The Guardians Ch. 02

"Since when did you develop a sense of style Ella?" Ben had mused.

"Oh, here and there. I'm not blind to fashion you know. I shared a room with the prom queen if you don't remember," she replied. Slipping her arms into his, Ella felt a rush of warmth in her that beat the dimness of the cold weather.

The taxi driver had dropped them off at the Palatine Gallery, one of the more important museums housed in the Pitti Palace.

"This is unbelievable Ben… look at its 15^th century architecture- the frescoed walls, damask covered walls… oh my… the ceiling is so elaborately painted!" Ella exclaimed the moment they got inside.

"Ah yes…I remembered… This palace belongs to the Medici family… and I'm sure you would be glad to know that it houses some of the most famous masterpieces by Rubens, Titian and even Raphael. If that brain of yours had a better memory, I'm sure you would recall that I covered this in lecture…"

"Oh shush!"

Walking down the aisle of the museum, Ella had been enchanted by the intricate works of art. Ben smiled at her fascination. He had been in Italy during the 1400s, as a philosopher and had experienced first hand the works of the Renaissance and later the onslaught of the Black Death… Ben closed his eyes to try and dispel the memories. Adrian had reigned far and wide; killing so many with his famine and disease…

In his dazed state, he had not noticed that Ella had wandered by herself into a side chamber that was closed for an auction being carried out later that evening. She had always been a curious one and she had wanted to see which paintings were being put up for auctions- were they not important enough to be placed in a museum for all to see? She had wondered.

A painting in bold vermillion colours stood in the middle of the row and caught her attention. Seeing no guards around, Ella had moved closer to take a look. The paintings were stored behind a glass wall so she could only see from a foot away.

There were four horsemen… but it was the one, painted in the light that caught her eye. He was riding a beautiful white stallion and held a bow. Was he a prince? He was wearing a crown. Ella leaned closer to look at his face. She couldn't see it very clearly but in the painting, he was the only one wearing no robes; his body sculpted and well defined, like that of a warrior.

There was something frightening yet powerful about this painting. The last rider had no face but was a skull and wore a white robe, covering from head to toe like that of a middle eastern woman. She didn't think this rider was a man for it was painted so lithe and graceful like that of a woman. This particular rider was shrouded in darkness and was pulling behind it the souls of the dead. Death and Valour in the same painting.

Looking down to the title of the painting, Ella almost jumped in surprise. It was an oil painting of the four horsemen of apocalypse… but this was not a Dürer. It was at that moment that she realized that she needed to find Dürer's work. She had just thought of something and was eager to piece the puzzles in her head.

When she turned to leave the room, she had spotted Ben, walking towards her.

"Ella! Please don't do that again. What if you had gotten lost? Oh my god… I was so worried about you…" his voice trailed off as he stared at the painting behind her.

Ben had always mused about the paintings of many that have tried to envision him and his siblings. But this…

"Ella… let's go. Perhaps you would like to visit another museum?" Ben asked gently. Ella had grown quiet and was staring at him. He did not even notice that his eyes had become translucent again…

When he closed his eyes and opened them again to look at her, Ella was still looking at him.

"I have always wanted to ask you something… but… I don't know if I should… but Ben… sometimes your eyes… they just look different… like, not normal…" she said. When he kept quiet, Ella continued, "At times they reflect so much light I feel blinded by them… and twice have I seen your irises disappear Ben… I don't want to keep telling myself I'm hallucinating but maybe…" her words were interrupted by a guard who had heard noises and had come to investigate.

"Hey you! This section is closed! Get out!" he shouted to them in Italian.

"I'm sorry signor, we're leaving now. I'm sorry we got lost…" Ella shouted back, trying to give him a sweet smile.

Leaving the museum, Ella told Ben that she wanted to go the library but suggested that he go home and rest. She was concerned about his strange eyes and thought maybe he had some sort of illness.

"Such innocence," Aqurico said the moment Ben returned to his spirit form. Something about the painting recharged his strength such that he was able to change form again.

Following her, the two spirits continued talking.

"I've never been this careless with anyone…" Ben had muttered as they followed her to the library.

"You've begun to choose more personal vocations Abben. First as Annabella's best friend and now her daughter's lover? I would have thought you to have the most sense amongst us all!" his brother replied.

"I had intended to be Anna's classmate and Ella's teacher. But it's not always so easy… These humans…"

"These humans are what we were Abben… Unlike you, I cannot read minds. I can only sense her emotions; Adrian her health and Aurora, her end. That is why we agreed that you take human form and guard the women by her side. But she is piecing together some things Abben… have you not known? Or were you too weak to know?"

"Aqurico… that's enough. I will not be spoken to like that. I summoned you here because I am not sure of the extent of my strength yet and might need your help. So please… my brother…" Ben had pleaded. He had watched Ella pile books on the table in front of her.

She had flipped through them for a while before the shout in her mind rang loud and clear in both her guardians' head.

"Dante! Now I remembered where I've seen that woodcut printing! Oh I must return home soon and find it! Wait… why did Papa put the printing of the apocalypse in the Divina Commedia?"Ella thought to herself.

"Because who else would have guarded him against the savage beasts in the Inferno and the desperate souls in Purgatory if not for us?" Aqurico said, smiling at his brother. He knew Ella could not hear him and had said so to spark anger in his brother.

"I will stop her if you think that is wise," said Ben.

"It is not I who holds the Crown of Judgement, Abben," Aqurico replied and vanished.

****

On their last day at Florence, Rafael told Ella that her grandmother would be meeting them at their hotel after they've checked out at twelve.

"Your Grandmamma has some errands she would like to do together before we leave," Rafael had said. Ella merely nodded as she was busy packing her things. Her father had bought quite a lot of goodies to be brought home and she was trying hard to squeeze them into her luggage.

The rain was tireless as it raged through the night and into the morning. The sky looked dark and gloomy; the streets were empty and the open markets were closed. Ella wondered what kind of errand her grandmother had in mind. Whatever it was, she just hoped that her boots were thick enough to keep her feet warm and dry in the winter's rain.

After checking out, they waited downstairs for her grandmother to arrive. Rafael had told Ella that Ben had some business to attend to and would meet them back home in New Jersey. Ella was a little disappointed but she kept her spirits up in anticipation for her grandmother's arrival.

She was shocked of course when she saw her grandmother step out from a Maserati Quattroporte sports sedan at the hotel foyer. She was imagining a horse carriage; hopeless romantic that she is.

"Wow," Ella said as Margaret gestured for them to hop in. Rafael had arranged their luggage in the trunk and had opened the door for Ella to get it.

"Mama, always in style as ever," he said when they were all settled in. Ella was amazed that her grandmother was still strong enough and certainly of a certain calibre to be behind such wheels!

"Where are we going Grandmamma?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough my child," was her reply.

*

10 minutes later….

Stepping out of the car, the three of them quickly ran towards the shelter of the church that stood before them.

"Welcome, Isabella, to the Chiesa di Santa Margherita de' Cerchi," Margaret said as she led Ella down towards the main hall.

"Papa…" Ella had turned to her father; fear in her eyes. Rafael tried to smile at her to reassure her but his emotions were holding him back. He could only look at her from far but would not go near the altar where Margaret had now brought Ella to.

"I'm here…" Ben had whispered to Rafael. He knew that this church brought much pain to Rafael. Nodding to acknowledge his presence, Rafael braved himself to sit at the nave chairs to wait for his daughter.

"Ella," he heard Margaret say. "This is the place where all the female descendants in our family formally undergo a ritual called the Affirmation; for the mother to declare in front of the Saints and the Virgin that this is her child. This is where our bodies will rest when our time on earth has come to and end."

"I thought… I thought Mama's grave was at San Miniato al Monte…"Ella said, feeling vaguely hurt.

"This is her burial grounds my dear and I will bring you there later my child… Ella… I see much fear in you. Please do not be. This saddens both your father and I greatly… for it should be your mother who is in my place now and I in hers…" Margaret said as she stroked Ella's soft cheek.

"Margaret…" a voice called out. Both the women turned to face a Priest who was smiling at them. "It is nice to see you here again. Is this the child of the late Annabella?"

"Yes, Father…"

"Then come with me my child," he smiled, ushering them to another part of the church. Ella figured that she would have to undergo another sort of Baptism to formally include her as a member of this Church. Though she felt lonely and scared, she was burning with questions, which she figured would have to be asked later. He had led her to a room where a painting of Madonna and Four Saints hung behind the pool holding the baptismal water.

The Priest had been gentle, as he guided her towards the water and when she was ready, immersed her. When she came out, he blessed her.

"Welcome, Isabella, daughter of Anicii, to our humble abode. Here within, lies your future resting place. Shall I bring you there Ella?" he asked her.

"Father, may I stay here with my Grandmother first?" Ella had asked instead.

The Priest merely smiled and said, "I will go and talk to your father and leave the two of you alone. Call me when you are ready, my child."

Ella watched him leave and turned towards the painting to look closer. The Saints looked familiar somewhat, as if she had seen them in another painting.

"Why did you bring me here only now Grandmamma?" Ella asked, without turning around; her eyes studying the Saint with the long blond hair.

"I am dying my child…and I had not been sure if I should bring you here… but then circumstances have changed and so I have."

"Grandmamma… oh… I'm sorry…" Ella turned and hugged her grandmother.

"Let's walk and visit your mother shall we? Perhaps you would call the priest for me?"

When Ella walked out of the room, Margaret looked at the painting and said, "She even recognizes you when you are in such a form."

A while later, the Priest had guided them down to the tombs where the bodies of the Anicii descendants were laid to rest in peace.

"And here… is the fair Annabella…" he said. The rain was still pelting down on them. Even with the umbrellas, Ella felt the cold seeping close to her skin. Ignoring it, she knelt down and said a prayer for her mother. She had never known the woman but loved her all the same. She saw among the names- Portinari, Anicii, Donati. Perhaps she would look them up later.

****

Back at her home after sending Ella and Rafael off at the airport, Margaret had leaned back against her sofa. Closing her eyes gently, she summoned for them. She knew she must not keep them too long and far away from Ella but she feared that her time was nearing.

"Abben… had you not come here four years ago, I would never have put myself through this… To be there at your child's affirmation, then her burial takes a lot out of a mother. And to tell your granddaughter at her affirmation of your impeding death… Ohhh…" the old woman began to sob.

Abben, Aqurico, Adrian and Aurora stood quiet in front of her. She was never allowed to summon them all at one time but she felt that her duty was done and her time has come. She had only known Abben all her life; he had been her horse groom until he left to study about the same time that Annabella left home for college. But after seeing Ella stare at the painting today, she understood that there had to be four of them, not just one always protecting her.

"Lady Margaret," called Aurora. "It is time."

Margaret remained crying as her revelation was told to her. She had never known that Abben was her guardian until Anna's birth but when she had died, he had returned; to tell her what he was; to reassure her that Ella would be safe.

****

Once they were home, Ella mentally made a note to do her research on two things- on the picture of the four horsemen in her father's copy of Divinia Commedia as well as find out who were those women whose names she had seen at the graves.

Her father had retreated to bed, weary from their long journey. Ella had kissed him goodnight. She watched him hobble up to his room- He was getting older, his health waning. Promising to herself to bring him to their physician at the end of the month, she then started to walk towards her father's study, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"I have to stop her," Ben said softly under his breath.

Ella opened the door slightly and found that it was Ben. She instantly smiled. Opening it fully, she let him in. Ben did not miss a beat. His lips met hers in a delightfully soft kiss.

"I've missed you," he said. Weaving his fingers through her hair, he bent down to kiss her again. It wasn't the urgent kisses that they had shared in her hotel bathroom the other night, but this was soft; flitting, as if trying to steal her breath while his tongue explored the recesses of her mouth.

"Ben… Papa is upstairs in his room. I don't think we should be kissing in his house like this…" Ella said, eventually pushing him away. "Why don't you accompany me to the study? I've got something in mind. I don't know… maybe you could help me."

"I think I'd rather help you in some other way," Ben said as his nose rubbed against her neck; his hands under her blouse, squeezing her breasts.

"Well… Mr Abben Martin… you are welcome to stay, but I will not allow you manhandling me like this!" her harsh warning, sent him reeling literally across the room. Leukós was temporarily parted from Ben's body as the force of her anger splitted his form. Ben was thankful that she had stormed towards the study and had not noticed a white stallion halfway across her living room or his translucent spirit rider.

"How the hell did that happen?" Ben yelled in his head.

"She's overpowering you somehow. Well… a millennium old Juliana in that body… possible…" Aqurico had replied.

"That's no Juliana alright. But I'll have to continue distracting her somehow. Adrian, can't you make her sick or something?"

"WHAT? I am the guardian of her health not the bringer of her death! That's Aurora's job."

"And of course, there's never any point asking me for help other than babysitting…" came Aurora's sharp voice.

"Okay, enough all of you," snapped Ben as he entered the study room. Ella was already looking at her father's copy of the Divinia Commedia. Beside it, lay a picture of the four of them.

"Who painted that?" he asked, as if he had never seen such a painting before in all his life.

"Oh? It's by Dürer. Haven't you heard of him?" Ella asked. She thought that he was the expert on all things medieval.

"I know who he is! But where did you get that!"

"Why are you raising your voice at me?" Ella snapped back.

"Yeah, why are you raising your voice at her?" Ben heard his siblings mock him.

"Enough!" he shouted at them but instead, his thoughts had been voiced out and Ella looked angrily at him.

"Fine. Get out! Get out! Or I will bring hell upon you. Out out out!!!" she yelled back and started pushing him out the door. Defeated and unsure of what future outbursts from her could do to him, he relented, watching her slam her house door at his face.

"Oh, that went well," Aurora sneered. She had materialised when Ben started walking a few blocks away from the Allegri's house. Ben was too flustered and annoyed to notice that the flowers were wilting as they walked past them.

Back in her study, Ella had given up trying to piece the horsemen and Dante together. Instead, she decided to do a search on the the three names- Anicii, Portinari and Donati. Who were those women and why was she baptized to be in the same church as them?

Anicii –

Belongs to one of the most powerful aristocratic houses in the Roman Empire ever since the 2^nd century. The most famous of them included Emperor Olybrius, survived by his wife and daughter Anicia Juliana.

Juliana was known to be an avid patron of the arts to whom her commissions have include portraits, sculptures and woodcuts.

Woodcuts? Ella thought. Is this bracelet hers?

"Oh my god!" gasps Ella. "Sacrum Romanum Imperium! That must be what that meant! It was commissioned during the Roman Empire, possibly for this princess! But what of the other word…? Oh this is really intriguing!"

She decided to look up on the other two names. Perhaps they might give her more clues. Which first? Donati gave her no search results but Portinari gave her two- a man and a woman.

Portinari-

Beatrice Portinari was considered to be Dante's source of salvation, inspiration and most importantly, his true love. When she died at the age of 24, Dante had mourned at her loss and withdrew to write poetry dedicated to her memory. Perhaps, one of his most famous works drawn from this inspiration was the Divine Comedy.

Although Dante had married Gemma Donati, whom he had been promised to at the age of 12, his love for Beatrice followed him till his death, to which just before it, La divina commedia was completed.

Ella fell off her chair in genuine disbelief at the information just exposed to her. Were all these women buried at the same church as her mother? A quick search told her just as much:

The Chiesa di Santa Margherita de' Cerchi is an ancient church dedicated to Margaret the Virgin in the centre of Florence, Italy. It was where Dante was married to Gemma Donati in 1295. It also houses several tombs of the Anicii family and the Portinari family, to which Dante's great love Beatrice Portinari belonged. The church can sometimes be referred to as the one with an altarpiece of the Madonna and Four Saints by Neri di Bicci.