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Chapter 4: Let the Games Begin

July 25, 1492
Rome

Days turned into weeks and months into a year, and still Amaryllis found herself unable to return home. Thankfully, the Borgias didn't seem to mind, because they ended up treating her more like a ward than a servant, and thanks to her intelligence and wit, she had pretty much become something of a live-in personal assistant/secretary to the family. It was a pretty sweet deal, all things considered. One thing that had really surprised her was when she started reading up on some contemporary documents of the era and learned that there were some major discrepancies between what was actually going on and what she had learned in history class. One or two things, she could have let go, but when she began to hear about things like how Sancha of Aragon was known to be Alfonso II of Naples' illegitimate sister here, when Amaryllis knew for sure that she was supposed to be his daughter, Amaryllis began to realize that she hadn't just gone back in time, she apparently hopped over into a parallel universe, too! As disturbing as the idea of that was, at least it meant she didn't have to worry about screwing the timeline up too much, because it was already different from her world's to begin with. Cesare had been understandably confused and bewildered when she tried to explain the concept of parallel worlds and wormholes to him, seeing as the world he grew up in still hadn't gotten past geocentrism, but she countered his skepticism by pointing out that God could do whatever he wanted. Why not make more than one world while he was at it?
Anyway, this meant they couldn't use her as a human cheat sheet since things were different, and it also probably made getting back to her own world a little more complicated. She was just going to have to do her best to survive until she could figure out a way back to her father, or at least find a way to let him know she was all right…

Amaryllis was making her way through the Borgia family's villa to the room she had secretly nicknamed the 'love shack', since Cesare and Juan often made use of for one night stands. She thought Cesare might need a wake up call, but as she stepped out into the courtyard, she spotted Lucrezia peeping through the partially opened window and heard sounds of ecstasy emanating from the room that indicated her services as a human alarm clock would not be needed. Amaryllis caught Lucrezia's eye when the younger girl ducked down just outside the window, the peeping girl smiled impishly and held a finger to her lips. Amaryllis smiled wryly and shook her head as she turned and left to lay out Cesare's bishop's ceremonial dress since she knew he would be needing it and to prepare a something quick that he could eat on the go for breakfast. She could get the servants to do it, but it still felt sort of weird to have other people trying to do everything for her, and doing it herself was usually faster anyway. She would leave getting Cesare out of the room to Lucrezia. By now, she was mostly used to the particular brand of weirdness that abounded in this house.

Lucrezia knocked on the window to get her brother's attention and giggled as she ducked and gathered up her skirts as she began tiptoeing to peek around the corner, preparing to run.

"Sister!" Cesare, who had only partially buttoned up his black priest's robes over his white chemise before rushing out, called out in playful warning as he stepped into the courtyard and spied his mischievous little sister. Lucrezia laughed as she ran across the courtyard and he came chasing after her.

"I spied a lady—another one!" She sang, giggling as she weaved in and out of the arches around the courtyard to elude her brother.

"There's a punishment for spying." Cesare teased as he tried to catch her.

"What's that?" Lucrezia asked.

"Oh, I think you know." He said, lunging towards her.

"No!" Lucrezia laughed and squealed with delight as she jumped back and made a nother run for it.

"Ah!" Cesare finally managed to catch his giggling sister. In one swift movement, he had her lying on her back on the grass with him hovering over her in a very intimate position.

"Can I come to your wedding?" Lucrezia asked as she let out a another laugh, staring up into his eyes.

"I'll never have a wedding, you know that." Cesare reminded her.

"No. You are betrothed to God." Lucrezia said, smiling, as she ran her finger over the stubble on her brother's handsome chin. "Don't you love God, Cesare?" She asked when he didn't smile. Cesare glanced a away briefly before looking back down at her with a wry smile.

"More than you?" He asked. Lucrezia's smiled deepened as she let out a laugh.

"Don't be sad, brother." She told him, propping herself up slightly as he rolled onto his side to lay next to her. "Maybe Papa will become pope, and you can be who you want to be." She said hopefully.

"If he does become pope, I'll be what he wants me to be." Cesare remarked sorely. Having Amaryllis around had made the collar a little easier to bear, since he had found he could confide in her in a way that he could not to the rest of his family, who all had high expectations of him... but he still wanted out.

"Can a pope have children, Cesare?" Lucrezia asked, causing him to glance back up at her.

"I've heard it rumored that Pope Innocent has twelve." Cesare replied with a grin, nuzzling his nose against hers playfully.

"But I have also heard it rumored that he is dying." Lucrezia said.

"No news in that. He's been dying for weeks now." Cesare said. Actually, a while back Amaryllis had stated with a rather unnerving certainty that Innocent was supposed to die sometime this very month.

"If he does die, will our father wear his crown?" Lucrezia asked.

"The new pope will be elected by the College of Cardinals, my love." Cesare said, stroking her soft cheek affectionately. "And only God can predict the outcome."

"Well, since you will have no wedding," Lucrezia said, lying back on the grass, "I will pray for God to choose Papa. I want to wear a beautiful white veil crowned with pearls for his coronation."

"God may need some help, then." Cesare said.

"Which is why you need to get up and get dressed." Amaryllis deadpanned as she walked over holding a plate with a tomato, lettuce, and mozzarella sandwich on it in one hand, and his purple dress robes draped over her other arm. "It's time Cesare." She said meaningfully.

"What?" He asked, sitting up immediately. "It's today?"

"I tried to remind you last night, but you were a little… 'busy'." Amaryllis said with a shrug as he ripped off his black robe and took the purple one from her, quickly pulling it on over his chemise. "I put your cape, biretta, and cross by the door next to your shoes. Eat this on your way out." She directed him, nodding at the sandwich. "If you leave now, you might be able to get in to see your father for some last minute conspiring before they close the doors."

"Ah! What would I do without you?" Cesare asked rhetorically as he grabbed the sandwich and gave both girls a kiss on the head. Bringing Amaryllis into their home had to be one of the best decisions he had ever made. She was more than just a capable assistant. To him, she had become a loyal and trustworthy friend, a true rarity. "Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone, and don't go into the city today unless you have to." He instructed them before rushing off. It was always chaotic during the interim between the death of an old pope and the election of a new one.

"And to think, only moments ago, my brother was upset that he was a priest…" Lucrezia commented as the two girls stared after him.

"He still is." Amaryllis said with a wry smile. "He's just reliable enough to do what needs to be done anyway."

—∞—

As Cesare raced through the square of St. Peter's, he saw that it had already begun to fill with a rowdy crowd.

"What have they heard?" He demanded of one of the guards as he entered the Vatican.

"The pope breathes his last." The guard replied dutifully.

"God rest his soul." Cesare murmured, performing the sign of the cross as he swept past the guard and continued on his way to find his father as the doors were shut behind him. He met his father as he was exiting the Papal apartments after paying his last respects to the late Pope Innocent VIII.

"What are you doing here?" Rodrigo asked his son, a little surprised to see him there without having to be called. "Has the news spread so far already?"

"You can thank a certain woman's 'intuition'." Cesare replied as Rodrigo put his arm around him and began leading him back towards the doors.

"Amaryllis? I might've known. Her knack for making such predictions is uncanny." Rodrigo said thoughtfully. Knowing that girl, she will have already arranged for their kitchen and larder to be stocked with food so they wouldn't have to venture out during the coming election. "You did well to come, but we must get you out of here before they lock the doors."

"And so it begins."

"You know what to do?"

"Yes, father."

"Keep our family safe. Until the new pope is elected, it will be anarchy in Rome; every faction fighting for its own candidate… and if, after the first vote, the smoke is black—"

"As you said, father, I know what to do." Cesare said, pulling ahead as they began to shut and lock all the shutters for the windows to the outside.

Evidently Rodrigo was not satisfied with his response, because he grabbed Cesare by the back of his collar and spun him around so that he was facing him again.

"I have waited a lifetime for this moment." He whispered urgently. "We will go over it again. If we fail at the first vote, I will send word…"

"On the wings of a dove—" Cesare finished.

"—Names of those cardinals who need persuading…"

"With properties, benefices, and if need be, gold. They call it Simony, father."

"God will forgive us, my son." Rodrigo said quickly, dismissing his worries with a wave of his hand. "But I will not forgive failure, from you or your brother. Am I understood?" He demanded sternly, holding Cesare back as he turned to leave.

"We will not fail you, father." Cesare swore solemnly, looking him straight in the eye.

Rodrigo nodded in approval.

"Mm." He said as his lips curved into a tight smile. He placed his hands on the sides of his son's face and kissed his cheeks. "Go now." Rodrigo told Cesare, finally releasing him with a pat on the cheek.

–∞–

Just when he thought the day couldn't get any more stressful, Cesare came upon a great commotion on his way home. To his chagrin, he discovered the source of it was a fight, and in the center of it was Juan, trying to fight off multiple opponents.

"Excuse me." Cesare said as he grabbed hold of the sword at the waist of the bystanders and drew it from its sheath as he stepped into the fray to aid his troublesome brother.

CLANG.

In the nick of time, Cesare swiftly knocked the sword of the man about to stab his brother to the side and held his own against the man's neck to prevent any further movement.

"My brother speaks before he thinks." Cesare stated calmly. "He begs your pardon." He kept his sword trained on the man while Juan stood up and brushed himself off. Cesare didn't lower it until his brother's opponents began sheathing their swords. Carefully, he leaned down, retrieved his brother's sword, and handed it back to him. "I should have let them do it." Cesare said as he brushed past Juan.

"Your younger brother? Father would never have forgiven you." Juan said with a smirk as he sheathed his sword before following after his older brother.

"Have you heard?" Cesare asked as he entered the courtyard, where he found his mother playing cards with his other two younger siblings and Amaryllis.

Normally Amaryllis would have shown a bit more respect for the death of a pope, but to be honest she had very little respect for Innocent VIII because. Let's face it, he was no Pope John Paul II.

"Even Gioffre has heard." Vanozza replied. "Have you not?" She asked her youngest son.

"The pope has died." Gioffre said.

"Do you know what that means?" Cesare asked.

Gioffre shook his head.

"I know there will be an election." Vanozza said.

"And the city will be bedlam until it's over." Juan said as he, too, joined them.

"Do you think our father can win, Juan?" Lucrezia asked, while Amaryllis took her turn in the game, and Cesare took a seat in the empty chair between her and Gioffre.

"Are we allowed to dream, mother?" Juan asked.

"Your father found ways to love an care for us in this house, but I'm not sure as pope he can do the same." Vanozza replied.

"As pope he can do what he wants." Juan said as he turned back to face her.

"Are you sure?" Vanozza asked.

"Unfortunately, kings, popes, and emperors belong to their peoples." Amaryllis said while Vanozza took her turn.

"Not to their families." Vanozza added as she nodded in agreement.

"So, we allow the election to run its course, and he won't be pope." Cesare said, earning a side glance from Amaryllis.

"What other course is there?" Vanozza asked with a small smile as Lucrezia made her move. "It's in the hands of God."

"It's in the hands of the College of Cardinals, mother. Not quite the same thing." Cesare reminded her, sharing a sly smile with Amaryllis. "This one." He advised Gioffre when his younger brother showed him his cards, pointing to the one he thought he should use next.

"Hey!" Amaryllis let out a quiet scoff when she saw the card. "Thanks, Cesare. Thanks a lot." She remarked sarcastically as she was forced to draw another card to continue the game.

—∞—

The first day ended with a signal of black smoke. The new pope had not been decided yet.

"Well, look on the bright side." Amaryllis told Cesare as she leaned against the railing of the balcony they were standing on to watch for the signal, causing him to glance at her. "At least no one else was elected pope either."

"That would have been a disaster." Cesare agreed with a derisive laugh. Defeated before the contest even began… his father would have had a fit.

Now all they had to do was wait for him to send word.