Scene 6

The boy's statue has been dusted for today's event, and it shines as the rising sun reflects on its polished surface. The marble at first turns a pale, gentle shade of pink, and then sets ablaze in incandescent orange -- and so does Venus's skin, and her light blond hair. She resembles a statue herself.

She has chained herself to the statue at the center of the Roman Gardens. Rows and rows of chains and locks encircle her body, the statue and its pedestal. Her arms up, she has tied her hands to the boy's hands. The rough fabric of her dress is the same light tone of dirty white of the fine marble, turned rougher by the centuries -- and the impression is the girl emerges from the stone. Just like they say the ghost of Al's sister does. The narcissus flowers, touched by the sunrise, have fully bloomed, and seem to sprout from her hair, too.

If Venus wants to create impact on the audience, and right from their arrival win their empathy for the slave girl she plays, she certainly will.

The town priest arrives. As he peruses the gardens, and the beautiful decoration put up for that day, of long white canopies and flower garlands adorning the columns, his eyes fall on Venus chained to the statue. He walks straight to her. 

"Buon giorno, my child." He inspects her figure. His small eyes, deformed behind the thick lenses of his glass and shaded by the black hat, make his verdict hard to guess. His thin lips seem to pout continually, in a state of constant dissatisfaction. "You must have woken up very early."

"Buon giorno, Father Alberico." She answers politely, without facing the man dressed in black. A golden crucifix shines on his fat chest.

"I don't remember the play starting like this..." He indicates the chains. "Did you add anything to the text, child? I think we agreed on not changing a word after I had approved it."

"This..." Venus hesitates, searching for words. "...new start... is a speechless scene, Father."

"Hum, I don't like surprises, child." He stares intently at Venus, inspecting her expression. But she remains placid, mirroring the expressionless marble boy towering over her. "And I don't know if I like this at all..." He indicates the chains, but his eyes fall on Venus' breasts. Her arms up make them look larger, and incredibly firm.  She is not wearing any bra, and her nipples are clearly delineated through the fabric. Though Venus looks innocent and humble, Thaysa Tragis still exudes an exuberant eroticism. "And this outfit... How didn't it occur to me of previously checking it? Don't you have anything... less revealing?"

"This is what slave girls did wear, Father. I have researched." Venus nods towards the galleries behind her. "In the frescoes, they are all naked."

Father Alberico blushes, and it takes him a few seconds to recompose from her impertinence.

"I'll bring a shawl, when I return after breakfast." Turning his back to Venus, he invites her to contemplate the garden. "You are aware this is a very special day, aren't you? Very special and very important indeed. For our beautiful town. And for the Audace family, most certainly. A great day. Nothing can spoil it. You wouldn't want to spoil it, would you, child?"

"Thank you, Father. But I am not a child anymore. I'll turn 16 this year."

"Your lack of orientation greatly worries me. I wish you weren't living all on your own. Maybe we should discuss a plan for you, child." He won't face her. "You should visit me once or twice a week so that we can discuss your future. I can give you orientation..." He seems to find delight in a bed of red poppies next to him.

"Thank you, Father. My mother spoke instead of discernment. I try to have that."

"You mother and discernment?" Father Alberico sings the word. "It's the first time I hear those two words paired in the same sentence." He approaches Venus, and she shrinks as he inspects her dress, touching the cloth very lightly -- and, of course, her body meanwhile. He then rearranges one of the narcissus in the crown, and again checks the chains. "I am not happy with any of this, child." He clearly won't pronounce her name -- a goddess' name is too profane for his sacred mouth. "I believe Signorino Alcibiade has the keys to all these locks, hasn't he?"

Venus nods slightly.

"You are giving me a bad start to my day, child." He shakes his head, sadly. "You look too much like your mother. I hope you are not too much like her. Not like her at all." As he is leaving, he says over his shoulder, "I'll bring a shawl to make you look appropriate!" And then, triumphantly, Father Alberico pronounces the sentence he has been slowly building, "Beauty in itself, pure and plain, is very sinful already, child."

Venus is left alone again -- or accompanied only by her memories, as Tonio Hertrag, the director of photography, wants to suggest by framing in the background a fresco depicting Apollo chasing Daphne, in reference to Al having assaulted Venus just the day before.

She is not so placid any longer, and the position of her arms, and the contact with the cold marble, seem to disturb her. First, doubt clouds her eyes, as she seems to think of something, and then fear invades them. And the scene ends when she closes them, as if trying to make the world around her disappear.

The sun has gone up. But Venus and the statue of the boy stand in the shadow of the huge tower that dominates the Roman Gardens. 

Father Alberico has forgotten to bring the shawl, after all. He is back, together with the chief police officer of Ferraza, Don Pullito. Standing next to the statue with Venus chained to it, they are talking to a man dressed in a suit. Or rather, listening to him. Or rather being interviewed by him.

"So these gardens are two thousand years old? That's what we are celebrating today?" He asks, while taking notes. "And Andromeda here is the star of the day? Do you have a name for your play, darling?" He tries to fake interest, but his attitude is of scorn. 

Venus has been glancing at the man with the corner of her eyes. She demonstrates curiosity and suspicion, at once. It's not just that his accent is very different from hers, making it often difficult for her to understand him. She clearly doesn't know him -- and yet is trying to rapidly decide whether to trust him or not. She blushes when he addresses her, and lowers her eyes, shaking her head to indicate she has never named the play.

"And what is your play about? How does it celebrate the Gardens? And why have you chained yourself like that? Are you performing a magician's trick or is the plot about a teenager Andromeda? And who plays the Dragon" He looks at Father Alberico and laughs. In response, Venus only shakes her head, looking at first dumbfounded, then offended as the police officer laughs along.

"I can help you with that, Signor Federico." Trying to speak his best Italian, getting rid of all the words in dialect, though not his accent, Father Alberico comes to her rescue. "Venus is..." It's the first time he pronounces her name "like a local... celebrity. A local talent. Her play is about a slave girl..."

"You have helped me already, Father Alberico. I have heard enough from you about the Gardens and my hosts, the Audace family. I'd like to hear it from the author of the play herself... You can speak, can't you, Venus? Or will it be a mimics performance?"

Again, Venus is confused. Mimics?

"They will destroy the Gardens." She mouths, without facing any of the men around her.

"Who will? The Roman Legions?" The interviewer asks, humorously.

"No." Venus cries. She is very agitated, and speaks breathlessly. "The Audace family. They want to build a hospital here. They will tear the Gardens down!"

"Now..." Father Alberico starts saying, but is at once interrupted by Federico. 

"They will build a hospital on these historical grounds?"

"It is a beautiful project." Father Alberico intervenes. "The Audace family is always concerned with what is best for Ferraza. They have my blessings on this..."

This time, it's Venus to interrupt the priest. "They only want more money! They can build in another place. They will destroy the statues, the frescoes, the Gardens, everything!"

The journalist is no longer taking notes. Instead, he looks intently at Venus, and whistles in amazement.

"And you are trying to stop them, Venus? Chaining yourself to the statue? So your play is a protest against..."

"There must be some misunderstanding here." Father Alberico says. "She wrote a charming love story. Didn't you child?"

"Yes, this is my protest!" Venus pays the priest no heed.

"A teenager heroin against a powerful family? This must be my lucky day..." The man opens his notebook again, and starts interviewing Venus with more detail. "Just double-checking... You are fifteen, right? She nods, and he continues. "Is your name really Venus?"

Alarmed, the priest and the police officer exchange concerned glances. The priest signals for the officer to inspect the chains.

"Don't touch her!" The journalist shouts. "Nor those chains!"

"Don't yell at me, stranger. I am the officer in charge here! I was just checking them for safety reasons. In case there is a fire and we have to rapidly evacuate the Gardens!"

The priest seems surprised with his coleague's reply, while the journalist opens his eyes wide, and whistles, as another idea crosses his mind.

"Venus! Did you draw any inspiration from that monk that immolated himself in Vietnam? Is your cause..."

"What?" Venus looks confused. Immolation, Vietnam -- it's words she has never heard, and in the journalist's accent, even monk and inspiration sound differently. Even her name has never sounded like that before to her.

"Now!" Father Alberico is again intervening. "Please don't give this child any more ideas... Immolation, really!" Father Alberico pouts. "This will annoy the Audace family immensely, already!" He stares at Venus, and addresses her. "How dare you?" He hisses.

The journalist is again taking notes, and raises his eyes when he thinks the question is for him.

"How dare I? How dare you, Father Alberico? While in one religion they set fire onto themselves, in your religion you set fire on others..."

"Now, I won't tolerate..."

Seeing the journalist is busy with Father Alberico, the police officer again inspects the chains.

"No!" Venus cries, when she feels his hands on her. "Don't touch me!" Feeling reassured, she echoes the tone with which the journalist has said that, too.

"Hey, I told you... Don't..." The journalist starts protesting.

"I would never touch her." The policeman puffs in protest. "My wife would kill me if she learned I ever touched this bitch..."

"What did you just call her?"

"Witch. I called her witch..."

"No, you didn't!"

"Gentlemen, please. The Audace family has just arrived." Father Alberico indicates the entrance to the Gardens, where he is headed to. "I'll come back for you!" He addresses Venus, openly threateningly. "With Signorino Alcibiade, our Perseus, and the keys!"