“A long time ago there were princesses and princes, witches and trolls and a whole kingdom that lived off magic. Actually there was a princess who was friends to everyone in the kingdom, and she was promised to a prince born of a righteous birth from a Roman King. Everyone in the land was overjoyed except a jealous mean ole troll who wanted the princess for himself. Unable to resist the urge to possess her he stole her in the night before the wedding and took her across Lake Garda.”
Eve kept her face pressed to his chest listening to his heartbeat as he told the story. He kissed the top of his daughter’s curly head but his eyes remained locked on Mira’s lovely face, turned toward his, as he continued the story. “Everyone in the kingdom was saddened and the king was confused. He didn’t know how to rescue her. Lake Garda was dark during the day but the darkest at night. Men would get lost in its waters trying to cross the channel. Rumors of man-eating fish swimming the lake scared every man, woman, or child. But the prince could not be separated from the fair princess and vowed to risk it all to save her from a fate worse than death; losing her soul by marrying that mean ole troll. The princess was aware of the dangers her prince faced in trying to rescue her. She knew that his love for her would make him foolish in his haste to find her and devised her own plan.”
“What plan was it?” Mira asked.
“A dangerous but brave plan.” Giovanni smiled. “She plied the troll with wine promising to be his bride. She waited for him to fall asleep. When he passed out, she began to sing into the night, calling out to her prince. The fireflies were birthed from her lovely voice. The ugliest, filthiest, fattest, hairiest black bugs rose from the rank retched swamp that the troll dwelled. The princess’ beautiful voice transformed them. Rubbing their hind legs together in harmony with the princess’ voice they emitted little sparks causing fires to blink in their bellies and light the night. She sent them across the lake to guide her prince to her singing all the way… firefly, firefly, yellow and bright … bridle the filly under your light, the son of the king is ready to ride, firefly, firefly, fly by my side.”
Eve had drifted to sleep on Giovanni’s chest, and Mira looked down at her surprised. She hadn’t even fed her yet. Eve never went back to sleep after waking in the morning. Nearing her terrible twos she gave her mother the blues if cereal wasn’t in a bowl for her within minutes.
“Looks like my little lucciola didn’t like the story. She fell asleep.”
“You are amazing with her,” Mira said.
“She’s my rib. She understands me.”
Mira leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. “Ti amo,” she said between the kiss.
“I missed you very much, Bella. I thought of you every day, and night.”
“I thought of you too. Often.”
A sly smile formed on Giovanni’s lips.
“Did you know that your army has arrived?” she asked changing the subject. “There are like three trucks outside and at least half a dozen men walking around. Scared me half to death.”
He frowned. “Did they see you?”
She remembered her little nightshirt and how he fixated on her breasts when she returned to bed this morning. “No. No one saw me,” she said.
“Good.”
“So it’s still going on?”
Giovanni shifted to lie Eve down on the bed in between them. “What’s still going on?”
“The war? The one that started the day Fabiana died.”
He turned and carefully rose from the bed to be sure not to disturb his bambina. “That war started before she died.” He stretched.
“Lorenzo said you murdered Flavio.”
Giovanni froze with his arms in the air. Lowering them slowly he looked over his shoulder at her. The deception she saw on his face broke her heart. She needed him to be honest with her, always.
“Lorenzo said this to you?” he asked.
Mira eased off the bed and walked over to him. “Don’t be angry. You can’t keep secrets from me. Not if there’s danger that could affect us.”