Free Rein

|Chapter Five|

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-Milan, Italy-
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"Welcome to Castello Sforzesco," the woman said in Italian. "You are free to wander around wherever, but please know there are security guards all around." The woman handed them pamphlets, and then smiled.

"Grazie," said Tris, then nodded at her.

Four and Tris began to wander the halls that seemed infinite.

When they reached a big, square, patch outside that was coated with tile, Tris said, "Sala della Balla."

Four raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "Translate, please?"

"The ballroom." She walked around a little since no one else was out here. No one probably read the pamphlet or even knew what this little patch was. "Galeazzo Maria was Francesco Sforza's first-born, so he inherited everything. He often used this ballroom for what we know today as tennis."

Tris continued on rambling just like a tour guide as they walked through the castle.

"So," Four said, "I know you said 'grazie' to the woman who handed us the pamphlets, but what did you say to the old Italian man at the Duomo? I know you didn't just say thank you."

"I said, 'This is so nice, thank you very much. I will keep this forever.' Satisfied?"

He shrugged. "I was just wondering. No need to get your winklepickers in a twist."

Tris chuckled. "You..." She shook her head.

"I... what?"

"I don't know. You're just quirky and weird. But it's funny." Tris pulled out the disposable camera from her drawstring bag and snapped a picture of one of the frescoes. Then she turned it to Four and snapped a picture real quick. He was quick to tell, though, so he crossed his eyes and made fish-lips.

Tris laughed a beautiful laugh. She wondered if he thought it was beautiful. If it was more beautiful than the Paris lights, than the Duomo's spires, than Sforza ballroom, and maybe even more beautiful than London. Tris thought Four was an attractive man; she did. And his accent even more.

She must have been looking at the picture for awhile, because Four said, "What, are you going to hog it all to yourself?" He snatched it out of her hands and snapped one of her. All she did was smile, showing no teeth. She didn't even mean to give a good smile, but since she was laughing, it was a real smile, not a picture forced one. She still had her sunglasses on, so he wouldn't have been able to see the happiness in her eyes.

But it was there. It was most certainly there.

Four grinned at the picture, then put the camera in his pocket. "I think I'll be keeping this for now."

"Four!" she whined. "Give it."

"Technically it's mine. I bought it."

She sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

"Shall we get to the mall?"

"You say mall funny," she giggled. "It sounds like 'mool."

"Not as weird as aluminium though, right?"

They ended up at the mall about thirty minutes later, then found the four sets of tiles.

Tris happily gazed at them. They first went to Florence's lily, Milan's white flag with the red cross, Rome's wolf, and lastly Turin's bull.

Tris put her tiptoe on the worn out divot, then spun. When she was done, she smiled.

"What are you doing?" Four asked.

"It's good luck to spin on the bull."

"So... To 'The Last Supper' then?"

"Not until you do it."

"Tris."

"Four, just do it. What harm can it do?"

He mumbled something, then spun on it. When he was done, his was dizzy. He almost ran into her, but she steadied him by grabbing his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" she laughed.

He shook his head, as if to shake the dizziness away. "Yeah. I'm good."

"Let's go eat our last supper," Tris said, snickering.

"You did not just say that," he chuckled.

"Well you're laughing, aren't you?"

When they arrived, the wait was two and a half hours, which was better than they expected.

"So, what do you want to do in Florence at 3 A.M. in the morning?"

"Well first I want to walk the Lungarno. The Lungarno is a river there, and they have a beautiful pathway along it. During the walk, I want to eat some gelato."

"That's it?" he asked.

"I'm a simple woman," she chuckled.

He laughed.

Tris and Four made it to "The Last Supper" at 7:45 P.M., and it ended up taking three and a half hours to get there, not two, but it was definitely worth it. There was zero photography permitted, and they only got five minutes to look at it. Tris was somewhat disappointed, but glad she got to see it.

At 11 o'clock, they were headed back to the train because it left at 11:17. Tris handed the man the ticket, and she boarded the train to Florence.

"Departing at 11:17 P.M., we are headed for Florence, Italy."

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I am so sorry, guys. I forgot to post this chapter on Sunday. It completely slipped my mind.