An Alliance

No male friends?" Isabella asked her father who was casually sitting looking at her with a calm expression.

"You heard me" his voice resounded in the room.

"And no female friends for you Leo" he said as his gaze fell on Leonardo who was standing beside her.

Leo's head was bent down as if calculating his next move.

"And why is that?" Leo retorted raising his head to look at his father, his gaze piercing. Aldo looked at his son in a puzzled manner likewise Bella, never had they heard Leonardo question him.

"Leave" he commanded facing both Bella and Leo.

Bella turned her back to leave as she was too tired to say anything to her father. She had expected Leo to trail behind her but he stood transfixed on his spot staring at his father cunningly.

"We'll see about that" Leo smirked and walked away leaving his father stare into the space he just walked out from surprised. Bella traced his footsteps and raced after him, he was walking unusually fast.

"Leo" she called as she caught up with him, but he kept on walking turning deaf ears to anything she was about to say.

"Hey I'm talking to you" she grabbed his left hand and spun him around to face her.

"What?" he asked gloomy.

"What's up with you?, did father annoy you or something?, tell me!" she demanded "Or did his body guards do something?, tell and I'll fix their wagons".

"Turning into a caring big sis now huh?" Leo chuckles.

"Shut up and answer me" she glared at him dusting the tip of sand off his Blue Blazer.

"Nothing's wrong" he answered and took hold of her hand bringing down the tensed aura between them.

"Really?" she Chided.

"Mmm" he nodded "Just trying to get on the bad side of papa, he's done enough already"

"What!" she let go of his hand making him look at her confused as to what offence he had committed.

"Are you nuts!. Getting on the bad side of dad?, maybe you don't value your life".

Their dad wasn't someone anyone could mess, getting on his bad side was totally the wrong idea. Even if they hadn't seen his brutality; it was brutal enough that he denied them of almost all their rights.

"It's not bad. I'll just give him a taste of his own poison, don't you think?" he asked and faced her.

"Hehehe. Good luck little bro" she said sarcastically and gave him a thumbs up.

"Stop being sarcastic will you?"

"Who's being sarcastic?" she asked as she feigned seriousness.

He glared at her and began walking away.

"Chill, when did you start behaving like this?" she asked and walked to his side.

"Dad said you can't keep male friends meaning you and Francesco can't be friends" he scolded brushing off her question.

"We are not friends" she defended.

"Lies" he scoffed "I've seen you both a couple of times together".

"Tsh, who are you to tell me that?, what about you?, Luna?, she can't be your friend either. Maybe that's why your face looked off when you stood at my class door, I guess the guards disrupted your sweet talk hehehe" she laughed at him.

"You're not okay" he said angrily before his face lit up like some idea popped into his brain "Aha!, Francesco and Bella sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G" he sang it continuously earning a slap behind his head from Bella.

She chased him down the stairs and all over the house until she caught up with him.

"Ehi!, come back here!" she shouted when he escaped her grip.

"I'm sorry" he pleaded running round the dining table "Mamma please" he joked making her flare up the more, she wasn't old.

________

Tomasso and Pedro were still engaged in their conversation before Pedro brought up the topic of Sofia, Tomasso's daughter.

"Ah well she's fine. Probably in her room sulking".

"And why is that?" Pedro asked leaning on the chair he was sitting on.

"She doesn't want to change her school to Accademia di Belle Arti School".

"Kids of these days" Pedro shook his head in disappointment "They don't want their parent deciding anything for them anymore. How disrespectful!" he exclaimed.

"True. Stefano is enrolled there right?" Tomasso asked.

"Yes"

"What a nice setup it would be then for both our children" Tomasso smiled imagining.

"Hahaha" Pedro laughed "Yes, I could imagine. The Mancini and The Mariono family coming together" Pedro clasped his hand in display of his words "It would be history in the whole of Italy".

"An Alliance it would be then".

"Yes" Pedro agreed "It wouldn't be hard to form an Alliance between our family since they were also friends from childhood".

"Mmm. I could imagine." Tomasso said.

"And why would Sofia not want to go to Accademia di Belle Arti School?" Pedro asked curiously.

"It's all because of her friend who died there, the son of Andrea" Tomasso replied.

"Ah, I see. Looks like you took good care of him" Pedro nodded thoughtfully.

******

Sofia stared blankly at a box which lay in front of her, tears streamed down her cheeks as the memories came flooding back in full force.

"Open this when you turn eighteen" the faint male's voice resounded in her ears. She'll be clocking eighteen in the next six months, not too faraway.

She took the box and hid it under her bed, it was given to her by someone very special, someone she could never erase from her mind, someone who lingered in her heart.

It was Tony Andrea, her childhood best friend whom she never knew the cause of his death. As curious as she was, she would have uncovered the box a long time but she saw it as a last wish from him.

"Cover mine eyes that I might not see the evil and pain that engulfs the world. Take me into your arms that I should feel the warmth of your embrace. Just like the hen protects her chicks, protect me". Sofia said those words slowly savoring every moment of it.

It was a short poem that she and Tony shared always in the school's lobby together. Now how did her father expect her to cope in that same school, won't the memories be traumatic for her?.

Sofia grabbed a pillow and held it to her chest humming a song.

"He's dead, he's dead" she told herself. She couldn't cry anymore, all her tears were wasted.

She heard a knock making her angle her head to the door contemplating within herself whether to attend to it or not. The knock came again this time louder. Without much Ado, she got up and opened it, she peered out a little bit only to see Patricia the house help.

Sofia widened the door open gesturing for her to come in.

"Um no ma'am" Patricia refused politely "Your father sent me to call you".

"Tell him I'm asleep" she ordered making an attempt to close the door.

"But he wants you to_"

"Do otherwise and you lose your job" Sofia threatened.

"Yes ma'am" she bowed her head before Sofia shut the door close.