Harbinger Of Glory

The helicopter banked slightly as it crossed the coastline, and the moment it did, Leo felt Vittoria’s hand tighten around his palm.

He turned to find her already looking out the window, her hair moving in the cabin air, and when she felt she’d caught his attention, she turned once more, looking outside the door.

"There," she said, pointing.

From the air, Forte dei Marmi stretched beneath them in neat lines of pale buildings, green gardens and roads running toward the coast.

Leo followed her finger, and as they came up to it, the helicopter slowed slightly, as if showing Leo a preview of what was to come.

The estate stood behind a long wall, partly hidden by tall trees.

What he could see of the house was enough to make him sit forward slightly.

It was built from pale stone, with wide windows and a long covered terrace running across the upper floor.

Two separate wings extended from the main building, enclosing a large garden that disappeared beneath the trees.

Nothing about it looked new.

The house had the appearance of something that had been there for a very long time, with each generation adding something without ever taking away what came before.

Leo stared through the window and then turned towards Vittoria.

"Like your own personal castle," he said into the headset.

Vittoria turned and shook her head at him, but she was smiling when she did it.

The helicopter passed over the estate one last time before turning toward the landing area farther down the coast.

Leo watched the house disappear behind the trees as the helicopter descended, his attention lingering on it until the last moment.

The landing was smooth, something Leo was thankful for.

A moment after it had landed, he unclipped his harness and waited for the rotors to slow enough for them to leave.

When the pilot opened his side of the cabin, Leo leaned forward.

"Thank you."

The pilot gave him a polite smile, though he hesitated slightly, as if thinking about something.

"My pleasure, sir."

Leo was about to step out when something caught his eye on the panel beside the pilot’s seat.

A small Pirlo sticker.

It was slightly faded and looked as though it had been there for years, and Leo couldn’t help but point at it.

"You’re a Pirlo fan?"

The pilot glanced down and smiled.

"Which Italian kid from my generation wasn’t?"

Leo nodded, stepped onto the landing area, then stopped and looked back.

"If you’re the one flying us back later, I’ll give you an autograph."

The pilot laughed and then nodded.

"I’d appreciate that."

After that, Leo turned and offered his hand to Vittoria as she climbed down.

She took it and stepped beside him, smoothing her coat after the wind had caught it before looking back at him.

"Forcing an autograph, aren’t we!" she said, but Leo shrugged.

"He seemed like he wanted to ask, so I went ahead and did it anyway!"

Vittoria rolled her eyes at that before patting Leo.

"How did you know it was a Pirlo sticker anyway. It wasn’t exactly in good condition!"

"I notice things."

"Apparently," she retorted, not taking that for an answer, but Leo doubled down.

"It helps with football."

Vittoria finally smiled and gave up, not really keen on it enough to push.

"Of course it does."

After that, she offered her hand once more to Leo, who took it in his as they began walking toward the car waiting a short distance away.

When they got near it, the chauffeur was already out and standing beside it.

"Miss D’Averna," he mumbled, bowing slightly to Vittoria.

"Alfredo," Vittoria said, returning the bow as the chauffeur then turned to Leo.

"Sir."

Leo nodded reciprocally as the chauffeur opened the rear door and beckoned the two in.

As always, Vittoria got in first, followed by Leo settling beside her as Alfredo closed the door and returned to the driver’s seat.

A few paces later, the car pulled away from the landing area.

For the first few minutes of the ride to the mansion, Vittoria kept pointing things out through the window.

"That road goes straight to the beach," she would say, causing Leo to look where she was pointing.

"You used to come here a lot?"

"All the time. I learned to ride a bike on that road," she pointed again.

They continued through the town, with Vittoria occasionally pointing out another place from her childhood.

A small square she liked to be at and a lot of things she hadn’t let on yet.

Leo listened more than he spoke, trying to absorb as much as he could from Vittoria’s mumblings and pointings.

Eventually, the car turned away from the town and toward the estate where the gates opened before they reached them.

Subconsciously, Leo sat a little straighter.

The house looked different from the ground than it had from the air.

From the helicopter, it had seemed almost too carefully arranged to be real.

Down here, he could see the age in the stone, the faint unevenness around the older sections of the walls and the way the newer parts had been built into the original structure rather than replacing it.

The gardens were equally well kept, but they didn’t feel untouched.

Lavender grew along the paths, and beside it, Rosemary bordered one of the lower gardens.

All around, tall cypresses stood at the corners, breaking up the long stretches of pale stone and Leo watched all this until the car stopped at the foot of the steps.

"We’ve arrived," Alfredo said as the low hum of the car vanished.

"Thanks, Alfredo."

Leo stepped out first and turned to help Vittoria down.

As the car pulled away, he watched it disappear around the curve, and then he looked at Vittoria.

"You know I hadn’t heard it at first when you said it, but is every chauffeur or butler called Alfred?"

At the words of Leo, she stared at him, looking caught off guard by the sudden question.

"What?"

"Alfred. Alfredo. Something like that."

"Based on what?"

"Batman!’

Vittoria gave him a look and then decided not to pursue it further.

"You’re such a geek," was the only thing she said before she started up the steps.

Leo, with a smile on his face, followed.