Will edged his way into another of the narrow alleyways. He'd discovered, on his travels, that it was usually advantagious to go around and learn whatever he could in each new town he came to, and crowded Euro could offer a lot to learn. He'd already found some hints of things he wanted to follow up on…

Glancing through the doorway of another small dwelling, he found himself facing a painting hanging on the opposite wall. It depicted an attractive young woman with blond curls and a slightly sad smile. She seemed to be watching him.

A man, one of the inhabitants of the house, saw him looking. "That's a family heirloom, you know," the man told him. "There's a tragic story behind it, too."

"Is there?" Will asked. He suspected he knew what was coming.

The man nodded. "The woman was going to be married. Her parents commissioned the painting just before the wedding. But right after that, she disappeared. No one ever learned what happened to her. It's still a mystery."

Will stared back at the painting as the man, satisfied that he'd impressed him, turned back to whatever he was doing. A moment later, Will felt someone else come up beside him, and a voice spoke, nearly in his ear.

"He was telling you the story of the painting, I suppose?" It was an old woman. Will nodded to her. She looked contemplatively back at the image of the lost bride. "I remember when that happened. It was years ago, when I was younger." She was silent for a moment, musing. "All of us were so happy and excited, preparing for the wedding, but I thought that the painter looked sad. It was almost as if what he did made him unhappy, even though he was such a great artist." She shrugged. "If I recall right, he was traveling in search of work, and moved on again soon afterward. I don't think I've heard of any more recent works of his, though. Sometimes I wonder what became of him." She gazed at the painting, lost in thought.

"It's all a sad story," Will agreed quietly. After a moment, he slipped back out of the house to continue his exploration of the city.