I decided to go ahead and post the second chapter while I finish up the one I'm currently working on. Let me tell you, this is shaping up to be a hurricane of a story. Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story and doing well in life!
Claudia followed Contessina through the streets of Firenze as the sun rose to its zenith in the sky. The weather had warmed some, thankfully, but it did not help with the wind that picked up during the daylight hours. The wind did not affect the people of Firenze in the slightest as they busied themselves with their trade in art or selling goods. The city was bustling with activity more than usual which made it harder for the Auditore girl to keep up with Contessina who was so focused on her mission. When the blond girl asked Claudia if she wanted to go with her to find material for a dress, this was not what the younger girl had in mind.
If it were not for Contessina's blond hair that stood out in a sea of dark haired italians, Claudia would have lost her for good. Contessina stopped ahead to scan the crowded street for her and luckily Claudia was not too far away, so she ran up to the blond without hesitation. She had never seen the streets so busy before, although it had only been a couple days since Christmas and Claudia wanted to spend some of the florins that she had gotten.
"I thought I had lost you in the crowd back there." Contessina said as Claudia grabbed on to her arm.
"It is very busy today. I hope they haven't sold out of those pretty gems at the jewelers over Christmas." The young Auditore said looping her arm through Contessina's.
"I hope not either because someone's birthday is coming up." Contessina smiled at her sister and pulled her along. "I would hate it if the gems disappeared all of a sudden."
"You don't think someone bought them all did you?" Claudia had been collecting the glass gems that came from Venezia since she was little. By now she had one of every color and size; if not more. The pink ones were her favorite and some had even been made into beads to string on a chain. "I was hoping to get a teal one this time."
"I'm sure if they don't have one there will be one in eventually. If not, I suppose we will have to go to Venezia ourselves to get it." The blond girl said with a giggle as they walked towards the seamstress' shop. "Now, if we go pick out some material for your new dress, I may be able to finish it with Cammillia before your birthday." It was no secret that she and the auburn haired wife of Federico were working on Claudia's dress for a couple months now. It was almost done, but it needed something extra. Not to mention Contessina needed material for her own dress because her birthday was also coming up in March.
"I have been wondering, do you love my brother?" Claudia asked catching Contessina off guard with the question. "I've known you for a long time, but I don't think I've seen you and Ezio act like my mother and father or Federico and Cammillia."
"I do love him, in a way. Not like your parents love each other, more like...close friends." She had to think about it a moment, but that was the best way to explain it to Claudia. "Ezio is complicated and I suppose I am as well. Do I think we could love each other like that? Maybe so, given the time or if we allow it to ourselves, but right now it is not something to worry about." She was being as honest as she could be without giving away her deepest secrets on the matter.
"I love Duccio, but I am not sure he loves me like I want him to." The younger girl said.
"The only way to know is to ask him. Otherwise you two will dance around each other and you will get hurt in the process." That was the last thing she wanted for Claudia. The girl was still young and had every opportunity to marry someone she loved. Someone who does deserve her, not the idiot boy who keeps stringing her along. "Come on, the shop is not much further ahead."
"Signora Contessina!" She heard a familiar voice through the crowd and spotted a recently made friend.
"Leonardo!" Contessina said as the artist came up to her and embraced her. "What are you doing away from your workshop?" She asked pulling away from him with a smile on her lips. She was truly happy to see him.
"Well, I was in need of a new quill for my writings, but I cannot seem to find one good enough. I keep finding goose feathers when swan is the best." He rubbed the back of his head in distress.
"I may know where to find a good quill, but first, I have to introduce you to someone. Leonardo, meet Claudia Auditore." She motioned to the girl at her side and Claudia curtsied in greeting. "Claudia, this is Leonardo da'Vinci. A very talented individual." She smiled.
"A pleasure Messer da'Vinci." The Auditore girl said. "My mother speaks very highly of you."
"Oh grazie." Leonardo seemed to blush a little with the compliment. "You're mother is lucky to have a beautiful daughter such as yourself." Compliments aside, the meeting was unexpected, but Contessina needed to get to the shop. "Now, Contessina, about that quill."
"Ah, yes. There is a shop on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio that just opened. The owner is very eccentric and imports a lot of goods from Constantinople, including some fine quills from different birds. You might find something you like there." The Medici girl said to her friend. "The owner's name is Hassim, he is from the east, but he is pretty reasonable."
"I take it Lorenzo deals with him exclusively?" Leonardo asked.
"Indeed. He sometimes imports rare books to put in my grandfather's libraries across Toscana." Contessina replied with a smile. "Perhaps if you mention my name, he might give you the best pick of the goods he has."
"I will do so." The artist bowed his head. "It was good to see you Contessina and very wonderful to meet you little Claudia." He said to both young women before walking off, but stopped and turned around remembering something. "Oh, I almost forgot. The paintings that Madonna Maria requested are finished, she can come get them tomorrow if she likes. I should be in my workshop all day as I am working on something very important."
"I will be sure to let her know, now get out of here Leonardo and go buy you a new quill before they sell out." Contessina said laughing.
"Right, well, adio." He smiled at the girls and turned back in the direction of Hassim's shop.
"Mother was right, he does like to talk." Claudia said with a grin. "But he is nice enough."
"That he is." Comparing Leonardo to Sandro was difficult. Sandro was a painter through and through, while Leonardo was a true inventor. She had seen some of his drawings when she had gone with Maria a while back. It looked like he was trying to invent something to help man fly. Something that she could barely comprehend. "We should get to the shop now, Claudia."
"Right." The younger girl said following Contessina.
The two girls found their way to the seamstress' shop without anymore interruptions. As soon as they stepped inside, Gianna Baroncelli greeted them with her aging smile. She was a stout woman with greying brunette hair and arthritic hands. The poor woman had trouble mending clothes these days, but at least she employed good help from time to time. Cammillia even came to work for Gianna on several occasions to earn a few extra florins for herself.
"Contessina! Claudia! I did not expect you two to come today." The woman said coming from behind her counter as the two young women walked in. "What can I help you with, cara?"
"A bolt of material for the dress we have been working on. Something pale blue if you have it." Contessina said giving Gianna a small smile and a curtsey.
"I know just the thing." The woman moved away from the counter and to the wall where a selection of new material had come in shortly before Christmas from Venezia. "I was told this came from the Silk Road, but I cannot be sure. It is nothing like I have seen in a while." She pulled on a bolt with a cyan blue cloth that looked of fine satin. There was no way Contessina could afford it, but it would look absolutely lovely as an accent for Claudia's dress. "Here, take a look at it." Gianna said handing it to the blond girl.
"It is very beautiful and no doubt you are asking a lot for it." Contessina said showing it to Claudia.
"Mio Dio, this is expensive." The younger girl said fingering the embroidered designs on the cloth. "How much?"
"Five florins a stand. A hundred for the whole bolt." Contessina heard Gianna say. "But, I will give it to you for not even half that. I will take forty-five florins for that bolt. There is enough material on it to finish Claudia's dress and for you to make your own Contessina."
"Gianna, this material is exquisite, but you would be losing money on it for such a low price. We can't simply ask you to lower the price just for us." The blond protested but Gianna laughed before putting a hand on Contessina's forearm.
"Consider it a bargain because your family has done so much for me. If it were not for Lorenzo, this shop would be closed by the beginning of the year and let us not forget Messere Giovanni's generous loan. It is the least I can do." The woman said. Contessina looked to Claudia who only shrugged.
"Gianna, I can't let you lose a profit on this material, so let me at least pay for most of it. Will you take sixty-five for it instead? That way you can still make up for it later." She knew that the material was worth more than a hundred florin, but Gianna was stubborn.
"Alright, sixty-five florin. Not a florin more than that Contessina de'Medici." The older woman tried to sound as though she were making a hard bargain, but smiled nonetheless. "Or should I say Auditore now?"
"It is Auditore, but everyone still knows me as Medici and that is not likely to change. Firenze with all its progress and change cannot accept the change that comes with names." The Medici girl said with a small giggle. She opened her money pouch and counted out sixty-five florin before dropping the gold coins in Gianna's hands. "There, sixty-five. Not a florin more." She smiled.
"Bless you, dear girl. Give your families my love." The aging woman said as Contessina smiled before leaving the shop with Claudia in tow. Once the younger girl was in the sunlight she saw how bright and beautiful the satin really was. It was the color of the sky and her eyes widened seeing how the embroidering was actually a silver color.
"Mio Dio, this is bella! " She caught Contessina's attention who stopped to look at the cloth herself. The work that went into the cloth must have been months if not years. The blond could not believe Gianna let it go for so little and she had half a mind to take the bolt of cloth back into the shop to fuss at the older woman, but it would do no good.
"That Gianna. Sometimes I don't know whether to hug her or yell at her." Contessina said as the moved on to the jewelers. The shop was not much further down from Gianna's and it was run by a nice old man, Bernardo. He had spent his life going around Italia and even to Spain and France to learn the techniques of different jewelers. The old man created some of the most beautiful works in Firenze, but his hands, like Gianna's, were becoming too arthritic to work any longer. Bernardo's son, Renzo was taking over ever so slowly. "Come, lets get to Bernardo before someone buys all of your glass gems." She smiled at Claudia and walked ahead.
The shop seemed to be empty when the two girls came to it. The entire façade of the shop had been boarded up recently, every piece of jewelry was gone, and a for sale sign hung on the front. Contessina looked at Claudia trying to figure out what was going on. They had visited only a couple weeks ago, so what happened? Did Bernardo's health go down or did it have something to do with the Pazzi?
"Scusi, Signore, but what happened to the jeweler's shop?" Claudia asked a passing gentleman.
"You did not hear? Bernardo could not pay back his loan to the Pazzi, so they confiscated all of his stock and sold it." The man said before bowing out and leaving the two girls to absorb the news.
"What are we going to do?" Claudia asked her sister-in-law who seemed be upset over this news. "Contessina?"
"I have half a mind to go to the Pazzi and give them a thorough fussing, but Lorenzo would have my hide. This is all Francesco's doing. He wants nothing more than to have the power given back to the nobles and not to the people of Firenze. Lorenzo would never do something like this." Contessina felt anger towards the Pazzi for not giving any warning to Bernardo before shutting his business down. If only Bernardo had gone to the Medici then perhaps he would still be in business. "Come on Claudia, I suppose we should be getting home then."
"Well, if it isn't the little Medici girl." A voice that Contessina dreaded more than anything said from behind her. "Come to buy you a pretty ring?"
"Claudia, can you find your way home?" The blond asked her sister.
"Si, I can." The Auditore girl said understanding exactly what Contessina was asking her to do. "Be careful, Contessina."
"I'll be fine." She could hear Vieri's laughter as he spoke to the two friends he brought with him. "Go." Claudia did not hesitate to take the bolt of cloth and start walking back the way they came.
"Where is Ezio? Off with Cristina Vespucci again?" The Pazzi boy said with a laugh. "You know, since he doesn't give you any attention, I would be happy to take up his place."
"Vieri de'Pazzi! What do you want from me?" Contessina stood her ground as the boy came closer to her. "If you came to torment me again, do your worst. It is nothing compared to the torment you will receive in Hell."
"Such strong words for a little puttana such as yourself." He put himself in her space and reached out to touch her cheek. "No wonder Ezio prefers Cristina over you."
Contessina did not hold back the anger that boiled up inside her. She did not hesitate to slap Vieri as hard as she could and the sound of the contact of her right hand against his left cheek echoed through the street. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what had happened. Vieri held his cheek before becoming enraged himself and raised his hand to strike her. Instead of slapping her with the palm of his hand, he backhanded her and she fell down onto the damp street with a yell of pain. She did not look up to see the faces of the men and women who were watching because she was embarrassed. The side of Contessina's face hurt where she felt Vieri's knuckles make contact with her cheekbones.
"Maybe I should have you escorted to prison for striking me, Medici." He stood over her and bent down as she tried to pick herself up. "Maybe that will teach you some respect." Vieri grabbed her by her hair and forced her up before spitting in her face. "Your cousin can't save you now and I forget, you are no longer a Medici. You're an Auditore now." Contessina glared at him through the pain and spit back in his face.
"Vieri! Get your hands off my wife!" Ezio's voice as demanding as it could be sounded like angels trumpets before the end. Contessina could see Claudia standing behind him quietly still holding on to the bolt of silk. Ezio must have been on his way to meet them when she found him. Thank goodness. "I'm not going to tell you again. I have no problem beating you to a pulp in front of everyone here."
"Fine, you want your little Medici whore, you can have her." Vieri said letting go of Contessina and pushing her towards Ezio hard enough for her to fall to the ground again.
"Contessina!" Claudia said dropping the silk onto the street before running over to the blond and helping her up. "Are you alright?" Contessina did not say anything, only allowed herself to be lead over to behind Ezio for protection. He glanced over at her and she felt incredibly sick all of a sudden.
"You are going to pay for this, Vieri. I don't know when, but you will." Ezio was not going to fight there in front of everyone and make a spectacle of Contessina's honor. There was more to the rivalry between the Pazzi boy and Ezio, Contessina was just another iron in the Auditore boy's fire.
"Fine. How about before sunset on the Ponte Vecchio? Both of us and our friends." Vieri said waiting for a response from Ezio.
"Fine. Sunset at Ponte Vecchio. I'll be there." There was no more said between the two rivals before the Auditore turned around to assess his wife who was more than ashamed at that moment. He put a finger under her chin so he could see the developing bruise on her cheek and suddenly grew angry. Vieri was known to be aggressive with women, he had tried before with Cristina, but he had never physically hurt her. Contessina, on the other hand, was a target of his physical aggression towards the Medici family. This had not been the first time that Vieri had singled her out in public, but it was the first time he had openly hit her.
"I'll be fine." Contessina's voice was shaky, but she was not crying. She was embarrassed and hurt, perhaps even stunned that this happened, but she would be fine. It was not Vieri's words that hurt her; she knew better than to listen to his false words, but the people around her heard them. Now they would think her marriage was a sham and in a way, it was. "I know you are going to go fight him, but you shouldn't. It is only going to get worse." She said putting a hand on his wrist. "He is only doing this because Francesco told him to."
"Be that as it may, I cannot let him get away with treating you like this. He hurt you, Contessina." Ezio was brave and honorable. He had never raised a hand to a woman in his life and never would for the rest of his life, yet he had no idea how much he was hurting her on the inside. She praised him for that outward bravery, but at the same time abhorred him for the way he seemed to ignore her more now than ever. "Claudia, can you take her home?"
"Si, brother." The younger girl said before picking up the silk from the ground and dusting it off. There was only a little dirt on it, but overall the material was fine. "Come on, Mother will help you feel better." Claudia said pulling on the blond who stood still giving Ezio a pleading look.
"Don't do it." She said one more time, but he turned away from her to start gathering his friends. She slumped in defeat when she realized he was never going to listen to her. Contessina allowed Claudia to pull her away in defeat.
In all her troubles, Contessina did not think about what she looked like in that moment. She really did not bother with cleaning herself up before going back to Palazzo Auditore for it would make no difference in how she looked anyway. The whole family was about to see her face and questions would be asked that she could not run from this time. Normally, it was the boys that came home roughed up from a fight, but today she was going to take the credit for that. She was well aware of the stares she was receiving as Claudia lead her through the busy streets of Firenze.
Shame and embarrassment were etched across Contessina's face as she walked into the courtyard to see Federico embracing his wife. When the couple realized that they were not alone anymore, Federico broke off the embrace to see who had come in. He was not amused in the least when he saw the bruise forming on the blond girls face. Cammillia gasped before covering her mouth with her hand and moving over to Contessina in a hurry.
"Who did this to you?" Federico's voice never became serious, but the tone he had adopted was only meant for those who angered him. He put a hand on her cheek and gently moved her head so he could see the bruise more clearly.
"It was Vieri de'Pazzi." Claudia said. "He called her awful things, Federico. It was horrible."
"Mio Dio, that boy is insane. He will do everything he can to torment the Medici." Cammillia said coming to Contessina and embracing her. "He should be thrown in jail for this." She could feel the blond girl shaking in her grasp.
"Where is Ezio?" Federico asked wondering if his brother knew about this.
"He is gathering his friends to fight Vieri on the Ponte Vecchio at Sunset." Contessina was able to say through her tremors. "Federico, I tried to stop him, but he would not listen." She put a hand on his arm and looked at him with pleading eyes. She wanted the eldest Auditore to go talk some sense into his younger brother, but she did not know if anyone could talk sense into Ezio at this point. He was obviously enraged by Vieri's treatment to her and so was Federico.
"It's alright, I'll go have a word with my brother." He grabbed Contessina's hand and squeezed it. "You'd think that after the talking Father gave him earlier he would listen more, but no. Ezio always has to find trouble."
"More like trouble follows him, Cara." Cammillia said allowing Contessina to lean on her a little. "Go take care of your brother and I will take care of Contessina." Federico nodded before leaving the Palazzo. "Come, let's get you cleaned up." The auburn haired woman lead Contessina inside.
Later when she was being scrubbed down in the bathtub by her sister-in-law, Contessina reflected on everything that happened. She sat there in the warm water feeling the bruises being soothed by the oils that Cammillia had put into the water and the smell of lavender kept her calm as the woman rubbed her sore shoulders. She had not expected Vieri to hit her back, most men would not hit a woman, but Vieri was not most men. He was, ever since she could remember, seeking attention. When he did not get it, he did horrible things.
"I remember when I was a child and I had met Vieri for the first time. He was sweet then, like any boy was. My father had just died and we had moved to Firenze." Contessina started her tale to Cammillia. "He gave me a small bundle of daisies and I remember putting them in my hair. As he grew older, I believe his father and uncle had started telling him lies about the Medici. After that, he started to target me for relieving his frustrations and I also believe he was always jealous of Ezio."
"That is not so surprising." Cammillia said as she picked up a comb and started running it through the blonds wet hair to get the tangles out. "All boys start off sweet and gentle, but it is their father's that turn them into monsters. That goes without saying that their fathers were raised by monsters as well. Not all men are monsters and not all monsters are violent. My father was a greedy man. When Volterra was to be attacked all he cared about was getting his money to safety before me or my mother. In the end, I lost both my mother and my sister to the siege." Cammillia said as she gently combed the blond strands in her hand. "My father was not violent, but he was full of gluttony."
"Vieri is a product of violence, I suppose." Contessina said resting her head on her knees. "I should be thankful that I have married into a good family, but right now, I'm torn."
"The Auditore men are different from the rest. They believe in the power of choice and hold little ambition to control others. I don't think there is anyone in Italia that can rival these men and the way they value that freedom." Cammillia's voice gave away her admiration for the Auditore brothers and the Father. "Ezio will not treat you like other men treat their wives, you are not a posession to him so do take that into consideration about his affair with Cristina. He is giving you freedom that most women do not and can never have."
"You are saying he is giving me the freedom to choose another man?" Contessina asked her turning to look at the auburn haired woman.
"Maybe, that is a conversation you and he should have. I cannot tell you what he feels or thinks, but I can tell you that you do have a lot of freedom, most likely more than you ever had being a Medici." Cammillia seemed to have a picture in her head of the Medici being a prideful family who was more about propriety than the rest of Firenze. It was an assumption that most of Firenze made, but they clearly did not know Giuliano.
Contessina did not reply to that statement. She hugged her knees close to her body and began to silently shed tears as Cammillia worked to gently untangle her hair.