In the countryside of Siena: Military Grounds
***
Ranuccio Farnese was a great man. Born into a commune in the north with nothing to his name but his passion for the sword, he was the true definition of a "self made man".
At twenty-six, already father to his ten-year-old son Leonardo and seven-year-old daughter Y/N, Ranuccio became both Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Siena's troops and a single father, following the death of his wife Agnese.
Ranuccio, unlike so many men in his age, did not shy away from fatherhood -- he sent little Leonardo (who was already strikingly like him in looks, both of them sharing a dominating physique and waves of blond-brown hair) to a school in Rome, where he would gain a classical education in philosophy and law. As for his daughter, little Y/N, with her big green eyes and pale skin, he raised her the only way an army man could -- on the battlefield.
***
The first day Ranuccio brought little Y/N to the military camp, there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that everyone thought he was insane. Ranuccio, a man of over six feet whose clothing failed to conceal his muscle mass and whose face was stern in the eyes of his men, arrived in front of his soldiers holding the hand of a girl who wore a dress and shyly hid behind her father's legs as he addressed the troops.
"Men, I trust you not only with victory over the Orsini in the upcoming days, but with my daughter's life and education. You will treat her with kindness, respect, and the utmost generosity. Teach her as you would your sons, and love her as you would your daughters."
So it went. He first left her with a calvary man, a stout fellow by the name Pietro who came from the main city and who had three daughters of his own. Pietro brought Y/N to the horse stables, and introduced her to each animal -- explaining the heritage and importance of each of the gentile beasts.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before, my little soldieress?" He kneeled down to be at eye-level with the young girl, turning to her for her answer.
Y/N shook her head 'no', looking at to Pietro with a curious expression. The man motioned for her to stay as he stood and went to a far stable, retrieving a small brown horse meant for carrying supplies.
"Meet Sporco, a little supply horse. Do you care to take a ride with him?" Pietro spoke with a vibrant tone, the same one he used with his own girls when they were younger.
Y/N nodded excitedly, prompting the stout man to lift her onto the horse and take her step-by-step, until she was able to lead the horse around the camp herself, even galloping quickly in circles. She rang out with a childish laugh, causing almost every man in the camp to smile at the child.
***
The second man her father left her with was Nardo, her father's left hand and one of the best swords in Italy. Nardo was a few years younger than her father but lacked his bulky build. Instead, he was slender yet equally as tall, with shaggy brown hair and an all-over disheveled look.
From the moment she was left in his custody, the young man placed a blade in her small arms and asked her to mimic his movements as he showed her how to swing and stab and cut. By the end of the day, he was playfully dueling her back. When her father came to pick her up and bring her home, he was overjoyed by the site of his little girl lifting a blade with such determination.
***
The third man was Gasparre, an elderly man who wrote accounts of the battles but did not fight himself. He had been a school teacher a few years prior, and seemed overjoyed to have a student once more.
Gasparre, thin with age and bespectacled, hunched over a table in one of the tents with Y/N, refreshing her on her reading skills which had been severely neglected since her mother's death. Her mother had read -- a rarity for a woman -- and taught Leonardo as a child. Unfortunately, she did not live long enough to do the same for her daughter. Gasparre now reignited the flame until Y/N was helping him write accounts and receipts.
***
And so it continued. Day after day, she would be entrusted under the care of a new military man and slowly began acquiring new skills. While it was extremely unorthodox, it seemed Y/N thrived in the environment. She was never bothered by the dirt or lack of people her own age and gender, but rather by her skirt which made it impossible to really tussle with the men who challenged her. In response, some of the men pitched in to buy her a few pairs of pants and some white shirts, which she began wearing regularly.
By the time she was twelve, Y/N was more advanced with a sword than half the men on her father's unit. She was fast, and growing strong. She rode horses alongside soldiers, read poetry alongside Gasparre, and even helped illiterate men write letters to their families in the city. She was beloved by every man on the field, and each treated her as their own child.
Which is perhaps why she became a target. Just weeks shy of battle with the troops of Orsini -- a powerful noble family who had been plotting against Siena for months -- Y/N was tending to the horses with Pietro when he stepped away for just a moment to get a new bucket of water. He couldn't have been gone for more than five minutes, but when he returned Y/N had seemingly disappeared.
As soon as he began calling out for her, the entire camp of men leapt into a frenzied search for the young girl. When Ranuccio heard, he was so filled with anxiety and anger that he brazenly jumped on the back of a warhorse and rode in the direction of the Orsini camp -- his army followed, and the war broke out weeks before it was planned. The battle was fierce, and it has been suggested that Ranuccio's troops were so infuriated with the kidnapping of Y/N that they won in a blind rage.
They found her at the end of the battle, bound in ropes in one of the Orsini's tents. Specifically, she had been recovered by Nardo -- the same man who had taught her to pick up a sword, but not how to use her fists. It was a fault he took to heart, and in some ways, Nardo died blaming himself for these events. But he also died without uttering a word about the state in which he found her in. She had been crying and shaking, cold to the touch, and her pants torn in shreds around her. Nardo returned her to her father after giving her his own jacket. Ranuccio brought her back to their home, bathed her, and wrapped her in blankets -- but she still didn't speak. She fell into a spout of silence, unable to answer anyone about what had happened to her.
***
School of Philosophical Studies, Rome.
***
Leonardo wasn't informed about Y/N's attempted kidnapping until several days later, when a letter arrived for him at his school. He was in his dormitory with Lorenzo, his schoolmate and friend, when the schoolmaster handed him a letter covered in his father's rushed cursive. It explained the details of the battle, the inexplicable kidnapping of his beloved little sister, and her chronic silence. It wasn't a question for Leo -- he needed to return to Siena.
When the decision was made, Lorenzo offered to join Leo on horseback to ride from Rome. The ride would be almost two days, so they began packing immediately after informing tutors that they would be taking a week off for a matter of emergency.
***
Farnese Estate of Siena.
***
Twelve-year-old Y/N spent her days in solitude and silence, locked up in her room or the Farnese library. Her father owned a rather large estate in Siena, and remained there in the days after her kidnapping. He did not entrust anyone else with the safety of his child, and he was still anxious to hear her speak again.
When Leo and Lorenzo arrived at the estate, Ranuccio was in the library with his daughter, reading to her the Greek tales of mythological goddesses. When she was a baby he read her these same tales -- hoping his daughter would flourish into a strong young woman. He had these same hopes now.
Leo opened the library door just as Ranuccio was speaking about Persephone eating pomegranate seeds, effectively cutting off the tale. Both father and daughter turned to the door, and before anyone could process what was happening, Y/N jumped up and ran to embrace her brother -- sobbing as she did so.
"Leaf, it's okay," Leo whispered into her ear, squeezing her, "I'm here."
Y/N whispered in his ear just his name, but it was enough to make Leo cry as well.
***
In the following days, Leo and Ranuccio came to understand that a small group of Orsini's men grabbed Y/N from the horse stables, stuffing her mouth with fabric, and roughly tying her into a wagon. As soon as they made it to the camp, she was tied at the hands and feet and beaten -- perhaps among other things. Leo and Ranuccio didn't press her for details, instead they agreed it would be best for her to be moved away from Siena for a short while.
Lorenzo, who was staying with the family, offered to house the siblings in Florence -- insisting that they would be welcomed guests. By the end of the day, Ranuccio wrote a series of letters to Lorenzo's father, Piero, about the possibility.
***
Florence.
***
Two years later, the pair arrived in Florence alongside their father and a plethora of belongings. Ranuccio helped settle his children in the Medici estate, and left only when he was satisfied with their safety and comfort.
On her first day, she was introduced to the household. Lorenzo, of course, she knew quite well. He was a respectable young man, and her brother's best friend. She found him a tad cocky at times, his confidence seemed to extrude at even the most undeserving of times.
Then, of course, was Lorenzo's younger brother Guiliano, who was Y/N's age. He was just as strong and and perhaps more handsome at Lorenzo, but lacked his brother's intellectualism -- it seemed Guiliano was much, much more interested in women and booze. Y/N struggled to get along with Guiliano, finding that he did not respect her as much as her brother despite their intellectual and physical equality, causing several quarrels between them. The issue was largely settled when Y/N convinced him to take her up in a sword fight, which she won -- effectively humbling him.
The last of the Medici siblings was daughter Bianca, the youngest. She was pretty, but rather aloof, and Y/N could tell Bianca found her weird. From the moment they met, Bianca began encouraging Y/N to take up more feminine ways -- Y/N was not reciprocating.
Of course, Y/N's best friend soon became Sandro -- a painter backed by the Medici who also lived at the estate. She spent hours at a time in his studio, learning to sketch at an almost-expert level.
She and Lorenzo very quickly became parts of the Medici family -- operating with confidence in the new city. Y/N seemed to thrive outside Siena, minus the judgement she received for wearing men's clothes and fighting her brothers at every given opportunity.