Rose by Paul Asaran (ebook reader below 3000 .txt) 📖

fact, she was interested, and this realization brought her dangerously close to pausing. If Phil noticed the misstep, as slight as it was, he didn’t say anything. She suppressed a sigh of relief, but now her mind was distracted. She had been so determined to stay on the defensive and keep him in the dark that she hadn’t realized that her own curiosity had been tapped. Most men who approached her were given a similar treatment, but none of them gave her this level of annoyance. Somehow he had caught her attention in just the right way to make her uncomfortable, and she simply couldn’t explain why.

Perhaps it had something to do with her inability to understand him. Her attempts to get rid of him with harshness only seemed to draw him closer, and he had even laughed once! All the people she’d dealt with before would leave in anger, or at the very least in a state of loss. She would often be passed up as a haughty, arrogant, antagonistic young woman, which was a perfect method for repelling others. With a family like hers, she couldn’t afford to get involved with different people, to develop lasting relationships. Such things were dangerous for her, both physically and mentally, and she wanted nothing to do with them.

Yet this man seemed to be incapable of understanding her hints. Or perhaps he understood perfectly, and was unaffected? The idea seemed ludicrous, seeing how successful it had always been for her, but his behavior appeared to prove otherwise. It bugged her to no end: how was she supposed to get rid of this man? She was willing to accept that both this and their last meeting six months ago were random encounters, but did this foretell future meetings? Would she be somewhere six months from now, in the Fall, and have another coincidental encounter with him? The idea was not a pleasant one. Perhaps some different strategy was needed to make him lose interest?

“Ah, the mighty Aiolfi Family,” Phil suddenly stated, breaking her from her thoughts. “I wonder just how much money they’ve got, and just what it is they do with it.” She managed to avoid any visible reaction, however, instead keeping her eyes strong and steady, her pace unwavering. She could see that they were walking along the outer brick wall of the Manor, and the great black iron gate was not far. She was finally at her destination. Better yet, she would at long last be rid of him.

“So you know of the Aiolfi Family.” Her response was simple, but her mind was running. He knew about the Family, or at the very least he had just insinuated knowledge. Perhaps he really was planning something against the Family? Then again, if he lived in the area then he would of course know about the Family Manor, and who hadn’t at least heard of the Family? Now that she considered the situation, she couldn’t help but wonder: did he live in the area? Only the affluent lived in this region, however, and he didn’t give the impression of a financially successful man. Middle class, perhaps, but not wealthy.

“Yes,” he responded mysteriously, “I know a little bit about them.” Just how much was ‘a little bit?’

Rose paused before the gate, and to her unease he did as well. Perhaps he was going to try and make some parting statement? Before he could say anything, she turned to the gate and said, “I believe this is where we part ways, then.”

Two guards stood on either side of the gate. They recognized her immediately, of course, and the one near the latch began unlocking it. “Good afternoon, miss,” the other stated in a welcoming tone. “Your father’s been checking every ten minutes for the past hour to see if you’d come in yet. We were afraid he’d start to send a search party or something.”

“You may announce my arrival, if you wish,” she responded coolly; she didn’t know these particular guards all that well, so she treated them the same as she did any other group of people. She still had an image to maintain, especially before Phil. The guard opened the gate to let her through, and as she passed through the gate she heard Phil’s voice behind her.

“Wait, Rose? Aiolfi… Rose…” He seemed to be considering the two names. When he spoke again, it was as though he had come across a shocking revelation. “You mean you’re Rose Aiolfi, the Godfather’s daughter!?” She turned and gave him a severe look; so he already knew her name, even if he hadn’t realized it. Just how much did he know?

“I can’t believe I didn’t understand this beforehand,” he smiled, “Rose can’t be all that common of a name, I should have realized…” He took a step forward, but was blocked by the guard who had opened the gate.

“Sorry, pal, but only Family and invited guests get in here,” the guard told him in a rough yet non-aggressive tone.

Phil paused and frowned at him, looking the man up and down inquisitively. Rose wondered just how he’d handle this situation. She should have just walked into the Manor, ignoring the scene, but instead she stayed to see how this event would unfold.

“I haven’t seen you before, so I’m guessing they hired you sometime within the last two years,” Phil told the man simply. He motioned to the booth the other man was standing near, “You’ve got a phone there, right? Call in and let them know Phil’s arrived.”

He had business with the Family? Rose was surprised, and a touch worried. Was she going to have to put up with him in the comfort of her childhood home? But the guard shook his head and crossed his arms with authority. “They tell us when to expect someone, and they said nothing about a ‘Phil’ coming in today,” he stated with a touch more aggression than before. “We don’t need to call them. Get out of here.”

Phil lost his pleasant demeanor: his eyes grew hard and he stood to his full height, which still put him being almost a foot shorter than the guard. He seemed to act as if he’d just been challenged. “You’re doing your job quite well,” he told the guard quietly. “Tell me, does the name ‘Sisu Philemon’ sound familiar?”

It did indeed: Rose recognized the name. Sisu had once been a hit-man for the Family, and had also been a very close family friend. Or, to be more precise, a close friend to her father, aunt, and a few others. Rose herself only knew of him through stories, and had never met the man; he had never actually been to the Manor to her recollection, and even in her youth she had avoided strangers. She had spent his last years with the Family in a private school, and he’d left the Family to start his own business five years ago. She’d never been enlightened as to exactly what his business was. Something secretive and dangerous, to be certain. Yet surely this Phil couldn’t be that same man?

“That name doesn’t ring a bell, but I’m going to ring yours if you don’t go now,” the guard snapped, clearly growing aggravated with him.

“It’s too bad you were never warned about me, but that would be my fault for not stating exactly when I would be arriving,” Phil responded. “Even so, it will become a problem for you if you don’t do as I suggest and make that call.”

“Kid, I practice boxing for fun. You don’t know what you’re messing with.” The guard uncrossed his arms and his hands tightened into fists at his sides. Rose wondered if she was about to see Phil violently thrown out the gate.

“Back off, Tommy,” the other guard interrupted just as Phil was preparing to say something, “the Don himself just called and said to let him through.” Rose blinked and turned around to look out at the Manor. Sure enough, she saw her father standing before one of great second-story windows. He was holding something to his ear, but at that distance she could only deduce that it was probably a phone. She saw him wave to her, but she didn’t wave back. She only tilted her head backwards slightly, her method of acknowledging the motion. He placed something to his face, and she realized he had been watching for her arrival with his bird-watching binoculars. She wouldn’t risk a smile, not here; she’d have to apologize to him later.

She turned back to see the guard, Tommy, closing the gate, and Phil on the inside of it. She resisted the urge to cringe, as the sight of him on this side of the gate told her one thing only: she’d have to put up with him for even longer.

Phil seemed to have instantly returned to his congenial self, and he reached a hand out to the guard. “No hard feelings?” he asked. Tommy glanced at his hand as though wondering if it was hiding a snake in the sleeve, then slowly accepted it. Phil smiled and held the man’s hand for a brief moment. Rose suspected that some silent communication had just passed between the two, but whether it was friendly or not she couldn’t say.

“Well then,” Phil stated as he turned to her, “shall we go say hi to your pa?”


Writer's Block

Character Detail: Rose

Full Name:

Rose Aiolfi
Age:

21
Birthday:

August 16
Height:

155.02 cm (approximately 5' 1")

Rose, in and of herself, is the center-point of this story. In mid-January of 2007, I was surfing the web for random images when I came upon this wonderful anime-style, bust-image of a young woman in a black wedding dress. I was temporarily obsessed with the image, and from it I devised the character of Rose. The story of Rose is based solely on ideas elicited from that picture. I later learned that the image was a fan-art of a character named 'Kurai' from an anime called 'Angel Sanctuary.' I know nothing of this character and made no attempt to learn for fear that doing so would distort my image of Rose.

Rose's first name was derived from the fact that Kurai in the picture was holding a rose, and the flower suited the character very well. To further press the nature of Rose's personality, I sought out a suitable last name as well. I eventually settled upon Aiolfi.

The name 'Aiolfi' literally means 'Son of Aiolfo.' However, the roots of the word are Germanic and come from a pair of words: 'agil' and 'wulf.' 'Agil' means sword and 'wulf' means wolf. Although it's not entirely accurate, I prefer to think that Rose's full name can be translated to meaning 'Rose of the Sword' or 'Rose of Wolves.' This, of course, was intended to reflect her aggressive and fiery nature.