Narrative: Roman Holiday WHO: Victoria Vazquez & Romina Martorelli WHEN: Last weekend WHERE: St. Margaret's to Rome, Italy
Romina been there for the graduation ceremony and then went ahead to make plans for Italy. It allowed Victoria to say goodbye to her fellow Ladon. Most of them. She was the one to approach Bayani. She wished him luck on his journey for the impending war that he and his friends would declare on the place that tortured them. She remembered what that meant to him and wasn't going to hope that they would find success. She felt apathy toward him now, and when he tried to tell her he was sorry, she cut him off, telling him not to ruin things. He quieted, smiled, and hugged her.
The rest of her goodbyes were somewhat brief. She made sure to give Mr. Kaden a strong hug before she got into the taxi. She thanked him again and departed. As the school receded into the background, she stared ahead, leaving the familiar landscapes with it. The woods where she hunted with Leon and others and where she and Bayani had begun their relationship. The stables, now vacant of prize-winning thoroughbreds, where she and James had gone riding. Places here and there, etched into her memories. Some felt like a distant dream and others more vivid. St. Margaret's and Camden were part of her history now.
But like all history, it's in the past and she had a future to face. The taxi drove her a distance away. In the trunk was everything she in the world she owned and would take with her. Leaving had forced her to narrow down her belongings again. A lot of her clothing she'd given to others in Ladon house. She gave a large chunk of elegant dresses and shoes to Fen. Items she liked but didn't see herself wearing. Fen had a somewhat similar figure to her and if they were a little loose around the hips or chest, she would still look nice in them.
She would make the journey to see Leon one last time. Bidding him farewell before her departure. A nod of head to the others he lived with. She told him to come and visit Rome, and made him promise to keep in touch. And then she was in another taxi, this one taking her to the airport.
Victoria checked her baggage and then boarded the plane. A red-eye. She looked out of place among the weary businesspeople on their way overseas. The Brexit would make trade a complication and so she could hear voices talking about it constantly. So she tuned them out, closing her eyes and focusing on the hum of the engine that carried her to Paris. There she had only an hour layover before she was on another flight, this time heading to Rome.
Now she felt a stirring of emotions within her. She wasn't sure what those emotions were because it was hard to pinpoint exactly at they were. it wasn't until she was hugging her dame, after disembarking, that the tears began flowing. It was a feeling of overwhelming sadness and of joy. Or loss and of gain.
"Vivi, you only saw me a couple of days ago," Romina teased but she too appeared glassy-eyed. Victoria wiped at the tears but with care not to smudge her makeup.
"It's over," Victoria said, "And it's beginning."
Romina smiled, "Yes. Now we will be together as we should be. We will improve your Italian and you will speak as a native. Then we will move to France and maybe after that, we will find ourselves in Thailand." Romina was joking but serious at the same time. They were vampires and had a long life expectancy unless a hunter decided to track them down, but considering the lifestyle Romina and Victoria led, it may not be the case. Drinking from humans was a welcome treat but not a necessity and they both cared too deeply about one another to make the mistake of pushing too hard. Even if Romina brought out the worst in Victoria's party-girl habits, she also loved Victoria, as Victoria did she.
"Come," she said, "There is a party tonight and I want to introduce you to others I know here."
"Your sire too?"" Victoria asked. Romina paused and then smiled, "Yes. My sire. He will be proud of how his fangling has grown and how mine has too."
Giving Victoria a kiss on the cheek, she grabbed the younger vampire by the hand and led her away. It was time to start the rest of their lives. It was day but Romina knew Rome like the back of her hand. She grew up here and would know where to go. And then when darkness fell over the Eternal City, the night would call to Victoria and Romina and the others. And from the dark places the creatures of the night would emerge and oh, then the music would begin.