A new life

Arabella could only look on in horror as the soldiers questioned her father. Mussolini’s men were vicious, to the point of insanity, and she was seeing it first-hand. Her mother lay on her side, a dark crimson stain on the tiles under her, telling the morbid truth of her condition. She had to stay quiet, for papa’s sake. She could see the shadow getting long as evening fell in the villa. As the men questioned him, one of their ranking officers came in, and after looking around, shot her father in the forehead. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming out. He shouted at the soldiers and they all rushed from the room. As she heard their footsteps fading, she started to come out, then she heard a single set of steps moving close, the sharp heels clicking as the newcomer walked into the room. She crouched in the back and stayed perfectly still as the newcomer walked around. He paused several times, even to the point of touching the wounds in her parents to see if they were alive. She sighed softly, seeing that his clothing was not a soldier’s uniform, and then her breath caught as so slight a sound drew his attention directly to her. He opened the access panel, smiling softly to her.



"Vieni, bambina. Qui c'è solo la morte, ma posso dare una nuova vita. Una buona vita con un futuro tra gli altri come te stesso ".

“Come, child. Here is only death, but I can give you a new life. A good life with a future among others like yourself.”


She drew back from his hand, but looking up into his eyes, she felt like she could trust him. There was an ancient patience about how he acted. He waited quietly, his hand remaining outstretched. As the night crept on, she looked to her family, tears falling from her eyes. She pulled her emotions deep inside and let her hatred simmer for a time to give her strength. She made a silent promise to herself to somehow find the man who killed papa. She would make him pay for his crime. She reached out, taking the quiet man’s offered hand. As he helped her from her hiding place, he smiled, and she saw something that made her a bit nervous. His smile…it was different…there was something…something from old stories papa used to tell her. She had no family left now, so she decided that his offer of a place in his house would be good. He could do nothing to hurt her more than what had already happened. She quietly looked into his eyes, and nodded. He said there would be others like her. The soldiers had left many children without a family. Perhaps this is what he meant.

~nine years have passed~

Arabella laid her violin to rest, smiling softly. She watched as Benito rose, clapping his hands softly. He walked to her, cradling her cheek for a second before smiling and walking toward the window.

"Arabella, I have something to speak to you on. Once I promised you a life like you could not imagine, and I have tried to deliver on that promise. Are you happy here? with me?"

Arabella smiled, they had this conversation often, though it seemed only they shared it. She had never heard him speak so frankly with the others. She often wondered why.

"Of course, Benito, How could I not be? If I am interested in something, you find me the best teachers. If I want something, you give me a way to get it. How could I not be happy here?"

Benito smiled at her answer.

"Arabella, there will come a time when I ask you to make a choice. I am going to tell you about it now so that you may ponder your decision until the time that I ask you for an answer. You know I am strigoi, and yet unlike the others, you do not shy away from me due to this. I have often wondered at this. This is also the reason I am talking to you now. There will come a time when I offer to make you like myself. Not to curse you, but to give you the blessing of having time mean nothing. Imagine being able to spend decades studying something you find of interest, and it passing like a cool wind over the water. I know in your heart you still seek vengeance on the one you witnessed killing you family, but vengeance is a fleeting thing. It must be put from you before a choice like this can be made. What I am offering you is the satisfaction of watching all the evils in this world whither and die while you look on with detachment. It is the gift of patience. When the time is right, I will come to you, and I will ask if you want the gift I can offer you. If you wish it, then we will be bound like father and daughter, and on deeper levels I cannot even explain. You must take your own time to think on this, my Arabella. You are the answer to my prayer, which is why I named you such. You showed strength, even in your darkest hour. That is rare, no matter your family. Think on what I have said for a time. You may come with questions if you have the, but beyond that we will not speak again on this until the proper time."

Arabella listened quietly, wondering at the bluntness of his words. He often spoken to her on the dark trick of vengeance. Her education had included the perils and pitfalls of the Borgia bloodlines so she knew what a blood feud could do to a city. She smiled to herself as she remembered that she cared nothing to harm a family, only a single death was promised in her oath. Once she had hatred in her heart and wanted to make him slowly suffer, but now she would settle for his life spilling on the street. She even knew who he was, and where. She only needed patience for the right timing. She would keep her oath, but must do it soon. Benito had been bringing up this topic more often as of late. He always said they would not speak on it again, but always he would bring it back to the surface. She knew who and what he was, and was curious to find that she was not afraid of him. Rather she was intrigued by the offer to join him in his world. To be able to ignore time...to ignore the past and help discover the future. Now that could be a grand adventure. First though, the past had to be settled so she would not carry it with her. As she watched, Benito simply looked out the window toward the Piazza Navona and it's walkers in the torchlight. He often spent hours simply watching people move from place to place. At times he almost seemed like a statue, but he seemed to get great joy from doing so. She decided she needed to resolve the past very soon. She would not have it holding her back when he came to her the next time.

~six months have passed~

Arabella waited for her moment. The soldier was now a magistrate so was rarely alone. He frequented several of the local Houses so she picked out his favorite and waited. She had talked her way past the madam with pleas that she was in love with the magistrate and could she please let her come in and please him. She claimed that she only wanted to be near him for a time, and knew that she would not be leaving with him. The woman had given her a knowing smile and motioned to one of the back rooms. Arabella waited until she was certain she was alone before bringing out what she had brought with her. She placed her knives in various hidden places around the room so she would have access to a few no matter where things went south. She did not have to wait too long before she heard him speaking to the madam in the front of the House. She heard her say there was a new girl that he should try and heard footsteps coming toward the door. As it opened, her breath caught in her throat. Tonight was the night. Either she would have her revenge or die trying.

The lecherous grin he cast in her direction told her everything she needed to know. She sauntered close, running her hands over his chest, leaning up to brush his lips with her own. She led him to the bed and whispered that she was going to give him a night he would not forget. She slowly stripped his clothes off and pushed him down on the bed. Tying his wrists to the corner posts, she peeled away her own clothing teasingly, until she was wearing only a single slip. She smiled as she blindfolded him, kissing his lips as she ran her fingers across his chest. She slipped away, pulling two knives from their hiding places and moved back to his side. She took some oils from the warmer by the fireplace and poured some on his chest, rubbing the oil over his skin to keep him from suspecting anything. The look of pleasure on his face disgusted her but she had learned to be patient for what she wanted. As the oils were smoothed out, she lifted herself to the bed, straddling his waist, smiling smugly. His groan of approval made her smirk as she cut away the blindfold with one of her knives, holding the tip of the other at his neck. She leaned close so he would hear her well.

"Voglio che ripensi, soldato uomo. Ero a voi pensare di molti anni fa quando hai ucciso un uomo e sua moglie a Padova. Hai fatto diversi errori che giorno il mio amico puzzolente. La più importante è che hai fatto l'errore di lasciare in vita una bambina che ha visto tutto quello che hai fatto. Vedete, quella bambina ha fatto una promessa ai suoi genitori il giorno della loro morte. Sono qui per soddisfare tale promessa una volta per tutte. Non preoccuparti per la tua famiglia, perché io non cerco il loro sangue, solo il proprio. Hanno fatto niente per me, hai rubato la mia vita da me. Sto semplicemente ripagare quel debito."

~I want you to think back, soldier man. I want to you think of many years ago when you killed a man and his wife in Padua. You made several mistakes that day my smelly friend. The most important one was that you made the mistake of leaving a small girl alive that saw everything you did. You see, that little girl made a promise to her parents on the day of their death. I am here to fulfill that promise once and for all. Worry not for your family, for I do not seek their blood, only your own. They did nothing to me, you stole my life from me. I am simply repaying that debt.~

She watched with satisfaction as his face went pale. He knew what she planned, and was helpless to resist. He drew in a breath to shout, but the knife at his neck kept him quiet as the tip nicked his skin. The smell of his blood was intoxicating for Arabella. She watched as the droplet ran down his neck and smiled, looking into his eyes. She lifted the blade a hair as she could see him trying to whisper something to her.

"La mia vita per loro, figlia di vendetta. La mia famiglia è al sicuro così morirò in pace. Se posso, posso sapere il nome del mio assassino?"
~My life for theirs, daughter of vengeance. My family is safe so I will die in peace. If I may, can I know the name of my killer?~

Her response was more growled than spoken.

"Il mio nome è furore, rabbia, rabbia, passione e dolore. Il mio nome è giustizia per i vostri crimini. Questo è tutto ciò che serve sapere."
~My name is fury, anger, rage, passion, and pain. My name is justice for your crimes. That is all you need know.~

She looked deeply into his eyes as she slipped the second knife between his ribs, twisting it as she pushed it into his chest. His eyes opened wider at the pain, and she thrust the second knife up under his chin, piercing the roof of his mouth and driving the blade into his brain. She kept her eyes locked to his until the light faded from them. The blood from his wounds filled the bed and covered them both. He had died quietly but she knew she did not have long. They had been quiet together in here too long. A place like this was not known for silence. She moved to the washing bin and peeled away her last remaining clothing, now heavy and stained by his blood. She washed as well as she could with the meager water available in the room and pulled back on the rest of her clothes. She went through his own, removing his money and throwing the wallet in the fire. She pulled him to the wash bin, struggling with his weight until she had dumped him inside it. She posed his head back as if he were asleep. Perhaps this would but her time. She pulled the sheets from the bed, seeing the mattress stained. The sheets went in the fire with her slip, and the mattress was flipped with a bit of a struggle. It would not fool anyone for long, but she needed time. She did not realize this would be such messy work. She rinsed the fresh blood from her hands and poured the rest of the water in the tub with the magistrate. She had her vengeance, though it left her with an empty feeling. He had not really been afraid to die. He was even content with it. The hollow in her chest nagged at her as she checked her reflection. All she had to do now was walk out the front door and get back to the Villa without anyone stopping her. She marshaled her courage and all the arrogance she could call up and stormed out of the room, and straight out the door, tossing the magistrate's money on the desk as she left.

As she approached the Villa, a single candle sat in the window. When she opened the door, Benito was standing there, and there was no smile on his face. He ushered her inside and into one of the back rooms.

"Arabella, the polizia were here looking for you. What have you done?"


Arabella could tell when she was being scolded, but looked at him in defiance.

"I have fulfilled a long remembered promise, Benito. One I had to fulfill before I could be at peace."

Benito sighed and sat down, looking at her.

"And has this promise brought you peace?"

Arabella frowned and looked at him. How could he know her feelings?

"N-No, Benito, it has not. There is a hollow now in my where my hate once rested. It was like a small child I cared for but it is gone now, and I feel empty. He was not even afraid of death, Benito. So long I waited to fulfill that promise, and it felt meaningless."

He smiled sadly and spoke softly.

"Such is the dark trick of hate. It drives you and makes you strong and then leaves you empty and weak in the end. Arabella, I am afraid the night has come for us to discuss my question. We must leave either way before the polizia come back for you, but we can leave two ways. Things can be the same, and you can live a full life, marry, have children, and grow old and pass from this world, or you can join me in letting go of time's firm hand and look to the future. I will say though that you give up much either way. Our kind can never have children, rarely marry, and are often alone in the world. You must make the choice because I will not make it for you."

Arabella stood up, walking close to him.

"Benito, I made my choice for your gift a long time ago, when we spoke more often of it. I had to clear by past before I was ready. Though the act had not brought me peace, I am at peace that it is done. I carry no blood debt with me as we begin anew. I am ready to begin my new life with you, Benito. How do we begin?"

Benito listened and nodded. He walked over to the wall pulling on a torch holder. Arabella could hear a counterweight moving as stones in the floor sank down, revealing stairs that led below. He motioned her to descend and followed her down. She heard the stones lifting into place as they were plunged into absolute darkness.

"We begin by your death, and rebirth. I have never made a progeny until now. You must learn compassion and tolerance, but your strength will give us a good start. Tomorrow night we leave Rome for a decade or two. My servants will care for your brothers and sisters in my home until they find homes of their own. You are to be my only daughter, as I decided long ago that I would only make one other like myself. No light will enter here and we are safe. The polizia will never find this hidden room."

He struck spark, and used the cinder to light a single lamp. She looked around, seeing two intricate coffins laid out in a room with little decoration. She looked into his eyes and saw a glimmer of pride.

"I am ready, Benito. I don't know what the future will hold, but I will remain at your side until death separates us."

He smiled, acknowledging her promise as he led her over by the coffins. He lowered her into one, cradling her neck gently.

"Arabella, my daughter, today you will sleep, and tomorrow you will experience a world unlike anything you can imagine."

He blew out the lantern. The last thing she saw before everything was dark was Benito leaning closer...