۞ TWO ۞

AFTER CRYING LIKE A BITCH, (oh, yes, I know lots of curse words, since dad taught me when he was drunk), I swallowed it, knowing that my face was probably red like a strawberry. "You think the immortals of the Clan will come here to check, dad?"

He took some time before answering, "I know they will, Ari. Dad will probably sense that the barrier around my house is down, and sent of me the guys in the Capital here to check what I was hiding. You will have to be out of here by tomorrow morning."

I held the rest of the tears, refusing to give in to this sadness creeping inside of me, "Okay, I understand." Sigh. "When will I be able to see you again, dad?"

"Oh, sweetie, I have no idea. But I'll make it that it won't have to be years. I'll find a way."

Hugging him tighter, I inhaled and exhaled slowly, "Can't you contact the Gasparri Clan in Italy? Great-grandmother is from there, isn't she? You can use that connection to go there's can't you? Besides you are still a young immortal, dad. You are only turning 43 years in June 7th this year, you can you the excuse that you got bored of Brazil and wants to go to Italy for some time. No?"

He gasped, "Oh, why have I never thought about that?"

Putting some space between us, I stared at his eyes, with my eyebrows raised, openly judging him, "Dad, sometimes I don't know if you are the stupidest immortal alive, or if you are the smartest for pretending to be the stupidest. Either a fool or a genius."

Being dramatic the way he is, he pretended to be stabbed in the heart, "Don't be so cruel to me, Ari. Why do you have to be so honest?"

"You thought me that I should always be honest, no matter what. Why are you complaining now," I grinned. "Deal with the consequences of your actions. You made me like this."

Dad kissed my forehead gently, caressing my cheeks, "I love you, Arianna. You will always be my most treasured jewel, my baby girl who will never grow up in my eyes, my lovely little daughter who has this silly dad as her hero." Seeing him with tears in his eyes made me emotional again. "I'll try to do what you said, but we'll have to be at least a years apart. But that's better then 10 or even 20. However, I want you to know that I'll miss you, and that I'll think of you every second we'll be apart."

"Dad, you are making me emotional, stop, I'll get sadder than I already am. You don't want that, do you?" He bounce his head, negatively. "Exactly, neither do I. So, we can celebrate my birthday today. Let's do something outside, while the barrier isn't broken yet. Walk on our horses, swim a bit, make a picnic under one of the maple trees, or read a book together," I managed to say it all while on the verge of tears, holding myself the best I can.

After all, I know that seeing me sad will make him sad. And I don't want that.

"Okay," he exclaimed and helped me get up. "Let's go outside, spend today together, a father and daughter day. And I'll cook today, because there's no food better than mine."

"None," I agreed, giving him my best smile. "Then, before going to sleep, you help me packing."

"Deal."

"When is my flight?"

"You have to be in the plane 9 am, tomorrow morning. We'll leave the city at 5 am, since it takes us around 2h and a half to go from Campos to that capital, then to the airport. I'm just anxious because you've never met anyone but me, and then you will suddenly have to travel in a plane to another continent." Sigh. "And not only that, but you will have to go from Milan, to Sicily, where the Sasso Clan and your mom live."

I confess I'm a little anxious about it too. "You taught me good manners, dad. I'll put them to play tomorrow, and I wont freak out. Don't worry, it's me that we are talking about. My emotions never take the best of me."

"I am your father, Arianna, I can't help but worry about you. I'll be anxious for me and you," sigh. "I got all of your documents replaced, your real ones will stay with me, but I changed the rest so your name will stays like Arianna Sasso. We still have the bracelet your mom had it made for you with your name in it, so you can tell that it was all you had left. All of your grades from kindergarten to high school are all documented in Portuguese, English, and Italian as well, because they will probably want it."

"Yes, you've told me about the reds pride in having smart people on their clan."

A nod, "Exactly. I prepared you for this. You are also able to handle human money well, so I won't have to worry about that. I'll give you five black cards with the money dollar, and you turn it into euro after you settle in. If they asked how you got it, tell them that an old rich female human took you in and raised you when you were 5 years, and that she died two years ago and left all her inheritance to you. I also already faked the documents to prove that, if any of them doubt it."

"See? That's why I don't know if you are a genius or something else, dad," I said, as I sat down and took another cheese bread, now that I calmed down.

A silly smile appeared on his lips, "I'm definitely a genius. Well, you speak more languages fluently than most people on earth, so, communication won't be a problem. You can say you were raised here, on the city, it won't be a problem. And be careful, remember that there are many dangerous races pretending to be human, Arianna. I know you don't believe the prophecy as you should, but, please, beware of devils. I've taught you how to identify them."

There he goes again. Taking about that silly prophecy. "I know, dad," I said munching another cheese bread. "You don't have to worry about that. Besides, I'll be armed with obsidian weapons that I can use as accessories, thanks to the magic in them."

He raised an eyebrow, "That can't kill a demon, Arianna!"

"But can kill anything else, especially if I encounter a disgusting vamp," I grinned mischievously. "With devils, I can just break their necks. It'll take them a minute to respawn alive again, and that's enough for me to get away from them," I'm not really worried.

I doubt I'll meet a demon on my way there. Although my father seems to be worried for the both of us. "You are insufferable."

"Seems like I got that from you, dad."

Rolling his eyes, he ate a cheese bread as well, "Okay, I think we talked about everything. Let's go, we have a long day ahead, to do all we can while you are still here."

Jumping from my seat, I nodded, "Then I'll put a swimsuit and a spring dress over it."

"I'll wait for you here."

𖣔 𖣔 𖣔

The moon had already taken over the sky and the sun had gone to sleep when we decided that it was time for dinner. Dad went inside the house to prepare something for me, while I stayed there, looking at the stars, admiring this place while I still could. And it was when I was looked around the area of the barrier that I saw it.

It was black-pitch cat, it's furry made it look fat, but it was still the most gracious cat I had even seen in my life, and lots of cats appeared here sometimes, since dad loved to feed them. But that one was sitting down gracefully right at the border of the barrier, as if he couldn't come inside. But maybe I was hallucinating, since it was too dark to see.

He seemed to be with his eyes closed, and then he opened them and felt breathless, his eyes weren't normal eyes. They were red. Ruby-red. Shining like rubies. It spread goosebumps down my spine. And when he smirked staring straight at me, I felt as if he was calling me to get closer.

"You little bitch, you think I'll get near you? But I fucking won't. I'm smarter than that, and I know what you are. So, piss off. Stop pretending to be a cat. This isn't your territory," I hissed at what I swore to be a devil, but then he blinked and looked like a normal cat again, staring at the tree on my side, bored. "Am I losing my mind because of all my dad kept feeding me with about that damned prophecy?" I asked myself, annoyed. "Ugh," I got up and went inside, still with a dreadful feeling giving me the creeps.

That couldn't be a devil, right? That's impossible. It can't be. I'm losing my mind. It must be the anxiety acting up because of the fact that I'm leaving my dad and I won't see him for more than a year.

Yeah. That cat looked normal a second after. And cats are awkward creatures, they act like they know more than most, and like they are superior.

Hm. That's probably it. I shouldn't be worrying. "Are you okay, Ari?" Dad asked, tilting his head to the right.

"Yes, dad. Just, anxious."

"Me too, kiddo. Sit down, stay here with dad, don't stay outside alone today."

"Can we make a sleepover, dad? Like when I was a kid? We put the bed in the living room, and one of the animations we used to watch, and watch until we fall asleep."

He seemed to ponder. "Okay. But you will be sleepy in the plane. At least, I managed to get you in the window seat, it'll be better for you," that's reassuring. "You can also take one of your favorite books up there with you, and a bag with my snacks."

"That will make my day tomorrow, dad," I smiled.

Dad came closer and kissed my forehead, "It's your birthday after all. I'll put the tiramisu I made yesterday in a small pot for you to take with you, as well as some cheese breads, small pastels of cheese and ham, those dark-chocolate cookies you love so much, some mini lemon pies, the sliced caramelized bananas you love, the spicy cheese sticks you can't live without too. Oh, I'll pack my special spicy sauce too, it'll be hard to find such a good one in Italy, they aren't the biggest fans of spicy food."

I couldn't hold it, I hugged my knees on the sofa and began crying again. To think I'll eat dad's food in a plane, without dad, while I'm being apart from him. It hurts. "Don't… don't forget the strawberries dipped in spicy chocolate sauce," I tried not to talk about my tears, but I couldn't help but cry even more.

With a faint smile, dad came closer, sat with me and hugged me tight. "Oh, my sweet baby, it's being extremely hard for me too, but this for your safety. It's dangerous for you to stay with dad now, as much as I want to. I can't put you in danger, darling. You are barely 20 years old, hasn't seen the world yet, you have a long life in front you. I want you to live it brightly, without being caught up in the annoyances caused by dad's clan."

"I know that. It's just… difficult."

"Do you want daddy to make brigadeiro balls for you to take with you too?" He asked while caressing my hair.

"Mhm, you know how much I love brigadeiro. It'll make me feel like you are with me somehow. Can you make iced peach with lemon and chamomile tea for me too?" I can't live without it. "And sweeten it with a spoon of melado, okay?"

"I will," he kissed my forehead again and got back to the kitchen. "And if the people that sits with you on the plane, forgets their food, share a bit with them, okay? Small acts like this can make the day of someone better. We never know all they are fighting inside. I'll put a small portion of spicy cheese pizza too, just so you don't take so much sweets, it can be bad for your teeth."

"My favorite."

He winked, "I know."