. He was to acquire his own mask and costume before seeing to the evil deed he was tasked to by his generous in-laws.
He was to murder their Venetian rival and the whore who beckoned his opposal. Luckily he shared no kin with Venetians, countrymen or not. He sighed deeply, it was a shame to return to his homeland for such an occasion but what had to be done had to be done. Makarios, sat beside him with his arms spread eagle along the back of the bench.
"Once we reach Venice there will be no communication between us." Alecto nodded to show that he understood, "I will get the job done before Carnevale has ended."
Makarios nodded, "my niece has married a good man with particular talents. Good for her," he mused in Greek to himself.
"Tutto per la famiglia."
They arrived at one of the ports then disembarked, leaving him to gather what was needed for the job ahead. He waited for his wife's aunt and uncle to leave the ship first before he exited. He stood still on the dock taking in a deep breath.
The city still stunk of salt water and fish. He sneezed. He was delighted to see his countrymen after avoiding them for so long. He headed east to an old friend. He took in a deep breath as he stared at the tall building with chipping red orange paint, shy of one of the many bridges.
It had been so long since he last visited, he wasn't sure if Signora Donà would recognize him or if she was even alive. He knocked on the door first then entered to find the front room void of anything. It was mostly empty except for a few chairs. He took several steps, each one reminding him of how lively it used to be.
He remembered this room being full of tables completely covered by a wide spread of food and the floor crowded of neighbors, friends and family. What had happened? He wandered around allowing memory to guide him through the back hallway and up the stairs and although he was in no relation, Signora Donà had set aside a room for him on the top floor to be used whenever he was in town.
He stopped walking when a young man stepped in to the room. "Ciao," the young man asked in Venetian. Alecto returned the greeting then hesitated as he tried to remember how to speak this certain dialect. "Do you remember me? Signore Alecto?" Alecto asked as he tried to age his face, there was something familiar about the other man.
The younger man's face lit up with recognition and joy, "oh Signore Alecto! Quanto tenpo che no se vedemo, you remember me - Bernardo! Come xela?" Alecto did indeed remember him, he was just a boy the last time he saw him.
"Bene bene, dov'è la tua nonna?"
Bernardo shook his head, "she died years ago. Can I do something for you Signore?" Alecto nodded now then asked for his old room back and his discretion, no one was to know that he had come back. Bernardo agreed then led him up to his old room while Alecto asked about the decline of his grandmother's house. After hearing the tale, he excused himself to his room.
Everything was exactly the same as he left it. He knelt down to a hope chest that held the masks he had worn over the years to Carneval. There was the wolf mask, the Anubis mask, dottore beak, all with matching costumes. He grinned, he loved Carneval, while most people donned masks to pretend to be anyone, he wore masks to reveal how he truly felt at the time, the only time he felt safe enough to show his true face.
I think I need a new mask and costume he thought to himself.
He sought out Signore Sartor who had made all of his masks and costumes. If he was lucky, the man was still alive. He was met with the son Nicolo instead but after browsing his collection, he deemed the kid worthy of making his costume. Nicolo greeted him warmly, "benvegnù, may I be of some assistance? If it concerns Carnevale-" Alecto had been ignoring him until he stopped, drawn to a half mask. Its bridge and eyebrows were colored black, the forehead white and the cheeks of bronze with cleverly hidden bass clefs around the eyes while other thin designs filled the face. His eyes then looked to the laurel boarder.
This mask wasn't as bright or sparkling as the others nor was it plain. It was dark and dashing, it colors were balanced much like his life was now. He lifted it marveling at how weightless it was. He turned to Nicolo while holding it to his face. "It looks well on you Signore." He pulled Alecto towards a mirror that stood in the back of the shop so that he himself could see. Nicolo moved his hair out the way as he fastened the black strap around the back of his head. With his dark hair framing the mask he appeared younger.
He liked it. "I need you to make the costume."
"Anything you like Signore."
He described the costume in grand detail after Nicolo took measurements. He wondered if it was dangerous to have even just one person know what he was wearing but he would save that worry for later. He had other business to attend to before his time in Venezia was over. He carried the box to the message station. "Ciao Signore." The man greeted.
Alecto smiled, "bondi. I have a package that I need delivered to Signora Venus Accorsi da Roma. It must be put in her hands and is from an anonymous person. You never saw me here, capio?"
"Si Signore."
Alecto rejoiced in strolling around his old haunt. Memories greeted him in sincerity as he hoped to avoid old acquaintances still. He often sat on the roof of the house he was staying in when he wasn't helping Bernardo to restore the first floor shop. He had been instructed during the boat ride over to only attend the lavish party thrown by Signore Antonio D'Este. A name he was well familiar with as he was with many wealthy families in his country. He was to enter via invitation procured by Makarios and stalk his prey like a predator. The method of the killing was up to him. He planned to find and follow them during the party then execute them there in a silent fashion. He had only done this with his own hands once before. He slowly put on his costume, black and gold like his mask but his costume consisted of a black hood attached to a long sleeve gold shirt with swirling colored pants. He brushed his hair back tying it back so that it wouldn't hang out on the side of the hood.
He put on the mask.
He handed the invitation to the guard who stepped aside allowing him entrance. He moved with grace but tried not to call any attention to himself. When he spotted his in-laws, he nodded in their direction to let them know it was him, he kept moving until he found a seat. He sat and watched.
He watched people frolic merrily as hours passed. He kept his eyes open but kept his lament to himself. He wished that he could be here in good intent, dancing and having a ball with his wife. He always had fun during the masquerade but not this time.
He spotted the whore then got up to follow her, when nearby, he slipped his hand around her waist as well as slipping into his new acting role. "Voui ballare con me?" He asked sweetly. She giggled and accepted. They began to dance. Taking the lead, he moved her away from the large crowd to a secluded spot where he opened a door and closed it behind them. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed his lips. He reeled from the disgust, he only enjoyed his wife's kisses even when he was unfaithful. He sighed then completed his first task.
He left the room then slyly mixed back in with the crowd. He danced around with many different women until he spotted their Venetian rival. He met the man with good intentions when he finally had a moment alone. The man was already drunk so leading him away was easy.
They walked passed the crowd drunkenly. A man dressed in a red and white costume turned to stare as the two men walked away, that was so odd. He then turned back to his company who was asking about an old mutual friend. He couldn't leave that tiny feeling in his mind....he followed the two men.
Alecto stood staring at his handiwork. The man laid lifeless, he shook his head then exited only to find the man in the bird costume standing across from him. "Alecto?" The other man asked.
He recognized that voice, "don't follow me." He responded then walked away but the other man grabbed his arm then pushed him into another room.
"Alecto, that is you, isn't it? Come va? Its been years....." the other man sobered up quickly, "you are doing something terrible again aren't you?"
Alecto squared his shoulders, it had been years and he was of the same feeling, he could go so much longer without seeing him. "I said not to follow me Francesco!" He growled.
Francesco removed his mask, placing it on the closest table, "Alecto, È figlio di puttana, I know what you've done here tonight. I also know that you've stolen money from my famiglia and I want it back. Adesso."
Alecto stared at him as if he was alien to him now, as if he didn't know Francesco, but he knew the man pretty well. They had a connection that both of them had spent years trying to pull apart. It would be great if they could become strangers again. Francesco was older than Alecto by nine or ten years, Alecto was engaged to his younger sister Renia when they were both children but his sister was very ill and his parents hadn't known about the second son of Nettuno Gallo other than he was a prince.
His older brother was already married so if the crown prince was taken, the second
son would be good enough. Marrying into the Gallo should have brought more prosperity into their family, the Innocenti da Firenze, but it did not. His sister died young at the age of twelve, he remembered that Nettuno and Alecto were both present for her funeral and both had expressed their condolences but both felt forced, strained and unreal.
After that in the oncoming years as Alecto grew older, he occasionally visited their family in Firenze, something he had admitted to Francesco that his father made him do. He didn't want anymore contact with them, he had no reason to but he would visit at least once a season until he offered to become the accountant for them. It was only a few years after that Francesco began to notice the small slip of money that was disappearing from the accounts. He knew well who was taking from them but what could he say or do the prince?
Nothing. Not even now could he actually say or do anything to the man, it was just the wine swishing around in his stomach talking for him. Wanting to confront him, he had been absent from Italia for so long.
Alecto turned his head as to crack his neck then his hands. He didn't mind Francesco but he knew that his former beau's older brother did not like him at all, even when he was a child, Francesco showed no interest in his future brother in law which actually brought him peace. However, Francesco had a bit of a meddling, busybody side which he never appreciated, oh the man could keep a secret but it would be better if the two never had to come into contact. "Cosa stai parlando?" Alecto asked.
"You know well what I speak of! You murdered two people tonight and you stole money from my famiglia." He answered loudly causing Alecto to look back at the door.
"Keep your voice down." He told him. He was a smart one to have notice in his drunken state. He had to give him that at least, since they were near family once.
"I didn't steal your family's money, why would I, I'm rich."
Francesco tried to pace but tilted as he turned, a rush of nausea hit him causing him to slur spit which could have easily turned to vomit but he held back. "Either way, you're back to murdering, you childish child killer." He had been mortified when he found out about the boy's past from close friends who had relatives living in Roma. The small boy, Alecto R. Gallo was already a murderer. A child murderer. He killed two kids, a baby girl, and another boy. He had been more cautious of the kid since he found out.
Always careful and cautious around him.
What the fuck was this about? "You don't know what you're talking about. I'm leaving and you will not follow me. In fact, forgive me now," he punched Francesco in the face, knocking him down, then knelt beside him, "do you know how long I've wanted to hit you? Just to make you shut up? You talk entirely too much." He tapped his cheek, "sleep well Francesco." He walked out of the villa and down the street hearing the cries erupting from the villa in a furious chant, assasssino, only to disappear behind some row houses near the canal.
Alecto sighed heavily as he sat on the bench on the bireme facing the port of Venezia. He sniffed away his urge to cry. He sunk his head into his hands, this would be his last time in the great city of Venezia or his own country. Delphina came to sit beside him, she lightly rubbed his right arm, she wasn't his wife so she didn't want to rub his back or touch him in any inappropriate way. He looked up at her. "You seem melancholy."
"I heard them say assassino, I'm not an assassin, I don't normally mind killing people but this really bothers me. What have I been killing so many people for? It conflicts me," he hesitated, she felt bad for the man, for his current state of confusion that they had brought to him for their own gain. He sunk his head back into his hands then looked up as the boat began to slowly drift away from the docks.
"I won't return to my country, I may not like many people but I do love my country. La mia vita è simile a una tragedia."
"Then take a bow to your former stage. Your next stage is much better, naí?"
Alecto stood up allowing the tears to run down his face, he bowed, "arrivederci Italia!"
Francesco stood at the harbor looking at the bireme row away, there was a bandage over his nose. That son of a bitch murdered two people and broke his nose and gets away scot free again. Like always. "Arrivederci fratellino, you asshole."
Venus received a box, a plain brown box from a young messenger who could only tell her where the package came from but not who sent it. "Venezia, I don't know anyone there. All my friends live here in Roma, Latina, Firenze or Costiera Amalfitana ," she said to herself after shooing away her children who tried to spy on her gift. She opened it up then pulled out the first item, a long thin stick in which she could see purple paper stuck in between. She opened it, a fan.
She moved to her bedroom to rumble through the rest. It consisted of random items including drinking cups, a vase and jewelry, mostly rings and bracelets. She knew who this could be from, finally she reached the letter at the bottom of the box. She read it then set it down, taking out another piece of paper and ink then settled down to find the words and message inside the poem.
Libra lounged on his bed after taking a long bath after a long, hard day of drilling his troops and sons. He held his goblet by the stem taking in a long drink then focused on his wife who sat in a chair looking back at him. "I heard you got a mystery box." He snickered.
"Who told you such a thing?" She smiled at him.
He tilted his head slightly, "the girls. Do I have to hunt down a man in Venezia and kill him?"
She climbed on top the bed to sit beside him, "you are a jealous man," she breathed into his ear then turned away as if she had said nothing. He took a sip of the wine which she then coaxed out of his hand and into her own, "so are your brothers," he replied wanting his cup back when she was finished. "Speaking of my brothers, the mystery box is from Alecto."
"Really? Gesù Cristo, how long has he been away?"
"16 years." She answered matter of factly.
He sat up straight, staring at her, amazed and jealous that she would keep track of her brothers' disappearance. "Do you always keep count?"
She kissed his cheek, "I keep count for you too."
That made him feel better. She got up to fetch the poem he had wrote her then handed it to her husband. "It's a poem." he concluded when he told her that he didn't understand the words he had written on the page. "That means nothing, what does is the code inside. It's something he taught me a long time ago, to look for capital letters within every two lines and corresponding letters within the same line, some rhyme, some do not. He always writes this way. There's a message in here."
Libra wasn't impressed. "So what does he say?"
"He isn't coming back to Italia. That's all he says, that and he sent me some gifts that he claims are from some various parts of the world."
Libra didn't have much love lost for Alecto, he did lose an eye because of him. He sat up more interested in the gifts. Without a doubt she had a tighter bond with this brother than with Saturn but that didn't mean he felt comfortable with it. He was a jealous man.
Two days later while Libra spent time in the barracks, drilling the soldiers again which included all of his sons except Mario who wasn't fit to be a soldier in any kind of way and who he gave two options to either become a scholar like his Uncle Alecto or part of the clergy in Vatican City. He chose scholarly work although he really had no interest in it, but still he was attending the University of Roma, a school set up by Alecto himself while he was king.
He wanted to combat stupidity, improved a building that had fell to ruin during the years of Saturn's reign. The university had been untouched since then although Saturn was finding it hard to fund.
Venus received a visitor, a male coming from Venezia. They sat outside in the courtyard outside the villa near the garden. She liked beautiful things and had the gardeners keep it up and alive all year round although she did some of the work herself but mostly when her husband was away on military assignment which wasn't coming often anymore, making him and his men feel a bit irritable.
"Signore Innocenti da Firenze. What brings you here?" She asked as Francesco sat down upon the blue lounge across from her. She noticed the huge white bandage across his face but was too polite to ask him, she didn't know him that well.
"Are you wondering what happened to my face?" He asked.
"I am."
He removed the bandage to show off his still fresh broken nose. She winched at the sight of it, "how did that happen? Your pretty face is the only good thing about you," she joked with him.
He nodded agreeing somewhat. "Your brother happen to it."
"Alecto?" She questioned causing his eyes to widen in recognition.
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"Well Saturn doesn't have a reason to break your nose and I only have two brothers." She smiled at him.
He sat up straight, "true. Signora Accorsi, do you know what your brother has done recently?" His voice was clear and straight, he tried to sound as serious as he could without offending the lady, she was his sister and the wife of a brilliant general with an impressive record. To his knowledge, Alecto was the only male member of his family who never participated in the military. He almost felt bad for the boy being the only black sheep in his family but no, the bastardo did not deserve that.
"No I don't. I think its best if you forget what you know. I'm not threatening you, it's just Alecto is a scary man who kills people. I'm under no false impressions of him, he's a heartless murderer, I know that. For your benefit, Signore. You understand don't you?"
"I saw him leave Venezia in a boat, a bireme with the Greek Ambassador Makarios. I don't know if that means anything. No one else but him and I know that he's now called the Assassino di Venezia. Scusi mi Signora." He excused himself politely then walked out of the courtyard, he knew how bad it looked but that's all he had come to say. He thought it might go over better if he told the younger sister rather than the older brother and king. He knew that he didn't get along with his older brother, Alecto had told him that himself.
He held his breath until he was out of perimeter of the Accorsi Villa.
She sat back with a smile, "Assassino di Venezia huh? His life sounds so interesting now."
*naí = yes in Greek
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