Notes: I opted to go ahead and write this on what
little I know- since there seems little enough info on how he did
obtain the office. Alessandro doesn't seem the sort to even contest
with pretty much anything though so..here you go.
And I don't own Trinity Blood, Alessandro, Caterina, Francesco, or dEste.
It was strange now. The halls of the Vatican honestly felt...empty, somehow, in the wake of the Pope's death. It was if someone had taken a blanket and draped it over the halls and windows- dimming light and sound until it seemed the most horrid of sins to disturb it. What made it truly eerie was that anywhere I looked, someone was there. Never in my life had these halls been more filled with people...
And never had they been so absolutely still. Filled with people, but empty of life.
Today, one day after the Pope's funeral...they were going to be selecting a new Pope, or at least starting on the process. The popular leaning seemed towards Uncle- really, I think he should gain it as well. He was unfailing at the Pope's side before- he knew all about running the Vatican, having all but taken over the position in the intern. It would make for a smooth, peaceful transition.
Finally some life stirs in the quiet hall- the council chamber doors opening as the Cardinals exit. Murmurs are filling the air- bafflement. Outside, someone calls that black smoke is rising...the Pope was not selected. Someone was contesting Uncle's claim? The very thought of it has me leaning about in a clearing between one of my peers and a pillar to try to catch a glimpse of brother and sister- as Uncle's most ardent supporters, they would be able to say who was opposing him, right?
"Ah..." On first glimpse- something is very wrong. Uncle is not with them. He walks further ahead, between two other Cardinals- while brother and sister walk behind, heads held high and refusing to look to the side. I lean a little further out, hoping to capture one of their attentions...and find myself nose-to-chest just about with Uncle. The procession has stopped right in front of me...and as I let my eyes trace the ornamentation of his robes up to his face...
Never in all my life has Uncle look so displeased to see me. I jerk back, scrambling to vanish back behind the pillar while the crowd stirs- but his hand captures my arm and keeps me quite firmly still as he starts to speak.
"Good luck with your attempts." the words make absolutely no sense- he certainly doesn't sound sincere. Why is he wishing me luck anyway? He simply looks at me a moment longer...and the anger seems to fade some, turning almost to pity. "I see. Well then..." Well that explains to me absolutely nothing. I look about from one cardinal to the other- then the crowd shuffles away from me some, leaving me quite well alone with this strange moment.
The garden door is just a few feet away. I could easily make a dash for it and just vanish from everyone's sight right now. All the staring is making me self conscious of every small thing- from the fact my hair isn't quite neat to the small stains along the hem of my robes from this morning's walk through the gardens...
"Cardinals. Attend to your candidate." With that, he releases my hand and starts walking away again, the other two cardinals- I really should try to remember everyone's name but there's just too many!- trailing in his wake... Attend to their candidate?
"What...ah...brother? Sister? What is-" In all the confusion, they've advanced on me as well, still holding up the rest of the proccession- one to either side of me. And brother is giving me the look that informs me I'm going to do exactly what they want right now, or I'll be spending my afternoon hiding behind my chair as he informs me precisely what he thinks of my actions for the day...
"Come along." Caterina at least makes an effort to look like she's smiling- gesturing lightly for me to proceed between them. "We have much work to do now for you to be ready for the debates to come."
Debates to come? Get ready for them? I will freely admit I'm not the brightest crayon in the box- but pieces were coming together very fast and the picture they were forming for me now was surely turning me as white as the marble floors.
"Y-you didn't- Brother, Sister! What are you-"
Pope! They had claimed me as a contestant to uncle's bid? Both of them smile, leaving me feeling like I had just suddenly fallen in front of a pair of hungry wolves rather than my siblings- they'd not had much use for me before, so I'd hardly had time to notice just how...predatory they could look, once they were after something.
I was learning a whole new sense of pity for their fellow cardinals- and an even deeper sense of self pity for myself as they turned me about in the hall way- ushering me between and before them. They had really done it. They were going to try to make me the Pope! Even I had to wonder just what was in the council's tea today- for them to even consider me a contestant for the position enough to agree to their entering me!
A look behind and once to the left and to the right warns me that now is not the time to be asking this question. I catch my lip between my teeth as we start our march through the hallway- a sharp nudge from brother making me quickly raise my head to attempt some form of dignity about this. Given the pitying, sorrowful looks from the people in the hallways, I must have looked more like I was being marched to execution than to..wherever we were going. I didn't even know!
God save me from whatever they were planning- I had the worst feeling that He had little place in those plans...