Moonlight Serenade

LancesPet- Thanks for reviewing. You make me happy ^_^. Oh and I checked out your stories. I Like ^_^
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Chapter 2

The following day was a hell for Ciara. There was no time for recovery, only work. She limped around Paloni’s home serving him and his guests drinks and meals. In between that time she would be cleaning, which started with cleaning up her own blood on Paloni’s bedroom floor.

She was kneeling on the floor sponge in her hand, when Iris came in with a tray in her hand,

“Rose you’ve been sitting here for hours. He’s getting angry.” She put the tray down and kneeled beside her,

“I’m too tired.” She said as Iris pulled her gently into her arms. Ciara turned her head into Iris’s shoulder. Lily had been there for Ciara since day one, and had turned into a sort of mother like-figure, even though the other girl was only a few years older then Ciara.

Unlike the others Iris did not have an instant hate for the new girl. In this place it was a competition. Once every couple of years Paloni gives a reward to one girl, they are given their freedom. Of course it required a great deal of work and the willingness to please the fat man.

Most of the girls were cutthroats, willing to sabotage anyone’s chances of getting out. If you were beautiful and likely to get more attention from Paloni then they would do something to destroy that. Iris had protected Ciara from them, because Iris knew her chances were slim. She had once been very beautiful, but the other girls had ‘accidentally’ caught her hair on fire. They had not acted until the left side of her face was covered in burns.

Daisy sighed and rocked her gently,

“Come on. Get up. I’ll clean this up. Take that tray into Paloni’s guest. Get going, before he comes looking for you.” she urged Ciara to her feet. Ciara carefully picked up the tray and made her way from the room. She transferred the tray to one hand as she knocked on Valerio’s door a few moments later. The door swung open almost violently and she flinched back almost loosing the tray.

Valerio’s hands shot out steadying her, and she raised her eyes to his. She tilted her head trying to figure out what she was doing and it took several minutes for her to get her mind to work,

“I…was asked to bring this to you…” she said lowering her eyes. He took the tray and walked into the room. She bowed slightly and turned to head back to Paloni’s to take back over the cleaning,

“I didn’t give you permission to leave.” Valerio said as she was turning. She stopped and turned her head back towards the unusually dark room. It was nearly 2 in the afternoon but the room looked as if it was still midnight, “Come in and close the door.” he demanded. She held back the urge to whimper and walked in closing the door. She was immediately clocked in the dark and she didn’t move remembering the shards of glass that had littered the room when she had left that morning.

She heard the tray sit down on a table and then his footsteps approaching. The hands that cupped her face were unexpectedly gentle, and she was reminded, only briefly of her father before the loss of her mother. The words that followed the gentle touch were not as gentle. She blushed, when Valerio cursed Paloni first in English then in a language Ciara didn’t understand.

He walked away from her, and her legs finally gave out. She slid down the door and stared into the darkness around her. There was no flow of time in her mind, so how long she leaned back against that door eluded her. But soon enough she again felt those gentle hands. Valerio picked her up placing her among the beds thick comforters.

She didn’t realize how cold she was until she was enveloped by that warmth. She instantly turned her face towards it sighing in a tired yet content way. But her moment of contentment was torn away in an instant. A heavy pounding sounded at the door and she instantly shrank back. The person behind that door was angry and she could easily win her freedom if she bet who was standing on the other side.

Valerio didn’t open the door, and Ciara was under the impression that he was no longer in the room. She had just begun to sit up when the door slammed open and a light was turned on. Ciara barely had time to wince at the sudden change in lighting, before she was pulled roughing from Valerio’s bed. Paloni’s face was a deep magenta, and he looked ready to kill and yet he didn’t do much more then release her and point to the door.

With a surge of energy she stumbled out the door and into the hall where Paloni’s once more grabbed hold of her. He led her down the halls towards the basement stairs. She began to panic. Like Paloni’s rooms the basement was full of all sorts of devices, but the most perverse were kept there.

He acted as if he was going to open the door but he bypassed it and pushed her down the hall. She stumbled into the wall and looked at Paloni with fear filled eyes. She could see his face turning magenta again, his fat fist was clenched at his side. He didn’t say anything to her but as soon as she straightened, one of his fists crashed into her cheek. She screamed out in pain and pushed her body against the wall hand holding her hand to her cheek,

“I don’t know what you’ve done, but if you’ve destroyed what I’ve created, no one will every know what happened to you.” he growled pulling her away from the wall by her hair. Tears were sliding down an already bruised cheek. Several girls hovered in doorways watching Paloni drag the other girl towards the main meeting room. As soon as he was out of ear shot they began to talk amongst each other. Coming up with theories to what was going on.

Ciara fell to her knees when Paloni finally released her hair, giving her a small push forward as he did so. She landed in front of a man in black slacks and she instantly looked up thinking it Valerio. But another man sat before her, his skin was even paler then Valerio’s. He glared down at her and she dropped her own gaze and shivered. His eyes were blue like Valerio’s but unlike the softness in Valerio’s the other man’s eye sharp and cold as ice.

Paloni took his usual chair kicking her out of his way like an annoying pet. She winced and shifted away from him,

“It is always a pleasure Stefan.” Paloni said after calming himself enough to sound polite, “Did not think the boy capable of dealing with business?” he asked chuckling softly to himself. Stefan’s lips did not even twitch in response and Paloni’s chuckles faded just as quickly as they had arrived. Ciara could see the man was afraid of this Stefan and to be honest she too was scared of him. The silence stretched until the door opened again,

“Father.” she turned to look at Valerio, feeling instantly relieved by his presence. Paloni grabbed her hair and turned her head forcing her to keep her gaze on the floor. When he was satisfied that she wouldn’t lift her head again, he let go. Valerio passed by her and took his place, standing to his father’s right. From the moment Valerio entered, there was a sudden change in the rooms atmosphere. There was a tense silence before Paloni cleared his throat,

“Now what brings you here Stefan?” Paloni asked, now more serious then he had been before. Stefan stood and walked the room, which seemed to make the fat man even more nervous,

“We have the business of repayment.” the man said stiffly, and his voice held a faint accent that Ciara couldn’t place, “I’m sure you remember the amount.” Paloni stood and went to a desk on the other side of the room,

“Of course.” He pulled out a check book and grabbed a pen, he was just beginning to write when Stefan interrupted him,

“Of course… we could reduce the amount by a small portion. My son has a proposition.” Stefan finally sat again hands folding together neatly and resting in his lap. Valerio took a step towards Paloni,

“How much do you usually spend to acquire these… girls?” he asked and Paloni simply stared at him a small smirk forming,

“Depends on how much I was owed. For instance Lily was used as a payment for her sister‘s debt. One hundred twenty five thousand. She’s yet to even make a dent in the repayment.” he leaned back in his chair, the piece of furniture creaking under his weight, “Which girl are you interested in Valerio? It can’t be that worthless pile there.” he said motioning to Ciara.

Valerio turned his gaze to her then back to Paloni,

“How much Paloni.” he demanded to know watching the man smile,

“Much more then she’s worth I assure you. Perhaps you’d like to see the other girls?” he suggested but Valerio didn’t budge, “Surely you can talk your son out of such a foolish business venture can’t you Stefan?” the other man shook his head,

“Even I can not sway his thoughts…” he glared down at Ciara once again. Paloni shrugged and grabbed a folder flipping through it,

“Her Father’s debts accumulated over 5 years…and the loan amount came to…” he pulled out a calculator punching a few numbers, “Four hundred and fifty-three thousand dollars.” Valerio looked at his father who was shaking his head. Their eyes met and the older man waved his hand. Paloni watched the interaction curiously before Valerio nodded,

“Fine. Subtract that from your total.” Paloni wasn’t about to argue, that was a substantial chunk out of what he himself owed Stefan. He handed over the check, finally done with these men. He wouldn’t have to worry about doing anything that displeased them now. His debt was paid. He smirked and stood,

“That concludes our business then gentlemen. Should I have my car take you back?” he asked meaty hand hovering over the phone. Stefan stood,

“No thank you. My own car is waiting.” Stefan stepped over Ciara acting as if the girl didn’t exist. Valerio sighed and walked over to her dropping his jacket over her shoulder,

“Come.” he said heading for the door. She seemed in a state of shock and after a moment clambered to her feet. Moving to follow. Paloni blocked her way as Valerio walked out the door,

“You’ll be back. Stefan won’t tolerate you for more then a few days… and I will make you even more miserable. I will break you.” he said a grotesque smile on his face. She whimpered and quickly moved around him and into the hall. Valerio has just glanced back as she finally came out from the door,

“Hurry up. Father isn’t patient.” he wrapped his arm her waist and practically lifted her off her feet and out into a snow storm. She cringed against his side and Valerio whispered instructions into her ear,

“Do not speak and do not look at father. Answer anything he asks you with a yes sir. No sir. Do not give him a reason to hate you more.” she looked at him at the word more. She was already hated? She dropped her head allowing him to place her in the awaiting car.

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And there’s chapter 2... Hooray. So nothing much is happening right now… but when we actually get ‘home’ it’ll change a bit. Stefan… doesn’t like women, I mean he likes them but doesn’t… you know? Of course you’ll find out more about him in later chapters. He’s going to be an ass, perhaps worse then Paloni. But we’ll see. ^_^ Well that’s all for now. Please Review! Oh and thanks to my one reviewer!