Festina Lente

Chapter Two: Leaving Rome

There were many that wished to see the siblings brought down and what they had taken from them; divided there was no telling what might happen to them now. 

Clarice nodded her head and took a step back from Ippolito, he might have only been her half-brother but she did not know what she would do without him. 

He was truly the only family that she had left that she could count on to have her back and the last thing that Clarice wanted was to lose him; however, she had no way to refuse Pope Clement.

Everything Clarice had was because of Pope Clement, she could have easily lost her father's titles because she was a woman after her mother had passed; there were many that had come forward to claim them from her. 

It had been because of Pope Clement and his appeal to Francis that had allowed her to remain a Duchess; she had lived a good life after losing her parents and it was all down to him. 

"Farewell brother. I pray that we shall meet again," Clarice told him, she stepped back as she looked at him; she didn't know what lay ahead for either of them but she knew that the Lord had plans for them both. 

Clarice prayed that this would not be the last time that they saw one another, it would be cruel for them to never meet again. 

Slowly Clarice backed away from him and turned to the carriage that would take her away from here; Clarice held her head high not knowing when she would see her home again. 

It would not do for her to let anyone see her cry, she was meant to be doing something grand and it was meant to be an honour that the Pope had chosen her to be his ambassador. 

Her ladies were silent as they walked behind her, it was a strange feeling for them all that they might never see Rome again unless Clarice was recalled home and them along with her. 

Climbing into the carriage, Clarice did her best to be as strong as was expected of her; she was a Medici and she would not break no matter what lay ahead of her in England. 

It was to be a tough and trying road, Clarice would never admit but she wasn't even certain that she could do the task that her cousin had asked her to perform. 

It took a few moments for everyone to climb into the carriage and make themselves comfortable for the ride to the port where they would start their journey by ship. 

Pope Clement watched as the carriage started to leave the courtyard, he prayed to the Lord above that Clarice was successful in her mission; England would not break away from Rome. 

He pushed past the concerns that he had about the route that he had taken, he knew that his decision would haunt him for the rest of his life but there was no other than he could command. 

Clarice looked back as the carriage began to leave, her eyes taking in the place that she had called home; she prayed that everything would be well and that she was making the right decision. 

No matter what Pope Clement asked of her, she would not do anything against her conscious; she would enjoy her visit to England and perhaps even find herself a good husband.

Clarice was past the age in which she should have been at least engaged by now if not married, she longed to have a family of her own and now she was being sent to become a mistress to a king that might not even want her. 

It was a stupid plan in Clarice's opinion, one that only a man could have come up with; they wanted her to become King Henry's mistress so that she could displace the one that he wished to marry. 

"Are you well, my lady?" Isotta Conti asked looking to her mistress, she had been surprised that they were making such a trip; from what she understood they were undertaking a diplomatic mission. 

They had only recently returned from France and the political climate was not an easy one, there were tensions between France and Spain; something that meant traveling like this was not going to be easy should war start. 

It would take them about a month to get to England, a trip like this was not done without planning; they did not even know yet if they would be permitted to enter the country yet. 

The letter was only a day or two ahead of them requesting that Clarice would be permitted to come to his court for a time; though she doubted that it revealed just why she was being sent. 

"I am," Clarice replied turning back in her seat, she felt a weight on her shoulders and she closed her eyes wishing that there had been another to do this. 

She truly hated that she was nothing more than a woman, a woman that was being sent to seduce a King because the Pope commanded it; a part of her wished that she could have said no. 

However, Pope Clement would have found a way to make her life hell and taken everything from her if he felt that he could have benefitted from it. 

There were vultures around just waiting to take what was hers, they would do anything to steal her birth right and Clarice only held onto it because Pope Clement supported her. 

Taking a deep breath, Clarice wished that there was something that she could do; if she went ahead with the plan then she could kiss goodbye to the dreams that she had for her own future.