Never being in this city before, "Tu scis quo vadis? Weve 'iam iam tempus est circum ambulant. (Do you know where you're going? We've been walking around for awhile now.)"
"Yeah, this is just the scenic route."
"Si dicas ita. (If you say so.)" still trailing behind me as we turn a corner behind a building leading to a park with a few houses on it.
Thinking to myself, "outside is peaceful and sunny." I stop and look around at the birds flying overhead, the children playing and couples in their pairs.
"You know this would make a great date if you wasn't my twin sister."
Walking a little ways in front me, she looks back. "Si aliquid magni momenti faceret nobis nuper pro, me Im 'iens ut electrocute tibi. (If you make us late for anything important, I'm going to electrocute you.)"
Focusing on Rona I start walking again.
"You would make an amazing girlfriend too, if you wasn't so damn violent." I whisper.
"Quod erat illud? (What was that?)"
"We're here." Pointing at the big three story, old fashion home with a concrete pathway leading up to the door, she changes her focus from me.
"Postremo. (Finally.)" ignoring me and speeding her way across the pathway to the steps.
As we get up the steps to the door, I call, "Good afternoon."
After a moment of silence, I hear footsteps coming from behind the door.
The door cracked open with Mira, uncle Luis' maid stepping outside.
Her long, back length, brunette hair covering half of her face, fluffy cat ears pointed as if alerted, big brown puffy eyes from hours of crying and her straight brown tail coming from the bottom of her black and white maid's dress she wears so often. "Oh...good...good afternoon, how are you."
"Quid mali est, illa iam clamor. (Something's wrong, she's been crying.)" Rona whispers to me, with her mood changing once again.
"We're okay, is something wrong Mira, why are you crying?" Now curious and hoping nothing is wrong.
Wiping her eyes with her fluffy paw like hands, "Whatever do you mean?" Trying to hide such a obvious lie.
"Illa mentiri. (She's lying.)"
"Where's uncle? He should be out here by now."
"Noooooooo......" can't control her self anymore, Mira falls to her knees in a sudden outburst with tears running down her face.
Stepping forward and shouting "Ubi ille .... ....... dic quid accidit? (Where is he? .... Tell me .... What happened?)"
"Rona calm down, she can't understand you." I shout.
Refocusing on Mira, "where's uncle?"
"He's... he's... he's dead." She says staring at the ground as in disbelief of her own words.
Trying to process what I just heard, I ask her to repeat, "what, what did you just say?"
"Est quia mortui sunt? (He's dead?)" she asks herself as if questioning reality.
Looking up at us with a terrifying look on her face. "The.... The church moved him. They said he's to be cremated. I think today."
As the realization of the resonating pain hits me, I only let out a few tears, remembering the last words father told me, the day he died. 'The world isn't a safe place. Protect your sister and be strong for her.'
"Nico....Rona? Say something." Noticing our silence.
As I look up to the now cloudy sky in disbelief, the rain starts to fall.
"Come inside."
Hearing Mira's words, I look over to Rona. Her shoulders limp and her face looks like all life has been drained from it. I reach over, "come Rona...Rona,Rona?
Looking at me with a blank stare. "Quod? Quod...sobs......Quod. (Yh? Yh...sobs...yh)"
"Let's go inside." Taking her hand and lightly pulling her to follow Mira inside the house.
"Bene. (Okay.)"
Turning to close the door behind us. "How did this happen, Mira?"
*clicks* locking the door.
In the hallway, she's standing, not particularly looking at anything, just staring aimlessly. "When he came back from his trip, he sent me to the post with parcels, as he usually does. I did my normal routine, so I was out for awhile but when I came back, the door was open, muddy footprints on the floor and the house was silent. I called out for master but I got no response. After calling a few more times, I got worried so I... I followed the footprints which lead to the office and I.... I found him....dead.
The office was destroyed, like they were looking for something but when I looked around nothing was missing."
"You said they, were there more than one?" Gathering all the important information.
"When I came back there were three sets of footprints, one being master's but I didn't recognize the other two."
Looking around the floor, realizing it's clean. "Footprints?"
"Quod pluvia cadit, u test nunc. (The rain was falling as it is now.)"
Hearing Rona's sad voice, I look at her tear stained face and nod.
"What did she say?"
"The rain was falling." Translating my sister's words.
Looking at us with confusion on her face, "how did you know?"
"Don't worry about that. You said they were looking for something. Do you have an idea on what they were looking for." Refocusing on the matter.
"Okay? No I don't, but it could be the parcel that he sent to the post."
Knowing that it doesn't make sense going through the house because Mira had already clean everything. "How did you find him?"
"He.... He was tied to his chair, his face bruised and a.... a sword." Now starting to cry again.
"Sword? What happened to a sword."
"Percutiebant interrogavit eum occiderunt gladio suo. (They beat him, questioned him and killed him with his own sword.)"
I can hear the sadness turn to anger with every word that she speaks.
"What did she say?" She repeats once more.
"They tortured, then killed him.
What did the church say and do when they came.
Why did they take so long to take his body and why didn't they call us, knowing we are his last relatives?"
"They didn't say anything, they just came and took him, I didn't even call them. They showed up a few moments after I found him, they didn't give me time to do or ask anything."
"Nothi cognovi ea. (Those bastards knew.)" Shouting as she starts to cry again.
"I sent a messenger to you the day after. I taught you would've been here earlier but now thinking about it, the church probably didn't want you to know."
Rona turns, grabbing her scythe and heading for the door. I run towards her, calling. "Rona! Rona? Where are you going? Corona!!!"
Now through the door, on the steps in the pouring rain with tears in her eyes. "In stipendium opus sit. (Someone needs to pay.)"
I walk up to her. "What are you going to do? You're going to speak but no one's going to understand. Are you going to walk all the way to the high temple and kill everyone you see."
Screaming. "Sic. (Yes!)"
I hug my sister, trying to comfort her, trying to take away some of the pain.
"Look, I know how you're feeling. I loved him the same way....."
"Excuse me." A faint voice from behind.
"And I know you looked at him as a father figure after father died..."
"Excuse me." The voice getting louder.
"I treasured him too..."
"Hello!!" Now shouting and interrupting us.
"What!?" I snap, turning around to face a strange creature. A fairy, as big as the palm of my hand. Two beautiful, butterfly like wings on its back, skin green as the grass, two big yellow eyes peering at me and as naked as the day it was created.
"Quod caelude in tenebris obducta, fit ex a mico a lumen, qua percutit.... (The sky coated in darkness, from it comes a flash of light, by which strikes down....)"
Hearing those words I react quickly, turning back around, holding her hands and mouth for I know what's to come next. "Whoa, whoa, stop. Don't finish that phrase . It's just a fairy."
"I'm not 'just a fairy', I'm the holy cosmos fairy Groth, sent from his majesty, the high priest himself. Show some respect." He spits in a bitter tone.
"Et tibi mors. (I'll show you death.)" She mumbles from under my hand.
"Maybe you should show some gratitude, I'm saving your holy ass from being destroyed." Knowing at this rate, he'll be dead in seconds.
"Neither the less, the high temple summons you....."
"Struggling, trying to wriggle free from my grip. "Sic ego vado non me interficere illum. (Let me go so I can kill it.)"
"We're not killing anyone. Yet." Trying to get his arrogant ass aware of the situation.
"Whoa, whoa, easy. I'm just a messenger, there's no reason for violence and what language is that she speaks?"
Loosening my grip on my now fuming sister. "I suggest fairy, if you want your life, you better disappear right now. I don't see a reason to hold her anymore."
Groth snaps his tiny fingers and disappears.
Releasing Rona completely. "Were you really going to hit him with the 'lightning bolt strike'?"
"Quod sic. Avunculus qui occisus est. (Yes. They killed uncle.)" Readjusting herself and reaching for her scythe, she can't remember dropping.
"We don't know that yet."
Interrupting our conversation. "We need to go to the temple. If they did send that fairy, the cremation is about to begin.
"Let's go. We can say our goodbyes and maybe get some answers." I say while thinking to myself, 'this isn't going to end well'.