paradisa | iv. dictated

Entry tags:

lucrezia borgia

iv. dictated

Many of you expressed a need to return home for the sake of some great purpose, as if the castle's choosing is not so arbitrary.

Or perhaps it is because we all believe our purpose great.

And, a man's home is his castle.

[ Lucrezia is lying on the snow by the duck pond, hiding from the festivities today. Her white and gold dress serves almost as a disguise, though her blue coat forming a puddle nearby does not. She watches the sky and haltingly hums a song. ]

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[ She laughs. ] Well then, I shall push her around too if she attempts it.

She is as beautiful as you, Ezio?

She doesn't compare. [No, he's really joking.] No, she's every bit an Auditore as I am. She would be married now, if it were a bigger priority... or if my family could put together a dowry that would make her temper worth it. Whenever she has a promising suitor, she either scares him off, or I do.

She will yet find a greater, braver man. [ She doesn't buy this dowry nonsense, Mr. Florentine Banker. ]

Ezio, did the history books tell of my dowry?

I would hope so. Monteriggioni is a fortress of soldiers. Surely one of them has enough courage for it.

[He flops back in the snow, staring up at the sky. Paradisa's skies are so impossibly picturesque; he almost wishes there was an even higher tower he could view them from, to escape the mountain ranges.]

Not that I'm aware of, piccina, though I'm sure it's in a record book somewhere. Why do you ask?

[ She turns to watch him. ] Would you marry your sister to a soldier?

[ She starts fiddling with her cross necklace, looking down at it. ] I was told it is worthy of a principessa. Does the Pope have such funds?

Depends on what kind of man he was otherwise. The moment he stepped over the line, Claudia would be back in our household and out of his reach, if he could reach at all.

[And the Pope does if he's corrupt as fuck, Lulu. Ezio turns his head to look at her, hood falling back.]

He shouldn't. Does a Pope not take a vow of chastity, poverty and obedience?

You believe that nobility springs from the soul then? [ She thinks she would be happy to be the wife of a poor yet gallant man.

But she smiles to herself when he mentions the vows, seemingly amused. ] 400,000 ducats. And I know not how he earned it.

My experiences with mankind would suggest that, yes. Some of the greatest men I have known have little more than the clothes on their backs, while those I despise laze around elaborate villas.

[He considers all the ways Borgia could gather that money. He doesn't like any of them.]

I doubt he earned it, in that case. The odds of any other man donating such a grand amount to him are slim.

I admire monks and friars, nuns with their simple wooden crosses.

[ She props herself up on her elbows, peering over her shoulder to note flecks of snow on her back. ]

If you find the identity of this most generous benefactor in your history books, you will tell me?

Claudia was to be a nun, at one point. I told her –– as I will tell you –– that "it is a waste of your beauty and intelligence."

[Plus, he knows what Venetian nuns do. He has to wonder what goes on in nunneries beyond his city.

He reaches to brush the snow from her dress, still stretched out in the snow beside her.]

Of course.

[ She smiles and bows her head. That gets her every time. And there is no Casanova in Rome, aside from Juan Borgia, perhaps. She watches him approvingly. ]

Once I thought you were afraid to touch me, Ezio.

[He smiles a touch, too, though he's tempted to pull away the moment she catches him. Ezio knows the flesh is weak, and that he needs no temptation whatsoever to give into it, and trying to keep his hands off her entirely has been the best way of ensuring he doesn't cross lines. He's still not sure that he wants to drag her into this, into his war with Rodrigo Borgia, and flirting too closely with the Pope's daughter would be doing just that.

But what harm could it do?]

Afraid? No, of course not. I just did not want to scare you off.

[ Lucrezia drops her gaze to the space between them, drawing figures with her finger. Hearts, crosses and stars, one on top of each other until they are indistinguishable. ]

I do fear you, Ezio, as any woman should.

[Slight eyebrow raise, and he sits up a bit, watching her.]

And why is that?

[ She smiles, seemingly searching his face for the answer. ] I will never tell you.

[He searches her face, too. He could suss out a number of options from the lectures he'd heard endlessly in his youth, but he can never be sure.]

Let me guess, then. That I will bed them and let them believe they alone have my affections, and then lose interest?

[ It begins again, the words growing louder in her mind, whenever she omits a detail. But she has already said she would not tell him. ]

No. [ She ventures a hand to brush dark strands from his face. ] I would not miss your presence if I do not love you.

[He lets her, just watching.]

True enough, I suppose. But why won't you ever tell me?

Because I said I will not. [ Said with a measure of regret. ]

Must I fear you, Ezio?

[Ezio worries about what brought this on. Where she's going with this. For the millionth time, he wonders if she knows.]

No, I would not have you fear me. I mean you no harm, Lucrezia. It worries me that you think so.

[ Dreams of Djem, mostly, brought it on. ]

I beg you not to worry.

[ She stands with some effort and trudges through the snow toward her coat in a hurry. She must leave before she blurts out whatever she means to keep to herself. Her mind is a traitor. ]

[Ezio gets up too, frowning.]

Where are you going?

[ She knows it is hardly reassuring to be running off like this, so she flashes him a smile over her shoulder. One that she hopes is more mischievous than fearful. ]

You were right. I am likely to turn into an ice statue.

[ Then she strides away as fast as she can. ]

[He moves to follow, knowing he could catch up with ease, but he doesn't. He doesn't want to frighten her, or get fixated on that answer. So he just stands there in the snow, perplexed, watching her rush off. He doesn't know what to make of that smile, so he doesn't smile back.

His heart feels heavy.

He watches her go for a moment, before trudging to his horse and mounting. They go in the opposite direction, and Ezio doesn't look back.]

[ It is when she hears the footsteps recede that she turns back to see him, relieved to see he means to leave. So now she can speak out her mind into her hands without breaking her word. ]

I fear to see you in my dreams. A restless, silenced ghost.

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iv. dictated

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omg phone why did you die on me, how unfaaaair

why hello, fellow phone tagger!

ahaha i was at a party full of strangers and i don't drink so i was like WELP... HI PHONE...

YAY!

it was so enjoyable

And you've made my long commute so exciting~

any time, any time 8)

\o/

you're my favourite ahaha

Awwwh /totally blushing

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♥!