Venetian Time Slip II
Venetian Time Slip II
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Carolina went out again and this time, she was holding a sword. She pointed it towards the two and started pushing them towards the window.
It was so much chaos. Everyone was speaking, or rather shouting, all at the same time.
Carolina kept saying in a threatening voice, “Get out! What do you want?! Thieves! Get out! Out!”
Cassandra kept interrogating, “Who are you? What do you want? How’d you get in here? Where are you from? Who are you? What do you want from us?”
“I’m sorry! We’re sorry! We didn’t mean to! Sorry!” Zack kept apologizing.
“No! Look. Let us explain. It’s a big misunderstanding! This is all confusion! We rented this room and something happened. We don’t know what just did but something did and I think we’re back in the past but we’re from the present!” Rian insisted.
Giovanni barged in the midst of the ruckus and noticed the two men in odd looking clothes and odd hairstyle. His jaw dropped and a large beam formed in his face.
“Shut up! Shut up everyone!” Giovanni yelled from the top of his lungs.
He succeeded to get their attention and the room fell silent. Everybody turned to him. He held his finger up to signal them to wait. He ran to the door and locked it.
As soon as he locked it, an urgent knock came to the door.
“Signorina, are you alright?” Antonio asked. He rushed to the girls’ room with a few maids upon hearing the screams.
Carolina was about to say something when Giovanni ran to her and covered her mouth. Giovanni then looked at Cassandra who was biting her lip and having a hard time taking in everything. She had a tight grip on the covers.
“Let me handle this. Tell them it was just a rat.” Giovanni whispered to Carolina. Carolina put down her guard. Zack and Rian relaxed.
“It was nothing, just an insect that went in through the windows.” Carolina shouted.
“Do you want me to give it a look, signorina?” Antonio shouted back.
“No. We’re fine!” Carolina replied.
“Alright. Do call when you need anything.” Antonio said.
“Okay.” Carolina answered.
“What was that?” Maria shouted from the rosarium downstairs since the window had a view of the garden.
Cassandra jumped out of her bed wearing a thin negligee.
Giovanni looked away. Zack looked at Cassandra but did what Giovanni did, he looked away. Rian, on the other hand, stared at Cassandra as she skipped to window with the thin negligee flowing freely.
Carolina put up her sword and the point touched Rian’s face gently. She gave a push to his cheek but not that hard to wound him. Rian looked away from Cassandra.
Cassandra reached the windows and peered down at her mother who was looking up curious on what the screams were all about.
“Nothing, mother, just an insect.” Cassandra shouted.
“Oh.” She said and went back to tending the roses.
Cassandra pulled the curtains to a close. “Cassandra, go dress up.” Carolina ordered.
Cassandra looked down at what she was wearing. She covered her chest with her arms and walked briskly to the boudoir.
“What’s this all about, Giovanni? Are they friends of yours?” Carolina asked.
“Did you say you’re from the present?” Giovanni asked, his eyes twinkling with interest at Zack and Rian.
“Yes. 2010.” Rian said.
“Wow. Almost 300 years!” Giovanni whispered to himself.
“Hold on. This is the present.” Carolina said.
“Yes, well it’s your present, which is our past, but we came from our present which is your future.” Zack explained.
“Seems fair.” Carolina said. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
“Don’t you see how odd-looking they are?” Giovanni said.
“Yes but…” Carolina said but she did not know how else to continue that sentence.
“I’m Rian and this is Zack. We rented this room and we didn’t know what happened, we were in our room when suddenly you’re here and we’re here.” Rian explained.
“Wow. Awesome!” Giovanni gasped.
“Okay. Then, you go and leave because in this present, this is our room.” Carolina said back in her threatening tone.
“We have nowhere to go.” Zack said.
“That’s not our problem anymore; we have enough worries to attend to.” Carolina said.
“Please.” Zack said pleading to Carolina as he looked in her eyes.
“Then, how do you go back to your time?” Carolina asked.
“Ask Giovanni.” Cassandra said going out of the boudoir fully dressed.
Everybody turned to Giovanni who was laughing in sheer joy of seeing proofs of time travel.
“Well, it just happens. No one knows when or how, but eventually, they will go back.” Giovanni said. “They’d just have to wait and enjoy what’s happening at the moment.”
“Well, they’re not waiting in this room. Wait somewhere else!” Carolina said.
“No! They can’t go out looking like that! They’d look ridiculous!” Giovanni said. “I know. Come to my room. I’ll lend you my clothes!”
“This must be a dream come true for you, Giovanni.” Cassandra said.
“It’s paradise!” Giovanni said. He opened the girls’ room and took a peek outside. He checked if the vicinity was safe. He shut the door. “There’s a maid cleaning outside.”
“Then, bring the clothes here.” Cassandra said.
“Good idea.” Giovanni said. Carolina rolled her eyes.
Giovanni skipped out the door to his room.
“I’m Cassandra. This is my sister, Carolina. Giovanni, that’s our cousin.” Cassandra introduced with a matching curtsy. Carolina just gave a nod.
Cassandra gave Carolina a look. Carolina just looked back blankly.
Cassandra knew the reason of Carolina’s lack of hospitality to these men. She knew why her sister wasn’t warming up to them.
Carolina was a philosopher with a mind of a scientist and an academic. She doesn’t believe on anything not supported by science, except maybe her Catholic belief.
“Please, do sit.” Cassandra said pointing to the window seat. Zack and Rian did sit. “Do you want anything? Tea?”
“No but thank you.” Rian said. Zack shook his head to say ‘no’.
“Well then, I hope you’re comfortable.” Cassandra said.
“Indeed. You’ll have to excuse us for a while.” Carolina said. “I’ll have to dress up.” Carolina whispered to Cassandra.
Inside the boudoir, Carolina and Cassandra helped each other dress up properly. After all, because of the events of the morning, Carolina didn’t get to put a gown over her corset and chemise, and Cassandra rushed into dressing up.
“What was that?” Carolina asked.
“What?” Cassandra asked.
“Why are you so pleasant towards them?”
“They’re guests. Might as well treat them as guests too. Why are you so unpleasant towards them?”
“Well, I don’t trust them.” Carolina said.
“I don’t either but I can’t judge them. Although they do look friendly.” Cassandra said. “You all set?” She asked Carolina.
Carolina nodded.
“Let’s just help them. They look like they really have nowhere to go; based on the cheap clothes they wore.” Cassandra said.
“Alright. I guess there’s no harm in helping people.” Carolina said walking out of the boudoir fully dressed. Cassandra followed her out, also dressed.
“I’ll go see why Giovanni’s taking some time.” Carolina said and went out of the room.
Cassandra sat at the bed and entertained the men. “What’s that?” She asked pointing to the Polaroid that hung around Zack’s neck.
Zack held it in his hands. “It’s a camera.”
“Pardon?” Cassandra said.
“It takes pictures.” Zack said. Cassandra stared at him blankly.
“It captures an image through the lenses over here.” Zack said pointing the lenses. “Then… um…”
“It’s from the future.” Rian said helping out Zack.
“I can see that.” Cassandra said. Suddenly, Giovanni entered with Carolina bringing clothes. Upon their entry, Zack and Rian stood up.
Carolina and Giovanni placed the clothes on the window seat.
Carolina then, headed to Cassandra who was facing Zack and Rian as she sat at the edge of the bed. Carolina held Cassandra’s hand and pulled her to the other side of the bed where both of them sat. Their backs faced the men giving them privacy as they dressed up.
“Okay. Out of those ridiculous clothes.” Giovanni said.
“And into those ridiculous ones?” Rian asked.
“Well, you’re in our time zone, you wear our clothes.” Giovanni said.
Soon, a pair of denim jeans went flying across the room and landed on Cassandra’s hair.
“Giovanni! I just did my hair!” Cassandra complained as she took the pair of jeans. She folded it neatly feeling the texture of the pants.
“Feel this.” Cassandra whispered to Carolina handing the jeans.
Carolina touched it with hesitation. “Pretty uncomfortable, isn’t it. Maybe the future ran out of silk supply so they use this unusual fabric.” Cassandra said.
“I don’t think it is still fabric.” Carolina whispered.
Giovanni then approached Cassandra and Carolina bringing Zack’s and Rian’s clothes in a bundle. Cassandra, being a good host to visitors, accepted the clothes openly and folded them properly. Two sets of denim pants. Two shirts. One jacket (Rian’s).
When she reached the socks part, Cassandra held it up with two fingers.
“I think we’ve got the folding of our clothes covered.” Zack said humiliated.
“None sense!” Giovanni said enjoying the fact that he’s making Cassandra and Carolina do something. It was usually the other way around since Giovanni was the younger but now; the world is upside down for the women can’t turn around due to respect to the men in their boxers or briefs or whatever they wear for underwear.
So, in the end, there were two piles that rested on the bed neatly folded. One for Zack’s clothes and the other for Rian’s. Zack’s shoes rested on his clothe pile and Rian’s on his.
“I think we’ll keep wearing our underwear.” Rian said. Zack nodded.
“Good idea.” Giovanni agreed.
“Here you go.” Cassandra and Carolina heard Giovanni. They wondered what Giovanni was handing the men because there was silence in the room.
“What’s this?” Zack asked.
“Stockings.” Giovanni said seriously.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Rian said under his breath.
“Pardon?” Giovanni asked.
“Nothing.”
After a few more minutes of conversations like that, Giovanni said, “Ladies, you may look now.”
Cassandra was the first one who stood up. She was so excited to see how the strange looking men looked like in 18th century clothes.
Carolina, on the other hand, stood up with much tarry.
Cassandra saw Zack and Rian both in knee length breeches (the 18th century pants that are knee-length), and stockings tucked under the breeches. They were also in loose full-sleeved white shirts with a thin fabric. They were still at the basics.
Cassandra approached the three men to help while Carolina picked up the modern clothes. “I’ll keep this in the boudoir. Someone might see it.” Carolina said heading to the boudoir.
Giovanni was tending to Zack. So, Cassandra approached Rian who was rolling the sleeves of his undershirt up to his elbows.
“Don’t.” Cassandra said as she pulled down his left sleeve. Then, she went on to his right sleeve and she saw a sign of ink on his upper right arm that was blurry yet visible due to the thinness of the shirt.
Because of her curiosity, she pulled down the shirt at the neck part to reveal a tattoo at Rian’s upper right arm.
Cassandra was in awe. “Wow.” She sighed.
“It’s a tattoo.” Rian said.
“A what?” Cassandra mumbled.
“Wake up, Cassandra.” Giovanni said.
“I mean, interesting.” Cassandra said backing away from Rian. She went to get Rian’s dark green undercoat. It was simple and didn’t have embellishments of any sort since it was for casual wear.
Zack was done with wearing an equally simple coat and overcoat of blue shade. Zack was now focusing on buckling his black leather shoes.
“Here you go.” Cassandra said handing the undercoat.
“Now, I know you won’t like this,” Giovanni said holding up a white powdered wig, “So, I’ve chosen these.” He said throwing the powdered wig to the bed and holding up two wigs. It wasn’t powdered, just a natural brunette long hair.
“Unfortunately, unlike me, you don’t have long hair which is highly fashionable, so, there’s this.” Giovanni said handing wigs to Rian and Zack. Like a replica of Giovanni’s hair, the long hair was tied in a low ponytail.
“No thank you.” Rian and Zack said in unison.
“Zack, I guess your hair is fine.” Giovanni said. “But, Rian…”
Rian groaned and snatched the wig and placed it on his head. Cassandra smiled at him as Zack laughed at Rian.
“Are we all set, then?” Carolina said impatiently.
“Yeah.” Giovanni said.
“Great.” Carolina said walking out of the room.
“Come on, then.” Giovanni said walking out with Zack following.
Cassandra was also walking out when she stopped mid-room seeing that Rian was still buckling up his shoes.
When Rian was done, he stood up and took his first step. He lost balance and sat back down on the window seat.
Cassandra giggled. “It’s a bit slippery.” Rian said in his defense.
“You’ll be fine. You’ll get used to the shoes. I saw Signore Zack adapting quickly.” Cassandra said approaching Rian and extending her hand in an escort which Rian took.
They walked out of the room.
“Signore Zack?” Rian asked.
“That was his name, right?” Cassandra asked.
“Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t like being called, ‘signore’. I know I wouldn’t want to.”
“Okay, Rian.” Cassandra said.
“Do I have to call you a ‘signora’?” Rian asked.
“Actually, it’s ‘signorina’ but Cassandra would be fine.”
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A gondola was right in front of the large wooden door at the small canal.
Giovanni went ahead everyone and loaded the gondola. He settled down on the seat. Carolina rolled her eyes. She wondered where the gentleman inside Giovanni could be hiding since it never appeared.
Then, Zack went pass her and loaded the gondola too. It looks to Carolina; Giovanni’s not the only one present at the moment who doesn’t have concern for the women around.
Zack held out his hand to help Carolina load the boat. She didn’t expect that he was going to do that but he did.
She took his hand and gripped it tight when she took her first step on the gondola. She sat down and Zack sat down beside her.
She smiled him her thanks and that smile was the first sign of Carolina’s welcome to the two odd men that wasn’t so odd after all.
“Where are Rian and Cassandra?” Zack asked.
“That’s ‘Signorina Cassandra’ to you, signore.” Carolina said.
“Oh, Carolina, you are so old fashioned. I actually liked Cassandra, Zack.” Cassandra said hopping on the gondola. Rian was right behind Cassandra who was getting the hang of his shoes.
Cassandra smiled at Carolina. “Alright. I guess we could lay off the ‘old fashioned’ act.” Carolina said.
“So, where we heading?” Rian asked as the gondola started moving.
“Shopping.” Giovanni beamed.
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