21 June 2010

Principessa: Truth Surfaces

She was running through the fields of happy faces all towering over her, she felt so small compared to these gigantic stemmed sunflowers. The sun was burning a path leading somewhere... a place she could not see, for the sunlight was blinding her perception. She edged onto the path, following eagerly, only to fall forwards into a great black pit... and into some body's arms.

Lenny sat up bolt straight, she found herself in bed and immediately touched her head, another dizzying spell. She winced at the pain, closing her eyes to the extremity of pain and as she opened them slowly, she noticed she was in a room, all white washed, fresh white linens and the faint smell of flowers... she couldn't make out what kind of smell it was but it was far from intoxicating. She poised to touch the flooring of the kept room only to have someone tatter, the sound emanating from the shadows. She paused and looked up, the person walked towards her but she did not recognise him.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?" Lenny asked fervently.

"Please sit back down Princess," the deep husky voice projected back.

"Princess? Me? No... that can't be right... my name is... my name is..." Lenny tried to think, tried to rummage through her thoughts, she couldn't remember what her name was, she panicked. She gulped down, her mouth, her throat dry, "What is my name... and who am I?"

The silence deafening.

"Who am I, sir?" Lenny said more astutely. Lenny watched as the gentleman bowed down in front of her, she was puzzled to why he was doing that and was about to ask him to get up when his answer confirmed that.

"You are the Royal Highness... Princess Lenora Elena De Luca of Italy. Your highness, you are Princess and second to the throne."

"There must be a mistake!" Lenny replied back.

"No, there is no such mistake..." the gentleman replied back, "I have been ordered to bring you back to Italy, your Highness by his Imperial..."

"What is your name?" Lenny asked.

"My name is Benito Mancini, your highness but you can call me Ben. I have been informed that you will incur loss of memory for a few hours, due to the fall you sustained. You were unconscious for several minutes... so you must rest up before we can proceed with travel," Ben stood up and Lenny saw how tall and broad he was. His eyes were a startling grey and he was devastating.

"I don't have a passport..." Lenny hummed.

"You won't be needing one, your Highness. You will be flying by private jet to Italy and there you will be met by the Imperial... you're grandfather Rinaldo De Luca."

*** *** ***

Ben watched the surprise and bewilderment surface. Her eyes had gone from a rich chocolate brown to a foggy cold black, she was obviously trying to gain head and tail of the whole situation. He'd tried to break the news to her, as best as he could but how could you break news to someone who had never been aware of their heritage. He did reside with her, it must have been tough to strive to survive, managing a numerous amount of jobs, only to be told that they were Italy's most prized possession. Royalty.

When Rinaldo had summoned him to the palace a few months ago, he had gone without further thought. He had a duty to do and this mission was almost over, once he brought her back to her native Italy, back into the arms of her Royal Family.