AWTB -Chapter 1-

Chapter One

The Saint Peter's square was crowded with anxious pilgrims by the time we arrived. People, mostly nobility, were chattering away about the Pope's diminishing health. I peeked outside the window curiously, wanting to hear every other tête-à-tête aside from the current one.
"Angioletta, you know it's rude of you to nose round on people." My father, Vittore muttered.
He and my brothers were wearing their finest clothes made from Venezia while I had been forced to wear a tight corset underneath my wine red gown. But father allowed me to put my hair down and let it flow with the wind.
I turned to my father after looking away from the window.

"Is it true that nonno has sixteen children?" I asked them inquisitively. My eldest brother Jovanni snickers while my other brother Piero scoffs and returns to his book.
Father sighs deeply and looks at me. I smile at him, hoping for a possible truthful answer.
"No dear, the Holy Father has only two children."
"Then what should I address them as?" I asked again.

"Well, seeing that he is my mother's cousin who would make him my uncle and for you he is your grandfather, which would make his children your Zio and Zia." I nodded once and pushed the curtain aside again.
Papal guards scouted the vicinity, trying to keep the citizens at bay. I turned to my father again and tugged on his sleeve.
"Must we really visit nonno when he should be resting?" My brothers glanced at me then to our father.

He smiles genuinely and he strokes my hair softly.
"The dottore said, he has not much to live. It is best that we, his relatives here in Italy, visit him before his last breath. Any person can understand that, especially you Angioletta." I kept quiet for a moment and I stared into my father's deep brown eyes.
I was unable to read them but I knew there was no other choice to make. I nod again and the carriage stopped right in front of the basilica.
Our footman jumped off once he made sure that the horses wouldn't go anywhere. He held out his hand for me but I ignored him and stepped out of the carriage myself.
My gown's skirt trailed behind me. The air smelled of frankincense and candles. The people were not allowed to step foot on St. Peter's basilica, they were only allowed to stand outside and wait for the news of the Pope.
Three armored men came to us from inside the majestic structure, the man in front I recognized him as my father's replacement. I hid behind my father and loosely seized his dress sleeve.

"Signore Pantaleone! I would have been happy to see you but this is absolutely not the time to sit down and have a drink at Il Leone am I right?" he said.
His name was Armando della Calandra, a young experienced soldier who took my father's place as tenente (lieutenant) when he retired early from his occupation.
"It certainly is not Armando, we came here to see my uncle one last time." Armando nodded, who wouldn't dare disagree with the son of Rome's famed colonnello? To me, they were just scared that my father would be like my late grandfather, so cruel and so strict.
On the outside that is. Carmen, the old woman who heads the cleaning staff at home told me when I was born, my grandfather had a soft spot for me and would smile whenever I look at him. Just like how he reacted when he first met my grandmother.

The two guards took their positions and led me and my family to the Pope's residence.
The smell of frankincense became heavier as we approached the apartments. Acolytes, priests and bishops all wandered around, preparing themselves for what seems to be the next Papal election.
I tugged on my father's sleeve again and he took a quick glance at me before looking ahead.
"Papa, what is going to happen?"
"Be quiet now Angioletta and don't ask anymore questions," I kept my mouth shut after that.

In the Papal Apartments, there were heavy-looking curtains covering every window down the hall we were walking through, not even a speck of light will come through.
I would listen to prayers being said and footsteps thumping in every room. We arrived at His Holiness' bedroom at last and a group of men in red robes and hats paused to look at us.
Everyone remained still for the whole moment. A loud cough was heard from the Pope's bed and father moved away from his spot beside me. He came up to the side quietly and knelt down.
With sheer curiosity and sympathy I followed my father and knelt down as well. Pope Innocent VIII laid stationary on his soon-to-be deathbed. He opened his eyes little by little and shifted his gaze at me and my father.

"Ah Vittore, you are in good physical condition I take for granted?" his voice croaked a bit though he managed to press on a smile.
"Si and you uncle?"
"Never better," then he saw me. "Is that Geneviéve?" he asked.
My father shook his head and strokes my hair once more.

"No this is Angioletta, my youngest child." The Holy Father smiled and placed a trembling hand on my brow, he traced a small cross there and uttered a quiet prayer in what seems to be Latin.
He was giving me his blessing. After he was done, he looked at my father and beckoned him closer. He whispered something to my father's ear and he grasped his shoulder strongly. I saw it but none of the other cardinals did.
The last thing I heard coming from the Pope were the words, 'Do not fail me' and my father stepped away.
He helped me stand up to my feet and we made the sign of the cross. I wanted to ask what the Pope had just told him yet the look on my father's face made me afraid to do so.
Instead, I wrapped my arms around my father's strong one and glanced about in the room.
The cardinals started to gather around the Pope's bed and one of them looked at me.

I remember his face very well. It was my godfather, Rodrigo Borgia.

"Angioletta come on, we must go before the election begins," my father said and we went ahead of my brothers.
He told them that now should be the right time to meet up with father's old colleagues if they wanted to enter the Papal Army now or never.
Jovanni and Piero agreed. They've wanted this since they were young.

"And where are you all going in such a rush?" We all turned our attention to the cardinal that walked towards us.
My father heaved a sigh and pretended to look surprised. "Cardinal, it is great to see you again." He said.

Rodrigo accepted my father's hand and gave it a firm shake. Then he looked over his shoulder.
"And how is my dearly beloved godchild? I see you have grown very beautiful since I last saw you." Rodrigo said kindly.
I thanked him in return and I couldn't help but smile. He nodded and ended up in a conversation with my father and brothers.
I was left out and I decided to head back to the carriage first.

My steps were quick and big plus I was looking down on the floor, I did not see the person I had accidentally bumped into.
"Oh forgive me Signore!" I said all too loudly.
"No, forgive me I wasn't looking…at where I was going." I paused to glance at the bishop I had bumped and I noticed his eyes.

They were a dark blue like the sky and sea. I had to blink twice to make sure that I was not hallucinating.
I must have stared longer than intended because he cleared his throat for me to snap out of my daze.
I muttered another apology and before I can walk away from such embarrassment, Jovanni came to ask what was wrong.
Then he saw the bishop too and his face lit up like a thousand candles.

"Cesare! I am glad to see you again amico mio!" Jovanni exclaimed and pulled the surprised bishop into a hug. I watched in awe as the two stood there like old friends, maybe they were.
"Jovanni! You've grown a beard! I almost did not recognize you!" The bishop named Cesare said and patted my brother's shoulder.
He turned to me with a grin on his face. I seemed to have blushed due to the fact that I looked away.

Cesare, the name sounded so familiar. Jovanni chuckled and we both heard father calling for us.
"Jovanni! Come we must present you two to Bartolomeo now!" he said.
"Angioletta can you run the tavern for me while I'm away?" I nodded agreeably.
"Naturalmente papa,"
"Bene, because I do not think any customer will come with Orso as the one managing the place."

He kissed my cheek and guided my brothers to the armory. I turned and vaguely remembered that Cesare was still there.
We stood there quietly and I tilted my head to the left, waiting for him to speak. He licked his lips intentionally and tried to speak however, Cardinal Borgia had other plans for him.
"Ah there you are Cesare, I need to speak with you immediately." Cesare reluctantly nodded which saved me somehow.

I walked out of the basilica casually and got into the family carriage. I told the footman to head for home. Civilians stepped aside to let the carriage pass and I was honestly bored with this routine.
We made it back to the palazzo just in time for the lunch hour. Instead of passing through the main gates, I dropped myself off at the entrance of my father's tavern, Il Leone.
It had the coat of arms of our family on top of its door plus two lion statues laying comfortably just by the windows.
I strode inside and the tinkering of forks and knives against plates were normal to my ears.
The room I came in next was the kitchen and all the cooks stopped whatever they were doing to greet me.
Orso, the big chunk of mass, did not glance over his shoulder nor even tried to greet me. I huffed and moved towards him.

"Orso," I said sternly and crossed my arms.
"Whatever you are doing, is it more important than greeting the young mistress of the household?" He grunted and gradually glanced at me over his large broad shoulder.
He stepped aside and then presented me something on a silver platter.

"I was busy making Signorina's favorite cake," he reasoned. I tried to hold back my giggles and they eventually came.
"Oh Orso, you always do surprise me and you made it in my favorite flavor too!" I exclaimed.
"Apple right?" he grinned a toothless grin. I nodded and took the small cake from him. Another servant handed me a fork and I dug it into the white treat.
I tasted it and could feel bits of apple along with the moist cake. It was delicious and that is what I told him.
He was very pleased and told me to finish which I gladly did. I thanked him for the sweet treat and then left to change to my favorite clothing.