No... it's the first floor. I run even faster after him, needing to catch him before... before...
Amico yelps in pain. I stop, my eyes traveling up, taking in father's form as he's holding Amico by the nape in a distasteful manner. He scoffs his nose at him before finally zoning in on me.
I try to mask my feelings, having learned that father despises weakness above all. His mouth curls up in half a twisted smile, smirking at me.
"This yours, boy?" He asks me in his usual leisurely way. I can only nod.
"Words, boy, words." His tone is clipped this time, and I'm almost afraid I angered him.
"Yes, sir. It's mine." I answer. He chuckles for a second before his features go blank. He turns his back to me and goes towards the end of the corridor, Amico still in his hold.
I'm not supposed to be on this floor...
"Sir?" I make the courage to ask, hesitantly taking a step forward.
"Follow me." His voice booms in the empty hall, and I steel myself. I continue to walk after him, trying to control my trembling limbs so he doesn't realize how scared I am. Amico is all that matters now.
Father goes deeper into the wing, and it's an area I've never seen before. He finally stops in front of a door, and opens it carelessly, stepping in. I do the same.
It's a dark room, only lit by the million candles surrounding the walls. There is a wall full of crosses. In front of it is a table housing a case of some sort. Mother is on the floor kneeling, her front bent towards the table, a black scarf covering her face. She's whispering something.
I don't like it when she's whispering.
"Liliana." The moment mother hears father's voice, she scurries back, hitting the table.
"Giovanni... What are you doing here?" She valiantly tries to put on a smile, but she's just as afraid as I am.
Father lifts the hand holding Amico and shakes him in her face.
"Want to tell me what this is?"
"I..." She starts but frowns, her eyes moving from father before settling on me. Her face is set in a deep scowl as she addresses me. "Didn't I tell you no?"
"But..." She said yes... she did.
"So you disobeyed your mother?" Father immediately takes over, looking at me.
"No..." I whisper, keeping my gaze down, not knowing how to reply. What is even the correct answer? If I say mother let me keep it, I'll get her in trouble. But if I say I disobeyed... What will happen to me?
"Speak!" Father commands.
"I... I wanted a friend." I admit, hoping this answer would be a good one.
It's not.
"You wanted a friend?" Father's voice takes a sinister tone as he laughs at me. I keep my head down. I can still see from the corner of my eye Amico struggling within father's hold. He must be hurting.
"Amico..." I look up as father suddenly flings the puppy to my feet. Amico! I immediately scramble, lifting Amico in my arms and trying to comfort him to my best ability.
"He wanted a friend... He even named him Amico..." Father shakes his head, looking towards mother this time. Her face is blank as she stares at the puppy.
"Wrong answer, boy." Father takes a step towards me, his hand going straight to my shirt's neckline. He wrenches me closer so that his face is right in front of mine.
"There are only two answers. Either your mother told you no, and you disobeyed. Or your mother told you yes, and she's lying. Which one is it?" Mother has a look of horror on her face as she hears father speak, and I think she fears what awaits her if I choose the second option. So I don't. I choose the first.
"I disobeyed." I whisper.
"Good. We are getting somewhere. You disobeyed because you wanted a friend." He doesn't let go of my shirt, and his serious gaze settles on me. "You need to be punished, boy."
I nod, because what else can I do? I knew what I was getting into... I knew and yet, I risked it.
He moves suddenly and I flinch, closing my eyes. I expected him to hit me.
He doesn't.
I slowly open one eye to see father regard me pensively.
"I have just the punishment for you, boy. One that will remind you to never disobey again."
He casually saunters to the table behind my mother, picking up a cross... or what looks like a cross, because one end is sharp. Father tests the sharpness of the blade, and I'm shaking with fear. Is he going to cut me?
I instinctively curl into a ball, hugging my knees and holding Amico to my chest.
"So, boy. You have a choice. You either take your punishment, or I must believe your mother lied. And if she lied..." His gaze strays to her, and she's petrified.
I slowly loosen up.
"I'll take my punishment, sir." I say slowly and wait for my punishment.
"Not that easy. Your punishment will be to get rid of that pest you're carrying." He motions towards Amico and my eyes widen in understanding.
"No..." I whisper, and I try to crawl away from him.
"No?" he asks, amused. "Fine." He shrugs, gets up, and turns to my mother. Even though she is terrified, she doesn't move from her spot. She calmly turns her back towards my father and unfastens her gown so it falls to her midriff. I don't even see father move around to grab a piece of rope. My gaze is stuck on mother's back. Even in the poor lighting of the room, I can see that her skin is mangled, barely any inch of skin unblemished. She's already resigned to this.
Just as father is about to hit her bare back, I yell.
"I'll do it." My voice is trembling. I don't know what made me choose to spare mother, when I know she would have never done the same for me. But I did. My eyes go to Amico, who is looking at me with his big puppy eyes. I can feel the tears in my eyes as I realize what I've chosen.
Father comes next to me again, and puts the knife in my hand, wrapping my fingers around it.
"For a quick death, you always go for the jugular." He mentions.
I keep staring at Amico, trying to talk myself into this. I know I'm hesitating when I'd said I'd do it, but I don't know if I can.
"Liliana, don't dress yet." Father says with a hint of warning in his voice.
My hand is shaking uncontrollably as I bring the knife at Amico's throat. Father covers my hand with his own.
"Do it!" He commands, his grip tightening to a painful degree. He guides my hand and with one swipe of the knife, blood gushes out of Amico's throat, flowing down my hand and covering my clothes.
I can't move. I just stand there, watching Amico struggle for a second, before dying—by my hands.
Father chuckles at this.
"Maybe I can still make something of you." He adds before leaving and closing the door behind him.
I'm cradling Amico's dead body in my arms, finally letting the tears flow. In my head, I keep asking for forgiveness, knowing there is no one to grant it.
I must have stayed like that for a while, rocking back and forth with Amico's body, silently begging him to forgive me, when mother suddenly pushes me to the ground.
I fall on my back and my attention finally snaps to her. She has a crazed look as she's holding a bottle in her hand and a cross in another.
"Cleanse... must cleanse the sin." She keeps repeating as she sprays me with the water and hits me with the cross. I take a defensive stance, and she mostly hits my arms and legs.