Chapter Text
The sun rose high in the sky as the Limo rolled along the city streets of Milan reflected in the blue glass of the metropolitan plaza skyscrapers. Pacifica Northwest was glad to be away from prep school and the cut-throat spirit of competition. Phillips Exeter Academy was certainly a challenge she was fit for academically. What had taken her by surprise however was how remote it felt. It was amazing how you could be packed shoulder to shoulder and feel so utterly alone. The cold winter in New Hampshire compounded the feeling in those bleak months trapped in her dorm. Her 18th birthday had come and gone that cold early spring. No one at school knew and she was not holding her breath for anyone from home to remember.
When summer finally came around after she had graduated it felt like she was escaping a state penitentiary. Needless to say, Pacifica was in high spirits. When her father told her he was taking a business trip to Milan, he also mentioned his client's children would be there. On this note, he had invited her. Pacifica was all on board. She had jumped at the chance to travel abroad, also, she would be lying to herself if she said she was not excited to visit one of the fashion capitals of the world. As much as she loved the summer house in Gravity Falls she could not bear the thought of being trapped alone with her parents there at the start of summer vacation.
As the car settled to a stop at an intersection Pacifica heard her name, drawing her out of her reverie. Preston pointed ahead. The Galleria Vittorio stood as an edifice of architectural ingenuity and craftsmanship. If they had the time she would have loved to explore and peruse the art. As the cityscape gave way to the golden rolling hills of farmland and green vineyards she reflected on the day.
Father was in a good mood having brokered a deal merging with another company in which he bartered for seventy-thirty percent ownership his way. This was the reason they were heading to a fancy villa in the countryside to celebrate with the merger clients and father's clients. While this would normally sound boring Pacifica knew some of her father's client's children. She hadn't seen Erica and Trisha since Jr. boarding school. It would be nice to catch up.
As the limo pulled into the estate through the front gates the drive stretched on for half a mile. Brick walls paralleled the driveway with marbled green and white variegated ivy scaling the lengths. One could appreciate the magnitude of the sprawling estate from this distance appropriately. Clay-tiled rooftops stretched across an impressive expanse of networked structures of varying sizes and heights across the terraced terrain. The effect was impressive.
The car pulled up next to the grand entrance steps parking on the cobblestone roundabout surrounding a magnificent fountain. The chauffeur stepped up to Preston's door and then Pacifica's to welcome them to the estate. She straightened her dress that her father had let her buy in town after sitting in the car to remove any wrinkles. The outfit, sparkling in a lake foam green, fit her mostly well. She had lost a little weight with the stress and college but she bought the dress in her normal size. It still complimented her figure well enough though.
As she walked up to the estate she could smell the fragrances of the countryside wafting in the soft warm breeze. The villa was comprised of so many different bright colors it was strikingly vibrant. The doorway was large enough that two servants would have been needed to open the doors had they not been standing open already.
They entered the foyer to find the inside just as tall, and somewhat taller near the middle of the room. It was split level with two stairways that hugged the walls with beautiful brass banisters. As they walked in Preston was greeted by Roberto Bianchi the estate owner her father had closed the business deal with. They talked briefly about his vineyard and the estate and then moved on to business.
As Pacifica's attention waned, Roberto noticing, stopped and mentioned to her father that the other children of their mutual business partners were on the other side of the estate. He offered to Pacifica that she could join them if she so cared. "The parlor is in the far end of the estate. If you pass straight through the atrium you will reach it," he said. Pacifica looked at her father. He nodded approval. "Thank you," Pacifica said as she curtsied to Roberto. A rare token of generosity for her, but for an equally rare one from her father's usual business partners in being so observantly thoughtful and kind.
Pacifica left the foyer and entered the cobblestone-paved tunnel to the atrium. It was one of four glass tunnels that led to the atrium. From the ceiling hung blue, purple, and pink Wisteria. It hung from a mesh framework barely visible under the cascade of colors. It was breathtaking. As she entered the atrium she saw the cobblestone path wrapped around a central fountain and entered the other three tunnels. She could see tropical ferns and palms, and there were large rubber plants as well. She spotted a dwarf red fox slipping through the ferns. She observed many exotic orchids of varying breeds, colors, and sizes.
Somewhere in her mind, she heard Dipper recalling that there were over twenty-five thousand different breeds of orchids. Pacifica smiled. He would have appreciated this place. Mabel would have loved the bright colors. Then a smirk crept across my face. Then again she also might have chased the dwarf fox until she terrorized it into a heart attack or otherwise caused a catastrophe somehow. Pacifica pictured Stanley Pines scratching his back and demanding to see the maître d because they did not serve pit cola. She stifled a giggle.
Pacifica trekked on through the far side of the garden and out the Wisteria tunnel. The sun was almost set and was casting a low glow on everything that reflected, turning the landscape into auburn and Starfire gold. As she approached the parlor the sounds of the atrium began to fade away and the sounds of voices and laughter began to fill the air.
As the room reached her view Pacifica saw the tall wrap-around windows that ensconced this corner of the building, their metal support frame was woven into a beautiful set of family crests staggered so far apart. The rest of the window space was filigree woven into intricate patterns overlaying the glass. Tall pillars went around the room not far back from the windows creating optical illusions on the floor amidst the backdrop of the tilled floor as the setting sun cast long shadows into the room.
The bar was now behind her having entered the room. Many guests had gathered around. The rest were scattered in islands and patches throughout the room amidst the pillars. Pacifica then spotted her friends Erica and Trisha.
As she approached them she could hear the girls debating which line of clothing was next to get the ax. As Pacifica stepped up they looked at her in surprise. "Pacifica?!" Erica said. "The one and only," Pacifica said with a modest smile. "You're still keeping up with fashion girl, where did you get that dress?!" Trisha said eyeing her outfit in appraisal. "Father got it for me after his business trip in Milan today...So how have you girls been?" Pacifica asked. Erica spoke up first. "It's been crazy trying to find anyone around here that isn't completely tasteless and devoid of fashion."
Normally this was the type of conversation Pacifica would have indulged in, but after years of prep school pretenses, and learning the expectations of a wealthy socialite her views of what was worth hearing in a conversation had begun to change. She had grown weary of hearing the same predictable social chess moves. She was unsure of what to make of the conversation so far so she started talking about school. Something from the past they had in common.
The three girls talked about how some of it was the same and some of it was different from Jr. Prep school. They chatted for a while, getting lost in memories of the days with less responsibility. Trisha spoke up eventually breaking the reverie. "We were just about to go find the guys." "Erica and I are dating hockey stars we met in the VIP box two weeks ago. Want to come with us?" "Sure," Pacifica said not sure how else to answer.
As the three headed over to the far corner of the room Pacifica located the raucous source of laughter she had heard earlier. There were eight guys. Half were high school age. They were talking in gruff tones and then laughing hard every so often. Trisha and Erica put their hands on their boyfriend's shoulder to get their attention. The one boy turned around and said "Hey babe, can you girls get Chase and me some beverages?" "Sure thing," Erica said steering Trisha towards the bar. As they left Pacifica stood rooted to the spot uncertain whether to stay or go.
As she waited the guys huddled back around and began speaking in hushed tones. Another boy then said to Chase and the other boy, "You guys are so dead meat if those two find you're two-timing them with the girls you met the week before!" "Another notch in the belt," said Chase. Some of the boys left in distaste but most of them congratulated them. Pacifica, curling her lip in distaste, had heard enough. If it were her they had cheated on their lives would consist of pain from henceforth. Her family would see to that.
Pacifica's eyes burned with blue fire and ice. She walked away in disgust. She was so mad that she had to get some fresh air. She pushed her way out onto the balcony in the fresh cool air now that the sun had set. This was the same petty posturing she had been trying to get away from in school. Now here on vacation halfway across the world it still had managed to find her.
She put her hands on the white marble ledge with her face hung down. As the heat escaped her body through her hands she wished she could cool her mind down just as easily. If this was the type of people she was destined to meet for the rest of her future she didn't want to have any part of it. The future felt like an impending weight, bearing down upon her.
Pacifica looked up into the starry black night. This far into the country, the stars were vibrant and luminous. Secretly she wished she could escape to the stars to find what was out there. To find hope. A hope she had not found here yet. She thought of the laughs she had had in the atrium at the Pines family's expense in my imagination, and about how she had mused with laughter at their misgivings. Though now after all that she had heard this evening from Erica, Trish, and the guys, the Pines family seemed the most civilized out of the lot. She began to remember Dipper's kind words in the hidden room where she had discovered her family's darkest secrets. He had told her, "It's not too late."
*** Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this book. Please note Pacifica meets up with the Dipper & Mabel in chapter four, so hold out till then readers! Also please feel free to leave feedback and suggestions if you like. Thank you! ***