Enrico’s Costly Mistake

Outburst
The palm of your hand crushes the precious glass rosette
containing the heart of your love, which
together the fires of your passions used to sculpt.
Conquest
bounds your eyes blind with coins though
Love stares back at you, her face finding your glance
with longing, from every direction you seek.
Regret
cannot find its somber note for the high pitches of greedy,
victorious cackles trail you in a trance of destruction,
piercing and splitting your eardrums.
Longing
is money’s grasp letting go, leaving gaps in your being; shattered reflections
multiply her impression a thousand times by echos inside voids which were
once filled by possession’s false substance.
Longing further
is the haze of dust during the explosion finally choking you, though it all
has lifted or settled.
Realization
is your trembling hands trying to string the shards of her remnants- drifting over the
waters surface- back together, but ending up with only a bungled necklace of
pendants clashing with laughter, containing bits of secrets now forever unbound.
Desperation and Denial
are your tears, flooding the lagoon- sending the drifting waters on a search through
the city for your long lost love who you know ran away in a flight of betrayal.
Fool
is what you were to be caught in the whim of other men’s plights and felt security
by following submissively to those who held power.
Escape
is your only hope for ridding yourself of this misery, though even the pounding of a horse’s
hooves are not fast enough to outrun unsated desire, the grace of a horse’s bounding freedom are lost upon the wind.
An Eternal Question
You thought that spying would bring you adventures and money to be thrown at your feet.
Coins are not thicker than the walls of your heart.
Knowing money can never melt to become her blood and remold her:
What cost can be reconciled that is greater than loss of love?
——— Devan Swan

Stravaganza book 4

Luciano sat cross-legged on the floor, beads of sweat trickling down his face. He was nervous. Probably more nervous than he had ever been. "Oh man," he said out loud. "This is worse than last Spring's math final." Lucien had never felt this way about any girl before, though he was almost 17 years old. 'I should talk to Rodolfo,' he thought. 'If anyone knows how the Duchessa thinks, he does.'

He had half a mind to visit the man right then and there. However, there was a knock at the door. Luciano sprang up to open it, flung the door open, and found himself face to face with Arianna. His face turned completely red. Lucien snuck a quick peek at the Duchessa, who turned away in embarrassment.

Quickly, he ushered her inside where they took a seat on Lucien's red velvet couch. 
"I'm glad you're here," he said at last. 
Arianna removed her mask and smiled. "I'm glad that you're finally becoming a real mandolier. Infact, I almost feel jealous."

Lucien returned the smile."To think that I shall be escorting the prettiest girl in the whole city about," he said. 
Suddenly, Lucien realized that Arianna's body was getting dangerously close to his.  He noticed that she had even wrapped her arms around his waist. Lucien didn't realize what was happening until Arianna's mouth was touching his. A cool sensation filled his body and he thought his heart would spring from his chest. Lucien didn't want it to end, it was the most magical feeling...

Then all too soon, it ended. Arianna pulled away,and pointed at the entrance of Lucien's room, a look of terror on her face. Lucien turned, and found himself face to face with someone he thought he would never see again. He gasped. It was Tom.
———— Anonymous

Italy is a part of Me (Poem)

I live a life of wonders
Italy it mostly be
To roam the streets and cites
to see everything there is to see.
just to have one quick peek at its nature
to feel the beauty and love in the gentle air
I think of precious Italia
which mostly is made up of me
to experience a day in Italia
is a day tI shall not forget
to experience a day in Italia
is a day of what life should be.
———— Diana Frigo

Between Two Worlds

Lucien of London
Luciano of Belleza
By day one way
By night another
 
Life of sickness
Life of pleasure
By day a nothing
Night filled with adventure
 
Lonely and ill
In bed he'd reside
To be with Arianna
In his world, he died
———— Jill
 

Vagare in parallelo mondo -- Wander in a parallel world

Viviana Miele was on holiday with her father, Rinaldo Miele in Milano, Italy. Mr. Miele, who was the travel agent of his company, World Wide Fashion (WWF), was working on a project with two of his assistants. Their goals in the project were how the WWF could get the most benefit in the Fashion trade so they could extend their fame to the world in the future. Mr. Miele was a very busy man. Most of his time was devoted to his work so there was little time left for his daughter and him to spend together on their holiday.
*
Viviana, who had always known as Vee to her friends, had no one to play with in Milano so her father organised tour trips around the city for her. As Vee became familiar with the city, she decided that she could go out and shop on her own.

It was a clear, sunny day. Vee remembered a small but cosy-looking Italian antique store that she had seen during one of her many tour trips around the city. She didn't particularly like to own or even buy old things but her curiosity was too strong to ignore.

She had no trouble looking for the store. It was as if the direction was imprinted in her head and an invisible thread guided her the right way.

Once she was inside the store, Vee wandered around it looking for something which she didn't even know herself. In the corner of her mind, a small voice continuously whispered, 'keep looking.' Suddenly with wide, startled eyes, she stared at a beautifully but mysteriously woven, silky material. Vee reached out and let her fingers run over, or rather through, the cool, smooth piece of silk. She unhooked the water-like silk from the stand without any hesitation and walked towards the counter.
**
'How was your day honey?' asked a serious, business-like voice.

'It was fantastic! I explored some of the venues, did some research on the city's history and did some shopping on the way back to the hotel,' replied an excited, fourteen-year-old girl.

Vee usually answered her father in short replies, such as 'It's OK,' 'Interesting,' or 'Fine,' sometimes even with 'The weather was lovely.' However, those replies did not come today. Mr. Miele was surprised not at Vee's answer but at the enthusiasm in her voice. However, when he turned to look at his daughter, his face revealed nothing but a mask of neutral expression.

'You know that I want you to be happy, don't you? I really want you to enjoy yourself… on this holiday,' said Mr. Miele with a searching look in his eyes.

'No worries dad,' the smile on Vee's face did not reach her eyes. 'So, what's for dinner?'

'The usual?' the father sighed inwardly, knowing the cause of this sudden change of subject.

With a shrug, Vee asked, 'Can you send the food to my room please?'

'But it's our day to dine together,' protested the frowning man.

'I feel a bit light-headed. We can dine together another day,' said Vee feeling guilty because she knew that her dad was a very busy man. Occasions like this with her father were very rare.

'Well, if that's what you want,' said the disappointed man. Then he brightened up. 'We can make it up another time. There's still plenty of time.'

'Night dad,' Vee said calmly, almost too coolly but inside her a volcano of anger was in danger of eruption. How dare he say that! I hate this life. I don't want anything to do with this. I hate him. I hate him for being so cool and calm as if mum and the accident had never happened. I wish he would disappear. None of this would happen if mum were still alive. All I ever wanted was to have a happy, united family but I don't know what I any more.

'Good night my dear,' said Mr. Miele as Vee slipped out of the room. This is so hard. I don't know what I want any more.

Once she quietly closed the door of her room, Vee started to cry. Pulling the soft silk out of her shopping bag, she climbed into bed. Her left hand clutched tightly onto the silk as if her life was depending upon it. She stopped sobbing after awhile as the tiredness of the day took over. Holding the silk close to her heart, a question kept swirling inside her head: Where did it truly come from? She slowly drifted off to sleep with the patterns on the silk woven in her mind.
***
Wow! I'm dreaming a fairy tale. A palace! I wonder where the princess is. Vee giggled at her own thought but abruptly stopped as she turned around and faced a woman dressed in sixteenth-century clothes.

'Mother? No … it can't be. This is a dream,' stammered Vee.

'Viviana!' exclaimed the woman, 'You have come at last. Child, I, Rina — your mother and the Founder of the Vagari Sisterhood, welcome you to the city of Malina or Milano as it is known in your world. I'd like to introduce you to the council of Vagari Sisterhood after you have your refreshment and an explanation, which I think I ought to do so long time ago.'

With a gesture to a woman who was standing behind her, Rina said, 'Sarlina, please see to my daughter's needs. I thank you.'

The woman nodded and walked towards Vee.

'Come, Little One,' softly said Sarlina, with a sunny, motherly smile.

Too shocked and entranced, Vee let herself to be guided gently by the woman at her side. Her mind was frantically trying to comprehend the meaning of her dream.
****
'Now, shall you sit down or do you prefer to stand?' asked Rina, half amused at what she was seeing on her daughter's face.

With a sigh she continued talking, when there was no answer, 'I guess I have to explain the whole story to you since all of this is mostly my doing. Before I do that, you need to sit down because my story is going to be a long one.'

Before the accident, Rina and her daughter was living in a small town somewhere near Boston, Britain. Rina was a secondary science teacher at Marian Secondary School for girls or M.S.G for short. Vee was in her first year at M.S.G and had very few friends. Unlike her daughter, Rina was quite popular, respectable and admirable among her friends and colleagues. Outwardly, she was a very easy-going person but she held a secret that cost her life in Vee's world but granted her a second chance in this parallel world or the Olden World as she called it.

A year before Vee started going to M.S.G, Rina was doing an experiment with chemicals, metal and light. She was trying to prove the correction of her theory as she had expected it to be. Instead a small but fateful incident occurred and the discovery to the Olden World was the result of it. What happened since that day was too long to tell but she knew that she must not tell anyone about the incident for the consequences would be too disastrous. The Vagari Sisterhood was founded and Rina became both the Founder and the Leader of this secretive organisation. She brought science to the Olden World in hope of trying to make Malina a better living place for its people then expand her knowledge of science around that world. However her efforts were not without obstacles, difficulties and dangers.

With the knowledge of science falling helplessly into the wrong hands, the city of Malina was in danger. At that time, Rina had to make an ultimate, difficult decision that would bind her to her destiny: To continue living as a teacher and watch Vee growing up or to try and save Malinan citizens from death and slavery.

'… I was responsible for my mistake and I had to take the consequences. I had to save Malina and the only way to do that was to be here permanently. I cannot afford to live in both worlds. The time difference between two worlds is too great,' continued Rina solemnly with her tale, 'I knew that I couldn't just disappear into thin air. I had to make things look convincingly. The accident was the best option.'

'All this time, I blamed dad for the accident and know you're telling me that it was your doing? Do you have any idea how much it hurts me? Do you have any feeling at all? No warning, no hinting, nothing. One day you were there and the next you were gone. Puff! Disappeared! What were you thinking? What kind of a mother is that?' demanded Vee with hot, unshed tears stinging her eyes.

'Please don't blame your father for what happened. I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness but all I ask you is please trying to understand my decision. I did not want to place the danger of my folly upon your shoulders. I could not afford another mistake and the notion of putting you into danger was too much to bear.'

'Why are you telling me this now mother? Isn't it a bit too late?'
*****
Vee woke up in her bed. Morning light was streaming through the curtain. There were warm tears on her cheeks. Was it a dream after all? Vee looked down at her left hand. The ring that Sarlina gave her in her dream was still on her middle finger. It was real. Mum did not really die. The silk was tied around her wrist. 
———— Anonymous

My Stravaganza Story

Her eyes snapped open. Her heart thudded against her chest. What was wrong with her? That was the fourth time that week that she'd dreamt of him. What was it... oh yes, Luciano was running, running away from Fabrizio and Carlo Di Chimici. He looked terrified. She bolted up in bed. Did they know that Luciano had something to do with their little brother, Falco's, death?
 
What if he died and he never knew how she felt? She slipped out of the silk bed sheets and went over to the hidden passageway that led to her father's laboratory. She ran into darkness.

But wait, she slowed, there was light coming her way from the other side. Who was it? How would she explain what she was doing? She smiled, she knew who it was. 
 
It was a boy of 17 soon to be 18, nearly a man, with black curly hair, who was naked from the waist up. He saw her and seemed to smile with relief and slowed his run to a walk.
"Arianna, whats wrong?"
"Nothing, but what are you doing running down here?"
His eyes glittered in the light.
"Coming to see you" he replied simply.
"Isn't it a bit late?"
"I know but I have to tell you something, and I don't know when I 'll get another chance, before I chicken out"
He's not going to say... is he?
He moved closer, so she could feel his breath on her face, and looked her in the eyes.
"Arianna, I love you."
Her heart was pounded in her chest, and that to her was the only sound made as she kissed him in response.
———  Marianna Colucci 
   

Remember Venice

By the lagoon
Hold my hand
Lookout over the world
Lookout over Venice
As the sun sets
In blurred painting
Remember our lives
By the lagoon
Hold me here
Lookout over Venice
Out over our lives
Remember
The sunsets
In blurred painting
Remember
The blue lagoon
As we look
Out over our lives
Remember
Venice.
As the sun sets
In blurred painting.
——— Gabriella Florenci

The Fourth from Our World

Juliette passed the glass shop on her way home. Usually, she payed no attention to it, but something caught her eye. In the display, a figurine of a ballerina in a perfect crasè was on the shelf level to her eyes. The tutu she was wearing was painted in pink, as were the pointe shoes she was standing in. She glanced down at the mesh bag on her shoulder, which held two pointe shoes of her own, and the wrap sticking out of her sweater. She stepped into the shop, brushing aside a lock of her auburn hair. She went to the counter and asked the friendly-looking clerk about it.

'Hi, I noticed that ballerina figurine on display, may I see it?' she asked politely. The clerk smiled and nodded, then went to the case and pulled it out.

'Here you are miss, anything else I can help you with?' he asked. Juliette just shook her head, in awe of the figure on her palm. It was flawless, like a statue from Greece, or Rome. She studied it for a minute, then flipped it over and looked at the price tag. Fifteen pounds was what it said. She had ten at home, and was due for an allowance from her mother tomorrow.
'Can you hold this, possibly till,' she counted on her fingers. 'Tuesday?' she asked. The clerk nodded.

'What is your name, miss?'

'Juliette. Thank you so much.' She watched the clerk scribble her name on a tag, wrap it around the dancers neck, then place it in the back. Juliette stepped out of the shop. Just another block to the tube, and then three more to her house. It was an overcast day, not to cold, but she needed a sweater. She walked in high spirits all the way home, and when she got there asked her mom about her pay eagerly.

'Well, I suppose I could give it to you now', she said a little reluctantly. She went to her purse and pulled out a twenty pound note. 'Spend it well,' she called after the teenager who had bounded up the stairs two at a time. Juliette stepped into her all-girly room, full of posters of dancers and one of horses. She grabbed her night-clothes and went to the bathroom, turning on the shower. She could hardly wait. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she was free to get the figure anytime. She washed herself, got into her pajamas, then went into her room to read. They where studying Italy in History, Specifically Sicily, Venice, and Rome. Eventually, she drifted off into sleep. 

Her alarm rang shrill in the morning. Although it was Saturday, she was already up, and quickly hit the button to stop it. Juliette pulled on a pair of flared jeans, a light purple shirt, and a white sweater, and stuffed the twenty pounds into her pocket, then went to the bathroom, cleaned her teeth and brushed hair. She scribbled a note for her mother, who was divorced and had no other children, then walked outside into the fresh, London suburb air. She skipped to the little corner cafe, and bought a hot chocolate and a Danish pastry, then walked to the tube munching on it. By the time it got to her destination, she was already dying of excitement. The little figure had touched her so deeply, almost as if it were from another world... She  got off and up to the street, then looked at the bookstore on the other side. She ran over, and bought a book on Italy, because she pretty much had too, then pocketed the seventeen pounds and flew out the door. She hurried along the way, dodging crowds of people, till she got to the shop door.

'Open at 11:30?' She muttered to herself. She glanced at her watch. It was eleven o'clock. She rolled her eyes and looked around her. She spotted a little cafe, and headed that way, and pulled out her book inside the little room.

Finally, thought Juliette when she spotted the door being opened at the glass shop. She ran to it, quickly bagging her book, and rushed eagerly to the counter.

'Hi, I'm here to pick up a figure you're holding for me. The ballerina, my name is Juliette.' She was nearly bouncing when the clerk set it on the glass counter.

'That'll be fifteen pounds, miss,' said the clerk. She thanked him, and waited till he wrapped it in bubble wrap and placed it in a box.

'Do you know what kind of glass this is?' Juliette asked.

'Why yes, it is Italian. A women brought it in just the other day saying it would probably be sold quickly. Apparently she was right.' He smiled as she thanked him and left, holding the bag in higher esteem then the other bag on her arm.
 
It was nightfall when Juliette got home. She had gone to her friend's house and stayed practically all day. She showed her friend, Mary, the ballerina and Mary pored over it, asking how much it was and if there was another. Juliette didn't know if there was, and after that they had some tea and cookies and settled down to study about Italy. Juliette hopped upstairs, took a shower, then came back down for a quick dinner of fish and chips, followed by ice cream with her mother, Kara. When she finally went to sleep, Juliette was holding the dancer in her palm, thinking about Venice, the city on water, and soon drifted off to sleep.
 
Juliette was frightened. Last thing she knew she was in bed, now she was in a strange place with silver towers everywhere. She was close to a palace, a very large one, and she saw a canal to her right. Just then a boy came bounding down the steps and nearly fell onto her.
'I'm sorry. I...' His voice trailed off when he looked down at the cobblestones. She followed his gaze a gasped. She had no shadow. He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs into the palace.

'I need to get to the peacock chamber,' he said to a maid, although he was already bounding towards the marble staircase. They passed through many rooms, and when he got to an elaborate one and pulled her to a wall and twisted the peacock. He pulled her into a passage, and down a dark corridor. She stumbled over the stones, and tried to listen to what he was saying.

'I am very sorry for that,' he said, politely. 'I just needed you to get out of public view before you where seen. My name is Luciano, what is yours? Don't worry, by the way. I'm just taking you to a friend's.'

'Juliette is my name.' She said and then she was stopped. Luciano did something she could not see, and then the wall she did not know to be in front of her was opened.

'Rodolfo!' Luciano shouted as he pulled poor Juliette who felt like she would be bruised for weeks. A man in velvet came down a staircase, and smiled when he saw the boy.

'Rodolfo, thank goodness,' the boy breathed. 'I just found this girl, she has no shadow.' Rodolfo gave her a quizzical look.

'What is your name?'

'Juliette, sir. I'm sorry, I have no idea what I am doing here. Last I knew I was at home, in London.' She looked down at her pajamas, then back up. Luciano was staring at her.

'London?'

'Yes, have you heard of it?' She said. He nodded, then looked down, obviously sad. Rodolfo broke the silence.

'We have much to teach you.' And he beckoned her to sit. 
——— Kiwi Cutie

Truth

If only they knew
the truth
his truth
their truth.

He did not take
a life at all,
just made a decision
harder than they knew.

The girl beside him,
always disguised,
together they made
a choice

to help, not kill
to boost, not strike
to elevate, to shine,
not to tarnish and flake.

If only they knew
the truth
his truth
their truth.
——  I Pesci Princess

Adventure and Dreaming

An unhappy girl
a magical place
of adventure and
danger of all sorts.

Talia, this place
is where she flew.
Adventure she sought,
adventure she got.

An old friend
she meets again
who helps her understand
what has happened.

A parrallel world?
Impossible, you'd think.
But in her heart,
she knew it was real.

A Duchess, her father,
a Giglian prince
are just a few
of the people she meet.

The wildest time
of learning
and hoping
and dreaming.

Then day comes
and she returns
to earth, to life
as she knows it.
—— I Pesci Princess

Where Beauty Wears A Mask

Where beauty wears
a mask
is where the adventure
began

Lucien, ill and dying
dreams of a city
floating on water
while clasping a book
in his hand

Suddenly he's in a
magical place
filled with grace
this Bellezza
of Talia

Borne on a
non-stop adventure
reluctant to return
to his life at home
warped by his sickness

The same book that brought him
to that magical place
is the same thing that
killed him im the end

But he is not dead.
Not yet.
—— I Pesci Princess

The Cards Tell All

4 of Serpents, 4 of Birds
4 of Fishes, of Salamanders,too.
He threw 12-sided dice
and what did he find?

Six and ten, eight and eight
wherever he looked,
sixteen arrived
to take the scene.

The cards told of danger,
a girl, the Duchessa,
and the number 16.
What a strange reading!

Then, a while later,
when Georgia came,
the cards spoke again
with another message.

The cards tell all,
my friend.
Look into the future
if you dare.
——  I Pesci Princess

What Can This Be?

The man in the blue cloak
watches the strange boy
cross the square.

The boy seems very queer
but no, his eyes must be deceiving him,
for this boy has no shadow!

No shadow? Impossible!
Or so you might think.
But anything is possible in the City of Masks.

What can this be?
A boy with no shadow?
Soon, this will be revealed.

Is he a friend or a foe
of the Chimici?
wonders the man in the blue cloak.

Soon they will learn
the truth of this boy,
or so they think. 
——  I Pesci Princess

Belezza or Venezia?
Belezza or Venezia?
At first Lucian didn’t know,
Was it real?
Or was it just a dream?

In London he was dying,
In Bellezza strong and thriving,
Taken there by a notebook,
But what did it all mean?

Who is this strange girl?
This magician of a man?
And this mysterious masked lady?
And this horrid plotting nobleman?

To find out he must study,
A strange science, Stravagation
Make fireworks, dive for silver,
Rescue a Duchy and its Duchessa.

Bellezza or Venezia?
Later Lucian knew
It was a parallel universe,
Opened in 1552.

In London he did die,
And was to Bellezza translated by and by,
Taken there by a notebook,
And stranded there by the same one.

This Bubbly girl Arianna,
This scientist Rodolfo,
This incredible Duchessa,
These Evil di Chimicis.

He has a new friend William Dethridge,
The first ever Stravagante
He fell in love and found good friends
Was kidnapped and tried for witchcraft.

Bellezza or Venezia?
In the end he came to know
Lucian became Lucano,
The Bellezzan of long ago.
—— Colette Caruana

The fire girl gallops into the night
Brave and determinedthe stravagante Georgia
With fire in her heart and Falco at her side
She could gallop her horse right back to Talia
—— Changling Child

Two lovers are walking
in moonlit silence
Two Chimici are waiting
ready to pounce
but Luciano is watching
over his kin
will not let them get her
will not let them in
They try to persuade her
to forfeit her city
she just regards them
with a look of proud pity
For the wicked Di Chimici
will not sway her ever
safe in Lucianos arms
the Duchessa of Bellezza
—— Annonymous

City of Ships and City of Towers
City of Music and City of Words
City of Fire and City of Flowers
City of Dreams and City of Swords
City of Stars and City of Mermaids
City of Dragons and City of Masks
Cities of prospects, cities of trades
Cities of bustle and everyday tasks
But above all pretences lurks something far stronger
The threat of the Chimici trying to war—monger
And though people believe it won’t happen to them
From the petty street thieves to the Crème de la Crème
It’s brooding and hiding and soon will appear
And all Talia will simply give over to fear.
—— Natasha Fagelman

Nightmare
Him again,
running, terrified.
Running from something she can't see,
something she knows is there.
 
They hate him,
they want him dead.
He is the reason for the death of their prince.
If only they knew.
 
"You don't understand-"
"EN GARDE!"
slash, yell, thud....
"An eye for an eye, a life for a life."
 
Blood from the wound,
on face, in hair,
handsome face, curly hair.
Didn't kill Falco, set him free.
 
She wakes,
screams,
but it's alright,
what a nightmare!
 
Snap decision.
After all, what if it did happen?
Runs down the passageway they share,
tells him.......she loves him.
— Anonymous

'This is my poem about the Stellata, and it is dedicated to my City, Roma, la città di leggende:'
The race is run each coming year,
The twelfths all ready to win,
the horses race,
as quick as lightning,
once around the track,
each jockey trying to hurt one another,
to get ahead and win.
Faster they gallop,
around the track,
their whips trail high
through the air.
The determination flies in the sky,
and infects the excited crowd,
But yet they see,
one horse prevails,
above all 11 jockeys,
He reaches the line,
The race is won
By Cesare,
Hero of the Ram.
—— Renata

In this Venice-like city,
Sparkling and clear,
A boy and a girl,
Both open and coy,
Both are precious,
To the other,
Ahead lays trouble,
Secrets are hidden,
But nothing can part them,
In this Venice-like city.
— Corteo card girl

In a world almost parallel with ours
Is colour, it knows no bars

A stranded boy
A proud duchess
the girl is coy
forced to confess?

Her love for him
— Anonymous

Revenge 

Darkest night,
things aren't right,
deeper going,
ever knowing,
for what we have done
we all are damned.

Comment sly,
muffled cry,
deepest hate,
can't abate,
the storm which in
our lives is brewing.

Silent scream,
blood red stream,
blinding darkness,
rising heartless,
our revenge of painful pleasure
has destroyed us all.

—— Renata Di Biagio

If you have a written a story or a poem based on the Stravaganza series, why not send it to us? We'll be posting the best that we receive here.

Please e-mail your work (Word, text or HTML) to MaryHoffman@stravaganza.co.uk.

You can also find more Stravaganza fan fiction at www.fanfiction.net.