"May 1494 Ascension" "Holiness, he is almost here." "Holiness, please." "Holiness." "Hail Cesare." "Cesare, did you ever imagine the walls of the Eternal city would echo your name as they once did for your namesakes, Julius and Augustus Caesar?" "Be honest, does not this hero's welcome live up to your boyhood dreams?" "Even more so." "Then why so dour?" "Dour?" "My face beams like the sun on a blue day." "You shine brightly for show." "They sing my praises for eliminating Savonarola, in their eyes, an enemy to Rome." "But my goal in manipulating the monk's death was not to save Christendom or my father." "You're wrong." "The efforts were on behalf of Holy Mother Church." "And that divine entity towers above Rodrigo Borgia, Savonarola or any man." "I did not place my future in the brutal hands of God but in the delicate fingers of the goddess known as Fate." "No, I have told you." "I do not want to be Vice Chancellor." "I have grander plans, starting with my resignation as Archbishop of Valencia and at the Sacred College of Cardinals." "Did you think that I would just lose my love for Carlotta D'Aragona... or abandon my desire to become King of Naples?" "We already have ties to Naples - our secret agreement for Lucrezia to wed Alfonso di Calabria." " Your brother Goffredo was destined to claim..." " The throne of nothing." "Goffredo is a cypher." "Juan and Pedro Luis are dead." "I am the only son left who can fulfill your dream of a unified Borgia-Italy." "I will not be denied." "The Pope cannot grant you permission to resign, only your brother cardinals can." " This must be done..." " Legally, yes." "I will connive to convince my brother cardinals." "You will convince King Federigo to give me the hand of his daughter." "Summon Cardinal Carafa." "Mama, you have caught us." "We've eaten tonight's dessert." "Oh, well." "You would have eaten it anyway and the husband grows too fat." "Alfonso, now that the bonesetter has freed your leg... how do you explain to your wife that you're not at home in Ferrara?" "Each day my excuses grow more stale." "Soon I will need to leave Rome." "Or break another leg." "I must ask a question." "And in love's name, I expect an honest answer." "We have in the month past shared many hidden truths..." " but I have not told you my most perilous secret." " You will put us all in jeopardy." "Know this." "Whatever I am told will die with me." "I fear your love will die as well." "Then cut out my heart." "I have a son." " I understand the ways of court." " Wait, my son was taken from me." "Lucrezia, Alfonso di Calabria." "Prince Alfonso di Calabria." "My goddess, I am so... d'Este." "Manners did not accompany your new crown." "A genuine prince waits for permission to enter the presence of a lady." "Please, Highness." "Take my seat." "I am due at Bishop Boccaccio's." "I thank you both for a lively visit." "Hey ho, Bishop Sinibaldi." "Lanzol, Farnese, you're back from Florence, the City of Lilies." "Unfortunately, the day-to-day cost of lilies runs extremely high." "The expenses for your journey." "Let's have a look." " What is wrong?" " Your food and drink." "The Commission on Reform has decreed that the Papal Treasury no longer remunerates for luxuries." "We were sent on a mission by the Pope." "Were we not expected to eat?" "Fasting is good for the soul." "Oh, and horse fodder." "In the past, I've been reimbursed for horse fodder." "Alas, the Commission on Reform has also eliminated fodder as a valid expense." "So our horses are expected to fast as well, even though they do not have souls?" "Your true reward shall be in Heaven." "Mama, do not say a word." "I have held my tongue long enough." "You reside once more in the Apostolic Palace but you have not put your beauty back to work." "I cannot ask Rodrigo for more favors." "You must." "Alessandro has not risen in the Vatican as quickly as we had hoped." "He should be sharing in the adulation of the crowd, but no." "The only sound we hear is 'Cesare'." "Alessandro should be Vice Chancellor." "I do not hold the same influence I once did, Mama." "In fact, Rodrigo now seems indifferent to my presence." "But the two of you still indulge in beastly acts, yes?" "His lovemaking is erratic, not erotic." "When he is 'he', I can sway him... but when he's 'we', I am powerless." "He once commissioned a painting of you as the Virgin Mother." "Take your cue from that." "Forget about Rodrigo Borgia." "Seduce the Holy Father instead." "Mama." "A cold welcome." "An overdue visit." "I have remained away out of shame." "For the accusation I hurled at you." "I am here to beg you to forget." "My son, my sweet boy." "Lucrezia, do not stand there like a sphinx." "Come, greet your brother." "Welcome back to Rome, Cesare." "Next, we need to review the agenda for today's Consistory." "La Bella." "You radiate more beauty than ever." "You say I am beautiful." "Yet, you walk to your desk, rather than my arms." "Giulia, we are very, very occupied." "I want to take you somewhere." "Holiness." " Where are we going?" " Be patient." " Swear no one sees us." " I have guards on the other side of every door, blocking the way." "This cannot take long." "We must get to the Consistory." "And we stop." "You may remove the blindfold." "Giulia, no." "Not here." "This room is sacred." "So is our love." "We can never be married, but we can, like two virgins, consecrate our bond before God, who in His wisdom brought our souls together." "We have been waiting on Borgia for an hour." "Burchard, call this meeting to order so that we may adjourn." " Yes, it's too long." " How much longer shall we wait?" "Oh, my love, tell me I make you happy." "You do, La Bella." "How can we make you happy?" "I have but one wish." "Yet I fear what I ask might be too much." "Wish." "We will not disappoint." "My brother." "Appoint Alessandro as Vice chancellor." " No, we have another in mind for that job." " So, I do ask too much." "Alessandro will remain mired in the muck." "We have said, we will not disappoint." "Verbum incarnatum." "His Holiness Pope Alexander the Sixth..." " calls to order a meeting..." " That will be all, Herr Burchard." "Cesare." "Eminences, I have tried with every sinew to become one of you." "But the bare fact is, I never wanted to be a cardinal nor even a priest." "I wish to exchange an ecclesiastical career for a secular one." "I appeal to you, release me from the false vows to which I have sworn." "I support Cardinal Borgia's plea and praise his honesty." "Cardinal Riario-Sansoni." "Indeed, Cardinal Borgia has shown time and again... that there is no one less fit to serve in this Sacred College." "I would thrill to see the stain which he has brought upon us wiped away." "However, if we allow Cesare Borgia... to vacate his cardinalate... it would be the first time in the history of the Church... that such permission is granted." "1500 years of precedence cannot be casually tossed away." "I urge you, brothers, to preserve the sanctity of this institution... and deny Cardinal Borgia his request." " You." "You are jealous." " Silence." " Burchard, the vote." " What says the consistory?" "Assent." "Ten." "Dissent." "16." "Giuliano, do you abstain?" "Yes." "For even though the majority denies your son's petition... you will take whatever action you choose." "As usual, you are mistaken." "If precedent is to be upset, we will not impose our personal desire... but rather a period of reflection." "We ask this holy fraternity to pray on the matter." "Then, when we reconvene, your wisdom will prevail." "And the choice must be unanimous." "Unanimous?" "You want this vote to fail." "You want me to remain a cardinal." "If we wish to stop you from resigning, we would have let the vote stand." "We have given you a rare commodity, time." " Use that time to sway the others." " But to get all of them to agree?" "They never will." "Never." "That word was uttered when I entered the Conclave." "Never again would a Spaniard be Pope." "Yet here is the ring mankind must kiss." "If all 28 cardinals agree, then they are all culpable." "None can condemn us." "You must be wily enough to align their will with yours." " We must change 17 cynical minds." " And how are we to do that?" " With honey or vinegar." " You would ask us to use violence?" "To be violent in order to destroy is criminal." "To be violent in order to restore is heroic." "I've divided our enemies into six groups." "Each of you will approach two or three cardinals." "At every name, I have listed their individual vulnerabilities." "Do not hesitate to exploit their flaws." " And whom will you approach?" " My greatest obstacle... and the only man whose deepest flaw I've yet to discover, Riario-Sansoni." "You're well aware that I am in love with Alfonso d'Este." "And that he's married." "I would rather love him and sin than not at all." " My sweet child." " Do not lecture me." "Help me." "I want to be with Alfonso d'Este, not Alfonso di Calabria." " Perhaps you can love Alfonso d'Este without sin." " How?" "A high hurdle, but one that a skilled horseman can jump." "I came back to confront Sinibaldi about our reimbursements." "I convinced the guards to allow me to wait in here." "The time at the Consistory was drawing near." "I grew impatient and decided to take the money owed me." " You stole from the Papal Treasury?" " It is not stealing if the money is rightfully mine." " A lawyer's distinction, I will not follow your lead." " Let me finish, Lanzol." "I opened this chest, reached inside and found... nothing." "The chest is..." " empty." " All of them are empty." "Not a ducat or florin or shilling in sight." "You mean that the Pope is bankrupt?" "Or Bishop Sinibaldi has been embezzling papal funds." "Or both." "As a reward for having brought Sinibaldi to justice, cardinal Farnese, you will replace the bishop as Papal Treasurer." " Me?" " Holy Father, I am an expert in Church dogma, not a bookkeeper." " This promotion displeases you?" "I am touched by your bounty, but the job is not one I desire." "Are you not forgetting something?" "You have family depending on you." "Now I see." "I root my faith in the dimension of mistery." "In some ways my family will always be cared for but spending days on end in a capacity that requires nothing of my natural gifts, my spirit will die." "If my wits were ever a true resource, I beg you, select someone else." "Cardinal Lanzol, to you we bestow the Church of Santa Maria Via Lata." "What?" "This displeases you as well?" "Holiness, Santa Maria Via Lata belongs to Cardinal Piccolomini." "A benefice given by us." "We should never have let the parish out of our family's hands." "Now do you want the damn thing or not?" " I do, but are you certain Cardinal..." " Do not worry about Piccolomini." "Christ." "Go back to the pack." "Oh my love, I'm devastated that you are to marry again." " The image of you with another man..." " Alfonso, it will not be that way." " Are you saying you will not marry?" " No, I will marry." "I will marry you." "Me?" "I would divorce Anna Maria?" "Tell the Pope how much you love me, then quickly follow with something quite unforeseen, something you have learned while married to Anna Maria." " Such as?" " She's a heretic." " Anna Maria?" "But she's not." " It matters not, you will say she is." " That she has practiced witchcraft." " She will be burned at the stake." "No, I will see that papa sends her to a cloistered convent." "In Bulgaria." " We're scheduled to meet with the Pope." " Divine one, I cannot." "A messenger has newly arrived from Ferrara." "Anna Maria is with child." "I will be a father." "All of Ferrara celebrates." "My family needs an heir." "Rafaele, I see you are taking the Holy Father's directive to heart." "No, I do not pray about you." "I, like Nehemiah, am a man of prayer." " Either kneel with me or leave me be." " I will do neither." "Like Nehemiah, who restored the walls of Jerusalem, I also am a man of action." "Lay your hands on me again, Cardinal Borgia, and you will regret it." " You believe you are a match for me?" " I believe I am holding cards which you do not wish me to play." "You're about to say that the investigation of my brother's murder has never been officialy completed and that I killed Juan." " No, I'm quite certain that you did not." "But there is one person whom we never discussed nor interrogated." " Your sister Lucrezia." " Lucrezia?" "Ridiculous." "Before the Spanish departed Rome, I heard some rather intriguing facts... from one of De Cordoba's lieutenants about that young man, Pedro Caldes... the one you killed?" "You pretend to be a priest, yet at every turn you act the politician." "Unlike you, Cesare, I have known my true calling... the reason I was born, since childhood." "I cannot imagine living life any other way." "The priesthood has liberated me from all temporal anxiety... knowing that my reward of everlasting life awaits." "Why do you smile?" "Because the Red Sea has suddenly parted." "If you do not vote my way, I know exactly how to destroy you." "You will be excommunicated." "Obviously, your influence with the Pope has reached new heights." "But even Rodrigo Borgia would never dare excommunicate a priest without sufficient..." "Ground?" "A moment ago you accused the Holy Father's daughter of murdering his son." "Bishop Flores dies daily in Terra Nuova prison for the sin of false witness." "No one heard me but you." "We did." "My vote is yours." "With that vote, we bury everything that has been said here today." "No more lies about Lucrezia." "She is purity personified." "And you will deliver Giuliano della Rovere's vote as well." " Impossible." " For a man of prayer, nothing is impossible." "I will try." "But even if I succeed, Piccolomini has turned against you." "Because of your little cousin Juan." "Piccolomini?" "No, absolutely no." " You said that I must earn unanimity." " Piccolomini despises us." "How are we to know what he as our diplomat will say in private to a king?" "He cannot be made Papal Legate." "You caused this problem by giving away Santa Maria Via Lata without thinking it through." "I did warn you, Holiness." "The time has come." "You either support me or deny me." "Decide." "Bring our new legate." "I do not want to be Papal Treasurer." "I do not need you or Giulia meddling in my life." "Why do you not badger my brother to advance our family's fortune." "Angelo is a rapscallion." "And you are a lemur for speaking in such tones to your mother." " You should not allow her to rile you so." " Let us join a band of gypsies." "You were born for greatness." "Greatness that will exceed any member of your family, any Borgia." "If Pope Alexander bestows this honor... upon you, then you will do what you always do, excel." "I love you." "If you want Lucrezia to marry an Italian... my cousin, Roberto San Severino, prince of Salerno..." " would be a perfect spouse." " Good lord." "You mock, Ascanio, but will you deny that Roberto is both a naval genius and exceedingly rich?" "If he was spawned from different loins, I would be the first to second your proposal." " But sadly, his father's ties to France..." " Do you also have a bid, Cardinal?" "I do." "Ottaviano, son of Caterina Sforza..." "No doubt His Holiness is jumping at the bid to have his daughter marry yet another Sforza." " Gianbattista, your thoughts." " Duke Francesco of Gravina... a distant Orsini." "We Colonna would blister at such a pairing." "She should marry my brother Fabrizio." "We will deliberate on each of your generous offers." "Be gone." "Any word from Riario-Sansoni about Della Rovere's vote?" "Not yet." "But Rafaele will bend his cousin, I have faith." "Who?" "I am sorry to intrude, Eminence, but time is of the essence and you are the only one who can save me." "Alfonso, sit, speak." "I confess." "I came here from Naples in your company... with the secret desire to wed your sister." "And then like a fine harvest, the engagement came to pass." "But now, after a torrent of new suitors, my betrothal has died on the vine." "And you wish to revive it." "You have beaten on the wrong door." "Go whimper in my father's ear." "Much has happened." "I can no longer gain an audience with the Pope." "So I am to be your voice." " What I cannot see is why I would agree." " Out of friendship." "We ate and drank together." "That is convenience, not friendship." "Then I am lost." "Not necessarily." "How far would you go to achieve your heart's desire?" "To the gates of Hades." "Cardinal Zeno has told my cousin that he would rather die than vote in my favor." " Do you think he should?" " Vote in your favor, yes." "And if not, should he die?" "Or should he die before the Sacred College meets again to decide my fate?" "You want me to kill him?" "I did not say that." "I asked how far would you go." "If you were in my place, would you murder Zeno?" "Strangled in his bed perhaps." "Or with a sip of Cantarella." "I would." "Is that your plan?" "To assassinate all Cardinals who oppose you?" "All?" "No." "We will first see how this one goes." "Cardinal Zeno?" "Would you dine with me tonight?" "You can sample the latest wines from Ischia." "I would be delighted." "Prince Roberto has proven himself to be an admirable admiral." "Our intention is to build a papal navy." "So we happily agree..." "Beg pardon, Holiness." "Cardinal Carafa." "Forgive me, Holy Father." "So sorry for my delay." "Bad tripe." "We are finalizing an agreement for our daughter to marry Roberto San Severino of Salerno." "Wonderful, then I am doubly glad I appeared in time, as I have an urgent report which may cause you to reconsider this decision." "Federigo, utilizing his right as King of Naples and sovereign of Salerno has seized the Principality and banished the San Severino family." "Roberto is no longer a prince." "But Holiness, he is still an admiral." "Admirals are much easier to find than princes." "You may leave us." "Therefore, my king implores you to revisit your proposal that Lucrezia marry Prince Alfonso di Calabria." "No, we would not like to revisit that offer, we would implement it." " Wonderful." "I shall inform..." " Father, I bear sad tidings." "Cardinal Giovanni Battista Zeno has died, quite suddenly." "He was drunk." "Eminence, what is the King's answer regarding my marriage to Carlotta?" " Oh, yes." "That would be a 'no'." " No?" "What if we insist?" "His Highness did arm me with a reply for such a query." "If you do insist, I am to vote against Cesare's resignation." "Federigo is king of Naples because his ascension was approved by my father." "That decree can be rescinded." "Then a state of war would exist between Naples and the Papal States." "Federigo, being a d'Aragona, would call upon his cousin King Ferdinand to send Spanish troops back to invade Rome and your brother Goffredo, in Squillace, would be a prisoner." "So how would you like me to respond... to His Sublime Highness?" "Fine." "Supply your vote tomorrow." "I will win Carlotta without the King's consent." " What are you doing over here?" " Working." " These ledgers are a disaster." " You are angry at me." "A jumble of numbers." "To reorganize this mess, I'll have to redo the entire..." "Not tonight." "Mama has cooked a feast in your honor." "His Holiness has honored me with this August position." "I must not let him down." "Try to see past yourself and be grateful." "Did the idea ever occur to you to put faith in me?" "That I might find a way to provide for my family?" "Alessandro, you have many gifts, but you are... a feather." "Too soft." "If I left matters up to you, we Farnese would starve." "So thank heaven above we are once again saved by your cunt." "You are asking me to stand down and let Cesare Borgia have his way?" "The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the Lord." "Rarely have I seen you in such a state." "Whatever this is, it must be juicy." "Tell me why." "Just trust me." "Releasing Borgia from his vow is for the best." "Whose best, yours?" "What does Borgia lord owe you?" "Giuliano, I have done your bidding many times over, however repugnant." " This once, I demand that you do..." " Please." "You are from the lesser side of our family." "A discarded grape never to be blessed with the best of the fruit on Ascension Day." "Giuliano, for your own sake." "My sake?" "You are the desperate one." "And that desperation will change hands if you refuse." "I refuse." "Very well." "I will expose you as a sodomite." "Oh, cousin, you are pathetic." "I have fought off such rumor before." "I witnessed from outside your bedchamber window the vile, abominable acts you committed on Bishop Flores." "The Pope's Pear is a horrible death." "Your word against mine will not go as far as you think." "Remember, I hold the shears." "A second cardinal watched with me." "He will testify to the debauchery." "You lie." "There is no second cardinal." "Refuse again and find out." "First fruits are bitter fruits..." "Eminence." "I have decided the most righteous act is to vote on your behalf." "What a great and grand surprise." "Despite my uneven relationship with your father..." "I have always admired you, Cesare." "Your pluck." "You have an odd way of demonstrating admiration." "Still, by my calculations, you are a few votes short." "What a pity after all of your strain if you do not garner the final tally you need." "I appreciate your concern, my dear new friend... but it is concern born out of your own desires." "You have come to realize that If I am not a cardinal, I cannot become pope and when my father dies..." "I have a suggestion for a way to secure your victory." "I will continue to argue with those who resist." "Yes." "Well, my way, you do not have to say a word." "The Lance of Longinus." " With which he killed Pedro Caldes." " An act of blasphemy." "And so, we will pray for the soul of Giovanni Battista Zeno." "Amen." "The supreme Pontiff will now hear further testimony regarding Cesare Borgia's appeal to resign from the Sacred College of Cardinals." "What is there to talk about?" "Do none recall the day Cesare Borgia brought bloodshed into this holy place?" "Yes, he should leave the Sacred College and burn in hell." "Silence." "Assent." " 27." " Unanimous." "The Consistory has spoken." "We reluctantly accept Cesare Borgia's resignation... effective immediately." "I recommend Juan Borgia Lanzol to succeed me as Archbishop of Valencia." "Eminences, your vote proves that to do something holy, you must sometimes do what is unholy." "You are a cabal of hypocrites." "If Hell does exist, we will all fry in the same pan." "So what have you come to say?" "Do not marry Alfonso." "Underneath his fine exterior is a depraved soul." "Even if papa would listen to me, this union is another punishment from God for Juan's death." "The Almighty has made Himself clear, I do not deserve happiness." "Do I not make you happy?" "No, brother." "I think you make me saddest of all." "Because of our shared feelings?" "Lucrezia, I have spent these last days charting a new course for myself." "But in this moment I am not certain any of it matters." "I love you." "Then this marriage will be your punishment for killing Perotto." "Though the..." "Though the joy we feel is tempered by the continued absence of little Giovanni, we propose a toast... to the beauteous bride... and to our new son, Alfonso di Calabria..." "Prince of Bisciglie and Salerno." "Salute." "Now, everyone, enjoy the evening." "Rodrigo." "With so much love in the air, I'm in the most amorous mood." "Let us spend the rest of the night in our bedchamber." "Alas, I have a duty to perform that will take me to the hour of Matins." "A duty?" "King Federigo insists that this marriage be consummated tonight so that there can be proof, at a later date, that the groom functions as a husband." "I could not believe it with my own eyes." "He drank all of it." "Lucrezia." "I would like to turn back the hours." "May we speak?" "No, go to your wife." " The beast snuck up behind me." " Lucrezia." "I said:" "Go away." "Cesare, you played the unicorn?" "Did you see?" "The unicorn can only be tamed by a virgin." "Then I hope, for your sake, princess Carlotta d'Aragona is still chaste." "Unlike you." "I'm grateful that our kiss did not become a fuck." "What sort of monster would we have created." "Whereas you and Perotto have given the world perfection." "I wonder, where is your son?" "And I wonder why you do not seem to care." "My darling." "I long to be with you." "Alone." " Are you nervous?" " Are you?" "Oh, indeed." "But I do not mind." "You are worth the world, my love." "Convincing, but not enough." "Alfonso, pull back the sheet." "I hear and see only you." "Cling tightly." "Hear and see only me." "I still cannot tell whether this is acting." "I am sorry... but where is his penis?" "Children, we must witness the penetration." "Fuck me, husband." "Yes, fuck me." "Fuck me harder." "Harder, fuck me." "Yes, you are a god." "A god."