Cesare Borgia walked through the dark corridors of the Palace to the private rooms of his father, The Holy Pope of Rome.
When he got there he heard agitated voices from inside.
One of the voices he recognised as his father's. Cesare couldn't hear the words, but the tone in which they were spoken betrayed disagreement.
"No! No! We told you We will not betray our family. Lucrezia and her son must be protected at all times."
Cesare couldn't agree more with that. He grew curious as to know who didn't do so. To his surprise it was cardinal Sforza who answered:
"You have no choice!"
"Yes, we have! Cardinal."
Cesare knocked and walked inside. Both clerics looked at him with angry faces.
Sforza was the first to break the silence. "As you wish, Your Holyness."
His eyes didn't leave those of the Pope. In them, a fire heavy smoldered. He gave Cesare a quick look before he bowed to the Pope, bowed his head to Cesare and left.
The Pope sat down at the table, his head in his hand.
"Holy Father?"
Alexander the VIth looked at his son and shook his head.
"It's over, son."
"What?"
Cesare didn 't understand. He knew Sforza had quite a temper at times but he had never known the Cardinal to go straight against his father's wishes.
"We are losing him."
"How so, losing him?" Cesare asked.
"It was to expect. His cousin has been humiliated and his marriage broken. Our promises towards the Sforza-family has been wasted."
"Father." Cesare spoke firmly. "Cardinal Sforza wont turn his back on us. He's an ambitious man and the Pope's Throne is within his reach more than ever. As Vice-Chancellor he has as much as a man could get under our, under your reign. The cardinal will be wise. He will not take any risks."
"A man stands to his family, Cesare. As a man, it is one's task, one's duty."
Cesare understood. There was nothing in the world that would make him to let anything come to Lucrezia. Because she was his little sister. He was ready to dy for her if it would make her live.
"Do you think the Cardinal will betray us?"
"We don't know. We trust the Cardinal's ambitions, as you say, will turn out to be greater than his loyalty."
"That would be a shame." Cesare stated nonchalantly.
"And a risk." the Pope agreed. "But it's a neccesity as well for us. For us and the whole Borgia family."
With those words still in his heart, Cesare left his father to his own devices and walked straight to where he hoped to find Cardinal Sforza.
The Cardinal was exactly where the Pope's son expected to find him: overwhelmed by displeased Cardinals. cedsare smiled. The mere image made him think of the Sfarza as a beautifull, irresistable girl that was peomised for marriage to whoever she chose. A bit like his little sister. Lucrezia might not be willing to marry again, but she was did enjoy the male attention she got from the unfortunate men who tried to recieve her hand.
Sforza wasn't at all enjoying his position. One of the other cardinals was talking loudly, probably trying to convince the Vice-Chancellor of something the other was to stubborn or unable to agree with.
"Ascanio, please, think about it. You know it's impossible!"
"Yeah, dams your ambition. Use your brains for one moment. The Pope is ruining us! He's destroying the Holy Church herself."
"Gentlemen, you have made your point clear and I do respect it. But I cannot give in to it. you will do as the Pope asks, in the name of God."
"But..."
"That will be all, Cardinal Colonna."
The defeated Cardinal bowed his head to his superieur friend which was the sign for the other cardinals to do the same.
They passed by Cesare, some of them nodding to him in acknowledgement, others ifnoring him pretending to be talking to each other. Cesare didn't mind. He knew he didn't belong with them so he couldn't really blame them for not wanting him around.
One of the cardinals who was speaking in a whisper to cardinal Colonna said: "Ascanio is losing it. We need him to reconsider this!"
"I know, cardinal ... But it will hard. Ascanio knows Borgia for a long time, owns him his rising to the position where he is now. The only reason he is not on the Pope's Chair is his respect and loyalty to his old friend."
"Couldn't we break that loyalty somehow? Now his familiy is on the verge of war with the Borgias, he can't denie his loyalty to his familiy."
Colonna looked at the other sadly.
"I couldn't agree with you more, but Ascanio his ambitions might have overgrown his loyalty to his family. He will not risk his title of Vice-Chancellor."
"He shouldn't. If only..."
The rest of the conversations escaped Cesare while he hurried to the lost Sforza. Or so he thought the Cardinal to be, alone, amongst possible, future enemies.
"Ascanio."
The Italian looked up at hearing his name, afraid another problem would ask his attention. He actually smiled when he recognised Cesare.
"So you came." he stated.
"I promised I would."
"Yes, so you did."
(To be continued)