From the highest star

27

The crowd cheered Lorenzo and the death of the Pazzi.
Beatrice looked at him.
"Now I can go and greet my husband, now that justice has been done I can go to him, find Vespucci, Maffei and Bandini and leave them to the crowd, you will not stain your hands again."
The girl reached the house.
Meanwhile the people stole, destroyed and muddied the property of the conspirators.
Sandro tries to reach the house of Vespucci to recover his painting. Venus and Mars.
But when he arrives it is too late, burning in the blazing fire.
Sandro falls to the ground and cries, the only memory he had of Simonetta was lost.
FOREVER.
Beatrice had just entered the house, behind her was Lorenzo.
"Clarice" the boy shouted.
Orsini ran up to him and hugged him.
"Is Giuliano here?" Beatrice asked.
Clarice looked at her.
"Yes, he is in the chapel, Lucrezia is watching over him."
Beatrice hurried into the chapel.
Lorenzo followed her.
But Clarice stopped him.
"Doesn't your order apply to Guglielmo as well?"
At that moment Guglielmo came down with Bianca and Giovanna.
Lorenzo turned and looked at him.
He slowly approached and then threw himself on him.
The two women screamed.
"Did you know, did you know?"
"No, Lorenzo I swear before God and on the lives of my family."
"Your family are the Pazzis."
"They are not anymore"
"Why were you not in the pews?"
"Because we were in the aisle, I was late...you know me well" Bianca yelled.
"Of course he didn't know how you come up with it".
Lorenzo asked a guard for the dagger, Bianca was trying to stop him.
"I should have known" said the boy, Bianca stood in front of Guglielmo.
"If you kill him, you'll have to kill me" said Bianca.
"Lock them in their rooms," she told a guard.

When Beatrice entered the chapel, she saw Giuliano lying down, Lucrezia wiping the blood from his mouth, Beatrice's eyes moistened.
Lorenzo entered shortly after, Beatrice collapsed on the ground, next to Giuliano, took his hand and leaned on his chest.
Lorenzo stood on the stool.
He put his hand on Giuliano's chest.
Sandro and Clarice entered.
"Lorenzo we need to talk to you."
Lorenzo stood up and went out.
"Call Fioretta" Beatrice ordered a guard.
"Beatrice...Fioretta is gone, her father is dying, he has reached his home in the countryside" Lucrezia told her.
"I want...when Giuliano is ready, Simonetta and Federico can say goodbye to him" Lucrezia looked at the girl.
"Of course."
"I want them to see their father one last time, I want them to see how much pain man can cause, what man can do to have control and power, I want them to understand that their father was a good person"
Lucrezia approached Veatrice and hugged her, they cried, together, for Beatrice was like a mother that woman.

Beatrice closed herself in the chapel with Giuliano, she was dressed in black, she was holding Simonetta in her arms and at her side there was Federico.
Before entering the chapel Beatrice had told Federico in a direct way that his father was dead.
He would have understood it himself as soon as he saw Giuliano's body.
"Dad is leaving for a very long journey, a journey that will last many years, then you will be the ones to go to him, he is in a beautiful place, where there is no hate, no evil, where everything is focused on love, he will remember you and you will remember him, I promise you, when you want to see him or you want to talk to him, you only have to raise your eyes to the sky in the evening. ..and the brightest star will be your father, I will go every day to his tomb to talk to him, you can come with me, we will bring white lilies, like the ones Simonetta likes, it will be like having him by your side, he is and will always be by your side. ..even if some bad people have taken him away from you, he will be there and Federico I mean you, you are great, don't ever do evil, don't kill because hatred generates hatred, your great grandmother used to say that and she was right, don't let something like that happen again, protect the people you love and don't hate your enemies, even if they hate you, you must always offer them your hand. ..this doesn't mean to submit to them, you will be bigger than them, you will have to be, you will always have to win but not with violence, like your uncle Lorenzo does, yes like them, because they won, they won the evil and you will win, promise me that."
The child nodded.
"Now hug daddy tightly, give him a kiss, it will be the last one you can do"
Federico looked at his father, he walked over and held him close, Bianca then gave them a kiss, a servant girl then took the children, Lucrezia entered the chapel.
"Be strong Beatrice, be strong for all of us" the girl hugged Lucrezia and went out.

Guglielmo had been exiled and Bianca decided to follow him.
At the funeral there were hundreds of people, men, old, young, children, women, poor, rich, sick and not.
They were all there to honor Giuliano De'Medici.
To honor that family, that magnificent family.
Beatrice.
Lorenzo.
Clarice.
Lucrezia.
Bianca.
Federico.
Simonetta.
Piero.
And all those who came later.
And who had been before.
THE MEDICI

END