Maria was tucking a 7 year old Nico and a 9 year old Bianca into bed when there was a knock at the door. It looked like they were still in Italy.
"Go to sleep, innamorata." She kissed Bianca on the head. "Go to sleep, innamorato." She kissed young Nico on the forehead. Nico knew that meant sweetheart, in their respective genders.
The knocking got louder.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She shouted to the door as she hurried towards it. "Santo Ade." She said under her breath, which meant Holy Hades. He didn't know his mom cursed like a demigod.
She opened the door, and a tall man stood in the doorway. "May I come in?" He said in a cold voice. He had an Italian accent, similar to his mother's.
"Yes, of course." She said as he walked through the door. "What brings you to my home, sir?"
"I am in the Italian army. We know everything you've been doing, Miss di Angelo."
If she knew what the man was talking about, her face didn't show it. "I'm certain I'm not aware of what you are referring to." She told him innocently.
"Don't play dumb with me, woman." He growled. "You will tell me where you are hiding them, or I will make you tell me where you are hiding them."
She crossed her arms. She didn't look scared in the slightest. "Whom are you referring to, sir?"
He ignored her. "We know much about you, Maria di Angelo. You work when a woman should not work. You mothered two children out of wedlock, while their father remains unknown. You are an activist. These things make you troublesome, and if that wasn't enough...."
Her face grew sad. "My husband perished while I was with child! My oldest wasn't even 2 years old when her father died!"
"You never had a husband! There are no records that say such!"
"We were married in America!"
"Stop lying! There isn't a father's name in the children's records!" The man barked. "Now, you will tell me where they are at."
Maria held her chin up. "I am not hiding any persons."
The army man struck her across her face. Nico wanted to do something, but this was just a dream. A memory. There was nothing he could do.
His mother didn't react at all to the slap. It looked painful, but she never broke eye contact, and her bold expression didn't waver. "I am not hiding anyone." She said again. "Now you leave my home, or I will contact authorities."
He glared at her. "I will be coming back tomorrow morning with more people, so I suggest you talk then, or you may find yourself in prison, and what will become of your children then? Maybe your deceased husband has family they can go to?"
Maria's face morphed into a look of panic, but she quickly erased the look. He had noticed it, though, and the man grinned, clearly satisfied with himself. He turned to leave. "See you in the morning, Miss di Angelo."
Then he was gone.
Nico woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. The time said 7:33, so Nico went to find Will. Would he be in the infirmary?
Nico quickly got dressed and burst out of his cabin, running towards the infirmary. Just like he thought, Will was there. He looked up from a dictionary he was reading.
"Nico? What are you doing up? What's wrong?"
"It's my mother." He said out of breath. "There-there was a guy! He came to our home in Italy! He threatened her! He hit her!"
Will was out of his seat, trying to get Nico to sit down. "Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. What happened?"
Nico explained what he saw in his dream.
Will's eyes were wide. "What happened next?"
"I don't know! I woke up!"
"Okay, calm down. Maybe you'll see the rest of the dream another night. You know that she's okay, because you know you guys moved to America."
"I know, but this really looked serious. He threatened to put her in jail, and take us away! I need to know what happens!" He plopped down in the chair next to Will. "My mother was tied into some deep shit, and I don't know what. I don't know if it was good or bad, or why it was so secretive. I don't know why there were people after her for whatever she did. While I want to know so badly, I'm also really scared. I know, either way, this is going to change everything when it comes to my mother."
Will wrapped his arms around Nico. "Hey, whatever you learn, we'll figure it out together, okay? I'm here."
"Okay." Nico mumbled.
"Now I know it's hard, but try to keep your mind off of that for now. You'll figure it out soon enough."
Nico nodded.
"Okay, now can you tell me what this means in Italian?"
Nico was still worried. He still didn't understand what the dreams were trying to show him, what they meant. But he felt a little better knowing that Will was here through it all.