This story is set canonically in the Renaissance Era.
Alfonso d'Aragon stared at the letter in his hands, the will of Pope Alexander VI could never be denied.
I am honoured.
He sighed and read the parchment once again, his hand coming to close the wooden door to his chamber. Lucrezia Borgia will make a fine wife.
"Enrique," he called as his servant knocked. "What do you require my assistance for?"
"Nothing, my prince," he replied, wishing to reveal his thoughts, but keep them hidden. It was not proper for a servant to speak so bluntly. "Shall I tell Sancia to continue on with her day?"
She is here? Alfonso glanced out the window, his sister sitting on the bench in the garden, her black curing hair falling gently on her shoulders. In her hands was a piece of tapestry, flowers blooming across the cloth in countless colours. How beautiful she is….
He closed his eyes and tucked the letter in the folds of his shirt.
She did not need to know.
"Enrique," Alfonso said as he walked out into the hallway, "check on the horses for my coming journey."
"Yes, my prince." Enrique bowed and departed, leaving Alfonso to make his way to the garden. When he arrived, Sancia took care to frown at him.
"And you had the indecency to keep me waiting here." She complained loudly as she always did.
It was a lovely sound.
"I am sorry," Alfonso swiftly apologised, taking a seat next to her.
How he loved her.
"What is it?" she asked as time crept past in silence. "Are you ill?"
"No, I am not, thankfully." Alfonso replied, his heart heavy with the words he would have to speak. "Sancia."
"Yes?" her sweet voice inquired.
"I am engaged to be wed."
Sancia paused and Alfonso withdrew the letter, handing it to her carefully. "It is all written within." She quickly opened it and began to read. Muttering as she did so. "Yes, yes… Lucrezia will be a good wife. She is sensitive, caring and…"
A gentle hand reached out and caressed his face, Sancia's eyes staring at him intently. "I will miss you."
Alfonso sighed. "I will miss you as well. The Borgias are a-" His heart skipped as Sancia embraced him, her lips alighting upon his own, her body pressing against his. She did love him and no matter how far away their own lives took them from one another, they were bound together by blood.
Author's note: It is about time that I write a Cantarella story. I love that manga. I am sensing that I will be writing more one-shots in the future.