Antonio's PoV:
In the late afternoon, we reached the end of the mountain. The horses galloped in a steady rhythm down the dusty path, small stones flying around their heads as the dirty powder snaked around their legs.
As it was mid-autumn, Sun was already on the other side of the World, painting the sky above our heads with warm colours while wind joined and disagreed with the orange and red shades.
I was no longer in fear of meeting the wild beasts again as we were already too far away from the deep woods where they lived. However, my thoughts were all but concerned about one certain horse's wound, for it would've been one of the biggest troubles if we lost such an important vehicle, and there was only a tiny chance of finding another one in the middle of nowhere.
Our ride continued without a stop and before stars could come out, lights shone through air. Heart skipping a beat, I slowed down my crew as we began to move closer and closer to its source and with all honesty, I was more than surprised to see an actual village standing in front of me.
It was quiet, mostly, as the animals which carried us on their backs strode around and into the centre where a tall church appeared. An older man who carried a fire lighter stick in his hands, allowing the before-said element rise and shine in the darkness as he walked towards us and only gave me a glance before continuing on his task.
I let my shoulders sink slightly at the relief of the person not finding out who I was and so, I turned my horse and rushed his way but mentioned for the other three to stay there. "Que Dieu soit avec vous, monsieur," I said as I caught up to him. He stopped in his tracks, turning on his heels to me. I gave a small smile in the dim light and tapped the front of my hat. It was a while since I've spoken French but there was nothing left to do than to use it.
"Y a-t-il une sorte de docteur ici?" I cringed at how terrible the pronunciation sounded but I let it slip this time. I leaned forward, propping myself up on my elbows and patiently waited for the old fellow to answer my question. "Qu'est-ce que tu crois que c'est, gamin?" He barked out a low laugh as his shaky finger pointed behind me. "Juste au coin de la rue. Mais ce n'est pas genial."
My eyes travelled alongside it and noticed a large building among the others, a wooden banner already worn-out from the decades there, weather et cetera hung down in the distance, swinging in the breeze. I gave the old man yet another smile and bowed my head a little. "Merci."
I walked past the three men from my crew and heard them follow me right after. We went as far as to stop right in front of the family house's door and I landed swiftly on the ground. With few stern knocks, I heard something inside move, drop, shift and groan before I realized it most certainly was someone. Light shone into my eyes through small gaps on the southern side of the wooden door, reflecting itself from the stony ground inside.
Before the object opened, nearly slapping me, (and Romano laughing at that in the distance), I heard two different voices going on and about something, sounding desperate and one of them angry. I could feel my eyes rolling into the back of my head from what would've happened afterwards.
Finally, the door opened and inside stood a rather short and bulkier old woman. Well, not old but most certainly tired and furious at the person who woke her up from her sleep, being it me. She held an already half-burnt candle in her wrinkled hand, and her blue orbs pierced a hole right through my brain.
"Es-tu le docteur?" I asked and she sighed groggily at that. Then, she gave a short nod before giving me yet another angry look; "Tu veux quoi, au nom du diable?" My mind couldn't have helped but comment bitterly at her attitude but I quickly shushed it as I explained to her why we were bothering her at such ungodly hour.
Her feet carried her outside and past me, groaning as she knelt down to one of the horse's side. The medic barked at one of my men to hold her candle close enough for her old eyes to see the wound in the pitch darkness. After she made a feisty grimace on the blood-soaked bite mark, she disappeared into the house, carrying the small, wax object again.
A loud thud escaped the main entrance and after a quick glance at the others, I was met with the short female again. This time, not only did she carry the candle but also the tiniest of bowls I've ever seen. She handed the wooden object to me with much strength and with murmuring something about putting in on the horse's wound.
I let my sight rest upon it for a while before it moved to her. My heart skipped a beat under the pressure her dark eyes made, sparkling in the dim light. The thought of her knowing something darted around in my head and poked my insides with merciless fear. And then –
"Tu es bien plus beau en réalité, jeune pirate."
--- dropped the unfair blow. 'Well, fuck.' thought I as my teeth gritted and the blood in my veins turned into ice. A frown formed on my face as I unwillingly switched the object from one hand to another, and pulled out a well-known, small pouch.
"Merci pour le compliment, fée dame," I eased for a growl in return, her dangerous chuckle being its echo. "Vous parlez bien, n'est-ce pas?" I held back to not react as I played with the attached ribbon and finally opened it, round golden objects brushing against my fingers as I dove into them.
"Un à cause d'interrompre votre sommeil....," the tiny coin settled itself upon her palm, shinning in the candle light. ".....un à cause de votre service....," another one landed there and finally, the last one joined them at last; "Et un pour garder la bouche fermée."
The doctor's toothy grin awoke a fire of anger inside of me and I swore to God I'd have had jumped her and tore her throat apart if we weren't outside, and one young Italian boy wasn't watching. "Et un homme raisonnable à cela." Her last comment made my stomach clutch and my will was tested mercilessly as I pushed the annoyance into a dark corner somewhere back in my mind.
The light from her candle disappeared as she strode away and we were left in the darkness once more. I was frozen by her raw attitude until a young voice came from behind me; "Bueno ... si ella no era luchadora, ¿verdad?" The other two men laughed and I myself let out a low, rich sound at the boy's cheeky comment. "Pero tenemos lo que queríamos, ¿no?"
With a finale inhale, I packed the bowl with other things and heaved the animal's back. "Sí. Ahora vámonos. No podemos quedarnos aquí ahora," I sternly pointed-out and with a low groan from one of my subordinates, we started for another long journey.
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'Even if I was ten years old younger,' I thought as a loud crack reached my ears, 'It wouldn't hurt like this.' This had seriously remained me of how much I missed my bed back at Rosa sangrienta. I picked my sore body up from the hard ground, dusted myself with care and went for the eating four-legged animals.
It shuddered as the leathered saddle fell atop of its back. Brown orbs stared at me with such innocence and pain, my own heart ached because of it. I gently patted the horse's shoulder muscles and gave it an apologetic smile; I myself wished to let them rest and be free but our voyage hasn't ended yet.
However, he, (or she – I have had no idea what gender it was), continued to stare at me with his eyes until I let out a frustrated sigh. "Don't give me that goddamned look; I'm tired myself," I said to him and the animal seemed to understand but wasn't pleased with the outcome. Head low and eyes twitching in wrath were things that reflected my very own emotions. But then—
Whack!
---- I had been slapped by its hairy tail and given a playful glance. "You little shit—" I growled out. "Who the fuck are you talking to, bastard?" Roma's voice soothed my growing anger as it all but darted into me through my ears, rolling around, playing with my thoughts and not leaving them at peace.
"Are you, perhaps, getting so old you're starting to forget who you're talking to?" He asked cockily, a mean laughter echoing in his words. "Or maybe you're getting paranoid and you see people?" At last, I turned around only to see his bright half-smirk, deviously sitting at his lips.
Deviously kissable lips.
My eyes widened at my own silent words but all of my attention was soon pushed to the boy in front of me again. "What? Don't tell me you've gotten deaf—" he started disrespectfully but I stopped him in his tracks; "I'm glad you're worried about my health, Romano,—"
He growled at that.
"---But I'm most certainly fine. Thanks for the concern though. How did you sleep?" With a finale smirk and a glare from him, I knew I won this little war he started. "You and you're fucking cockiness...," he muttered more to himself than for me to hear. "Now, watch your mouth. I might still as well as punish you." His breath hitched as my own brushed against his ear, few strings of his almond hair flapping around.
I noted quickly that the redness his cheeks picked up suited him the best before he started on with his uptight rant, surprising the poor animal right beside me.
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"Que Dieu soit avec vous, monsieur." - "May God be with you, sir."
"Y a-t-il une sorte de docteur ici?" - "Is there some kind of a doctor here?"
"Qu'est-ce que tu crois que c'est, gamin?" - "What do you think this is, kid?"
"Juste au coin de la rue. Mais ce n'est pas genial." - "Just around the corner. But it's nothing Great."
"Merci." - "Thanks."
"Es-tu le docteur?" - "Are you the doctor?"
"Tu veux quoi, au nom du diable?" - "What do you want, in the name of devil?"
"Tu es bien plus beau en réalité, jeune pirate." - " You're way more handsome in reality, young pirate."
"Merci pour le compliment, fée dame." - "Thanks for the compliment, fairy lady."
"Vous parlez bien, n'est-ce pas?" - "You speak well, don't you?"
"Un à cause d'interrompre votre sommeil, un à cause de votre service et un pour garder la bouche fermée." - " One for interrupting your sleep, one for your service and one to keep your mouth shut."
"Et un homme raisonnable à cela." - "And a reasonable man, too."
"Bueno ... si ella no era luchadora, ¿verdad?" - " Well....if she wasn't feisty, right?"
"Pero tenemos lo que queríamos, ¿no?" - "But we have what we wanted, no?"
"Sí. Ahora vámonos. No podemos quedarnos aquíahora." - "Yes. Now come on. We cannot stay here."
Hey! First thing; sorry it's so short. I wanted to dedicate it to Emoanime095 but I left it as it was XD Sorry.
But two good things happened on Monday. My son, Javi, had birthday! Oh boy, he's getting old. I remember when he was 17.... T~T mi churro hermoso...Also, the last season of Game of Thrones started!!!! I'm so happy. Of course, I watched the first episode once it was released :D Could you believe it though? My best friend wants Jon Snow to die, join the dark side, so they'd win -_-
However, in the evening, Notre-Dame burnt down. It made me really sad, to be honest. I've never been there before and now, I won't ever see it in its original form. Let me tell you something funny though; I went to a confession on Wednesday and boy. The priest almost fainted because of my sins. Or rather, he almost did because I haven't been to a confession for the past 6 years.
Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please, leave a comment and a vote. It makes my depressive-ass feel better.
Love ya all! <3
- Boora-chan