The Art of Power and Love ( A Medici Masters of Florence the Magnificent fanfic)

Chapter 8

*Two years later*

Villa Medici in Careggi, 1466

A small crowd was gathered in front of a locked door.
"Giuliano! Open the door now! It's your mother who's ordering you!" Lucrezia Tornabuoni banged her fists on the door, without getting any reply.
Ginevra watched her with crossed arms, then glanced at Livia, who was nervously checking her big bunch of keys, at Guglielmo, a young man who was the new leader of the guards and at a small group of confused servants.
"We can try to break in from the window" Guglielmo suggested.
"First check that he didn't run away from the window!" The lady scoffed pushing him away "Livia, how can you have lost the key of my son's room?".
The housekeeper hurried to check again her keys with trembling fingers.
Lucrezia rolled her eyes furiously knocking again at the door.
Ginevra sighed and took a hair pin from her hair, then approached her "Can I try?".
The lady scowled at her but agreed, stepping aside.
The young woman worked on the keyhole and after many tries, they clearly heard the door getting unlocked.
She slowly turned the doorknob, then let it go.
The door opened with a sinister sound. But luckily the boy was just on the bed, hiding his face on the pillow.
Ginevra stopped the other women who wanted to storm inside and persuaded them to be the only one to approach the crying boy.
Giuliano was growing up as a handsome teenager, but his attitude was very different from his calm older brother. He was more lively and wild, and lately he turned rebellious.
His parents were trying to fix him, but that just turned them more against each other. Giuliano wanted to be considered as the new authority in the house, but everyone was still treating him like a kid and he couldn't bear it.
Ginevra closed the door behind her and waited for him to react.
"Do you want me to go away?" She asked softly seeing that stood stubbornly still.
"Yes!" He barked with a hoarse voice without raising his face from the pillow.
She lingered, then slowly stepped back, but before reaching the door, his voice changed into a desperate one "Wait! No".
The boy sat up, wishing to hide his red eyes and face.
"Don't let her come in. I don't want anyone to come here".
The young girl nodded "As you wish".
"How did you unlock the door?".
She shrugged "I have my tricks".
"I locked it because I didn't want anyone to annoy me" he reproached her.
"I'm sorry" she said automatically.
He sighed lowering his head and brushing his wet face "Better you than mother or anyone else. I wish I can just run away from here".
Ginevra stepped carefully and sat on the bed next to him, ready to step back at the first sign of disagreement that never came.
"And where would you go?".
"Far away".
"Rome? Venice?" She suggested.
"Anywhere far from here" he cut off "Far from them".
She pondered what to say "They are just trying to make you ready for your future".
Giuliano turned enraged "I hate them! I feel like a servant! It's awful!".
"I feel you" she mumbled.
"How can you? You're a servant. It's your duty follow the orders. What am I? A servant of my brother?".
She kept calm and said firmly "Lorenzo needs someone like you at his side. Think of his position. All the responsibilities and power and duties. And all the enemies he has because of that. Don't you want to help him?".
"And who will help me?".
"Your family, me and all your other servants".
He shook his head making his messy curly hair dancing around his face "My mother just bosses me around. Always telling me what to do. I hate it".
She took his hand into hers "I know it's hard to understand. But someday you'll be grateful for this. Hard days come to prove each of us. The weak ones will surrender and die, the strong ones will rise and lead. Be strong, Giuliano".
He stared at her with sadness, then replied "I'll try".
The boy asked her to lock the door again when she was leaving and she obeyed.

His mother was waiting for her and Ginevra shared their conversation suggesting to give him some time alone.
Lucrezia agreed "Thank you. You seem knowing how to deal with him better than anyone else".
She was surprised by that sudden warm when that woman always treated her with coldness and aloofness "I just know well how it is to be of his age".
"You're really a good girl, Ginevra. I was blinded by my prejudices, but now I have to admit it. It's good to have you here" a shadow of a smile lit her face.
Ginevra bowed her head "Thank you, madonna Lucrezia".
"You can join Giuliano in his rides if you want. Just be sure he won't get in troubles and he doesn't lock himself in the cellars to drink our wine".
Many ideas raised in the young woman's mind, who sightly smirked "Sure".