The Mistress

Chapter 5. Marriage

5

1492 Rome, Italy

I call for a servant. One comes immediately for me.

"Yes my lady." Gabrielle says with a quick curtsy.

"I need you to find where Leonardo Da Vinci is. Find someone to track him down for me."

"Right away my lady." She leaves. I look at the contents of the box that has been sent. It must be from my father. The mirror was the one that my father gave me as a child and it matches the larger one that he kept in his room at our home. And the numbers on the paper worry me, they are in strange groups on the page. It's like he wants me to see something that I just don't. I hide both the box and it contents in the back of my closet, I don't want anyone to find it.
I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling wondering what all of it means. A better look needed to be had but not now, maybe when it was dark and no one was up. But what I thought about most was the numbers on the paper. Was I supposed to know what that meant? Is that why I needed to see Leonardo? It was surprising because I hadn't seen him in years. My father liked him, a lot. He would talk about how intellectual he was. I always assumed he was just a painter but turns out that is not true. I'm sure he helped my father when building out villa at Silver Lake. But it seemed he was part of this or at least he could help.

The next day I ate lunch by myself. Lucrezia was with me but she had to meet with her father, he said it was important. I get up to leave, even though this Vatican was full I felt so alone with out my father. He was the one person I told everything to, of course I realize now that he didn't tell me everything. I stroll through the gardens by myself, looking at every color and smelling every thing. Flowers and plants seem to calm me. Being outside in the sun was something I throughly enjoyed. Thought I was alone with my thoughts, being in nature did ease some pain.
"Lena!" Cesare called out from me behind me. I ignore him and keep walking as he did to me when I tried to talk to him. But of course he catches up. "Why do you walk away from me?"he asks. I run my fingers across the petals of the roses that were next to me, wanting him to ignore him.
"The same reason you did to me." I turn and face him. "Cesare I do not like this game you play. First you ignore me and then you pounce on me in the library." My arms were crossed. He was acting in a way I did not care for, it would just be best for him to be straightforward with me.
"I just-" his hands grasps the fabric at his sides.
"You are being a child." I cut him off "Be around me or don't make up your mind but I will not be playing games anymore with you Cesare Borgia, we are no longer children." he grabs my shoulders and kisses me. My body in his hands was so tense that if I moved even in the slightest bit he would know. I wanted to relax but I couldn't, my body was frozen. I wanted to like it but I couldn't.
"I cannot stay away from you any longer." he kisses me again. I stand there startled, not knowing what to do. He had never kissed me before, at least not like this. He had kissed me on the cheek before and one peck on the lips but not this. This felt different. This wasn't to be my first kiss, not with him. For so long I had adored him, followed him around like a puppy hoping for one day for us to be together. We were children before playing like we were adults but now that we are I didn't wish it to be this way. He had just stolen a kiss from me, and he couldn't even do the pleasure of making it good.
"Cesare!" we hear a voice call out. It was Lucrezia. She runs up to us with tears in her eyes and red cheeks.
"My Lucrezia what troubles you." Cesare holds her close. It seemed no one was gonna mentioned what just happened.
"It's papa. He says I am to be married." Cesare all of a sudden changes, he goes from sympathetic to angry. He pushes past us and storms into the Vatican. I looks at Lucrezia who is still crying.
"Come here." I pull Lucrezia in close. "What did he say?"
"Papa said that the suitors would be here soon and he was going to decide who I marry." I can't say they I didn't see this coming. Pope Alexander wants marriage for power. Marriage to a good family would insure the families safetly. If my father would have became Pope then I would have already been married and shipped off somewhere with a stranger.
"Lucrezia it will be fine." I hug her. "The only man that is fit for a woman like you is a prince." but in all honesty I don't think this will end up well. Lucrezia is a child and shouldn't be married at all. "Come on let's go." I take Lucrezia inside. I sit her down in her room so she may calm herself down. She ended up falling asleep in her silk bed.
I go look for Cesare. He ran off without saying much to Lucrezia, he looked so angry. I find him in his room pacing angrily back and forth. His room looks a mess like he has been throwing things.
"Cesare?" I walk into his room. "Are you okay?" He is breathing heavy and still pacing. I walk up to him and hold his shoulders. "Tell me. Is it because of your sister?" he pushes away.
"She is just a child!" He shouts. "Not even 15" he takes a glass of wine and drinks some.
"Cesare it will be okay." I try to reassure him.
"No it won't!" he throws the wine glass against the wall, it shattered and pieces went every where. I jump out the sound at the broken glass. "I talked to my father and he said it has to be done."
"If your father chooses then he will choose a good man. You know that." I have never seen Cesare so mad ever. He has never been this way around me and I find it frightening. Cesare has always been protective over Lucrezia ever since she was born and I can see that that hasn't changed. "Your father would never let Lucrezia get hurt." He sits down and tries to calm himself it is working but not fast enough.