Freak of Time, History's Game ( I Medici Masters Of Florence)

Chapter 24

Florence

1470

Medici Palace

Nowhere was safe.
The Medici family was ruling the city but it had many enemies amongst the other important families.
Lorenzo got married for advantage two years before. He wasn't happy. Vittoria was sad for him. She had the luck to get a marriage for love, in a time in which love was forbidden in the high society and marriages were just for getting advantages.
Lorenzo was her favourite nephew. He had the same name's as her only brother, who died some years before, leaving her the last living member of her original family.
Cosimo nomitated him as his heir, even if he was still so young then.
But Riccardo's brothers weren't destined to live enough. Giovanni was the heir of the Bank but he died some minths before his own father.
And in the previous year Piero, Lorenzo's father, died, leaving the young man now the leader of the family.
Riccardo always refused that role. He preferred to be the protector of the family and traveled to keep the alliances with the other big cities.
This time he had to leave and face some opponents from Venice.
Vittoria strongly disagreed, knowing that they were too weak in their own city. But he wasn't persuaded and left with his soldiers to march towards northern lands.

The woman hated to be left behind, waiting for the time to run faster and for him to come back safe and sound.
She couldn't even enjoy her children's company, for they were so busy with their strict education, imposed by their grandmother Contessina.
She was alone, always feeling in danger in her own home.

Weeks past away and the stress just grew.
Till on a foggy day some soldiers came back, bringing the worst news.
"That's impossible" Vittoria said angrily "Why are you so few? Where are the others?".
"They are still on the field or marching. We ran to bring the news of our victory. Sir Riccardo made us win, but he was badly injured. We are really sorry. He was the best leader".
"How can I know that's true? Did you see him fall?".
A soldier moved forward, lending a blood covered cloak.
She recognized it and her heart simply sank. She was hanging to hope, but her worst nightmares just came to torture her.
Contessina hugged her tightly while she was pressing the cloak on her chest.
She would have known if something happened to him, maybe that was why the stress was overwhelming her.
The news spread fast, with its bittersweet taste. Peace with Venice was finally reached, but the price was  another loss for the ruling family.

Vittoria spent her days into the main church of the city, desperarely praying for a miracle. She refused to prepare the funeral before the arrival of the corpse.
But many people came to the palace to pay tribute and the family couldn't deny them a ceremony.
Even after years spent together, Vittoria couldn't think of surviving without him.  They always fought together against every trouble, faced hard and good times, argued and reconcilized. They were like one.
Nothing was able to comfort her. Days and nights passed so cold and dark.
Everything lost meaning.

Being a widow would have never suited her. No body on which crying on. She was scared of the idea of seeing his dead body, feeling that he wasn't there for her, that he would have never come back. She wore his dirty cloak and spent hours in front of his portraits, but she started to hate them because she just noticed the mistakes.
People came to the palace bringing their condolences.
The politics machine was already working. Someone would have taken Riccardo's place. Vittoria was a good prey. She was still young enough to be wanted by most of the free noblemen. But they were just looking for her dowry. They'd use her to be part of her prestigious family.
Ambition. Power. Money.
That was what everyone was looking for.
The hunt had begun. She was the prey.

Her name become popular. Everyone wondered who would have won the hand of the rich Vittoria de Medici.
She started to hate it.
She wouldn't have let anyone to use her in order to steal her family's prestige.
She refused her name, prefering Vittoria Riccardi instead.
Even if she was protected by her relatives and most trusted people, she always felt menaced.
There was no way out, no future for her.

She waited for the first occasion, which arrived on a cold windy cloudy night.
She had become insomniac, so nights just slowly passed away. She had always the company of some relative or servant, to avoid her the bitter loneliness.
But she had already taken her decision when she accepted that her Riccardo wouldn't have come back to save her from that nightmare.
She avoided to enter their room. Haunting memories were enough. The tears were all cried out.
She already blessed her kids, the two boys and the twin girls. They would have lived better without her. The family would have protected them.

Tiresome caught her young maiden after nonsense  talking.
Vittoria envied her for she had many days to be lived ahead.
The woman blew on the candles taking just one lit with herself and left silently the little dark room, without waking the girl.
The palace was silent. Everyone was out of coscience, their mind wandering in the dimension of dreams.
Vittoria used the secret passages to slip away from there avoiding the guards. Mentally she said goodbye to everything, those walls who echoed her happy days, those people she grew up with or saw being born.
The city was sleeping too. The cold air made hide also the nocturne people.
Vittoria walked slowly enjoying every single step, remembering the long walks on those same cobblestones arm to arm with Riccardo, living many adventures together, discovering new point of views, new details, trying each hour of a day, each season of a year. They witnessed so many changes, they changed the city and so the world.
She regretted nothing.
God already knew her reasons and may forgive her. Otherwise love would have been the greatest sin.
She thanked destiny for allowing her to live with her love, Riccardo for having fought for her and making her the happiest wife in the world.
They agreed they would have been fighting together, always.
Not even death would have separated them. She was already late.

She tried to find some poison but her mother in law  prevented her. Keeping her breath to death wasn't enough. So she had another plan.
The river Arno was flowing as always, numb to whatever was happening around it.
Riccardo and she spent so many summer days relaxing on the bridges. He was used to lead her there when she was nervous and anxious and persuade her to let the  flowing waters taking away all her worries.
She crossed the main bridge she knew so well.
The water was waiting for her.
She went down to reach it, leaving behind all the living warmth and simbolically blew on the candle she carried and trew it into the river.
The cold water made her gasp when it grabbed her feet and then legs. Even if  her body wanted to fight it and make her run away, she went ahead.
She turned her head up, looking for some stars into the dark clouded sky. She couldn't spot any. But she was sure her soul would have found Riccardo's, wherever he was.
There would have been another world or another dimension or another time where they would have met again.
Everything dies, except love.

The river caught her shivering body and she floated for a while.
The cold water matched her cold  dying corpse, then ate her last breaths.