The Exile Day, dedicated to the victory over Fiesians, began with a deafening blast of thunder. Half asleep, I thought that it was a storm, but in reality the Arsenal guns were firing to announce that Bucentoro ship was ready for launching. When Ricardo and I were going to the Piazzetta Square, we were overtaken by dozens of other gondolas. Pulcino was really excited too. He was chatting non-stop about the sea way from Fusee and outer canals full of boats. “They look like huge shoals of fish crowding to spawn,” he yelled in my head. Oh, right. It looked like everyone in the world wanted to attend the great feast.

The white stone bowl Piazzetta now looked like a giant kaleidoscope. I was dazzled by a flickering mosaic of red and black jornes, fashionable cloaks and coats with fur welt, bright velvet berets decorated with silver buckles and feathers. The white walls of the Doge's Palace seemed to glow with everyone`s joy and the claret-and-gold flags were quivering merrily on the belfry. The city's main Cathedral, with its wide frowning domes also assumed a dignified air, its mosaics gleaming in the sky. Wisteria bloomed wildly in someone's garden and its smell reached even here, in the square.

Stone griffins, the mysterious defenders of the city looked down at the crowd from the tops of their gigantic marble columns. Our main square was named after them: the Three Griffins Square. The third lion-bird, smaller in size, crowned the top of a bell tower. Its copper-clad roof shone so brightly that on a clear day it served as a beacon for passing ships.

Those griffins were not always so friendly and still. Six centuries ago, when the marsh reeds were swaying in the place of Venetta and the majority of people settled on Torcello island, a couple of griffins began to appear near the town. They ruined fishers` huts and saltworks. People tried to escape to Rivoalto but the griffins (all three of them, as they`d already had a baby) followed them there.

It was said that the griffins had a hidden nest on one of the Islands of the lagoon, that they guarded a treasure or some secret knowledge, and therefore tried to protect it from everyone. The battle was unequal and the city could be destroyed but for a saint who appeared on the island out of the blue and turned the griffins into a stone with just one spit (don`t ask me how he managed to do it).

The city was saved, and the petrified bird-lions became its defenders. Later people found remains of a gigantic nest on one of the Islands. And under a heap of feathers and bones they found gold – enough to build a beautiful cathedral near the pier. It`s still the largest building in the city.

But people still believe that one day the griffins will come to life to punish their sins. The day when their vice will overtax the Heaven`s patience. Well, until then they spread their wings over celebrating crowd.

I looked at the statues and wondered what secret they were guarding. Why did they try so hard to drive us away from the lagoon? For our own good, maybe?

At the Piazzetta Ricardo pulled me aside – it was a bad omen to walk between two columns. We turned to the dock with shining gilded leviathan of the Bucentoro raising like a carved side of a huge treasure box. The other big ships had already been removed to clear a passage from the harbor to the distant shallows that protected Venetta from the cunning stormy waters of the Long sea.

The ceremony was in its full play. The ambassadors, heads of the guild, senators and patricians, all dressed in ornate doublets, took their places on the luxurious deck of the Bucentoro in a strict order of priority. The crowd came alive when the Doge himself finally appeared. He was really old, and his stiff brocade dress made him look like a golden idol. He needed the help of servants to get aboard. His forehead and his cheeks were deeply furrowed, with thin fair eyebrows making a strange contrast to his hard, commanding face. I wondered how he managed to combine strength and weakness. Though his body was old and weak, you could feel an unshakable tenacity and ambitions through it.

Don Soranzo was an ambiguous figure for sure. He had been in power for more than fourteen years although his reputation left much to be desired. He was convicted of abuse of power and distribution of honorable and lucrative posts to his family members. Moreover, he more than anyone else favored the practice of nepotism, which rose as never before. But today everything was forgotten. Today he was the living symbol of Venetta, a hero to protect the city from the wrath of the sea.

Finally, everyone took their places and the gilded Bucentoro went toward Dito island accompanied by smaller gondolas like a huge baleno with an escort of nimble clingfish. I looked back at the shore which now looked porcelain-fragile. A thin colorless silhouette of the city seemed frighteningly unprotected and frail, especially in contrast to the lazy sea waves that heavily tossed overboard. A city with no other foundation than a reflection in the water, nestled on the edge of the lagoon like a handful of pale-fawn petals tossed onto the surface of a wave. For some reason, my heart ached, and I wished that today's ceremony went well.

People on the deck were having as much fun as they could. They were gossiping, making deals, talking trash and business altogether. Don Arsago was here, of course, surrounded by the other important dignitaries. I was surprised to see the stranger we had rescued before among the guests. Today, instead of his ragged shirt, he was wearing a striped jacket embroidered with bright ribbons and a jauntily twisted beret with a big feather. And I could see an old scuffed lute behind his back. Well, well…

I turned to Joanna.

“Did you bring him here?”

Her lovely smile could be considered as “yes, of course.”

"He plays really well, and not just that, believe me. He had a request to don Arsago, so I decided to help him a little. After all, he is also a citizen of the republic, and perhaps his father had polished the deck you`re standing on. So why shouldn't he be here?”

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Of course, Joanna's democracy was nothing but an excuse to feel like a patroness of a poor fellow as well as to show off with a young attractive lover in front of her former love-mate. That was so like her. But I couldn`t help feeling suspicious of that slyboots with a lute. He didn`t belong here. And I really didn`t like that he had any requests to the Count. Well, maybe I tying myself up on knots, second guessing. Don Arsago had his personal guard, after all…

Oh, speak of the devil, I thought to myself as I noticed a dark figure of Alessandro di Goro behind the Count.

He doesn’t like him too. Keeps his eyes on that stranger, like a cat watching a mouse, I noticed with a tinge of gloating.

Signor di Goro didn`t seem to enjoy the feast at all. Like a courteous suitor tired of all those endless parties and society games, he was keeping you company just to be nice and still held aloof a little.

In the meanwhile, Ricardo made fun of Joanna`s naivety.

“Poor guy! Does he really think that music can force him the way through a crowd of those arrogant dignitaries? Well, my dear donna Sacketti, you should have recommended him to try his luck at the evening`s regatta instead of wasting time here. I saw him and that fellow had to deal with the sea rigging, for sure. If he deals with a paddle as well as he does with the lute, then he can even hit it big time. Especially if he wants to win don Arsago`s affection − he hasn`t missed a single regatta in my memory, you know”

I was surprised.

“But isn`t it the gondoliers` privilege? Fabrizio would be off his head if he found out that a stranger wanted to violate his sacred right on the Exile Day. Concerning this matter, they are even more snobbish than any patrician!”

“I forgot that you haven`t been to Venetta for such a long time, sister,” Ricardo smiled. “There are two regattas now: one for the masters and one to all.”

I didn't know that.

“Would you like to take part as well, signor Granacci?”

Bianca appeared out of nowhere and Ricardo`s attention turned to her in a flash.

“No, signora. I really don`t like to concede.”

As soon as their eyes meet, there was some instant magnetism going between them and making the rest of the world fade. Now every single word got its special overtones that could be understood by them only.

I could do anything from now on, since Ricardo seemed to have forgotten he ever had a sister.

The evening was ruined. My pride was hurt. Aren`t I worth his attention too? Me was not good enough and she was?!

Well, forget it. I definitely didn`t plan to waste my time admiring their lovely little courtship. Tonight I really needed to talk to maître Faletrus. I looked around trying to find the astrologer. At least now, thanks to Bianca, my brother wouldn`t bother me with his stupid jokes.

To my delight, soon I could see maître`s dark coat among the bright stream of velvet and brocade. His thin figure dangled in that ridiculous gown like a stylus in a glass. He had lost weight, and I was surprised to see how pale and exhausted he was. It had to be a great honor for a mere scholar to be all those best and brightest people of Venetta. However, maître Faletrus did not seem pleased at all. Maybe he just belonged to that kind of man who couldn`t be neither happy nor satisfied anywhere in this world.

I was going to ask him when someone called my name.

“Is it your first time at the ceremony?”

That was don Alessandro, of course. He really knew how to pick the moment! Shouldn`t he be protecting the Count instead?!

I tried to give him the most friendly smile ever.

“Yes. I'd like to get a better look, but I'm not sure if I may come nearer.”

"Of course, you can. Follow me.”

Alessandro led me to the deck-bridge covered with soft bright carpets where the Doge was to make his speech soon. I felt grateful yet a bit annoyed. That was Ricardo who was supposed to take care of me, not signor di Goro. Enrique could have been more attentive to his future wife too. However, after that dinner when I had to demonstrate my power, he didn`t seem to be so madly in love with me. And I could understand him well. Two years ago he had fallen in love with a bright cheerful fairy, and then his bride turned into a sea witch who could tame monsters as well as that saint who had petrified the city griffins. What could such a woman do to her husband in an argument? No wonder that poor Enrique became so shy.

Alessandro didn`t seem to be afraid of me at all. And truly speaking, I was beginning to like it. But at the same time I couldn`t get over the feeling something was wrong. Did he really like me? Or did I have to prepare myself for a miserable walk on the Bridge of Sighs?

He felt my glance and smiled back.

“Why don't you wear a mask?" I asked.

He got embarrassed and stepped back into the shadow of the gallery. I bit my lip. I didn`t mean to hurt him. His face no longer frightened me than on the day we first met.

– I don`t like masks. Just don't want to be seen as someone who I'm not.”

Well, that was quite unusual for a guard.

“So you think that an open face is more trustworthy, don`t you?”

His big grey eyes glared with mischief:

“Some masks really merge with faces, so you can`t tell which one is real.”

Was that a hint? I put myself on guard. Talking to him was like walking a tightrope. I had to balance and weigh my words with care.

Fortunately, Ricardo who came arm-in-arm with signora Sanudo and took the heat off with just a couple of jokes. In the meantime, the Bucentoro arrived at its destination. Like a golden ark it rose in the middle of the sea. The cortege stopped, the anchor chain rattled with a loud splash overboard. The talks and laughter died out, you could only hear the flags flapping in the wind. Gilded griffins were gleaming on the scarlet cloth in the twilight sky.

I must confess that I missed Augustino Soranzo's speech, though he was usually very good at giving talks and attracting people`s attention. But mine was focused on the deep breath of the sea. It was easy to make the whole crowd listen, but here we had to deal with ancient creatures whose reaction was impossible to predict.

I could swear I heard a soft mocking snicker in the gentle whisper of the sea waves. The dark shallows of Dito slumbered in a yellow-gray daze of the sky with a delicate crescent shining high above.

Don Soranzo's words sounded particularly weighty in the thick silence of expectation; they fell like stones into the water. But as soon as the speech was over, a flock of gulls rose from the shallows, bursting into sharp cries. One could think they had been waiting for him to finish the talk as a courtesy. I shivered when the wind brought back the distant rustle of dead gulls' wings from Joanna`s dream.

Augustino Soranzo held out his hand – and a small golden star slipped from his fingers and disappeared into the deep water. Suddenly our ship trembled. The hard deck pressed against my knees and made me clung to the parapet. The servants sprang to the Doge and didn`t let him fall. Clutchy cries of the seagulls mingled with frightened sighs. I couldn`t see it, but I felt it with my whole being – those mysterious luminous circles radiate from our galley beneath the dark surface. And then they turned thinner and faded before they reached the shore. The sea accepted the gift. And lay low.