Chapter 22

Elliott was handed a whip as he entered the Campo on Arcangelo; the jockeys came in through an arch under the Twin's stands. The start line was in the neutral zone that ran down from the Strada delle Stelle in the North.

Elliott moved to take his place at the beginning of the start line, opposite to the Judge's stand. Next to them was a man dressed in elegant robes holding what looked like a very big trumpet but was probably some sort of ancient megaphone. Looking up he could also see the Smythes and all their special guests. He spotted Sebastian first. He was seated at the left side of his father with Beatrice by his side. Next to them were Kurt, Blaine and Doctor Lombardi. They all were looking at the Campo with worried expressions. Elliott knew that they were probably wondering what had happened to Carlo and what was he doing there when he was supposed to-

"Shit!" Elliott exclaimed. With all the excitement about the race he had completely forgotten about Marcus and the fact that he had to be in the other world to receive him. They didn't know where the talisman was going to take him and, although Elliott had tried to give Marcus a series of detailed instructions in case the talisman took him right in the middle of Times Square, the chances that Marcus appeared directly in Elliott's apartment were very few.

But there was no time to worry about it because after two false starts, the race was suddenly starting and Elliott had no time to worry about anything except for the fact that he had to stay on the horse and do his best to win.

The jockey from the Fish immediately put on a spurt to get out of Elliott's way so that he had to ride on the inner rail behind him, but the jockey from the Lioness quickly pushed the other jockey and blocked him.

It had been a chaotic start and Elliott didn't even know who was leading and who was the last one, so he concentrated on the path and stopped worrying about the other jockeys. They probably had years of experience with these kinds of races, but Elliott was not intimidated. He was going to ride until the end. Arcangelo was a fast horse after all, and he could win.

He pulled up on the others and as they finished the first lap, he was lying sixth, with a knot of other horses and jockeys. Somewhere in his brain he knew that he had passed the people from the Ram and the other in the Twins' grandstand. He had completed one whole sun-wise circuit of the Campo, racing past every sector of the city, Dukes and Princes, butchers and bakers were all one blur to him. Elliott was unaware of everything and everyone except his horse and his fellow riders.

They were galloping out on the second circuit when one single voice pierced through the shouting of the crowd. "The Ram's luck returns!"

Elliott knew the voice was Cesare's at the same moment that he heard wings. Jockeys wavered and slowed just fractionally and Arcangelo was lying third, behind the Water-Carrier and the Twins, as they all swept past the start line again and started on the last lap.

"Don't look up." Elliott murmured to himself, gritting his teeth as he heard the crowd crying out with a single voice.

"Don't look up." He whispered again. He was just head to head with the Twins' jockey, who was raising his whip to push his horse to move faster, but it fell uselessly to the ground. Elliott had just time to see him make the hand of fortune and turn white before he raced past him, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the finishing line.

He passed it and, as he slowed Arcangelo, he took a deep breath not quite believing what he had done. He had won. Won for the Ram. But there was no cheering or celebration. All was eerily silent. It was as if suddenly time had stopped. Everyone was looking up at the central column of the Campo.

There, up in the pinnacle, were Carlo and Merla, tying a scarf with the colors of the Ram.

"Victory for the Ram!" Carlo exclaimed.

The whole Campo burst into life, and the cheering began.

o-o-o-o-o

Kurt and Blaine arrived panting to the Ram. After the race ended and Rinaldo had to give Elliott the victory banner, they tried to get to the Ram immediately, unfortunately, as the Princes of the Kingdom, they found themselves being delayed by every passing-by Remoran who wanted to have the chance to at least exchange a smile with them.

"Where's our jockey?" Blaine asked as soon as they made their way inside Cesare's house. The place was all packed with people from all the sectors—except the Fish and the Twins. All around the house torches blazed, the manoush set the mood for celebration with beautiful songs, and drums pounded celebrating the victory of the Ram.

"He's resting." Carlo immediately said, greeting them and ushering them to one side of the house. There were people everywhere. Twelvers were desperate to pat and stroke Arcangelo, the winner horse, but also Merla—the miraculous secret weapon of the Ram. "After we came back from thanking the Lady for the victory he went to his room to rest." He winked.

"So he went back." Kurt said.

"Yes, he said he would be back as soon as you-know-who was safe and sound in his apartment. People won't notice his absence. With the celebration and all, people will be drunk in less than it takes to say Stellata."

"Where were you? What happened?" Blaine asked, seizing the opportunity. "We heard you went missing after the selection race."

"I was kidnapped," Carlo confessed, "it was Rinaldo. He must have feared I could win even without Merla, but I managed to escape and when I was on my way out I found Merla. She was in the same place where they had me."

"I'm so glad you're okay." Kurt said, hugging him tightly. "We were so worried. When we saw Elliott in your place we thought the worst. We knew he was not supposed to be here, so it only meant that something bad had happened to you."

"They didn't hurt me, but I was worried about the Stellata. I'm glad father has asked Elliott to run in my place. He is a very good jockey. That much he proved tonight, right?"

"That he is." Kurt and Blaine agreed.

"We will stay to get a drink with all of you, but then we will head back to the palace. We have to go see our family in the other world and we can't stay much. You know what's going to happen tomorrow."

"How long is it going to take?" Carlo asked.

"If he took the potion at the time we agreed, then by this time tomorrow he's going to be dead. But the servants will certainly find him unconscious in the morning and we have to be there and show our support to the Smythes. We don't want to raise any suspicion."

"Of course," Carlo said, "then let's go inside. Father is opening our best bottles of wine. It's time for celebration. After all it's been 10 years since the Ram won the Stellata. Plus, Merla is back, so now everything will be fine. It has to be."

o-o-o-o-o

Kurt and Blaine returned to the Smythe's palace late at night. Since the Twins hadn't won the race the entire palace was in complete silence, only a couple of servants were waiting for them by the door. It was a striking contrast to what was happening back in the Ram.

"Goodnight, Your Highnesses." The servants acknowledged them. "Is there something that you might need?"

"No, we're fine. Thank you." Blaine said. "We'll just go to our chambers and rest. It was a very long day."

"Have a great night, Your Highnesses."

Kurt and Blaine walked in silence to their room and found Sebastian waiting for them outside the door. He had his eyes closed and was resting his head against the wall.

"Sebastian…" Kurt whispered.

"Oh, hello, I'm glad you're back. I didn't know how long it was going to take you." He said. He looked as tired as they felt.

"Have you...?" Blaine asked tentatively, not daring to finish the question.

"No, I promised him I would wait until tomorrow. Do you know anything about him?"

Kurt and Blaine shook their heads at the same time.

"Carlo told us that they would send a letter to the palace as soon as they knew anything. We told him to send it to you." Kurt said.

"Okay, then I'll have my personal servant guarding the entrances of the palace all night long."

"Just the North one," Blaine added, "we told them to enter using that one."

"Okay, then I'll better go inform him. I don't want father intercepting the letter. He's pissed with what happened in the Stellata, so if he finds out messengers from the Ram are coming late at night to deliver letters he's going to lose it."

"How do you think he takes...well, what's going to happen to Marcus?"

"Bad." Sebastian said. "He's always loved Marcus the most, I'm sure that if my brother had never had that accident, he would have been his favorite."

Kurt and Blaine shared a look.

"But don't worry, everything will be fine." Sebastian said. "I'm sure of it."

"If you say so…" Blaine whispered.

"Now, go and rest...tomorrow things are going to be complicated around here." Sebastian said.

"We will. Goodnight, Sebastian." Kurt and Blaine said, entering their chambers and closing the door behind them. Now they had to get ready to travel to the other world. At what point their lives had become so complicated?

o-o-o-o-o

Carlo was pacing around his room. It was way past midnight and Elliott still hadn't returned. Most of their guests had already left and now the house was in some sort of peaceful silence. Carlo was tired with all the emotions of the day, but he couldn't just go to sleep. He was worried about Elliott and what had happened with Marcus, but time seemed to pass and his friend was nowhere in sight.

"Carlo." Elliott whispered, suddenly materializing in the room.

"Oh, thank heavens you're back. I was sick worried about you. Is Marcus alright? Please tell me he's fine." Carlo said, approaching his friend and taking a seat next to him.

"Yes, he's fine. We were lucky and the talisman took him to a park that's just around the corner from my house, so he did what I asked him to and someone helped him get to my building. By the time I arrived home, he was waiting for me at the stairs."

"How did he take it? Was he okay?"

"He was a bit stressed before I arrived, but when he saw me, he kind of relaxed. I took him to my apartment, now our apartment, and explained to him what had happened here. He was surprised to hear about your kidnapping and Merla's. I think that deep down he's still hoping for his father to be a better man."

"That's not going to happen."

"Agree...but anyway, after that we had to take care of the talisman so we went to the Hudson and threw it there."

"The Hudson?"

"It's a river...I bought him a used wheelchair a few days ago so we moved around pretty easily. He's loving it so far. Then, I took him back to the apartment and after we had breakfast I asked him to help me fall asleep. He told me some weird story of knights and treasures, I think he could be a good writer."

"I'm glad he's fine. We have to send Sebastian a letter. Kurt and Blaine arrived after you left and asked me to inform them about Marcus' arrival. They are traveling to your world tonight to see Kurt's family, so they said that it was probably better if the letter was addressed to Sebastian. He'll take care of letting them know."

"Okay," Elliott said, "and then I'm heading back. I want to be there with Marcus. He says he's fine, but I know he's not. I mean, who would be? I remember the first time I arrived here...I was terrified. Now imagine him in a world so ahead of time. I know he likes it, but he's scared of it too."

"Okay, then let's hurry. You write the letter and I'll go wake some messenger, okay?"

Elliott nodded and grabbed a piece of parchment, quickly scribbling Sebastian's name.

o-o-o-o-o

Back in Kurt's old world things were not so joyful. When Kurt and Blaine stepped into the hospital they found Reg, the social worker, speaking with Burt and Carole in hushed voices. As soon as they approached them Kurt noticed they way Carole shifted uncomfortably in her seat and asked Reg to, "talk about it later."

The social worker just nodded and after greeting them quickly with a handshake, walked away.

"What was all that about?" Kurt asked his parents.

"Nothing," Burt quickly said, "just the same thing we talked yesterday."

"So, does Finn have a living will?" Blaine asked.

Burt nodded but didn't elaborate.

"Today we can't stay much," Kurt informed them, "some things are happening back home and we will probably be required very early in the morning."

"It's okay," Burt said, smiling at them, "but you should go see Elle then. She's so much better today, but feeding her when you are not around is quite the challenge."

Kurt and Blaine smiled.

"Then, we will be right back, okay?" Kurt said to his dad and Carole.

"Take your time." Burt said.

Blaine took Kurt's hand and together they walked toward the elevator. Once they were far from earshot, Kurt asked. "They were acting weird, weren't they?"

"They were." Blaine agreed, while the doors of the elevator closed behind them.

o-o-o-o-o

When a scrawny messenger arrived to the palace, Silvano, Sebastian's personal servant, immediately approached him to get the letter his master had been waiting, but the man refused to deliver it to him; he had instructions to deliver it only to Sebastian Smythe.

"I'm his personal servant." Silvano argued.

"And I'm the next in line for the throne." The messenger said.

"Okay, if you don't believe me that's fine. Just follow me, my master has been waiting for your letter all night."

The two men walked in silence through the deserted halls of the palace until they reached the Young Smythe's chambers. Sebastian was awake waiting in the balcony.

"Is this the letter from the Ram?" Sebastian asked impatiently.

"Yes, Your Excellency. Young Lord Montalbano asked me to give you this in hand." The messenger said.

Sebastian took the letter and ripped it open, quickly reading its content.

"Dear, Sebastian. Our shared friend is fine. I'll share with you all the details later, but know that everything is under control. He's happy and although he's still a bit shocked with all the differences between here and there, he's fine. He sends his regards. I'll see you later. I'll try to sneak to your room later. Greetings, E.G."

Sebastian exhaled relieved. "Please Silvano, give this young man some coins for his service. You can both go now." He said.

"As you order, Your Excellency." The two men said.

Sebastian burned the letter until it turned into ashes and finally lay down in bed to sleep. Knowing that his brother was fine and happy had filled him with a feeling of peace that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

o-o-o-o-o

Kurt and Blaine spent the rest of the day with Elle. With the nurses there with them all the time, they almost didn't have a chance to talk about what was happening back in their world and not knowing if Marcus' translation had gone according to plan was killing them.

"I should have asked Elliott his phone number." Kurt said, when they walked out of Elle's room. The day was slipping away and they had to head back. "We could have called him from here and asked him about Marcus."

"How come we didn't think of that before?" Blaine questioned. "Make sure to ask him as soon as we get the chance to see him. It's always good to have a way to contact them just in case. And I've been wanting to ask you, my love. Don't you think we should share what we did with your dad? I don't know, just in case Elliott and Marcus need something?"

"I thought about it," Kurt admitted, "but I don't think that right now that's a good idea. I mean, my dad has a lot on his plate, maybe later..."

"You're right." Blaine said, calling the elevator.

They were heading back to the ICU. They wanted to see Finn before going back home. It was getting late and although they'd rather stay with their family, they knew that another tragedy was waiting for them on the other side.

"I can't wait for this nightmare to be over." Kurt whispered, resting his head on his husband's shoulder.

"Neither can I, my love...neither can I."

o-o-o-o-o

After Kurt and Blaine left, Carole went to the hospital's chapel and stayed there for almost an hour. When she finally emerged, she found her husband waiting for her in the set of chairs placed outside the room.

"The doctor came." Burt said. "We can't visit Finn again tonight. They will be running some tests. Apparently, he's not responding as they wanted to the new treatment. so they will be trying something different during the night."

Carole nodded and took a seat next to her husband.

"You want another coffee or something to eat, honey?" Burt asked.

Carole shook her head. "No...I'm fine. Thank you."

Burt gave her a soft smile and they both stayed silent for some minutes.

"Burt…" Carole said.

"What is it, honey?"

"I just want you to know that if my son dies, I'm going to respect his last will."

"Honey, let's not talk about this right now, okay? He's still with us."

"I know, but it's something I wanted you to know."

"Okay…" Burt said, grabbing her hand, "I don't know what to say, but I'll respect whatever you want to do."

"Thank you." Carole whispered.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about future scenarios right now, but the social worker had been very clear. Finn's opportunities to recover were few and she had to be prepared for whatever outcome this situation could have, even if that broke her heart.

So this is it for now. Some announcements first... As you already know, I'm finding really hard to keep updating this story due to the lack of interaction, feedback and so on, but I have decided to continue posting it anyway. I'm kind of proud of this world and I want to give it a nice ending. We still have 11 chapters to go + the epilogue so this is what I'm going to do: we will have 5 updates that will be posted every Friday from now on. The first update will have three chapters (CH23-CH25) and the other four just two chapters. Finally, the last update (CH32 and CH33) will include the epilogue.

So that's what's going to happen with this story. All of you who are still reading it and supporting my writing, THANK YOU. You're the ones who keep me motivated.

Anyway, see you next friday!