La Serenissima by Secret Heart
.: Standard Disclaimer :.
Note: I reposted this because I found some mistakes, and mistakes make me feel icky. I also made it a tad longer. Anyway, I didn't alter any of the AN, so I'll be thanking people (for this chapter) the next time around. Thanks to allmy faithful readers! If you're good enough to keep reviewing, I have a little hint: the next chapter's done! I just need to edit it one more time, and what's more, it's the longest chapter by far .. so review review review!
Thanks, again, to Madam Hawke and Silly. Your comments and words are much appreciated.
To my darling readers/reviewers: I must admit, one of my favourite screenwriters is Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich …) He writes movies that are confusing at first, but they make total sense by the end; he forces the viewer to suspend their bewilderment in order to play along with the story. And so, I ask all of you to wait a little longer, and everything will be explained. Don't worry, Sere did not have a sex change (as advanced as the Renaissance thinkers were, I don't think that such high-tech surgical operations were invented yet.)
In any case, thanks very much for sticking around to reading this far (so far for the 2 chapters - Lady of Enchantment, koldy, Princess-Serenity-324, Becx, a fan, Tommeegirl21210, Lady CC Kegehoshi, fireangel621, Twighunter, curliesapphire18, madam hawke, TinkaBell12115, anna, Hopeless Dream 1125, Silly, Ashley, Angela, sexylucifer, PurpleRose44, L Angelblood, RoxyBunny, Lady Tristana Rogue)! Grazie! In any case, I did alter my original intention, and made it a bit less "confusing" in this chapter. Hope that helps!
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt
– Men readily believe what they want to believe. (Caesar) –
Chapter 2
"Serenio?" Endymion finally woke up from his reveries. He glanced uncertainly at the pale face of the blond goddess who stood in his arms.
Her eyes were the same stark blue as the ones he used to see in Serenio: albeit, the eyes staring back at him now were no longer innocent, no longer earnest, and no longer content.
In her eyes, he sensed a wealth of hatred, but she quickly blocked off her emotions.
Once again, the icy stare of the beautiful stranger had returned. She tried to shrug off his contact.
"Don't touch me, Endymion. You have no right to barge in to my room, and use it any way you please. Now please leave at once."
"But ... so you don't deny it then? You are indeed Serenio? You ... you are a ... woman?"
O dio. He couldn't still be as dense as he was a decade ago, could he?
"Ciao Darien," she asserted. "I am not here to enlighten you from your idiotic blindness, nor will I entertain your questions. I am extremely fatigued, and this conversation is over as of now. Leave before I wake the Doge's guards to come and fetch you."
He was very confused. The look in his posture was one of someone coming to terms with the knowledge of what was in the past, and what was standing before him.
Relating the image of the short little fair-haired boy he once called his best friend, to this cold fiend of a woman who obviously had no heart, was not an easy thing.
He had always wondered what happened to Serenio.
He wanted to go back to search for him, but familial obligations tied him to Venice. He wrote back to his other friends in Florence, but none of them could state clearly the welfare of Sery.
Rumours claimed that the radical and spirited Serenio left the city, signed up on a ship set to sail the ocean blue with the mad explorer from Genoa, that Cristoforo Colombo who thought to prove the world round.
Little did they know that Serenio would end up as a courtesan, of all things! Serenio - a girl! O Dio; God forbid!
Sery had such a thirst for knowledge, a reckless bravery in trying to do every deviant act at least once: none of these traits belong to a woman's body. Granted, he liked his women feisty and full of fire, but it was hard to reconcile Serenio with this - this despicable woman!
Now that he thought about it carefully … in fact, he recalled that Serenio did have an effeminate face.
He searched his memory, puzzled at the labyrinth of events that had suddenly sprung upon him.
Was Serenio pretending all along? Perhaps … perhaps the boy he once called his best friend was actually a girl dressed up in a boy's garbs.
A dozen other possibilities shot through him. He could not make sense of it all. The problem was … the Serenio he knew … that boy! He who was so ambitious, and who wanted to defy fate and destiny and god!
And perhaps he did defy fate. He shook his head with a small laugh and corrected himself. No, perhaps she did.
So many mysteries remain to be solved. He knew the hour was late, or early, as one might be inclined to say, but he must find out at all costs the identity of this - Serenity - and to learn from others how she became who she was now.
Certainly, he had heard of her, but only in passing. He never concerned himself with women who he had never encountered before. He recalled that her name was often on the lips of his friends, and though he was intrigued by the fame of this female, he never paid much attention.
Perhaps he ought to have.
Heading towards the Palazzo Ducale where the current Doge - the ruler of Venice - resided in, he knew that his uncle would perhaps be a tad annoyed at his visit.
But then again, his uncle always had a soft spot for him.
He made his way through Piazza San Marco, and was allowed entry by the sentry guards. His eyes did not rest on the beautiful Flemish tapestries hanging on the hallways, nor on the soft glow of the cascading chandeliers.
He was a man accustomed to wealth and to the finer things in life: a man whose circumstance was far apart from Serenity's.
Endymion directed his own way down the dimmed corridors to the Doge's bedchamber. After knocking, he found that Doge Francesco Foscari was at his study table, probably replying to correspondences from afar.
Without looking up, Foscari asked: "What's your excuse this time, young man, for still being awake at this late hour?"
Not one for protocols, Endymion launched straight into his query. "Zio Francesco, please tell me about the blond women who holds so much power in your Ca' Foscari."
Pausing from his writing, he looked up at the boy who he loved since birth. It was a pity that his father had to take him far away to Florence for the duration of his youth.
Francesco loved the image of the tall man in front of him, but he would have given all his wealth and kingdom up to watch Endymion grow up.
After all, it was the journey, and not the destination, that mattered.
"Ah, so you have finally met her!" His voice was full of mirth.
"Oh? You know who I am talking about then!"
"Allora, you must be referring to Serenity de'Sanctis. I gave her the name after our most Serene Republic. Venezia, or Il Serenissima, represents such wisdom and such monstrous power that Serenity deserved the honour of being named after our beautiful city.
"To me, she is the symbol of Venezia: she is the daughter I never had ...
"Ambitious to the core, she was quite a wreck the first time I saw her. I used to discreetly frequent the brothels at Palazzo Loredan, and there, I met a girl who I found to be quite mistreated. I never had her myself, but this young little thing was so headstrong, so wilful ...
"She refused to tell me of her past, and I did not even know her real name: all she admitted was that she would not surrender to any one, and that she would not be owned. Allora, she was really such a fiery young thing, only sixteen years of age at that time, so I bargained with the hated Loredans (and you know how much I hate that family), bought her off, and granted her freedom.
"Since there was nowhere else respectable that I could introduce her to, I sent her to live in my palazzo, Ca' Foscari - the palace I built for the courtesans. She found herself enjoying the cultured atmosphere. She adapted very quickly, learning the skills as well as she could. Serenity was intrinsically intelligent, and even before her training by the veteran courtesans, she could hold herself in a good debate, and was well versed in contemporary verses and in political issues.
"I often wondered where she acquired such sophistications. It must be from the men she slept with at the Loredan brothels."
Endymion knew otherwise the reason for her learned mind, but remained quiet. He recalled the way the young Serenio eagerly answered the questions from their maestro or their professore, outshining everyone in rhetoric lessons and in visual arts.
He smirked: then again, he himself was neck to neck with Serenio in politics, and admittedly, was leagues ahead in vernacular poetry and prose.
But wishing to listen to the rest of the knowledge that Foscari held, he silently nodded, urging him to continue his revelations.
"And so, year by year, she built herself an empire, and many men came to admire her. A few even asked me to allow them to take her hand in marriage. But whenever I consulted her, she steadfastly refused. She said that no man can take her away from the honour of directing the course of her own life, and she felt liberated living there at Ca' Foscari.
"She chose her own lovers and companions carefully, revealing herself only to those she deemed worthy. She usually prefers to dine with the most philosophical and scholarly of men. Her stimulus is her bewitching way with words: I have heard men claim that they can achieve orgiastic ecstasies just by talking to her for the night. No physical intercourse is needed, and that is why she is so powerful and wanted. Thus, as a compensation for the great business that she attracted to the palazzo, I gave her the best room possible, furnished with the greatest artisanal designs from Murano and Burano, and allowed her as much freedom as possible. Other courtesans revere her; none dares to disobey her commands.
"She has every characteristic that I desire for Venezia: ambitious, rich, feared, loved, cultured, and admired. And thus, Serenity is my most prized possession."
Strolling back to his home in contemplation, the pale moonlight laid a translucent glow on the oscillating cloak that enclosed his lean body. With a quick thanks imparted to his uncle, Endymion meandered past the narrow side streets while trying to digest the information.
So that was what Serenio had become. Serenio - no, Serenity proved to be such an enigma still.
Even his uncle admitted that he could never quite figure out the workings of Serenity's mind.
He must befriend her to learn more about her. Si.
Yes, he resolved: he simply must talk to her again.
For a week, he searched for her in vain. At every chance, he would drop by Ca' Foscari; and every time, one of the courtesans would inform him that she was off on an errand, or that she was entertaining a guest at an undisclosed location.
He even went to the favourite rendezvous of Venetians who had too much money to spend, such as the pleasure palaces of Moro or Mocenigo. He even stepped into the dreaded Palazzo Loredan.
He crossed and recrossed the canals of Venice a dozen times, to no avail.
He realized belatedly that it was true: when the elusive courtesan Serenity de'Sanctis did not want to be found, it was literally impossible to disobey her wish.
Disappointed, he went to meet his friend Andre Morosini for an afternoon of debauchery and gambling at the Palazzo Moro.
Andre waited impatiently for him under the pillars of his loggia.
"Cavalli" He hollered from afar.
"E, Morosini! So are you ready to ..."
"Sorry, my friend, but I must postpone the afternoon. My sister is supposedly in 'dire need' of getting her dress repaired, and has ordered me to do this servile duty. Am I to meet you at the masked ball tomorrow evening?"
"Ball? I wasn't planning to go ..." Endymion muttered.
"Endymion! Dai! You must go! Your uncle is hosting it, and all of the most glamourous citizens of Venezia would be there ..."
Endymion asked jokingly: "Am I to believe that Andre thinks Endymion a glamourous man?"
Andre laughed. "Now now, you know what I mean. You, Endymion, may get to see those who are indeed glamourous."
"Well, I guess perhaps I would go. And only because you ask so nicely..."
"Of course you will. Well, I must run along. See you tomorrow then!"
Andre turned and was getting ready to walk back into his household when Endymion stopped him.
"Wait, Andre! Do you happen to know a courtesan name Serenity de'Sanctis?"
"Why, she's just about the most famous courtesan alive! Why do you ask?"
Evading the question, he continued to question him. "Have you seen her before?"
"No of course not! I reckon she has not judged me worthy enough. I have heard of her beauty and her wit, but she seemed to be very elusive."
"Ah I see. Do you think she would be at this masquerade then?"
"Perhaps, but even so, she cannot be found if she doesn't want to be. She will be constantly surrounded by only those she trusted, and it will be impossible to come in contact with her."
"Grazie, Andre. I'll see you then!"
Endymion made his way from the well-worn steps of the loggia of Morosini before Andre had a chance to question him on his motives.
Frankly, he did not know himself why he wanted to find this elusive creature so much.
Perhaps, the idea of discovering and capturing such an evasive woman enticed him.
Indeed, that must be the reason.
Please review! Thanks!
Arrivederci amore ciao :) I think that soon, I'll add some Italian song lyrics if I can, to share with you guys ... they're so beautiful ...
Notes:
Cristoforo Colombo: the original Italian name of Christopher Columbus
Inconsistencies to do with Italian and English city names: only when spoken by a character would the city be referred to in Italian (i.e. "Venezia")