𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 │ reign .
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The night passed without another word being spoken. The Italian princess was the first one to fall asleep in her fiancé's arms and she didn't wake up until the first rays of the morning sun chased away the darkness. Her eyelids fluttered right before she opened her eyes. The first thing her eyes fell upon were his strong arms, wrapped around her body to keep her as close as he could. She turned around slowly, now facing him. Prince Lucas' face was inches away from her own, she was close enough to feel him breathing against her skin. Lucrezia didn't move anymore, she didn't want to wake him up. Behind his back, she spotted a clock on the wall—it was almost noon. Last night, they both agreed to leave to Italy right after sunrise, but she simply couldn't bear to wake him up.
He looked so peaceful when he slept. Beautiful, she almost dared to think. She was grateful for the way they worked things out last night. It didn't take long until he started to move, a clear sign that he was about to wake up. He still held her in her arms and squeezed her lightly to stretch his muscles before he opened his eyes and gazed right into her dark ones. He couldn't help the amused smirk that grew on his lips.
"Are you staring at me, Principessa?" He teased her as one of his hands ran down her back, gently caressing over her nightgown's fabric. "That's rude."
"Good morning to you too, Luke," Lucrezia replied, a chuckle escaping her mouth. "I wasn't staring, I was just—" but what he didn't know was that she had no idea what she was doing. Was she really staring? The only thing she knew was that somehow, Lucrezia got lost in how calm he was when he slept.
"Sure, whatever you say." Ge wiggled his eyebrows, then he caught one of her brown locks between his fingers and he started to play with it. "I feel like it's pretty late, isn't it?"
Lucrezia nodded. "Mhm. I forgot to set the alarm and you didn't ask anybody to wake you up, so here we are. Sorry, I was really tired last night. I didn't expect to fall asleep on your couch."
"What do I need to do to make you stop apologizing to me? It's more than alright to sleep in my room whenever you want, please stop saying you're sorry."
"How come you didn't move to the bed eventually?"
"And let you sleep on the couch, all by yourself? No way. Besides, I fell asleep right after you did." Luke cupped one of her cheeks with his hand, contemplating how delicate she looked in the morning. Her skin was glowing and there were no signs of worry left. Waking up with her by his side was a strange feeling, but it was the kind of feeling he'd like to get used to.
"We, uh—we should get ready to leave. How much time do you need to get ready?"
He found it extremely amusing how she switched moods so quickly. Lucrezia's cheeks turned into a soft shade of rose and he wondered if her actions will ever fail to surprise him. "I just need to get dressed and so do you, our staff with take care of the rest. Our luggage will be shipped with another plane, most likely. But you are right, we need to leave as fast as we can. I didn't mean to sleep in, I guess I was more tired than I thought."
"That makes two of us." she played with a strand of her hair, tugging it behind her ear at last. "I should better get going. I believe I will meet you at the airport?"
"At the airport? Why?" Luke shot her a confused look. "No, we are leaving together. I will see you downstairs whenever you're ready, alright?" He chuckled, lightly shaking his head. "Now go, Italy is waiting for their princess to return."
"Right."
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There was no explanation as for why she didn't let anyone know she was coming, let alone with her fiancé. They left Australia with one of Hemmings' family planes, surprising the ground controllers when they asked for permission to land on Italian soil. The airport staff started to panic and to ask questions about how will their princess arrive home safely without security waiting for her. It was unlikely of her to come unannounced. She would always let somebody know she was coming, even a last minute notice. Before she could set foot on the ground, they arranged three black cars for protection.
"Welcome home, Principessa," the head of the security greeted her, then noticed Prince Lucas coming right behind her. "Your Royal Highness, welcome to Italy. Please, follow me. I will escort you home safely today."
They got inside the middle car and left the airport in a hurry. The driver was polite, charming even. He made small talk with both of them. He tried to make them feel comfortable by asking them about the weather in Australia, comparing it to the weather in Italy, the culture and civilization, the food, the people and many, many other topics, even earning a chuckle or two from the foreign prince.
Once they arrived at the palace in Caserta, he understood how it felt to be far away from home. He felt slightly uneasy in a country that was not his own, with people that did not speak his language, surrounded by faces he did not know. But she was by his side and even though he knew he was not needed here, he came to support her. He would always have his fianceé's back.
"Lucrezia! Tesoro mio!" The words came from an older woman who greeted the princess with her arms wide open. She must be the Queen, Lucrezia's mother. They looked too much alike not to be relatives. When the woman noticed him in the background, she cleared her throat and started to talk in English. How polite. "Did anything happen? We didn't hear a word about your arrival to Italy and it's not like you to come unannounced."
"Mamma, it's delightful to see you again." The two females were wrapped in a tight embrace. "This is short-noticed, I know, but I had to come. I heard the news from last night. God, this was not the way I wanted to do this but... Mother, I would like you to meet Prince Lucas Robert Hemmings of Australia, my fiancé." Lucrezia took a step back and invited Luke to take a step forward. "Prince Lucas, Queen Chiara Maria Borgia d'Italia."
Luke was expecting her mother to extend her hand so he could kiss it but instead, she walked forward and hugged him.
"Welcome to Italy, darling. It's both a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you, Prince Lucas. No matter what Lucrezia says, I'm glad that our first meeting has been so informal. Please, make yourself at home here. All of our staff is at your service, so don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything." Queen Chiara was a warm woman, very different from how her daughter was on the day she arrived in Canberra. Their resemblance was undeniable, but their behavior was contrasting. "It makes me sad that you had to come during a time like this. Everything is chaotic since last night, but I hope you will enjoy your stay. Please, call me mother."
Watching them talk, Lucrezia had a strange feeling in her stomach—was she proud? Happy that her mother liked him? But that didn't make any sense. Why on earth would she feel that? It's not like she was bringing home her boyfriend, a man who she learned to love throughout the time they spent together, but a prince from the other side of the globe, a man she was about to marry but at the same time, a man she knew nothing about. Yet she was happy to bring him home. Strange.
"I believe we have to return to serious matters," her mother breathed out and turned to face her daughter. "I've spoken to your aunt, she is worried about your cousin and your uncle. Sofia is trying to be strong, but she is overwhelmed by the situation and Leonardo is still ill." She sighed. "Your father is in your office. I will be waiting for you in the conference room. Prince Lucas, if you aren't too tired, you can join us as well. After all, you have every right to take part in this. You will be King Consort one day."
"I'm not tired at all, mother." He was still trying to get accustomed to this. "Besides, situations like this don't allow anyone to be tired."
"I couldn't have said it better. Come on, let's head to the conference room. There's plenty of coffee waiting for us there and it's going to take some time until Lucrezia and her father will join us."
That being said, they both left, but not before the Queen hugged her daughter one more time. Even though she didn't like to admit it, living without Lucrezia has been incredibly different. It was like a part of her was missing. The princess glanced in their way, watched them head towards the staircase and smiled, then started to walk to her father's office.
She knocked twice and waited for him to invite her inside. The doors opened slowly, revealing the silhouette of her father. He looked different since the last time he saw her—older. The situation must've exhausted him. The bags under his eyes, the dark circles, the redness in his eyes and the messy hairstyle didn't help at all.
"Lucrezia, luce dei miei occhi, you're back," he exclaimed, getting up from his chair to greet her properly. "We didn't expect you to return so soon. It was a surprise to receive that call from the airport. How come you did not let us know you were coming?"
"To tell you the truth, Pappa, I have no idea. I guess I've been so busy that it flew completely out of my mind. But I'm here now."
"I'm happy you came, we needed you here. I heard you also brought a friend." The old man winked, earning a light giggle from his daughter.
"Yes, I believe it's fine to call him that."
"See? I told you. Befriend him, life is easier if you are indeed getting along with the man you are supposed to marry. I'm sorry you didn't get to choose your husband, but who knows? Maybe fate has already chosen for you."
"He has been extremely supportive. I told him what happened last night, it was his idea to come back home and he wanted to join me as well. I guess this partnership thing is working better than I expected it to."
"Good, that's very good to hear. But let's leave this conversation for another time. Tell me, Lucrezia, how have you been?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm learning to accommodate. It has been hard at first, so many people I did not know and I could not trust. But his family is welcoming. I've been talking diplomacy with the King and he is rather impressed by my vision. It's not Italy, it's not home, but I'm starting to like it, I guess."
"You will live there for a while, my darling. These people need to acknowledge you as their princess. You might not be Queen Consort, but it's going to take long until you two will return to rule iItaly. But I am happy to hear you are appreciated, although it's no surprise at all."
"He is waiting for us in the conference room, Mamma is probably forcing him to try all types of coffee." Lucrezia giggled. "As much as I'd like to stay here and talk to you about everything that has been going on recently, duty calls and we are needed in the conference room."
"I taught you well, Lucrezia. Maybe too well. Let's go." Her father offered her his arm and she nodded, then accepted it and placed her hand over his arm softly.
They left with the office elevatorand arrived straight to their destination room. There was no one else here but the royals, not even advisors. This was going to be a family talk.
The king walked up to his daughter's fiancé and firmly shook his hand. "Welcome home, son. You can call me Giovanni, or father, or however you want to call me. We'll talk about this later." He turned around to the screen project behind them and opened the world map. "Let's hear what you have to say, Lucrezia."
She inhaled deeply before she grabbed a tablet that was connected to the screen and zoomed in on Portugal's border with Spain. "Campo Maior," she started. "This is one of Portugal's weakest zones at the moment. We sent a thousand Italian soldiers to protect this key point. Castelo Branco. Five hundred soldiers are not enough to supply their needs. They will attack there, it's easy to reach Maçäo and they can make their way to Ponte de Sor, Santarém, Loures and finally, Lisbon. We cannot afford that to happen. Send ten thousands soldiers there and scatter them all over the zone. From Castelo Branco to Sabugal, Almeida maybe. We cannot lose Miranda do Douro. They will send armed forces from Zamora. I know the Braganzas don't want violence but if we make Ciudad Rodrigo fall, we have an opening to Salamanca. Depending on which side Morocco chooses, we can use the Gibraltar to conquer Algeciras, then Seville. They won't expect us to fight back like this and we can use this as an advantage for us."
"And how exactly are you planning on taking these regions? And why?" Her father asked.
"We can't ask France to send their navy, they need to protect their borders with Spain as well, but we can request help from the United Kingdom. Once they crossed the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay, they will be in the Atlantic Ocean's waters and they will easily reach Gibraltar. The troops may stop in Faro to rest and refill their stocks of food and water, then they will move on to Huelva. In the meantime, the land troops from Monte Hordo will cross the border to Ayamonte and clear their way to Huelva. Spain declared war, the citizens that live close to the borders will be moved to the center of the country for safety reasons, if they haven't been relocated already. Why? It's simple. Spain broke the International Accords because of the greed of the d'Anjous. They threatened Portugal, they threatened our family. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior."
"Very well. I'd like to know your thoughts regarding France."
"They are related to the d'Anjous indeed, but they will stick by our side. For political reasons, obviously. They need the support of the United Kingdom and they don't want to lose Calais." Lucrezia kept silent for a moment and avoided looking in Prince Lucas' direction. "Our country has made a deal with the kingdom of Australia and their relationship with the United Kingdom will come to our aid. France will not betray us. The Orléans family is smart, they will stay with us."
"So what are you trying to say," her mother interrupted, "is that we are helping Portugal because of our bloodline, the United Kingdom is on our side because of their blood relationship with Australia but France will turn its back against their Spanish blood relatives?"
"Yes, mother. We are royals, we are all related somehow. The kingdoms of Europe have to live in peace if they want to avoid family conflicts."
"What about Sebastián? Lucrezia, darling, if you do this, there is no turning back."
"I'm very well aware of this, mother." The princess cleared her throat, glancing downwards as she spoke. "Sebastián and I—there is no such thing as us anymore. I love him with all my heart and all my soul, but the feud that has been going on between our families tore us apart. He will never forgive us, or forgive me for doing so, but I am the Crown Princess of Italy before I am anything else. And I have a word to say in this. And this is my decision."
All this time, Prince Lucas has been silently watching his fiancée while she discussed war strategy with her parents and he didn't think he could be any more proud of her than he was right now. She was smart, everybody already knew that, but very few people had the chance to witness her using her intelligence for such matters. It was fascinating to him, it made him even reconsider his actions as a prince. He might not be next-in-line for throne, but compared to her, he was nothing. He spent his whole life enjoying the benefits of being royalty, but didn't give anything in return, while Lucrezia was ready to sacrifice her relationship with the Prince of Spain for the greater good. He did wonder what type of connection they had, but now was not the right time to ask any questions at all.
"I've heard enough," her father's voice echoed in the entire room. "There is only one thing I would like to say to my daughter. Congratulations, Lucrezia. I'm proud of the woman you became, the diplomat and the strategist you are. Never in my life had I imagined you would come so far. As a child, I wanted you to enjoy everything this life has to offer and instead, you chose to spend your younger years in the library, learning about history and its consequences. When you told me you wanted to work as a diplomat for Italy, I never told you this, but my heart filled with joy. I knew you were doing it with passion and deep inside, I felt like you were born for it. You will make a great ruler one day, my darling. Until then, I would like to name you the Supreme Commander of the Italian army. We will hold the investiture ceremony tomorrow."
And right then, in that very moment, Prince Lucas felt proud to have this woman by her side. He felt lucky that he got to know her, let alone marry her, and he knew that she had plenty of time to impress him like this as they grew older.
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here is the last chapter of the first act! the situation is getting complicated worldwide but i know u love the tension. thank u for all the love u gave to this story ♡