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Other Amber-Affiliated Shadows - Gazetteer Entries
Index | Time Under Chaos | Gazetteer | Amber | Other Amber-Affiliated Shadows
Cornaro - home Shadow of Petra Rossi, hence Amber-affiliated
- Gianelli's: When they finally stopped in front of an average sized-store with a painting of one of the temples in one window and a jumble of art supplies in another, Petra waved at the establishment with her free hand. “Giannelli’s. The best place for custom-made art supplies. They will even have your brush handles carved to fit most comfortably in your hand if you like." ... Petra stepped forward and opened the door, pausing to take in the smells of paint and paper and freshly carved wood. - When in Roma
- The Jade: The grounds were formally laid out and lovely. The front of the villa had ivy and vines of miniature roses climbing up. Petra cocked her head to one side to listen. In the distance could be heard at least one person’s shrill whistle answered by the cry of a hawk. “Hawking practice,” Petra said needlessly. “Which means archery is likely on the east lawn, painting is in the ballroom, and Mother is in the back garden for floral lore.” ... A greenhouse itself was between them and the voices. Petra led him inside the hothouse that was a profusion of colors. ... - When in Roma
Maria turned back to Vikund and smiled as she steered him through a knotwork garden. ... Maria replied as they passed under an arched arbor, revealing how close they were to the stately green marble villa ... The sun room they stepped into was full of plants and padded wrought iron furniture. At one end two ladies were having tea, so Maria didn’t stop but continued on into a sitting room that screamed understated old money. Maria waved a hand about and called it the Receiving Room. The halls were wide, marble and lined with artifact and artwork. The library was impressive, soaring up three stories and filled with books covering a vast array of topics. There was the ballroom and a window-lined sunny room being used by an art class, the formal dining room where all meals were taken. The basement held a huge kitchen and alchemy lab. The second floor held classrooms and two dance studios that she could show him. They ended up with her giving him a peek at well appointed staff quarters that were actually nicely sized apartments, taking him to hers to show him the flowers she was working with that were too delicate to leave to the groundskeeper at her villa. ... Petra took him down a different flight of stairs then he had used before and to the second floor. Music could be heard wafting through the large hallway. They stopped in front of a set of double doors and Petra peeked in before slipping inside and bringing him with her with a tug on his hand. The room was large and airy. The honey colored hardwood floors gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows that broke up the outside wall along which a barre ran. Except for the portion with the doors, and a three foot section near the ceiling, the wall opposite was covered entirely with tall mirrors. - Meeting Maria
Below them sprawled Roma, built among the seven hills. The tops of the hills seemed to be reserved for important structures and the one they were on was no different. To their left rose a gleaming white building fronted by tall columns and wide steps. - When in Roma
- Sophie the Seamstress: The front room was an elegant parlor. The only thing distinguishing it from any other parlor was the pair of mannequins draped in sumptuous evening wear in two of the corners. ... Sophie gestured them to follow her into the back. The first room proved to be a fitting room, one wall covered in fabric samples. - When in Roma
- Sergio's Restaurant: The restaurant was located on the fringes of the business sector, in a quiet area two blocks from the theater district. The two-story black marble building was separated from its neighbors by small courtyards dotted with tables and flowers under lattice canopies. ... A doorman dressed in gold trimmed black greeted Petra with familiarity. ... “Would you care for the courtyard or inside?” ... - When in Roma
- Villa Rossi - Petra's home in Cornaro
- The Garden Study: There was a set of double french doors that opened into the arbor at the side of the house and it was those she opened and stepped through. The room was simple, yet elegant. The colors those of spring, with soft buttercream and pale green with accents of peach and silver. A large rug of scattered flowers covered most of the gleaming wood floor. She continued through the room, waving Vikund in the direction of the bar where their desires had been anticipated and several bottles set cooling in marble ice buckets. There was also a small platter of chilled fruits and dainty sandwiches - though not a one of them cucumber or watercress. - When in Roma
- Greenhouse: She pushed open the door of the greenhouse. “We have mother’s experiments and - we have orchids.” And indeed they did, several kinds. Tiny spider and air orchids grew from wooden ornamental rafters over their heads. Large, boldly colored orchids set on the center table in various stages of life. To the left were various sizes in between, solids and stripes, bolds and pastels. They were obviously loved by the one who cared for them. On the right were several varieties of roses in various odd colors, including a deep midnight black. True black, not deep red like most other black flowers. There were roses of royal, velvety purple and a silvery blue and one bush that showed signs of grafting that had blooms in a variety of colors. - When in Roma
- Grounds: They had come out in a gazebo situated in the front garden of a small upscale villa. The summer flowers bloomed in a riot of color around them. ... [she] led him down the gazebo steps and onto a paved walkway. The pavestones were each decorated with lightly painted and glazed rose petals to give the impression of a petal-strewn path. ... [There was a] vine-covered metalwork arbor that covered the walkway as it ran along the side of the house that receieved the harshest sun. Part way the arbor widened into a round pavilion like area with a wide swing strewn with pillows to one side and a table for two on the other. Petra paused to inspect a climbing rose of delicate pink before moving on. ... - When in Roma
They stepped out into the sun once again at the top of a steps made from the same stone as the walkway. The grounds of the back dropped down and gave the pair an overview of the geometrically designed and laid out formal gardens centered around a large fountain of gleaming white marble, a unicorn pristine and proud rose rampant from the center of the fountain, its silver horn and hooves sparkling in the summer sun. ... Petra stayed near the fountain to wait for him, idly looking over the geometric beds of red and yellow that edged the path surrounding the fountain. The statues in the corners were nothing remarkable beyond what he would discover was the norm for Cornaro during his stay. Two female, two male, garbed in draped folds. Their eyes were focused towards the center of the garden, but there was no reason to think they hadn’t always been situated to do that. ... Petra took his arm and turned him to face one of the beds. Filled with deep blue flowers growing low to the ground and with blossoms similar to daisies, it was the only bed of the cardinal point four that was not a solid color. There was a scattering of shining white flowers of a completely different variety that ran from the far edge to the edge of the pathway at their feet. “These are only here. They sprang the spring after we acquired the fountain and they cannot be gotten rid of.” - When in Roma
- Petra's Rooms: The door opened to reveal a suite of rooms laid out similarly to his own. The rooms were light and airy and he knew would catch the afternoon sun perfectly for whatever painting she did at the easel near the window. ... Through the open door to his left he followed the sounds of running water. Petra’s bedroom was decadent place: velvets and silks and brocades in shades of purple and gray ran over the area. Her bed was a canopied four-poster with hangings of sheer silk and tasseled cords that tied back heavier brocade curtains. The ceiling held the constellations in their imagined forms on field of darkest purple. A vase by the bed held a crystal case of long stemmed roses in her colors broken up sprats of some small pale blue flower. ... Light streaming through another open door showed the curls of lotus-scented steam from the water filling the bath. In the mosaic-lined bath room, he found Petra sitting on the edge of a sunken tub that was rapidly filling with water and bubbles. - Meeting Maria
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