Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors.

Slight tweaks have been made to Filiberta of Savoy (1498-1525) and Giuliano de' Medici (1479-1516). I have bumped up their birth years slightly along with the year of their marriage. Filiberta is born in 1488 and married Giuliano in 1504 instead of 1515.

Prequel to Festina Lente.

Chapter Three: Leaving France Behind.

12th of March 1504 - Château de Cognac, Cognac

Packing away the last of her belongings, Filiberta paused to stare out of the window towards the gardens that she had once enjoyed; she longed to see the flowers bloom again in summer as she walked through the gardens. They had to be her favourite thing about the estate that her sister had, her interest in the Renaissance that was occurring in Italy coloured much about how Louise had things done around the estate.

The doors to the chambers opened and Filiberta turned to stare at Giuliano, a frown slowly forming on her face as she watched him cross the room towards the desk that had been set up in their chambers. In the time since their wedding, Filiberta found herself pondering the man that she now called her husband; their time together was fleeting and she did not know if she was relieved or disappointed that she did not see him more.

"Why must we travel to Venice? Surely it would be better for us to remain here," Filiberta questioned, a part of her still hoping that if she could convince him to stay then she would not have to leave the only world that she had known behind. If Louise would not convince him to remain, perhaps she could make him see that there was nothing left for him in Italy; he had no lands in need of governing nor a court waiting for his return.

"How shall I provide for my new wife if I cower behind her sister's skirts and wait for my brother to be elected Pope?" Giuliano jested turning to face her, the letters in his hands crumbled slightly and he pondered just what she thought would happen if they stayed. There was little for them here and he highly doubted that Louise of Savoy wished for them to remain, the Countess had enough on her plate and he had business to attend to; the sooner that they left, the sooner that he could breathe easily.

Giovanni had already returned to Rome, his work far from finished and Giuliano doubted he would see his brother for many months especially if things worked out like Giovanni hoped. His older brother was playing the slow game, he was patient and knew that if they played their cards right that one day in the future they would be restored to their rightful place.

"I shall do my part in taking back my home," Giuliano continued, there was much to be done if they were to ever take back Florence and restore their family after the mess that Piero had made. As much as he had loved his brother, he had been weak when Florence had needed him to be strong in the face of their father's death; his actions regarding the friar had led to their downfall and them losing Florence.

If they had lost Florence because of Piero's dealing with a French King, then it stood to reason that a French King should help restore them; he was now the uncle of the heir to the throne afterall. Giuliano could only imagine how their home had been treated after they had been forced out, a place where he had grown up and he had spent so much time with his family. He did not even wish to consider what they may have done to the final resting place of his parents, though there had been no such news on that front he could not deny that it had haunted him, the very idea that they would disturb his father and mother's graves in some way.

"Would you tell me of Florence?" Filiberta requested, her voice soft and she moved towards Giuliano a part of her hating to see the dark cloud that had settled upon him by whatever thoughts had created it. A part of her longed for some sort of connection with the man that stood before her, he was almost a complete stranger to her even after being married for a couple of weeks now.

Though she very much doubted that she would see Florence soon, it was his desire to win back his home and as his wife she would play her part in that; she had to know what she was fighting for if she was to help him. Giuliano stared at Filiberta, he did not know what sort of game she was playing but he would not be some tool for her or her sister to use to further their own agenda. He had married her for the sake of the Medici and what use their marriage might be to ensure the fate of his own family.

"You must be good for your mother and continue with your education," Giuliano instructed with a fond smile at his nephew, it saddened him to leave Francis behind and he was a promising boy who had a bright future ahead of him. However, even Giuliano would not deny that he was ill suited to give the boy the education that he deserved as the future King of France; he would write to him often and encourage his studies.

Francis nodded his head, a frown set upon his face and he stared up at Giuliano almost wishing that he was not leaving; he had rather enjoyed his time with him and he had heard such wonderful stories from him. He had never known a world beyond that of which he had already seen, to hear stories of a land that he had never seen before and that produced such beautiful art made him eager to visit one day.

"One day we shall ride into Florence together," Francis told him with certainty, his eyes filled with the determination of youth for the promise that he had made to Giuliano about returning his home to him. If it would please his mother, he would see that his family was well cared for and that his uncle would be allowed to return to his home after being forced to flee from it.

"Then I shall look forward to such a day," Giuliano replied with a smile, he ruffled Francis's hair as he moved away from his nephew to continue on with his farewells. He smiled down at Marguerite before he crouched down to her level, her shy gaze staring up at him and raised his hand to retrieve something from behind her ear and producing a daisy.

Her face filled with wonder at the sight and she carefully took the gift from him, a smile forming on her face before he kissed her cheek and commended her to continue on with her studies like her brother. Giuliano's actions with her sister's children made Filiberta smile, he was certainly a man that was meant to be a father and she prayed that he would be this way with their own children. Growing up in such a large household with many siblings had made Filiberta wish for the same, she could not deny that her husband was an attentive man when he came to her bed chamber at night.

"Goodbye sister," Louise stated with a nod of her head, she hoped that her words to Filiberta had stuck in some way and she understood that she had a far greater role to play than a brood mare for the Medici. It was Filiberta who would ensure the alliance with them would remain, she would have her husband's ear and encourage him in the direction of their choosing one that would greatly benefit Francis in the years to come. She had meant what she said that Filiberta would likely have to wade through blood and she would know loss; the path that she set her upon was not an easy one.

"I shall write to you often. God willing, everything will work out as I have planned," Louise continued moving to take Filiberta's hands, she could not be sure that her sister would have a child soon but she hoped for it. A child would cement the bond between the two families, a child would mean that the Medici could not betray them and a child would mean that Filiberta was safe having done her duty to produce an heir.

However, her words made Filiberta nervous and she cast a glance towards Giuliano who did not seem to have heard what had been said; a part of her wanting to forget that other people had plans for them. The constant hope that she would fall pregnant and produce a child was unnerving, even Giovanni had spoken of his hopes that this would be a fruitful marriage.

The main Medici line was running thin and there was little hope outside of Giuliano and his nephew, Lorenzo, that the main line would continue in some form unless they started to produce heirs soon. Lorenzo was about the same age as her niece if Filiberta recalled correctly from what Giuliano had told her about his family; it would be several years before he was wed and expected to have children of his own.

Turning away from Louise, Filiberta approached her husband and allowed him to help her into the carriage that was set to take them to the boat. It would be a long trip there and they could not waste anymore time, her heart pounded in her chest as the carriage slowly started to pull away and Filiberta found herself sitting closer to the window and staring out at the Château de Cognac as they slowly started to leave it behind.

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