The Mistress

Chapter 1. The Borgias

1

1485 Rome, Italy

I peered my head out of the large wooden doors that look into the courtyard. My father and Cardinal Borgia sat there in their blood red Cardnial robes. We were not allowed in but I wanted to listen anyway. Me and my father come to the Borgia house often, so often that I call it my second home.

"Let me see!" Juan Borgia, the second eldest child of Borgias tried to push me out the way. "Hush Juan!" I say while hitting him in the rib. "We can't let them hear us!" he backs up with that stupid angry face that he puts on when he doesn't get his way.

"It is my house!" he declared "Now let me see Lena!" he pushes me out the way to look through. I cross my arms and let out a large sigh. Juan was always my least favorite out of all of the Borgia siblings. He is arrogant, reckless and just down right annoying. He always has to get his way and he is Cardnial Borgias favorite, although I don't understand why. "I wonder what they are talking about." Juan whispered. "They are probably talking about us." Cesare adds as he walks up behind me. Cesare Borgia is the eldest and the same age as I. We both are as thick as thieves together since we are the same age our fathers saw it that we spent time together. Cesare always said that our father would have us married.
Juan backs up from the door to look at us. "Why would you say that brother?" Juan asked his face was sour. It seemed his face was stuck that way. Seeing Juan smile or laugh was such a strange thing because it rarely ever happened.

"Well why do you think we are not aloud in?" Cesare scoffed. I walk up to the door to look out again and this time they have both put on big red sun hats. They were my favorite. It reminded me of Silver Lake and the summers we would spend there. Cesare stood me behind to look out at well, I could feel him pressed up against me. "I wish we could hear them" he whispered in my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin.

"Maybe you will" Juan replied. Before I knew it I hit the cold stone floor with Cesare falling on top of me. The air was knocked out of me from being crushed by both stone and another human body. It took a moment to get the air back in me and it was a slightly uncomfortable feeling. We look up at our fathers looking at us because we had interrupted their meeting. Then we looked back at Juan who was standing in the door way with a smirk on his face that I would like to wipe clean off. Cesare and I would dunk his head in the fountain later. Juan does these sort of things as if he wasn't a skinny, weak boy. He loves being mean to me but I never understood why. First off I had never done anything to him. Second I always tell Cesare who always will do something about it. This time was no different as Cesare met my glance and I knew that he was going to back Juan pay for that later. The fountain punishment was my favorite.
Our fathers wave us over to join them, to our surprise they are not angry. We look back at Juan who runs off. We join our fathers and sit us on their lap. My father slaps down his sun hat on my head that slips down in front of my face then he hums a tune that my mother would sing when I was a child. My father is young compared to Cardinal Borgia. He had dark curly hair, long lean nose and big green eyes that remind me of emeralds. I do not share any of my fathers traits, he says it is because I am the spitting image of my mother. I don't remember her much to confirm this. But he told me her name was Rosalie.

"Where is Lucrezia?" Borgia asks.
"She is sleeping ." Cesare replies.

"What were you talking about papa?" I ask my father.
"You will find out in time my love." he says with his sweet voice that I love so much. Maybe Cesare had been right and they were talking about us. Or it was something we were not to hear. But I knew Cesare would continue to pry, he enjoys knowing things and being involved with his fathers dealings. Even if he father continues to tell him that he is too young.

A few months later both families took a trip to the lake that was not to far outside Rome. We do this almost every summer. The main house is at the head of the lake and there are cabins around the lake for each of us. After a few years of coming here my father built a villa for us instead of staying in the small cabins on the property. Of course he got permission from Rodrigo of course to build on his land. Even with the Villa we still spent most of our time with the Borgias in the main house.