She was older now, though. The family's Padrona. And while the many mysteries might not necessarily be her business she was determined to make them her business, at least until she got the answers she was looking for. Which mystery to attempt to unravel first, though, was the quandary she faced at the moment. Her first inclination was to dig until she found out what had occurred to cause the rift between her father and their Aunt Cahira, his sister. She and Antonio had been practically raised with Cahira at her Kumpania, she being the only mother figure either of them had had growing up. For there now to be such a breach between the two sides of the family was distressing to her, to say the least. She knew why Cahira was upset with her..but her father? She had no idea what had happened there and considering all the things Morlis had done over the years that Cahira had turned a blind or uncaring eye too, whatever it was had to be good. Or really really bad. She should make a point of speaking to her cousin Ballade, Cahira's son. He had mentioned something in passing about Cahira being upset over his decision to join his uncle's side of the family. Maybe she had said something to him about it all.
She may well have gone off at that very moment to speak to Ballade about it when the arrival of a letter that appeared out of thin air over her desk stopped her short. It wasn't uncommon at all for the members of their family to communicate in such a manner as they had a history of traversing multiple realms, dimensions, and time lines but she knew instantly who it was from and the fact that only one member of their family (other than her father and his concubines of course) was missing from the residence in Aleris had nothing to do with it. Nearing the desk her eyes passed over the familiar script of her little sister, Carese, and her assumptions were confirmed.
She and Antonio had been away much of the time the three younger siblings were growing up but she and Carese had always maintained a steady correspondence, a fact that was not common knowledge among the rest of the family. It wasn't as if they were deliberately keeping their closer relationship secret or anything, it just wasn't something that either of them had thought to make a big deal out of. Many considered Carese to be standoffish and aloof, perhaps even a little cold, but Sarine knew different. She had a sarcastic sense of humor, no doubt about that, and could be quite biting when called for, but that wasn't all there was to her younger sister. Not by a long shot.
Forgetting her earlier mission to seek out Ballade she dropped into the chair behind her desk and drew the letter to her, the wax seal broken and the letter pulled free in a matter of seconds. Voraciously she scanned her sisters letter, seeking any clue as to why she would choose to remain in Italy while the rest of the younger generation of their family migrated to Aleris. Naturally she'd questioned the younger woman but thus far Carese had been quite deft at side stepping providing any genuine answers.
The letter was filled with the typical stuff. Carese spoke of spending the majority of her time away from the Villa seeing to her own pursuits. She had little to no interest in spending any time around her mother, Tessa, and never had. To be fair Tessa wasn't exactly maternal. She barely registered that she'd given birth so it was safe to say she was less than nurturing and had had little to nothing to do with the upbringing of the twins. Still, Salome felt a connection to her mother, a desire to be around her at times even if Tessa was oblivious to their connection. Carese had never had that. The fact that Tessa was indifferent to her children had never bothered the older of the twins as Carese had always been rather indifferent to Tessa as well.
Though nothing in the letter was particularly unusual something began niggling at the back of Sarine's mind, a thought that had played about her subconscious since the first night the siblings had gathered in the new Villa in Aleris. She'd often teased Salome and Carese about being the worst twins ever, having little to no connection let alone the super psychic connection twins were supposed to have. They were sisters, they loved one another of course, but they were completely and utterly different. Not just in personality but in appearance as well and neither had ever had any real need to be around her twin. Salome had had no problem up and leaving Carese behind to move to Aleris and to Sarine's knowledge they had had no contact since then, Sarine being the only sibling Carese kept in constant contact with.
Sure, it was funny when they joked about one of the twins being a changeling, but the more she thought about it the more she began to wonder if they weren't at least partially right. No, she didn't believe Carese had been left by faeries, but it was entirely possible she wasn't who their father said she was. She was a Desiderio, the blood in her veins could not be denied, all the siblings could sense their own, but something wasn't right...something wasn't how their father said it was. Not that it would be the first time he had kept secrets from the rest of his family, he was full of them, but something of this magnitude? Would he, could he, do something this drastic? After only a seconds consideration she nodded firmly to herself. Yes he could and yes he would, if he thought it was for the best. Their father loved his children devotedly and would do anything to protect them. To him the end justified the means when it came to his children, no matter how fucked up others might view his decisions. His heart was good, mostly, his execution was just flawed, usually.
Engrossed in her thoughts she let nearly half an hour slip by her before she even realized it. All other family secrets were put on the back burner in her mind as she pondered the mystery of her little sister. Just how she should go about unraveling this little puzzle, provided she was even right and wasn't just being horribly dramatic, was the first thought on her mind. Should she mention anything to Carese about it? No..not just yet. If she was wrong there was no need to upend the younger woman's life. Salome then? It could be just as distressing for her as it was for Carese and she didn't know anything more than the rest of them anyway.
There had to be a way to find out if Salome and Carese were in fact twins without alerting either one of them. Dark blue eyes narrowed in thought as she considered her options. Magic. It always came back to magic in their family. Antonio would no doubt know an appropriate spell to determine if the women were twins but he would also no doubt tell her to mind her own business as he usually did though she never listened to him in the past and saw no reason to start now. Ilario. She could always enlist her younger brother's assistance. He and the twins were born within hours of each other and the three of them had been raised together at the villa in Italy. If anything was out of whack he would have noticed it. Her younger brother was perhaps the shrewdest of them all and rarely missed anything.
She knew Ilario was out at the moment, the house was relatively empty of her siblings given the time of night it was. Most were out carousing or hunting this time of night. It was far too early for any of them to have returned with their snack for the evening. Deciding nothing was going to get done just sitting there she quickly folded Carese's letter, determining to write her back later that evening, and drawing out a blank piece of parchment she quickly penned a note to her younger brother.
Hey Rio,
When you get a free minute from wenching let me know. I have a little mystery I think you might be able to help me with. You know how to find me.
Sari.
Folding the letter she scrawled Ilario's name across the front and propelling herself to her feet she crossed the expanse of her bedroom and exited, her feet silent on the plush carpet that lined the corridor that led to her the younger Desiderio male's room. Knocking first, of course, as she had no desire to just walk in and chance being greeted with her little brother's bare ass up in the air. Hearing no response she opened the door and quickly dropped the note on the silver receiving tray next to the door where all his correspondence was deposited and closed the door behind her.
With that element of her investigation seen too she turned back towards the wing that housed her's and Antonio's suites and checking just as she had at Ilario's door to see if he was in she determined that his room was empty and slipping inside locked the door behind her. Magic would be the key to unlocking this chest of mysteries but she strongly suspected Antonio would tell her to stop meddling and refuse to help her. So rather than risk his denial she intended to sneak into his work room and rifle through his magic tombs without his knowledge. Antonio was the only one who could open the door to his work room, the room itself existing in a dimensional pocket that could be accessed from any realm Antonio inhabited. It was a place that was not a place in a time that had no time and no one could get to it but Antonio. And her. He'd taught her how years ago though she rarely entered without his knowledge.
Any wall would do for opening the door, it was all magic anyway and things like time and space was relative in the grand scheme of things. In a matter of moments she had summoned the door and entered into his work room, the door closing behind her but remaining visible. Antonio was the only one who could make it disappear completely once he was inside, as far as she knew. Probably a means of him being provided with an early warning system should the room be breached while he was absent so he didn't walk into an ambush.
Knowing his schedule was erratic at best and he could return at any time she grabbed the first dusty tomb and perched on the large onyx slab alter at the far end of the room, the book perched on her thighs as she began to sift through the often hard to decipher text. She had no idea what kind of spell she was looking for but she was certain she would know it when she saw it.
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:22 pm
