crow's feather ( Penna di corvo)

Feather six

Matteo provokes her with mocking teasing

, so she sighs miserably, cursing him, perhaps he 'll choke on his drink, or swallow his hateful tongue,

as he laughs, taunting her ...

But Hugo approaches her, kissing her cheek and laughing

: " Don't frown like that.. ."

She sighs, saying irritably : " They look at me like I'm a curse ... "

He laughs, pulling her closer,

correcting her: " Bina's soul - reaper... "

She sighs, saying with annoyance, " Ugo..." He moves her along without losing his smile, saying playfully, "Let's dance... Come on... We 'll find you another suitor...

" She hits his chest angrily as he dances with her,

adding with a mischievous wink , " And if he dies, I'll sacrifice myself for you ... and marry you myself ..." She shakes her head in despair at him ; But she laughs helplessly,

and he dances with her, glancing at the other girls at the party,

even pointing at one of them,

whispering to Bina, " I'm going to spend the night with her ... "

She plays along with his lewdness,

saying dryly, " You seem like a devoted fiancé, Hugo ..."

He winks at her, saying rudely, " That's for your own good ... so my skills don't rust ..."

Her laughter rises in unison with his, oblivious to the stares around her,

who glare at her with disapproval at her laughter when her fiancé was killed yesterday...

And Matteo dances with Julia,

a smile playing on his lips ,

his eyes lingering on Bina and Hugo, their laughter and their dancing...

A little while later, everyone is dancing; Matteo approaches , dancing with Julia, while Ugo, who had captivated Pena

throughout the party, swaps partners.

Ugo smiles with a playful grin and accepts Julia to dance with her.

Pina fidgets, wanting to refuse to dance with him, but he compels her, spinning her around and saying gleefully,

" Don't be spiteful ... dance with me at my engagement party ..."

She deliberately crushes his toes, and he stifles a groan as she retorts through gritted teeth , " Mi stai provocando..."

( You're provoking me )

. He stutters indignantly, saying regretfully,

" Your fiancé escaped being crushed by your awful dancing ..."

His eyes flash with a mocking laugh as he adds sarcastically,

" He didn't escape... he was killed ..."

She is nearly in tears of rage.

Her face flushed red. She hadn't even had a dance with him yet;

she was going to have it tonight.

And now he was dead. She pressed harder against Matteo's fingers,

his hand tracing the fabric of her dress.

He asked her in surprise, " Why did you choose a black dress for the party ?"

Her anger flared. " In case you get killed tonight,"

she retorted bitterly.

He tilted his head, smiling reproachfully, his tone playful.

" You want me to get killed like them !"

She sighed heavily, her head resting on his chest, lost in thought. " Of course not, "

she replied heavily.

But then, in an instant, she looked up, her eyes shining like a gypsy witch's, dark and sparkling.

" But there's no harm in hurting you without killing you, "

she said bitterly.

He chuckled softly at her words and pulled her close. She stamps her foot hard,

he groans in pain, and she pushes him away as ugo passes by.

She heads towards him,

calling to Julia: " Go back to dancing with him... I can't stand him... Marry him quickly so I can get rid of him ..."

Matteo's eyes flash as he looks up at her from above Julia's head,

inwardly mocking ;

as if she'll ever get rid of him ...

****

In the clothing store, they both moved from one dress to another.

Julia would pick one up, assess it on herself, and wait for Bina's opinion. Then she'd take what she liked and give it to the saleswoman, whose arms were piled high with countless different clothes.

They finally had enough and moved towards the fitting room, with Hugo watching them with utter boredom. At the fitting room, Julia took what she had chosen and went in to try it on.

Bina waited for her,

while Hugo looked at her expectantly, asking sarcastically,

" Aren't you going to try on some clothes? Or did Julia hog them all? " She shook her head indifferently, her gaze sweeping the room before replying, " I didn't like anything. " She headed towards a sofa and sat down,

and Hugo followed her to sit beside her. It seemed that this would be a long wait for Julia.

Bena returned to inspect the place, her lips pursed,

adding, " This shop's clothes don't suit my taste..

." He smiled gently, teasing her sincerely, his shoulder brushing against hers. " You're beautiful... everything suits you ..."

But her expression turned sad,

" Why would I buy anything anyway ?... My fiancé is dead againv..."

He stifled a laugh, trying to appear moved. They had buried her fiancé two days prior.

And after hearing some angry remarks at the funeral, even hateful ones from her late fiancé's mother, she was only interrupted by the arrival of his uncle Alessandro,

and Matteo's murderous, threatening looks.

She then left the church without going with them to the rest of the burial ceremony.

She caught a glimpse of his suppressed laughter and frowned at him, rebuking him, " Non ridere..." (Don't ( She laughs )

His laughter grew louder as she playfully pushed his shoulder,

before she exhaled in frustration, causing his laughter to subside.

"It seems they were right about me ," she said despairingly. " They're all afraid to come near me now." He sighed heavily and pressed himself against her again, comforting her gently. " Don't let their words affect you. It's just a coincidence. We're all vulnerable to being killed. ."

—She meant Hugo's coincidences. All three of them died.

She said this with a bitter, almost tearful sigh,

feeling sorry for herself, thinking she should end the engagement.

Perhaps she should become a nun and leave everyone behind.

Her luck with men seemed promising.

Hugo told her encouragingly, " Don't be so sad. We'll find plenty of them. We have plenty of men.. "

If he thought he was easing her distress, he was mistaken. She sighed heavily, resting her head heavily on his shoulder, lost in thought.

He leaned down and kissed her head gently. Whispering to her, "Non prendertela ... non è colpa tua ..." ( Don't be sad... it's not your fault...)

She calms down quietly,

as Julia comes out of the fitting room to show her what she's wearing.

But she freezes for a moment as she sees Ugo whispering to Pina,

watching their closeness and their inaudible conversation.

Pina nods gently, and she stands there, lost in thought for a while, unaware of Ugo's gaze, who has noticed her.

As he straightens his head,

Pina becomes aware, straightens up, and looks at her appraisingly, telling her admiringly,

" It looks beautiful on you ..." She blinks, smiling, stroking the fabric of her yellow dress, turning halfway around, asking her, " Really ?"

_Si...

( Yes )

_No ...

( No )

The first from Pina,

and the second from Ugo,

who glances at him disapprovingly.

He shrugs at him, saying simply, " Its color isn't " Suitable... "

Bina's eyebrow rose in disapproval at his intervention.

He added nonchalantly, " This color makes her look pale and unwell ... She should choose a less intense shade than yellow..." With surprise, Bina looked again at Julia 's bright yellow dress.

It seemed that Ugo's words were true;

Especially with her fair skin and blonde hair,

She purses her lips thoughtfully, then suggests,

" Try blue, it'll suit you ..."

Hugo hums in agreement without a word,

and Julia objects weakly, " I thought Matteo liked yellow!

"... They both look at her with disapproving expressions, muttering in unison, " He doesn't understand ..."

Julia says, bewildered, " He told me I look beautiful in yellow ..."

Pina exclaims before Hugo, indignantly, " He's colorblind! Don't take his opinion on anything !"

She's telling her this from experience,

that fool Matteo annoys her and criticizes everything she wears, despite her beauty,

so she's started ignoring his comments or his opinion about her clothes. She gets up from her place next to Hugo, heading towards the saleswoman who stands in her usual silent manner, not interfering; Especially since the Moreno family was there, silence was best for her.

Pina rummaged through the clothes, then picked out a blue dress.

She gave it to Julia and told her, " Try this on ." Julia took it and went back to the fitting room.

Hugo stood looking around the store, and Pina joined him,

raising an eyebrow, she said, " Yellow makes her look pale and sickly!" He rolled his eyes in annoyance, then went to a lavender-colored dress, picked it up, and gave it to her, ordering,

" Try this on ." Her face contorted in disapproval, and she refused to take it, saying,

" Viola !"

(Purple!)

He pushed it towards her,

saying insistently, " It suits you ." Seeing the objection on her face, he teased her sarcastically,

" Better than black, which made you look like a death bride. " She shot him a furious look, snatched the dress from him forcefully,

and cursed him, " Bastardo !"

( Bastard !)

She headed back to the fitting room.

The other woman went to try on the dress.

A few moments later, Julia came out, her eyes searching for Bina. She was flustered to find only Ugo.

" Where's Bina? " she asked him softly. He gestured with his chin toward the fitting room, his gaze sweeping over her and her dress,

scrutinizing her.

Then he said,

" Strabella..."

(exquisitely beautiful). She blinked a few times, understanding only the meaning of

" bella, "

as her Italian was very weak, just a few words,

unlike the Italian Moreno family. Ugo approached her, examining her with his eyes, before asking,

" How's Mioni?" Did her face pale slightly at the mention of her stepfather?

But she answered softly,

" Fine... "

He nodded slightly, returning to examine the hanging clothes,

then said, " Try the pink one; it suits you..." At that moment, she looked up at him, asking,

" How do you know which colors suit you? "

A mischievous smile played at the corner of his lip. He replied playfully,

" My friends..."

" Many..."

Her expression faltered as she took a step back.

As Bina emerged in her dress, she paused, her gaze shifting between them. Seeing Julia's unease, she asked, her eyes narrowed with anticipation, "What's wrong? Did he upset you?"

********

Finito

Arrivederci

Good bye