"I failed again," Cesare said as he slumped into his seat behind his desk.

"Don't worry, dearest. I am sure next time will be better..." I replied doubtfully.

The truth was he would fail next time, and the time after that, and the time after that. Cesare Borgia was a strong and capable man, but the mysterious hooded man who wrecked havoc on my beloved's plans was stronger and more capable. He was the only thing people spoke about in Roma anymore. The streets of the city were flooded with his name: Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

I admit, even I was interested about the man in the hood. Some nights I would walk in the streets to try and see if he would appear out of nowhere, but he never came. Spotting him was a rare event, he was like a shadow and a ghost. I've wanted to ask Cesare what he looked like, and how he behaved, but the fear of angering him made me hold my tongue.

Cesare was ill tempered. One slight irritation and he would do a lot of damage. I was always complimented on the way I could keep him calm and out of harm's way by every person who saw us together- except for one jealous pretty girl whose name will be said only in whispers.

This girl- or rather, lady- was Cesare's sister, the beautiful Lucrezia Borgia. She had many romantic relations- one of them being her very own sibling. The pope, Rodrigo Borgia, never cared much about his children's affairs, but when the incest became public he demanded that the two end the romance and to "seek redemption for their sins".

I was Cesare's redemption. He was married to a rich noblewoman and the sister to the King of Navarre and I was his wife's nurse. His wife was completely ignorant to his crimes of incest, but I knew better. I wanted to keep my mistress safe from heartbreak so I boldly requested to speak to the Captain General himself.

He claimed that from the moment he saw me he realized the errors of his past relationships. He saw his "redemption in a pale blue dress" and asked me to forgive him for his horrendous acts. It was not my place to forgive him but he insisted on my acceptance to his apology. When I blindly forgave him he took me away from France and brought me here, to Roma. Now that I look back on it, I am glad I went with him to Italia. My mistress was cruel and he was much kinder in his manner to me, and as hard as it is to believe, I slowly fell in love with the notorious son of the pope, and knowing Cesare, he began to fall out of love.

Lucrezia disliked me ever since. Cesare ignored her and gave her empty promises of being a queen and laughed behind her back. I pitied her for a while, until I realized that soon I would be just like her- another past lover Cesare no longer wanted. I wondered why he kept me as long as he did, every day I waited for him to tell me to leave and never return, but instead he would ask me about my day without caring about the answer and then go to his study. My days, though I lied and said were spent buying new dresses and lace, were actually spent daydreaming about Ezio Auditore, and like a little girl who wished to one day spot a flying horse, I roamed the streets in search of him and returning home disappointed at my search.

"One more war weapon destroyed," he roared as he jumped out of his seat.

"Dear, you still have two left!" I said encouragingly.

"You do not understand, mi amore, it is like your legs. If I cut one off you cannot say "Dear, you still have one left!", because with one leg you are as lame as having no legs," he explained. He was pacing around the room with a weary look on his face.

With no words of encouragement to give him, I decided I would leave him alone. As I walked towards the door, he stopped me.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To eat supper, will you join me?" I lied, knowing he would not eat.

He shook his head, "No, I am not hungry. Won't you eat here? I can get the servant to bring the tray into the room."

"I am afraid you would rather be alone, dearest."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "If you want to be alone, then say so, you wicked whore! Leave me."

If our love was first in bloom I would have run to him and kneeled on the floor and ask for forgiveness, but it wasn't precious and new anymore, so I left the room without another word, knowing his anger would disintegrate sooner or later.

On the dining table beside my food was a letter that was sent for me in a mysterious paper. I almost fainted when I looked to see what was written and in my haste to make sure Cesare never saw the letter, I threw it in the fire and watched the name I admired so greatly burn in the flames.