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Arlecchino smoothly stepped out of her stark white limousine and swaggered past the security guard. The short man shuffled in place nervously when she looked at him.
Today was going to be an excellent day. Arecchino chuckled to herself. Today was already an excellent day, and it was about to get even better. The negotiations for the dowry went smoothly, and now all that was left was to meet her future wife.
Pierro insisted that they meet before marriage, of course, and he’d told her that Columbina would get the final say in the matter.
And she knew this. She did. Columbina had to marry someone per her family’s tradition, but it didn’t necessarily need to be Arlecchino.
She was going to make sure it was her though. She knew it deep in her bones. Everything else was already arranged and she was riding sky high with satisfaction. That out of every other candidate who had surely reached out, it was she who was spoken to first.
She was to meet Columbina in the garden, and before stepping out, she adjusted her necktie. It wasn’t quite centered and she would need absolutely everything to be perfect if she wanted to catch the eye of someone so prestigious.
Everything needed to be perfect. Everything was perfect- is perfect . And nothing was going to stand in her way.
She stepped out into the gentle sunlight of the late morning and set out to locate her bride-to-be. Supposedly almost nobody was to directly disturb them, such that she wouldn’t even get a guide for the spacious grounds.
She wasn’t stupid though. Of course not. There were certainly eyes on her at all times. Pierro would spare no expense in keeping his daughter safe.
Their actual meeting was set to brunch in about thirty minutes, so she had until then to find her date. She wondered if this was some test set up by Columbina. She had to hide her predatory smile at the thought.
She would best whatever exam this was with flying colors.
Another minute or so of walking, and she came upon what appeared to be a hedge maze.
Bingo .
This was it. She was certain. At the center of these carefully manicured bushes was her brunch and a supposedly excessively pretty woman.
Arlecchino set out and quickly found the entrance. The maze itself was hardly complicated. The hedge was trimmed at just the right size that she couldn’t see over it even if she jumped with her considerable height. That aside though, it seemed to be a relatively guided path, with only a few dead ends and wrong turns available. She ended up going in a circle once, before she realized it, but otherwise she was soon on the other end.
Before her was a small clearing with a gazebo in the center. A small moat of water with a decorative bridge surrounded the gazebo, leaving a quiet, soothing sound of running water at all times.
This was probably an excellent place to relax.
But now was not the time for that! Sitting in the gazebo was her quarry. Probably. Her wife-to-be was not often in the spotlight, and the only image Arlecchino had to go off of was from nearly a year ago. A contraband photo taken at a gala where Columbina had performed the piano. Rumor has it she’d supposedly literally unseated the pianist and then shown him up by playing the same piece of music as him forwards and then backwards.
That was the one image she’d ever seen of Columbina. A beautiful woman smiling as she played across a keyboard.
She’d had incredibly long hair then, and she had incredibly long hair now. Albeit, the Columbina in front of her now had long locks of purple highlights in her hair and didn’t look nearly as pale as she had on the piano. Maybe it was the lighting, or makeup?
Well, it was probably her.
So Arlecchino put on a winning smile. Suave, but not too much. She didn’t want to appear arrogant (She was).
She took her time stepping past the bridge and up the stairs into the cool shade offered by the gazebo. As her shoes made their first clack against the stone Columbina hummed and shifted in her seat.
“Sir Arlecchino, I would presume,” the woman said.
Arlecchino bowed, “The very same, my lady.”
Arlecchino smirked. Sir. This woman had done her research, to know of the unofficial title given to her by her colleagues. She would need to be careful.
When Arlecchino stood straight, she noticed that Columbina was not yet looking at her, simply taking a sip of her tea and continuing on.
Arlecchino then chose to approach closer, somewhat confused. It was often customary at these such meetings to exchange a bow or curtsy with their greeting. She’d done her reading on these old traditions.
Then again. Old traditions would dictate that they have an escort to ensure nothing sexual occurred between them, so Arlecchino’s base of understanding wasn’t exactly accurate.
It was made clear as she grew close. Columbina wore a mask of near translucent silk over her eyes, allowing Arlecchino to see her long lashes- and closed eyes. Perhaps there was more to this woman than meets the eye.
Perhaps why Pierro had made her sign an NDA regarding Columbina and their meeting today.
She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by the short woman.
“Do you wear a tie today, Arlecchino?” Columbina asked.
She was blind.
Arlecchino let her carefully controlled facade slip a little. She couldn’t help it really. This changed many things. She smiled, contemplating what all to say, for it would be her words and not her looks that won the day today.
Firstly, the next thing was simple. Answer the question.
“I do,” She said.
Columbina finally seemed to acknowledge her, turning shortly and smoothly standing to her feet.
The woman held out her hand, “May I take your hand? Please stand still.”
Arlecchino didn’t think much of it, that her wife-to-be was holding her hand. Surely they’d get up to much more at a later time. But then Columbina was close and her hands (plural) were both slowly trailing up the taller woman’s arm. They stopped at her biceps, and Columbina fit both her hands around the thickest part and gave a soft squeeze. Her hands were hardly close to being able to wrap completely around Arlecchino’s bicep.
Columbina let out a quiet, nondescript hum. Alrecchino wondered whether that was a good sign. Columbina seemed to be getting a feel for her. Perhaps what she looked like in the broad strokes. How tall she was. Her body shape. That kind of thing.
No matter. She’d abide by this small woman’s desire.
Columbina moved quickly from her arm, until she was feeling at her jawline, taking in the shape of her face. Arlecchino had to close her eyes when small fingers poked at her. Columbina gave out a huff- and, yeah that was definitely a bad sign.
One hand trailed lower, tracing the shape of her neck, before reaching her collar. Then, without warning Columbina’s grip turned fierce, forcefully tugging at Arlecchino’s tie until her head had made the foot of distance between the bottom of her chin and the top of Columbina’s head. They were eye to eye now, and Arlecchino was uncomfortably hunched over.
Columbina opened her eyes, and through the silk Arlecchino was stunned speechless. This woman was going to kill her. How was she to make pretty words with someone so beautiful nearby. Up so close, Arlecchino was able to see the perfection of her complexion. Her soft cheeks and full lips. The eye contact was almost too much for her, but even though she knew Columbina couldn’t see her, she refused to look away.
Columbina spoke, “You’re very tall,” was all she said before pulling away.
Then, like nothing had ever happened she moved back to her chair and sat down again.
It took her a moment to recover, and during that short time, she sat down at the table across from Columbina. A quiet breathe later, to calm her skewed mind, and she was back to normal. She had work to do after all.
She needed to treat this like an interview. Well, that’s what this was anyway. A marriage interview. She needed to pass whatever criteria was set by Columbina. She was, perhaps, already failing. Too tall.
She would need to impress in other ways then, since it seemed as if her looks were lacking.
“Did you meet Julian at the front gate?” Columbina asked suddenly.
Arlecchino could only assume that she was referring to the security guard. There had been nobody else at the gate to greet her when she’d arrived.
“The security?” Arlecchino asked.
Columbina blessed her with a happy smile, “The same. He’s very entertaining. You should ask him about the rose bush sometime,” Columbina then leaned forward, “Tell me about yourself.”
The fabled question. She could give the cop-out answer, “What would you like to know,” but that was weakness.
Arlecchino mimicked her pose, leaning forward with her hands together and chin resting on her knuckles.
“I doubt you’d much care for my favorite color. It’s red, by the way,” the petite woman chuckled, “I’m a retired military veteran turned business woman. My company manufactures clothing for children. Shoes, shirts, shorts- you name it . I volunteer at an orphanage in my free time.”
“And I’m sure you kiss babies for the camera too,” Columbina said.
A joke perhaps?
“Only if there are any,” Arlecchino replied, “They get scooped up rather quickly by parents looking to adopt, you see.”
That seemed to amuse Columbina, for she smiled.
She then returned the favor, “I like playing piano, and will sing as well, if the mood strikes me. I enjoy listening to birdsong, and therefore wake up early to take my breakfast outside. I don’t much like liars.”
Columbina stopped to take a sip of her tea. She made a bit of a face, and Arlecchino wondered if it had gone cold.
“Do you think I’ve lied to you today?” She asked.
Columbina giggled at that, “No. Hardly. My father on the other hand…” She sighed dramatically, “He assured me that you would be a safe and stable pick. ‘A rather boring and predictable person,’ he said. Of course, I did my research after that. I’m not interested in being bored.”
“I’m assuming I passed then, if I’m meeting you here today.”
Columbina poured her cup of tea out onto the stone below the table, “I like you very much. You’re someone who can… keep me safe. An intelligence officer, was it? Do you still work for the government on the sly then?”
Arlecchino laughed then. She was now running on the assumption that this unassuming woman probably knew much more than she let on. No lying though. Right.
But a joke would suffice.
“That’s classified.”
Columbina laughed, “Yes I like you. I like you very much,” she scooted her chair back and stood, “The tea leaves much to be desired, but how about a walk? Let me take your arm and I’ll show you my favorite places in the garden. We can walk and talk.”
It was as if a weight had fallen off of her shoulders in the moment. It would seem that she passed.
“Very well, My Lady,” She said, quickly getting into position next to her fiance, “Where to first?”
Columbina leaned her head against Arlecchino’s arm and hummed. She’d be a liar if she said that her heart didn’t leap into her throat.
“Well first I’ll need to guide you back through the maze. I know the way by heart, and I’m sure you would get us turned around,” the small woman said.
Arlecchino laughed again, uncertain of why this woman was bringing so much feeling to the surface.
“Lead the way then.”
+++++++++++
When Arlecchino left through the front doors of the mansion, she was no longer able to suppress her grin. This was to be a permanent assignment for her and she couldn't possibly be more happy with her lot. Pierro (and by extension Columbina) had numerous social connections that would allow her to schmooze with the richest of the rich. The Old Money kind of rich who all knew each other and often collaborated in not so licit activities.
In her elation, she almost forgot to stop at the gate and speak with the security guard.
“Julian, was it?” She asked.
The nervous guard from before paled at her recognition.
“Y-yes ma’am?”
“Tell me about the rose bushes.”
The poor man looked sick. He stuttered through a couple of apologies but couldn’t seem to get it together enough to talk.
Perhaps Columbina’s idea of fun was not so pure as her appearance