The Mistress

Chapter 4. The Box

4

1492 Rome, Italy

That's all I get? He has been gone for two days and I get no explanation at all? I push the letter off the desk. I have lived with my father for 17 years he has been my whole world so being away from him it hurts. And the letter tells me nothing. He must be in trouble because in the letter is said nothing. If the letter was found they couldn't get any information from it. He just sent it so I would know I was okay. But I hate this. The amount of questions that poured through my head over and over on a constant loop tore me apart. Who could I tell my problems to? Would anyone be able to help me? Would I ever see my father again? I felt as though when I did see him again it would be on his terms.
Later that day I found the person who brought me the note and they knew nothing. They said a courier brought the note and that was it. There was nothing out of the ordinary. But that wasn't true, this is all very out of the ordinary. My father has never left me like this before, and he always told me where he was going. There was one time he was going to leave for England and I was going to be alone for months. After much of my crying he decided to take me with him. This is serious, I knew that. But we are family and family is everything. If my father is in danger I want to be there with him.

It has been a week since the letter came and nothing has changed. I had spent much of that time praying. At the foot of my bed on my knees I asked God for my fathers safe return. Lucrezia stayed close to me and followed me like a shadow. It was sweet. Just as before she reminded me of my little sister.
Juan. It took a couple of days to come across him but it was unavoidable. He kept trying to get into my bed, he stalked me like a lion stalks it's prey. The first thing I noticed when he talked to me was that he licked his lips. I never liked him and he had barely changed. The only difference is that he drinks because I could smell it on him. It is getting annoying. Little Jofré, the youngest Boriga plays chess with me and he wins 9/10 times. He of course did not remember me, the last time I saw him he still cling to his mother. He was too young to play with Cesare and I. But Cesare avoids me like I am the plague. He sees me down the hall and he will turn the other way or act like he doesn't see me. Lucrezia isn't sure why he does this either. I brought it up to her one time and she seemed confused as well.

I go into the Vatican library, the only place where I can be alone but be distracted. The books and scrolls kept my mind busy and off the topic of my father. Of course it was the Vatican and it holds vast knowledge, I could keep myself occupied for years, hopefully I didn't need to.
I was startled when I turned the corner, stopped in my tracks. It turns out that Rodrigo Borgia, now known as Pope Alexander VI was in there. I blinked rapidly, frozen. When I was younger he used to read to me because I would spend all my time in the Library. "Excuse me your Holiness, I did not mean to interrupt." My mouth was so dry. I start to back out of the room as if I wanted to disappear.

"No, no come in. I have to leave in a few minutes anyway, Vatican business." He waved me in, patting the seat next to me. I sit next to the pope, cautiously. The pope it felt so weird to call him that. I'm sure it was weird for everyone considering how new this was. But the last time I saw him he was a Cardinal. It had been years and I was so young but yet everything about him was so familiar. Hopefully he has stayed the same after all this time. He's was always so jovial and kind. "Wow." Is what he said when he looked over my face, like he was viewing a memory. "You look so much like your mother." What he said shocked me because it was unprompted but I guess it makes sense. He also hasn't seen me in years and now that I am a woman my resemblance to my mother must be more apparent. I didn't know my mother so hearing that is one of the things I love to hear. "As a child your similarities were noticeable but now it's undeniable."
"You knew my mother?" A smile grows on his face as the memories flashed in his mind. Of course he knew my mother. He and my father were very close so of course he knew my her.
"Yes and she was the most graceful and beautiful woman I have ever known. She was really something special. Admittedly I was quite jealous of your father." He laughed from his belly. As he adjusted himself in his seat I notices the scrolls he held in his hands. I assume he came in for them and they were going to help him in the "Vatican business" he spoke of.
"Your holiness." A servant calls from the door way. "Your meeting sir." He came over and took the scrolls from the Holy Fathers hands.
"Ah yes." He stands up. "It was good to talk to you my love." he kisses my hand and leaves. I have always wanted to know more about my mother and it's a shame her left before I could ask more. He was just as nice as I remember. There are rumors that Alexander is a cruel man but I had never seen it. Had he changed so much? He had only ever shown me kindness when I was young. He was the reason I could stay here. If he didn't want me here, I wouldn't be. It made me wonder how much her knew of all of this. Was there a plan all along to bring me here or was this just concocted recently?
I get up and look through the books on the selves. The scrolls and books go on forever in the library. My fingers ran down the shelves as I walked by them. I wasn't sure if any of this was in any particular order but I picked and grabbed what I wanted to. I put some on a desk so I could read them in my room. But there seemed to be too many, they were too heavy. No one stopped me either. It wasn't like it was bustling in here, there were a few people going about their business. Some of the saw what I was doing and no one said a word. They were quiet, so much so that it made the place feel empty. My silence was ruined by footsteps I heard approaching, so loud that it caught my attention. My eyes peer through the stack and spot Cesare, immediately I advert my gaze. I don't even attempt to talk to him I just go back to the selves. Grabbing a book of the shelf I flip through it, that familiar smell of old books tickles my nose. It was my favorite smell. The book even cracked when I opened it, as though it hasn't been open in some time. But as I was enjoying this the footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped. Looking up from the book my eyes met Cesare's who stood at the end of the isle. I turn around and ignore him as he did me.
"Hello." He spoke but my body stayed turned from him until I felt his hands on my shoulders. He was so fast, how on earth did he get to me so quick. He spun me around to meet his face. I was stunned, couldn't move, my mouth so dry. He was so close to to me that I could feel his warmth. It felt so strange to be this close to him but it felt nice. His brown eyes were intense, his chest rapidly was rising and falling with his breath. I could feel it, his breath on my lips. It made me tremble.
"Ever since you came back into my life I wanted to avoid you but then I saw this." he takes the chain from around my neck and hold the ring that hangs on it. "I gave you this when we were kids and you kept it all this time." it was the ring the Cesare gave me when he promised to marry me. "You vex me woman in ways you don't understand. I can't stop thinking about you." I had worn that ring for years. It never fit me properly, it was too big so I put it on a chain to make it into a necklace. One day I had hoped to show him what I had done but days past, then months, then years and I hadn't seen him. The long chain was around my neck for so long most of the time I forgot it was there. It was always stuff into my clothes and only was seen when it fell out somehow. That must be how he saw it. Even my father would ask about it from time to time when the chain would reveal its self and I didn't know. But just a quick "It's nothing" and stuffing it back in would kill the subject.
"Cesare." I stammer. "This- I" it was just to much to take in. He got closer to me, backing me in a corner. What did he mean? Why did he want to avoid me? As I had done nothing to him. It was all to confusing. I wished he had just approached me in a normal manner and not like a deranged man.
"My lady Lena." A servant calls for me from the door. I push Cesare off of me and meet the servant at the door.
"This just came for you." he hands me a large bronze box. I look at Cesare but I leave to go to my room to open the box. I shook off whatever that was in favor of wondering what was in the box

A letter sits inside along with a hand held mirror, a rose and a gladiator helmet. The mirror I recognized, it was a similar to a larger one that my father had in out home. I hoped the letter would explain but it didn't. I opened the letter and it has a bunch of numbers on them. I look at them confused. What is this? Then I find a not at the bottom.

"See Leonardo."

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