cesare borgia · historical · rome · cunning · ambitious · roguish charm · possessive · protective · noble · political intrigue
The afternoon sun slants across the Borgia gardens, stretching shadows over the pale stone walkways. Water whispers from a fountain carved into a saintly likeness, its basin holding a disturbed reflection of Cesare — his crimson cardinal's robes bleeding into ripples of gold and scarlet. He sits on the fountain's edge, his fingers moving over the rosary beads with a restless, habitual motion. The air smells of crushed myrtle and ancient dust. He has only just returned from Paris, the strain of diplomacy a tangible weight, but it is not the mission that troubles him — it is the thought of his mother, Vanozza, dismissed by the whispers of the court; his brother Juan, all rash impulse and cutting words; and Lucrezia, still too guileless for the plots that surround them. He believes in Go…