Thread: Something is stirring in Venice (Me and Waffles)

Rosetta Moretti was a young girl, only about 19 years old. She still had a long life ahead of her, and plenty of the world still to see. However...most girls her age of her time would have probably already been married with a child on the hip and perhaps another on the way. That might have been the case if both her parents had still been alive and well. She was orphaned, and it only happened about 7 years ago. They had been executed by the church. They accused her mother of being a whore...it had been a lie...but the powers that be and their thirst for blood executed her anyway...why? To instil fear into the rest of the crowd? Because she did something wrong? Rosetta knew the answer all too well. She had been 12 years old when it happened, still a child at the time and a big bundle of fun. The day was going as normal. Her mother was cooking in the kitchen, while she washed the clothes and tended to the hens they owned. Three men dressed wearing the amour of the city guard approached their home. She watched from outside as they strode through the door as if they owned the place and demanded that she pay taxes. Rosetta did not understand why they wanted the money they had already paid their share last week. When her mother refused, things got violent. They said that if she didn't have the money she would pay with her body. Rosetta had no idea what that had meant, but she would quickly find out. Her mother cried out to her and told her to run as they took a hold of her struggling body and held her down to the floor. They stripped her of her clothing and they raped her, every single one, using her like a piece of meat. Rosetta could do nothing but watch. She was shocked. She had never seen her mother in so much distress. She had never known a thing about sex, but she knew it wasn't supposed to be like that. Then one of the men turned and looked at her lewdly and said Let??s get the girl next. Had her father not walked in a few minutes later they would have raped her to. When her father did walk in she ran to him and hid behind him. She had tears in her eyes and was crying. She was so scared and pleaded for him to get the men off her mother. Her father looked at the sight of her mother on the floor, covered in her tears and their sweat. He snapped. She had never seen him so angry in his life. He picked up the kitchen knife and slit every guard??s throat. There was so much blood. Rosetta never forgot the sight. The image would stay burned in her mind, along with the one of her mother being raped. The church would never accept the guards being accused as rapists. It would destroy their pure image. So her mother was turned whore, and her father murderer. They were executed, and the whole city cheered with glee...except for the one little girl who had seen it all and knew the truth. She was now the daughter of a whore and a murderer. All those except for her close family and friends believed that way. She had lived a hard life from then on she had work to earn her keep. She never sold herself though. Till she was old enough, she lived with her Aunt and Uncle. She worked on their farm and earned her money that way. A few years ago she had moved back into her own home. She felt she could not burden her family any longer. Besides, she had some of her own money saved, she could use it to grow and sell her own crops. She had done so for the last two years. She had moved back into her childhood home and erased any trace of the events that took place here. She set up a small plot of land which to grow crops with and repaired the hen she had. She woke up today with a sigh. She dressed in a simple green gown and put her long brown wavy hair into a bun. She had a good looking figure. She was lean and curvy perhaps if she lived a more extravagant life she may have looked a little more wholesome. She walked into the kitchen and warmed up some of the stew she had made the night before and poured herself a bowl. She ate quietly and silently. The house seemed empty. The only noise to be heard was her sounds of her eating. She did at times get lonely hear. In fact, she never had any siblings, she had felt lonely the moment her parents had been executed. Once she had finished eating she washed up and moved to the cupboard. She picked up her coin purse and moved out into the garden. She picked the fresh crops, keeping some for herself, the others she would barter away at the markets. Putting them all into a basket she would walk alone to the markets. The markets were always the busiest part of the city and a place riddled with pickpockets and thieves. Over the years she had learned how to thwart the more amateur thieves. She didn't find herself missing a few things when she got home anymore. She made her way through the hustle and bustle of the crowd. All the people looked happy and cheerful. She may have been too if she had a single friend of her own. She finally made her way over to the stall she was looking for. The man??s name was Ezio. Over the years he had become the one that she had sold her crop to most, he always gave a good price. He smiled at her and said Good day Rosetta, what have you got for me?. He was about 5 years older than her and produce merchant here. He had a mop of black hair and a pair of brown eyes. He was in shape but he was married and she suspected that in his later years he would lose his good form. She gave him a smile out of courtesy and said I have tomatoes, pumpkin, onions, leek, potatoes, lettuce, eggs and a few cucumbers, all picked this morning. He nodded and took the sack she had been carrying. After weighing out the goods, they shook hands and the money changed hands. Rosetta did not make enough money to buy herself a mansion, but it was plenty for a women living on her own to live on. She looked at him and said Thank you Ezio. He nodded and she continued her way through the markets. She was running low on flour, sugar and salt. She looked around for a merchant who was not about to rip her off.