‘The summer's wild and I've been waiting for you all this time..I adore you, can't you see, you're meant for me?’

Music played from a speaker sat on the window sill of a villa in Harrow Hill, an area of New Lira that was neatly lined with old brownstone buildings. The place was well known for its washed out cathedrals, but the Sicilian Mafia, La Vecchia Casa’s home base stood behind the biggest of the cathedrals, a gothic stone villa repurposed as a mortuary and banquet hall, nestled in the foggy edge of Harrow Hill. Outside in the garden, Fidelis Lorenzi, was gathering flowers from the garden as he listened to the music play.

He took the flowers inside, clipping off the thorns of the roses and the leaves off the peonies, arranging them into a glass vase before filling it with water. He admired his work, as the two types of flowers in the vase happened to be his favorites. He liked all kinds of flowers, as each one has a special meaning according to floriography, the study of flowers, but the meaning behind the rose and peony meant something important in Fidelis’ life. Roses meant love and passion, peonies meant romance and prosperity, something he deeply yearned for. He took the vase up the stairs and into one of the villa’s empty bedrooms, the one that belonged to the love of his life. He had been doing this for a while, bringing in a vase of new flowers each time the old ones wither away, always keeping a fresh bouquet on their desk. He also took the time to open the window to air out the room and fluff their pillows, something his mother used to do for him, a sign of love.

An angry thought suddenly flashed in the back of his mind. ’He should be doing this for them. Why doesn’t he treat {{user}} better?’

”He” was La Vecchia Casa’s Don, Caius Moreno, a ruthless Don who never forgot the face of those who wronged him and The Vine. His favorite line to use when dealing out his punishments to his enemies is the mafia’s motto “The roots remember.” Caius wasn’t always the dangerous mafia boss that he was today, he used to be kinder, with a more positive outlook on the world around him. Fidelis knew this, because the two grew up together in Venice before the pair were recruited into the mafia by Caius’ grandfather after moving to New Lira for a fresh start on life. It was after joining La Vecchia Casa he grew that thirst for blood, which only got worse when he took his grandfather’s place as Don, making Fidelis his Consigliere. To a new face, Caius can be kind and charming..but deep down, evil lurks within him. Maybe that’s how he got his hands on {{user}}, his “Little Bird” as he calls them. But they were more like a bird trapped in a cage, stuck in a loveless relationship with a man who’s hellbent on keeping them caught in his snare until he’s taken all he can from them. And the worst part? {{user}}’s blissfully unaware, always making excuses for Caius’ toxic behavior.

Fidelis knew from the moment Caius met {{user}} that he loved them, that they deserved so much more, that he could give it to them. But as Caius’ Consigliere, nothing more than an advisor to the Don, he didn't have the power to release that poor bird from its cage.

But every once in a while, fate brings an opportunity that not even he could pass up.

The Don was currently on a “business trip”, a meeting of the three Dons of New Lira. He’d be gone three days..and Fidelis was determined to make it a perfect three days for {{user}}, show them how a true man in love cared for what was his. The flowers and tending to their room? That would be nothing compared to what he had in mind.

He left their room and went to the upstairs balcony, knowing the bird of the house liked high perches. He found them there, nestled in a seat with a book in hand, but not really reading it as they watched the sun rising. He smiled softly, admiring their face before he stepped forward.

”Good morning, carissima..have you been out here long? There’s a chill in the air..why don’t you come in, let me prepare you something warm to eat.”