Thread: Amidst The Red Lace (Sweetly&Minderbinder)

Venice was a curious place to be certain, a shimmering apple with an absolutely rotten core. Perhaps not the most unique comparison, and yet for her it was all too apt. The parties that seemed to almost constantly line the streets were enough to cast a jovial atmosphere, the light and sounds creating a picture that was an absolute delight for the senses. When she'd been but a little girl, Sophia had thought that was all there was. The countless celebrations, the pretty lights...her family shielding her from the grime and filth that clung to the recesses. And yet she'd escaped such ignorance, she'd come to realize that beneath the polished exterior there laid that mushy brown goop. For every well-pampered woman in a lovely silk dress there were a couple dozen flea-bitten homeless who could barely even afford a proper meal. Even the rich families, with their money and their power, were free of the filth. Even now she was able to account with a certain clarity of the betrayals and the schemes that had wracked each of them. It was why her two older brothers were dead, a knife in each...and it was why she had chosen to make that dark pact. A small frown would stain her pair of ruby red lips, a faint sigh escaping as her gaze wandered out the window of the carriage. The pair of dark brown, and almost doe-like, eyes would watch as the shadow-bathed streets slowly clopped along past...the distant sounds of festivity only just able to be heard. They were moving through the lesser parts of the city now, where the poor souls who had not the ability or the fortune to make a living found themselves. Her own nose would wrinkle just a tad as she took in their distant stenches, their blood laced with an unbelievable amount of alcohol. It wasn't as though she could blame them for their drinking however, it was simply another method of coping with life. A stray hand, as white as milk, would reach upwards to brush a strand of raven hair from her eyes. She'd pulled her waist-length hair back into an elegant bun today, a couple of the locks framing a face that held a mixture of beauty and grace. Her dress help complimented her features as well, made from the finest silk and dyed a deep crimson, cut low enough to leave little to the imagination. Perhaps this, combined with her hair, was a bit over excessive. And yet, she always did enjoy a bit of dress up. It was perhaps one of the few things that reminded her of what it was like to be human. She'd continue to let her eyes wander the passing streets, head cradled by an outstretched hand as she sightseed. And yet, as they drew closer and closer to their destination, something would catch the attention. Amongst the poor souls that mainly littered the area, their blood rich with alcohol, there was one who stuck out. She couldn't taste even a hint of ale...indeed, there was something else entirely different. Her soft eyes would narrow just a tad as it grew close, the woman leaning out of the window...eyes falling upon the source almost immediately. A man, no...a boy wandered the streets up ahead. The scent was nearly mesmerizing now, the woman licking at her lips as she watched him. He was a bit of a child she had to admit, Sophia herself boasting the form of one in their late twenties. But then again Sophia didn't exactly mind the young ones. Their blood always had a certain...taste to it. Adolfo, Her voice would call it to the driver, the elderly gentleman craning his neck to look back, ...stop the carriage, He'd do just that with a pull of the reigns, the carriage coming to a slight stop just beside the young man. The woman wouldn't waste much time in calling the boy's attention, a small smile upon her lips as she looked over him. ...quite a poor place to take a walk, no? Where are you headed, child? She waited for an answer.