I own nothing but my OC.
Chapter 3: Testing the Waters
"Okay, this is it." Amaryllis said, taking a breath as she stood balanced on the edge of the fountain. Time to take the plunge. She put one foot forth and let herself fall forward into the water.
SPLASH!
Amaryllis pushed herself up into a sitting position and blinked away the water in her eyes until she could see again.
"No…" She gasped when she saw that she was still in the courtyard of the old basilica. She quickly scrambled back out of the fountain and climbed up on the edge again.
SPLASH!
"No." She said, furrowing her brow as she climbed again.
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
Cesare watched from the covered archway as Amaryllis repeatedly tried jumping into the fountain over and over again without pause. Hot, salty tears of frustration began to mingle with the cool, fresh water in the fountain. But still, she kept trying. Again and again, she tried countless different ways of jumping into the fountain. With each failure, she became more desperate, but she never stopped trying.
"SPLASH!"
This time Amaryllis slipped and busted her lip on the edge of the fountain. "No. No. No!" She shouted beating her fists against the hard stone, feeling utterly helpless. Cesare quickly stepped forward and crossed the yard, kneeling down to grab her hands before she could do any more damage to them. The palms of her hands had been rubbed raw from repeatedly gripping the ledge as she climbed out, and the skin on their sides was scratched and bleeding from being beaten against the stone. She hadn't held back at all.
"Let me go!" She screamed in frustration, struggling to break free.
"No!" He said sternly, tightening his grip on her wrists. "Not until you calm down. You're going to hurt yourself!"
"But I have to get back!" She cried, trembling, as she looked up at him with a desperate determination burning in her green eyes. "I'm the only family my father has left. It nearly killed him when my mother died. I can't put him through something like that again… I can't." She said in a low voice, as tear rolled down her cheek.
"… From what I have heard of your father, he would not want you to hurt yourself like this." Cesare said gently, loosening his grip as he slowly moved his hands from her wrists to cup her hands in his. "You can do nothing more here. Come, spend the night with me and my family, and then we shall see what tomorrow brings. Perhaps the fountain only works the hour of the day at which you first appeared. You can come back and try again then."
"Thanks, but I have no way to repay you." Amaryllis said. "You accused me of witchcraft when we first met. What if others do the same? My presence could put your family in danger."
"You needn't worry about us." Cesare replied with the hint of a smirk. "We can handle ourselves. For tonight, you can buy your room by regaling our Lucrezia with more tales of nymphs. And if you find yourself in need of a place to stay beyond that… Well, I'm sure we will be able to come to some sort of arrangement, should the need arise." He said, reaching out to move a lock of stray wet hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. "Come." He told her in a gentle but firm voice, taking her by the hand so he could lead her away from the fountain.
"I'm not crazy." Amaryllis said aloud after they had been walking for some time. Cesare glanced back at her and saw that she was still deeply troubled by her failure to return home through the fountain. "It really did work before…!"
"I know." Cesare told her. He had seen her mysterious arrival with his own eyes. "I know, so—" He stopped abruptly when a group of three men suddenly rushed out from a side street to surround them.
"Give us your valuables, or we'll—umph!" The man facing Amaryllis never got to finish his threat because she cut him off with kick to the face. It was an instant K.O.
"Sorry, but I'm really not in the mood for this crap right now." She deadpanned as the unconscious man sank to the ground, and the others stared at her in shock. Cesare was the first to recover, and he used the opportunity to elbow one of the men before him in the face and steal his sword while he was distracted, but before he could turn to deal with the next one, he felt cold steel press against his skin.
"Drop it." The third man growled dangerously as he held a knife to Cesare's neck, silently threatening to kill him if he didn't comply.
"No, you drop it." Amaryllis told the thief sternly as she pressed the tip of the small knife she had in her hand against the back of his neck. Her blade was only a couple of inches long, but it was sharp. When he failed to immediately comply, she applied more pressure to show him she meant business, drawing a small drop of blood. The thief dropped his knife. "Good boy." Amaryllis patronized him with a smile as she withdrew her knife and knocked him out with a blow to the back of the head. She slid her small blade back into its sheath, which Cesare could now see was her emerald cross. The bottom of part of the pendant was actually the handle of a hidden blade. "What?" She asked when she noticed how he was staring at her. "I told you I could fight."
"Yes, so you did. I'm impressed." He replied genuinely, though it hurt his ego a little to have been saved by a young girl like herself. He was going to have start practicing more.
"Thanks. My mom taught me." She said with a proud smirk. "Now, let's get out of here before they wake up!"
"By the way…" Amaryllis said as Cesare's home came into view again. "I know this is a little late, but exactly what year is it?" that would be good to know so she could avoid mentioning things and events that weren't supposed to exist or have happened yet.
"The year of our Lord, 1491." He replied, glancing at her. "And something else you are late in asking, is my family name. Shall I tell you the name of your hosts?"
"Um, yes, that would help…" She admitted a bit sheepishly, biting her lip.
"The villa belongs to my mother, Vanozza Cattaneo. It was given to her by my father, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. And my brother, Juan—"
"—Borgia!?" Amaryllis exclaimed in shock and surprise as her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Oh my God, of course! 'Cesare' and 'Lucrezia'… Ah, I'm so freakin' slow! I can't believe I didn't realize sooner…!"
"Problem?" Cesare asked a bit tightly, furrowing his brow slightly, as he wondered if she had something against his family (like most of Rome).
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." Amaryllis said quickly. "It's just that where I come from, your family is pretty infamous… but you and your sister seem nice enough. She's downright adorable." She added with a wry smile. But knowing what history said they were capable of, she was beginning to wonder if staying with his family was such a good idea now that she knew she'd be practically entering the lion's den, but it's not like she really had a lot of other options… She could try sleeping out on the street, but with her jewelry, that probably wasn't a good idea. She might end up getting jumped by another gang…
"Hn. So, even in your time, my family's reputation suffers…" Cesare mused somewhat bitterly.
Well, they had kind of earned it, but Amaryllis wisely decided to keep her mouth shut rather than mention it. Technically, they hadn't actually done anything yet. People were just prejudiced back then (or now) because they didn't like the idea of Spaniards having so much power in Rome.
"Well, I wouldn't let it bother you too much, if I were you." She said instead. "No matter what, haters gonna hate. You might as well do what you want since they're gonna talk shit about you anyway."
"You may want to temper that tongue of yours around the others." He advised her as a smile threatened to form on his lips at her odd turn of phrase. "First impressions."
"Right." Amaryllis nodded, taking note of his suggestion. She wanted to make a good impression so they would let her stay. "Speaking of which… what are they going to think of me if they see me in these clothes?" She asked curiously with a raised eyebrow. "Where I come from, this a perfectly normal and acceptable form of dress, but here…"
"I see your point." Cesare said. "Perhaps my sister would be willing to lend you a dress. You are more or less the same size."
"Hmm… a sixteen-year-old with the body of a thirteen-year-old… not sure how I feel about that." She admitted. Well, in this case, she should probably consider herself lucky since it was hard to find a ready-made dress on the fly in this era.
–∞–
Amaryllis tried not to look as nervous as she felt sitting there at the Borgia family's dinner table. Somehow, Cesare had managed to smooth talk them into letting her stay with a story about how she had become separated from her father and left destitute in an unfamiliar city. So here she was, trying not to make a fool of herself in front of the first Italian 'crime family'. Lucrezia had been delighted to see Amaryllis again, and only too happy to lend her an outfit to change into while Cesare prepared the rest of his family to meet their unusual last-minute guest. All Amaryllis had to do was promise the younger girl another story and let her try on her gold shoes. But as for the rest of them… The cardinal was eyeing her critically, their mother seemed to be silently appraising her every move, and she didn't care much for the way their brother Juan was watching her either.
"I didn't quite catch your name, Signorina…?" Juan said with the hint of a smirk, attempting to strike up a conversation with their pretty visitor.
"Amaryllis Aritza." Amaryllis replied politely.
"Aritza… Is your family from Spain?" Rodrigo asked, perking up slightly at the thought of meeting another Spaniard so far from home.
"Yes, on my father's side. His family is Spanish and Basque. Supposedly, we're related to the first king of Navarra." She answered with a pleasant smile.
"Oh? On what side?" He asked curiously.
"The wrong side of the sheets." Amaryllis replied, implying she was descended from a bastard line, calmly taking another sip of wine as they stared at her with varying degrees of bemused amusement.
"What does that mean?" Lucrezia asked innocently, having never heard the euphemism before, while her father and Juan let out a laugh and Cesare and her mother smiled wryly in amusement.
"You'll know when you're older." Vanozza told her curious daughter.
Lucrezia pouted slightly. That seemed to be her mother's answer to a lot of her questions.
"So, what does your father do?" Rodrigo asked with a twinkle of amusement still in his dark eyes.
"My father is an archaeologist." Amaryllis said with a smile warmed by fond memories. "He studies human activity of the past by looking at clues left behind by ancient civilizations of their material culture, like the artifacts, architecture, and ruins left behind by the old Roman empire, and so on. In fact, my father specializes in the study of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. I have been all over Europe with my father chasing after Greco-Roman relics."
"Ah, an antiquarian." Rodrigo said. "I hear their primary focus is usually genealogy, and they often accumulate a cabinet of curiosities through their efforts. Treasure hunters, of a sort."
"Yes, but instead of focusing primarily on our own family's genealogy, my father focused on the more general cultural heritage of the countries and empires themselves." Amaryllis explained. "And whatever treasure my father finds, he gives away."
"He gives it away? But surely you must keep some of it." Juan said dubiously. Otherwise, what was the point of looking?
Amaryllis shook her head.
"We don't keep anything for ourselves. All of the artifacts my father finds go to places where they will be protected and cared for while on display for the public to see. They're preserved for posterity. The digs are usually financed by a third party, and they pay my father to work. It's usually a very modest salary, but we get by. The main thing is he enjoys what he does, and I enjoy being able to travel with him."
"That sounds exciting, being able to see the world. I haven't even seen all of Rome!" Lucrezia exclaimed with open admiration. "Have you seen all of Rome?"
"I've seen most of it, though it is now very different from the last time I was here…" Amaryllis said tentatively with a wry smile. All of the modern landmarks she usually used to navigate were gone.
"And your mother?" Vanozza asked.
"My mother was an anthropologist. She was a professional scholar who specialized in studying what it means to be 'human'." Amaryllis explained, noticing the questioning look Lucrezia directed at her. "Since she had a special interest in tribal cultures, she would sometimes live with the natives in order to study them and learn their ways, and she would take me with her on occasion. But more often than not, I was with my father. After the incident with the crocodile, they decided that would be safer..."
"What incident?" Juan asked.
"I was almost eaten by one." Amaryllis stated matter-of-factly, catching them all off-guard.
"What!?" Lucrezia exclaimed excitedly with wide eyes.
"Wherever did you run into a crocodile?" Cesare asked, bemused.
"Africa, of course." Amaryllis replied nonchalantly.
"Is that true?" Lucrezia asked.
"Absolutely. I had absolutely no sense of self-preservation as a child, so I was always getting into all sorts of trouble." Amaryllis replied with a cheeky grin. "As a result, my mother was always scolding me."
"I can sympathize." Vanozza said with a wry smile and appointed glance at her own daughter, earning a laugh from the others and a pout from Lucrezia. "But do you not see your mother anymore?" She asked. "You only speak of her in the past tense."
"She passed away several years ago." Amaryllis replied, looking down.
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
"It's all right." Amaryllis said quietly. She put on a smile as she looked up again. "The ones we love never really leave us. She's still with me in here, and in here." She said pointing to her mind and heart.
"You must miss her." Lucrezia said softly.
"I do." Amaryllis said with a wan smile. "But she threatened to come back and haunt me if I cried too much about it."
"It sounds like your mother was quite a character." Cesare commented with a wry smile.
"I've been told I take after her." Amaryllis stated proudly. "But I'm secretly a romantic at heart, so in that respect I also take after my father."
"Cesare briefly mentioned something about the two of you being separated?" Rodrigo asked. Poor thing, losing her mother and now her father… The Cardinal had always had a soft spot for beautiful destitute women, and the fact that she looked only a year or two older than his own daughter made him feel all the more sympathetic.
"Yes, we were…" Amaryllis said sadly, looking down again. "And, unfortunately, I have been unable to find him again. I've looked all over, but he seems to have gone somewhere beyond my reach. I was even accosted by a group of thieves!" She drew their attention to her injured hands by wringing them nervously. "Not only have I lost my father, but I have no money and no place to go. Since we're always traveling and moving around a lot, we have no permanent home. And I don't know anyone I can stay with in this city… I would gladly work to earn my keep if someone was willing to take me in while I continue to search for my father…" She normally didn't like stooping to this tactic, but judging by the size of the villa and all the finery around her, they could more than afford another mouth to feed. If not, they might at least be able to refer her to someone who was hiring, right?
Although he knew most of the anxiety being displayed by Amaryllis was genuine, Cesare was somewhat impressed with how adept she was at bending the truth. Even his shrewd father seemed to be buying her story.
"My dear…" The cardinal said, taking Vanozza by the hand.
"I understand." Vanozza said with a small smile. "Until you find your father, you can stay with us." She told Amaryllis.
Author's note: I have added links to pictures of Amaryllis and her outfits to my profile for anyone curious enough to look.