The Medici Girl

The Watcher

The bed that Ginevra had slept peacefully in was now empty as Contessina stood at the foot of it for the third time that day. A week ago, her mother had a stroke and barely two days later the old woman had another rendering her permanently catatonic to the point she could not ingest anything. Contessina could see that her mother was giving up after a while and on the morning of August 2nd, Ginevra passed peacefully. The blonde's reaction at first had been to cry and when Lucrezia grabbed her, Contessina had collapsed onto the floor. 

Now, the young woman gazed at the empty bed with her hand on her growing child feeling only  sorrow. She felt as though there were things left unsaid between her and Ginevra that could never be said now. Her fears about being a mother and of course her jealousy towards Cammillia in the past, but now it was to be forgotten as her mother was no longer there. Her body had already been taken to Ferrara and buried there with the rest of the Alessandri family like she had wanted. There was so much Contessina already missed about her mother, including the no nonsense talk about her faith in God and the like. The woman had a strong belief in God where Contessina did not and that was where they clashed over the years. She wished now that she had understood more about why her mother believed so hard and condemned those who did not. 

Reflecting on these things only served to dampen Contessina's mood as the day went on and with nothing to do around the villa, her mourning kept going. She was not angry that her mother had died like she thought she would be, but she was numb. With Giuliano and the Auditore men, she had become rightfully angry because their deaths were unexpected and brutal. They died in a manner that was unforgivable, yet she had taken out her anger on a poor guard in the Palazzo della Signoria. After that, she vowed to never kill again out of anger. 

Peaceful death was different. Contessina had the time to process her mother's death before she died and because of this all she felt was the absence. She had grown accustomed to sitting and talking with her mother every day for that was all Ginevra could really do to pass her time. Contessina had thought Ginevra insisting on a walk in the garden could have been the reason for her stroke. If she had not demanded it, would she still be sitting in the chair by the window? There was no way of knowing. Contessina was so lost in thought that she did not hear the footsteps of Piero and Giovanni running in the hall behind her. 

"I'm going to get you!" Piero's voice pulled Contessina out of her trance when the child ran past the doors again following his brother. She tuned to look in their direction before gathering up her skirts to go scold them for running through the villa. "Come back you barbarian!" 

"Boys!" Contessina said raising her voice as she moved into the hallway and the two children stopped dead. "No running. You know better and your mother is trying to rest." 

"Sorry, Zia." They both looked up at her with a pout on her face before she walked up to them and kneeled down to their level. The two boys always considered her their aunt rather than their cousin and she did not mind this at all. 

"It is alright." The blond grabbed their hands and smiled. "Perhaps we should go out into the garden and play." Contessina stood up with a hand from each of the boys in hers before leading them through the villa and out to the yard in the garden. "Now, stay where I can see you." 

"Si, Zia!" Giovanni was the first one to start running away from his brother with a high pitched laugh. 

"Come back here! I'm going to get you!" Piero said picking up a stick he found before chasing his little brother. "Come back here you barbarian!" They reminded her so much of Ezio it was hard to not remember the days she played with him. 

"You will never catch me you dirty Roman!" She smiled as Giovanni turned around before picking up a stick of he own and facing down his older brother. Piero was only a year and three months older, but sometimes they looked the same age. "I will conquer Rome for my people!" He held up his sword as Contessina slowly sat down on the grass with her dark blue dress hem in a puddle around her.