|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 9, 2005 19:32:57 GMT -1
Hi I just thought as Cesare didn't get much of a look-in I might try and write something about him, as I was meaning to have a go at Stravaganza fanfic... too nervous... Anyway, the only reason it's in COF is because it's set after COF and it would give away some of the things in it. So read it and tell me what you think! Cesare whistled as he groomed Merla, careful to avoid her wings as she kicked if you went anywhere near them with a brush. Cesare was really quite happy today – yesterday had been the final celebration of the marriage of Cavalier Luciano and the Duchessa of Bellezza. Cesare had enjoyed all the singing and dancing, and of course, feasting – he was Talian. As he continued to groom, he thought of how happy they had looked – happier than he’d ever been. Cesare couldn’t help wondering if he would ever meet the right girl. The only girls he’d known properly were his little half-sisters and Georgia. Besides, his little sisters didn’t count and when had he last seen Georgia? 3 odd years when he was 17 and she had needed to stravagate to Giglia. And even then all she had had time to say to him was a hurried “Hi!” and a “Goodbye!” when she returned. Really, after all they’d been through, that was all she could say to him? At the time he’d been quite hurt. She hadn’t returned since, but Luciano had informed him that she was dating Falco – no, he was Nicholas now. Cesare sighed. Not that he’d ever had a chance with Georgia – she lived in another world and he hadn’t been particularly interested in her that way anyway, but still. Other things were looking bright for him – he’d won the Stellata three times now – he swelled with pride at the very thought. The main door of the stables banged and Merla stamped her hoof – waking Cesare from his daydream. He realised he’d been standing there with the grooming brush half way to Merla’s coat for the last five minutes. He looked up to see who had come in and froze. A beautiful girl about a year younger than him was standing in the doorway looking amused. She had black hair and brown eyes. Cesare realised he’d been holding his breath and released it, quickly. She walked over and held out a hand. “Hello. I’m Rosalina, I’ve come to work here. You must be the famous Cesare?”<br>Cesare’s heart rate doubled. ******** Later at tea, after she'd left, Cesare decided to ask Paolo about her. "um... about Rosalina? Why have you got her to work here? We don't need anymore workers, and besides, she's a girl!" Paolo leaned back in his chair and chuckled. Then he shook his head. "You ask too many questions. I admit that she's here for a reason, but that, I can't tell you. You surely don't object to her being here?" Cesare flushed. Object to her being there? She was the loveliest girl he'd ever set eyes on! Well, if she was here for a while he wasn't going to complain. He'd just been curious. He realised everyone was still looking at him, waiting for his reply. He blushed again and mumbled "Oh no, of course not. Merely interested... i'm going to check on Merla!" And with that, he fled to the stables. Please post again and tell me if it's any good. I won't bother continuing otherwise. thank you
|
|
|
Post by Duchessa on Mar 9, 2005 19:35:13 GMT -1
oh hey excellent! Nonono, please write more! I am so pleased someone is using this thread. I reckon i will too! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
p.s. cesare rox
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 10, 2005 15:26:24 GMT -1
Sorry, correction - Cesare must be 21.
|
|
|
Post by Duchessa on Mar 10, 2005 17:35:14 GMT -1
lol, yeah. But does this mean that luciano and arianna had a three year long engagement? Actually, that's quite a nice idea. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 10, 2005 19:14:21 GMT -1
he was going to university anyway wasn't he? I didnt think it would work if he was married to arianna then. Still it worked out nicely...
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 11, 2005 13:04:17 GMT -1
The next day came, and Cesare was grooming Merla once again. “She’s wonderful isn’t she?”<br>He looked up. It was Rosalina. He grinned. “Yeah. I was there when she was born. We’ve been through a lot together.” He patted Merla affectionately. “So what do you want me to do?” Rosalina was looking a little uneasy. “Could you do the feeds?”<br>Rosalina shifted on her feet and looked at the floor. “I don’t actually know much about horses,” she admitted, “But,” she added quickly, as Cesare couldn’t help looking sceptical, “your father said you would be glad to help me out.”<br>Cesare realised she had to be something to do with his father’s work… but what? A thought suddenly struck him. “Are you a stra-” he bit back the question. He would wait a while before asking. “Come on I’ll show how to prepare the feeds.”<br>******** A week went by, and Cesare asked no more questions. He and Rosalina got along well, and he was glad of someone to talk to around the stables. The other stable hands were all a lot older than him and treated him like a kid. They were exercising Starlight, when the sound of a horse clattering into the yard startled them. Cesare turned around to see Luciano. “Hi!” Cesare called, “I see you can still ride, then!”<br>Luciano was not in the mood for talking. He smiled and nodded briefly, then swung himself of his horse. “Cesare, where’s Paolo?”<br>“In the house, taking a lunch break. I suppose this is no time to ask why you need him?”<br>Luciano shook his head and ran off to the house. Cesare stared after him, then shaking his head, followed more slowly. He got to the house when he heard Luciano and Paolo talking urgently. He caught words: “It’s happened… the new stravagante… Manoush… Di Chimici…” “Is that the Duke of Bellezza? The stravagante?”<br>Cesare nodded, and Rosalina stepped forward. She was about to go in, when Cesare stopped her. “Rosalina… you’re a stravagante aren’t you?”<br>She smiled and nodded, then hurried into the house. He heard her say: “I’m here. Am I needed?”<br>
|
|
Kathryne
Apprentice
~Absolutely Insane~
Posts: 151
|
Post by Kathryne on Mar 11, 2005 22:48:16 GMT -1
Wow! I love it!
Can't wait for more!!
Love Kat.
|
|
|
Post by Duchessa on Mar 12, 2005 12:33:08 GMT -1
eekkk! Wow! Do more! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 16, 2005 18:27:18 GMT -1
OK, i will just figuring some stuff out
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 17, 2005 7:38:32 GMT -1
Paolo nodded his head. “At least try.” He said. Rosalina nodded and reached for the clasp of her necklace. She undid it and turned to Luciano and Paolo. “You won’t leave me will you, either of you?”<br>Paolo shook his head, but Luciano stepped forward. “Look, why don’t I come too? I’m an experienced stravagante and I know all about the world you’re going to!”<br>Rosalina stared at him as if he was mad “Are you mad? He’s very experienced, and we don’t want to drop the Duke of Bellezza straight into his clutches!”<br>Luciano stiffened and looked angry. “anyway,” Rosalina continued, more calm now, “I have been stravagating from when I was young and I have been well taught. I know all about the other world. I’ll be safe as I possibly could be.”<br>She lay down and slipped immediately into sleep. “Experienced.” Commented Luciano, looking thoughtfully down at Rosalina. “How can you tell?” asked Cesare. “When you first start it takes ages to go to sleep. But she just slipped into unconsciousness straight away.”<br>“Oh” said Cesare, then he turned to Paolo. “I want to know what’s going on. I was included in the last one and I gave nothing away. You can trust me.”<br>Paolo and Luciano looked at each other then back at Cesare. “No.” said Paolo shortly. Luciano, seeing Cesare’s hurt face added, “It’s not for us to tell anyway. Rosalina knows more than us. She’s very important. When she wakes up, maybe she can tell you.”<br>They lapsed into a tense silence, Luciano staring out of the window, wishing he was back in Belezza, Paolo at the floor, and Cesare staring at Rosalina, unconscious on the floor. The boy couldn’t believe his eyes. He rubbed then and looked again. But she was still there. An ordinary looking 21st century young woman of about twenty was standing a few metres away from him, looking completely normal. Apart from two things: What was a nice looking young woman doing standing in one of London’s disused back-alleys, and two: She’d just appeared there a few seconds ago from nothing. He quaked with fear as she approached him. She smiled at him then gently laid a hand on his head. Rosalina watched the boy as his eyes grew clouded. She never liked having to do this but every now and then, people saw her. Not often though, what were the chances of someone seeing her there? The boys eyes snapped open again. He couldn’t remember how he got there. He noticed a woman standing next to him. “Are you lost?” she asked. He nodded. She gave him directions to the nearest square then looked around, and thought of what she had come to do. The man she was looking for had stravagated here an hour ago apparently, and he could be anywhere. But in her heart, Rosalina knew exactly where he would be. She swivelled on her heel and walked in the opposite direction. Hours later, Rosalina stirred on the floor. She was stiff all over and felt like bursting into tears. “No good?” asked Paolo. Rosalina’s voice rose in frustration and grief. “I tried! But he won’t listen to me anymore! He isn’t the same…” and she burst into tears. Cesare felt very uncomfortable. But Theresa bustled into the kitchen and took Rosalina out, saying soothing words. “She’ll be staying the night here. Then we can discuss this at breakfast.” Paolo said, before swinging out and going to the horses. Cesare glanced at Luciano, who was looking exhausted. “What about Luciano?” he called out after Paolo. “He’ll be staying of course.”<br>Cesare took Luciano up to a spare room, then dropped into a deep sleep on his own bed. Sorry, I took so long in posting again, I still had to think of a good story line.
|
|
|
Post by Duchessa on Mar 17, 2005 19:44:23 GMT -1
oh hey excellent! Do more!!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
|
|
Kathryne
Apprentice
~Absolutely Insane~
Posts: 151
|
Post by Kathryne on Mar 18, 2005 14:45:38 GMT -1
Awesome!
Loved it!
Love Kat.
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 19, 2005 16:39:56 GMT -1
Was that past tense Kathryne? OK, doing some more soon.
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 19, 2005 17:14:58 GMT -1
Just a short bit while I'm doing the next big bit. Cesare woke up early the next morning, but the sun was already shining brightly and the birds were singing. It was completely contrary to how he was feeling – totally and utterly miserable. He couldn’t even remember for a few seconds why he was so depressed. Then he remembered. Groaning, he lugged himself out of bed and got dressed. He went downstairs to find everyone already up and sitting at the table, looking irritable and worried. Rosalina looked like she hadn’t slept at all. They had all obviously been waiting for him. He flushed. He didn’t want to talk now anyway, so he turned to walk out of the door to the stables. “Leave the horses for now, Cesare.” His father’s voice followed him. The colour deepening in his cheeks, he reluctantly turned around and sat at the table. In a fit of sympathetic sympathy, Theresa piled bacon and eggs onto his plate and smiled encouragingly. Cesare felt sick at the sight of the good food he could kill for most mornings. He pushed it around his plate, aware of the tension rising. Luciano watched Cesare pick at his food and didn’t feel much like anything either. He just wanted to be back in Bellezza with Arianna and Rodolfo. He knew that as an important stravagante he had to do his duty and help out, but he didn’t want anything to do with it. He sighed and thought about eating something, before dismissing the idea immediately. Even under all the stress, Paolo seemed to have suffered no loss of appetite. He helped Cesare out with his uneaten breakfast and then cleared his throat. Everyone’s eyes flicked towards Rosalina. She looked down at the table, reluctant to talk. Paolo coughed gently again and Rosalina opened her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut again. Cesare, desperate to end this awful silence, said: “Rosalina...”<br>She sighed and sat up straighter at that. She took a deep breath then said: “You want me to tell all of it, Paolo?”<br>“All of it.”<br>She sighed again and began her story.
|
|
Kathryne
Apprentice
~Absolutely Insane~
Posts: 151
|
Post by Kathryne on Mar 20, 2005 13:59:31 GMT -1
Oh! Hehe, I meant present tense.
Ooh, update soon!
Love Kat.
|
|
|
Post by Duchessa on Mar 20, 2005 16:56:33 GMT -1
Eek! Hurry up i want to read more! R u gna have arianna and rodolfo actually in the story? xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 21, 2005 6:43:36 GMT -1
Yeah i think so just i dont know how much. Rodolfo probably more than arianna because i dont see how she is really related to the problem... oops i havent told you what it is yet.
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 21, 2005 7:42:00 GMT -1
Hi im going to post at least half of rosalina's story because i dont have much time. soz. "I was born a Manoush one day in the middle of the spring twenty years ago with my twin brother, Alessandro. We never knew our parents, we were told they were dead and an old widow, one of the manoush, of course called Brighelda, looked after us. She was kind enough to us but she was strict, so my brother and I turned to each other for comfort and love. He was like my other half, he still is." she paused, looking sad. "An old man called Ambrosi, a highly respecred manoush, took an interest in us one day and started to teach us what he knew. We were six. Ambrosi was a highly gifted magician and a good teacher. We learnt quickly. When we were ten, he sent us out to the forest for a day and a night to test our skills. In the forest, we stupidly and rapidly got ourselves lost. We stumbled in circles around the forest in a blind panic, til we both fell over a tree root at the same time. Scrambling to get up, my hand found a hollow in a tree. It closed on something hard. I drew it out and gasped. In all my short life, I'd never seen something so beautiful, or valuable. A pure silver necklace. A ruby pendant hung from it." Rosalina paused and took out the necklace and laid it on the table. Everyone craned to look at it. It was beautiful. Rosalina suddenly snatched it up again, making them all jump. There were tears in her eyes. She swiftly pushed it into her dress pocket, and continued as if nothing had happened. "My brother eagerly pushed his hand in, to find something for himself. He pulled out a plain silver ring. I was about to comfort him as it was not worth half as much as mine and to offer to share when I saw the look on his face. He obviously considered it at least as valuable as mine. I closed my mouth again. Later we sent up camp. We were very tired, so we went to sleep almost immediatly. He had the ring on his finger, and I the necklace in my hand. The next thing we knew, we were standing in a back alley of London, but of course, we didn't know that at the time. I nearly fained, but he caught me. It was lucky I didnt or I would have gone back and left my brother all alone. We explored this strange new world all day until we grew too tired to go on. Exhausted, we huddled on a doorstep and fell asleep, shivering in the cold. To our great relief, we woke up in our world. We talked for ages about what had happened and decided it must have been the mysterious objects we had found. Now calm, we found our way back easily. We rushed to Ambrosi to show what we had found and to tell of our strange experience. 'It is as I hoped', he said in reply, 'I planted those there ten years ago in the hope someone would find them. A talisman draws its future owner to it, and I hoped you would be the ones. That's why I sent you. You are now stravaganti.' Of course, our questions were numerous and he taught us in the art and magic for the next eight years. It was his magic that killed him." Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. I don't have enough time to post anymore so I'll do some more later.
|
|
|
Post by TruBellezzan on Mar 21, 2005 16:49:19 GMT -1
"One day, he was greatly excited. He had found a plant with great magical properties and it was very rare and he couldn't wait to test it. He hurried off to a friend of his in the city we were in (as a traveller, he had to rely on his friends to give him a room to work in). He didn't come back that light and someone told us that there has been a fire in the city. He never came back. Something had gone wrong in his experiment, and he had burned alive in the resulting inferno. The most important person in our lives was gone forever. But the next thing would shock us even more. One day, Brighelda told us that she had to talk to us. It was important, she said, and though they had intended to tell us when we were 21, she'd tell us three years early. She said she thought we had a right to know. She was straight and to the point. 'You are not true Manoush. Neither your mother nor your father were, though I sense some of the blood in you. Your mother died having you, a poor woman, who happened to be a good friend of Ambrosi, god rest his soul. So when she died, your father felt that you were an unnecessary burden so he went to Ambrosi and pleaded with the old man and begged him to take the two children for an old friendship's sake. Ambrosi, soft man that he is- no, pardon me, WAS, agreed to take you. That is how you came to be here. You never really felt our cause and our way of living have you? We think it would be best if you were sent somewhere else where you would be better suited. A place very carefully selected,' she added, obviously to try and persuade herself that it wasn't a bad thing she was going to do. So our carefully selected place turned out to be the first place that we stopped at - Giglia. Of all the places, they picked the place crawling with Di Chimici! We are stravaganti, hunted down by these people. Duke Fabrizio had continued the hatred and hunting of the brotherhood, as I expect you know. Soon his spies had found out all about us, but to our surprise he did not attempt to harm us. He took Alessandro to his palace. I cried to see him go - I was helpless, I couldn't stop them. I was sure they would kill him there. But he came back - but he wasnt the same. He was distant and he went again the next day of his own free will. He wouldn't tell me why he was going or what he talked to them about. But I found out. using a mirror, just like Rodolfo's," she added, glancing at Luciano, "I followed him, I tracked him. I focused on a side room in the palace and found him talking to Rinaldo. Rinaldo was talking to him about stravagating and the other world. He was telling him about how much good it would do this world if he went to the other world and brought medicines and things like that here. The usual Di Chimici thing. And Alessandro was lapping it up! When he returned home that night, I said nothing but he saw how distant I was and I could tell he was sad about it, but the Di Chimici were more important to him and he would focus on them. Anyway, Alessandro agreed to bring the things from the new world. But it got worse. I overheard Rinaldo and Fabrizio talking (through the mirror again). Fabrizio said to Rinaldo: 'Is he bringing the weapons yet! Thing of the things we could do! Force Bellezza to sign the treaty. Avenge ourselves on its fool duchessa!' Rinaldo said smoothly, comfortingly: 'Not quite yet, but soon, soon.'
So I think you see the importance of this mission. Alessandro is going to bring back things from the other world to wreak havoc here. We've GOT to stop them. I tried by simply trying to talk to Alessandro, but it didn't work. He wouldn't listen. They were offering him money, a good job and they were insisting it was for the good of Talia. That is all i have to say right now, I'll go into detail later. I'm exhausted from all this talking!" she leaned back on her chair, talking quickly, laughing, trying to cover up the fact she was upset. They all stared at her. "Well..." said Cesare
|
|
Kathryne
Apprentice
~Absolutely Insane~
Posts: 151
|
Post by Kathryne on Mar 23, 2005 11:21:21 GMT -1
Awesome, Tru, update this soon!
Hey, does this Alessandro have any connection to the Alessandro in COF?
Love Kat.
|
|