"Charles will march." "Your only choice is whether his path through Rome is marked with a kiss on your ring or a poker up your rectum." "How many of our men are dead?" "We lost two Celeres and almost all of our horses." "Where are the others?" "The troops refuse to fight for you." "What will I tell my father?" "What is wrong, Giovanni?" "Am I not attractive enough?" "This has never happened before." "I want a divorce." "Your instructions as Lucrezia's lady-in-waiting are simple." "Report all she does and says to me." "Rodrigo." "On the way to Orvieto, the Lady Giulia was captured by the French." "This is the game." "Fine." "Fine!" "Arrest Cardinals Orsini and Colonna." "Now we have hostages." "Sometimes the pieces can be put back together." "Rodrigo." "How did..." "I do not know." "I was suddenly placed in a carriage and brought here." "Set the cardinals free immediately." "The price demanded to broker a peace with the Colonna is your freedom." "You will live under the custody of Marcantonio." "How soon until the French arrive?" "Days." "A week at best." "Prepare to evacuate the Apostolic Palace." "Yes, but the rules of war no longer rule." "Hadrian built Castel Sant'Angelo as a mausoleum, not a shelter for Roman refugees." "When the French army arrives," "I fear this fort will be used as a tomb once more." "Within days, hours even." "Stay brave, Eminence." "With all due respect, Holiness, the army of Naples was filled with brave men, who now lie putrefying on the fields north of Rome." "And their king has abdicated, fled to Gaeta." "Keep breathing." "Now push, push." "Fresh towels." "Yes, good." "Good, good." "Holy Father, the Sacred College of Cardinals has splitted like rotted wood." "Cesare is held prisoner." "De Medici is hiding in Venice." "Colonna, Orsini, Sforza and Riario-Sansoni have joined France." "Della Rovere is poised to take St. Peter's chair." ""Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin."" "Like Daniel, we must interpret the writing on the wall." "Our days are numbered." "You should adjourn this gathering so that I may depart and join King Alfonso in exile." "Cardinal Carafa, you would have the Sacred College run, given that we find ourselves in this position, defending your country?" "Then I ask, where is the Prefect of Rome?" "No one has seen Juan Borgia since the Germans deserted." "He is like a bubble." "Bloated, then..." "Pop." "Gone." "Tread softly, Eminence." "Make hint of our son no more." "You are almost there." "A girl." "Towels." "As for Charles of France, fear not, we will come to terms." "With what?" "I fail to see what trinkets Your Holiness has with which to bargain." "Sometimes what one does not have proves more useful." "Oh, ridiculous." "Without defense," "Rome offers no resistance." "With nothing to attack," "Charles will be forced to talk." "Talk?" "Under his orders," "Swiss mercenaries massacred the inhabitants of Rapallo." "Rapallo is not the Civitas Dei." "We shall send an emissary to Charles to say that he is welcome to pass through Rome on his way to Naples to claim his rightful throne." "In exchange, our son Cesare is to be released immediately." "Your Holiness." "Giulia, your child, a baby, a girl." "She will live a long life in Rome, free of foreign domination." "Your Holiness." "Look at her." "She's beautiful." "Yes, she is." "I wish to name her Laura, after Petrarch's muse." "Laura..." "How is the child?" "When she was first born she was repulsive." "Now she is exquisite." "Look how she glows." "Your new sister, or the Lady Giulia?" "Giulia." "She is but a few years older than me, yet she has achieved all she desires." "Meanwhile, my aspirations are stillborn." "The man I desire is at war with my family, while I am confined to a loveless marriage." "A loveless marriage is a step above an abusive one." "Abusive?" "I meant absent." "Juan has been gone for almost two weeks." "Be patient, he will return." "Borgia." "The vagaries of war have swung in your favor." "Your cardinal's robes were destroyed." "Here are peasant's clothes." "Now, there's no time for you to bathe." "Triple apologies." "We shall meet once more." "But only once." "Last night, I stood out here and I saw in the sky two armies fighting." " An omen?" " Clouds and thunder." "I fear after the French arrive tonight, the bodies will be real." "Holiness, in gratitude for your blessing on his claim on Naples," "King Charles has freed Cesare." "Mmm." "This is too easy." "Francesc, why do I feel like King Priam opening the gates of Troy to a large wooden horse?" " Run!" "They're here!" " The French are here!" "Rodrigo..." "I have just given birth." "Fire throbs between my legs, yet you run your rough fingers as if digging a hole." "I did..." "I did not realize." "Do you know how many opiates I swallowed to force sleep?" "I'm sorry." "My mind is..." "I will feed her, since I am awake." "Where is my father?" "Cardinal Borgia?" "Where is my family?" "Hiding in the Castel Sant'Angelo." "And you stayed behind to steal?" "I am Ceremoniere." "When the Pope dies, these belongings become mine." "And you assume the death of His Holiness is imminent?" "You are in danger here." "Join your family at the Castel Sant'Angelo." "I go, Eminence, to my wife and children." "May God keep us safe." "Weep all you like, Holiness, you still must pay me." "Where are the Bravi?" "Senor de Haro, Bishop von Hohenzollern, we are glad you were able to reach us safely." "Pope Alexander." "I was about to request an audience when your herald arrived." "I have received a sad posting." "Cardinal Mendoza is dead." "Tragic." "He was a great man." "However, more immediate matters require..." "Queen Isabella asks that you appoint Bishop Francisco de Cisneros to replace Mendoza in Granada." "And?" "And?" "What else do their Most Catholic Majesties say?" "I..." "Why, nothing." "Our Holy City is beset by the French fleur-de-lis and you come to us discussing trivialities?" "When will Spain respond to our call for aid?" "And the Holy Roman Empire..." "King Ferdinand nears a decision." "As we near the edge of the cliff!" "The appointment of Cisneros will be sent to Barcelona when Ferdinand sends troops to save Rome." "My son." "Here, patience, my son." "Here, my son." "Cesare." "How long have you been here?" "Where are your cardinal's robes?" "When have you last eaten?" "Please, Alessandro, too many questions." "My head throbs." "Why have you not come to the upper quarters?" "Your family has worried and so have I." "I was on my way, but walking through the squalor," "I realized I belong here." "Do you see me?" "Why, yes, of..." "Of course." "No." "Look closer." "Do you truly see me?" "How could I possibly return to my father?" "Come." "You shall have a bath, rich clothes and food of substance." "We shall create, as Pinturicchio did, the portrait of a prince." "Holy Father, may I present Yves d'Allegre," "Supreme General, Garde Ecossaise of King Charles." "Holiness." "Ma chere Lady Giulia." "Motherhood has blossomed you, just as I said it would." "I had the pleasure of entertaining the Lady when she was held captive a few weeks ago." "Speak your business, General." "Holiness, I have a directive from King Charles VIII of France." "The King commands you to attend him at the Palazzo San Marco." "We will happily receive His Majesty." "He wants you to go to him." "And we have said that we will greet him here." "You have heard our directive, General." "Be gone." "Adieu, Giulia." "The general seemed quite taken with you, La Bella." "Did he?" "I had not noticed." "You were captive how many nights?" "With all the troubles you have to face, don't waste energy on petty jealousy." "I am here with our child." "A woman's mold with a man's mind." "No, a woman's mind, which peers into the future." "If events falter, if the French offer exile, will Laura and I go with you?" "Exile is not an option." "Cesare!" "I can feel your bones." "You do look thinner." "I shall fetch you something from the kitchen, Eminence." "No, no." "Where is Juan?" "Juan went..." "On a secret papal mission." "We prayed to God Omnipotent that he would return you safely to us." "Yet you were the instrument of my return, not God." "Father, I am concerned." "I was able to sneak into the Castel undetected." "You must take charge of our defenses." "But first, how were you treated by the Colonna?" "In a manner befitting a cardinal of Holy Mother Church?" "Can you imagine, Father, they allowed me only buttered lasagna, dusted with sugar spices, once a day." "Your instructions were clear." "No drinking while on watch." "We have no room for error." "What do you want?" "Nothing, Eminence, only..." "No, nothing." "Excuse me." "How dare you enter this home?" "My husband is the Warden of Terranuova." "Your husband was the warden." "He is now a prisoner, and I am Commander Jean Briconnet, son of the Bishop of Saint-Malo." "No, no, stop." "No, stop." "We heard you were once the Pope's whore." "I must sample your chatte." "Holiness." "Cardinal Borgia, we choose to send you on a mission of grave importance." "We say grave because with this violence throughout the city, there are many graves newly dug." "You will go to King Charles and demand that he rein in his men." "Holiness, is His Eminence the most qualified man for such an assignment?" "Gacet will accompany you." "Babbo, you asked to see me?" "Come, Eminence, let's walk together and devise a stratagem." "Darling girl, we have decided to grant your wish and secure your divorce from Giovanni Sforza." "Thank you." "The method of divorce is complex, granted by Holy Mother Church under only one of two circumstances, the impotence of the husband or the infidelity of the wife." "Impotence." "My husband is impotent." "Well, I have not been unfaithful." "You bring me great happiness, Babbo, thank you." "My Lady, your mother is here." "Men are swine." "You are safe now, Mama." "Yes, yes." "Mama, my Bravi just informed me that you arrived." "How clever of you to..." "To sneak past the French." "In harrowing times, one seeks safety at any cost." "Oh, Mama..." "You have every right to fear the touch of a man." "But first and foremost, I am your son." "Let me comfort you as you have for me so often." "I know your pain too well." "Eminence, we must depart." "I will teach you how to behave, Roman dogs." "Giovanni Sforza, Count of Pesaro." "My love." "What are these?" "The acts of annulment." "We are to be annulled?" "Annulment is the only remedy for this matter." "What matter needs to be remedied?" "Lucrezia is my wife in the eyes of God..." "And the Pope." "Inform the Holy Father I will not agree to this unholy act." "If that is your decision, we shall proceed with an official hearing." "Upon what grounds would a hearing be necessary?" "Impotence." "My love, how could we possibly have come to this?" "You, not we." "You are a failure." "At love, at war, a failure as a man." "There is no room for you in the Borgia family, nor in my heart." "Ah, yes." "I ask for the Supreme Pontiff of Christendom and receive his bastard son." "And..." "A Marrano?" "Shall I dismiss them at once?" "Cardinal Cesare Borgia." "Yes, Majesty." "He is not the threat you described." "Appearances deceive, Highness." "Why is the Pope not here himself?" "The streets, they are filled with swords and blood." "Pope Alexander expects a sovereign anointed by God to treat the Eternal City with more respect." "He demands the violence end immediately." "He demands?" "They all tell me that your father breaks Holy Law, lives a depraved lifestyle." "I call a council to depose Pope Alexander VI." "Let us..." "Highness, these so-called cardinals who attack His Holiness, are the very ones who accepted bribes to promote his election." "Borgia's degradation is well documented!" "Jesus Christ, our Savior, was in like manner accused by the Pharisees, who were themselves corrupt." "Do not be fooled, Highness, a tiara is no crown of thorns." "Rodrigo shows no inclination to imitate Christ." "And when have you, della Rovere?" "Majesty, I understand that you have recently signed a treaty with the King of England." "But what will Henry VII say, what will the other Christian princes say, if word is bruited abroad that you besiege the Vicar of Christ and claim to judge him?" "The very man to whom God has committed the judgment of all men?" "What will your wife," "Queen Anne, say?" "My wife..." "Such a devout Catholic." "And though she is young and of rosy cheek, never does she let me forget that she is the Queen of Brittany and could have married a Tudor." "Before I left Lyon, she said," ""The Queen Supreme,"" "as she is wont to call herself," ""commands you, spouse,"" "not King," ""to preserve, above all, the dignity of the Holy Father." ""If you fail my orders, will not you see my bed again."" "Ah." "This haughty manner, vexing as it is, makes me desperate to please her all the more." "Truly maddening." "But a madness I would not cure for the whole of Italy." "So..." "I change my mind." "I will render unto God what is God's and pay obedience to this Borgia Pope." "His Holiness will be most..." "Provided my additional conditions are met." "One." "His Holiness must visit my person in person." "Two." "The Castel Sant'Angelo must be surrendered to my authority." "And three." "Shahzadeh Djem is now my captive." "We cannot give up this fortress." "Charles would hand Sant'Angelo over to della Rovere and soon my body would be floating in the Tiber, decomposed instead of deposed." "If you do not give the Castel, Charles will seize it." "Those French cannons can cause massive destruction." "Holiness, I sense the King's demand for Djem matters most." "Then no to the Castel, yes to Djem." "But you have promised Djem that he will be protected." "In times of war one cannot be held to a promise made in haste." "Charles still insists that you visit him." "He has moved from the Palazzo San Marco and taken up residence in the Apostolic Palace." "The French cur dares lie in my bed?" "He comes to me, that is final." "The two of you are a stone's throw away." "Someone has to bend." "I think I have a solution." "You will meet by accident." "You will be there enjoying the garden." "Charles will notice you first." "Excellent." "As it should be." "You will uncover your head and bow." "Bow?" "Be not alarmed." "The Pope will not see you bow." "Are you certain?" "Rather, he will see you, but he will pretend that he has not." "And is this where he genuflects?" "No." "I refuse to kiss his dirty Catalan feet." " Do not worry." " You will not have to." "As Charles bends down to kiss your foot..." "The Pope will take your hand." "Then, all things equal, you can spend the rest of the day seducing him." "Bishop Briconnet longs to be a cardinal." "He can think of nothing else." "Briconnet?" "You begin with talk of Bishop Briconnet?" "We see della Rovere has influenced our negotiations." "Pardonnez-moi?" "We feel..." "Dizzy." "Holiness?" "Perhaps we should rest a little." "I ask, what proof is there of my supposed impotence?" "The Pope forbade Lucrezia and me to sleep together." "The Countess testified that you attempted to fornicate in disobedience to the papal decree." "My love, why would you..." "Still, because of the papal decree," "I was under pressure, which admittedly hampered my performance." "So you do admit to failure in your duty as husband?" "No!" "We, the two of us, were interrupted once and then the pressure..." "The pressure from the papal decree or the 30,000 ducats?" "30,000 ducats?" "Her dowry." "If His Holiness rules in favor of annulment, know that every ducat must be returned in full." "I have only received a portion of that dowry, less than a third, and somehow now I am to produce the two-thirds I have never received?" "Allow me to try once more." "The ducats are not what matter, but rather my reputation." "Impotence..." "The whole of Italy will ridicule me." "We could try to fornicate again." "Yes?" "With observers present." "The Pope, your cousin... 50 eyes standing around the bed post." "No, I could not..." "Count, be advised, we have only one second more." "If you are to defend yourself, the time is now." "How can I be impotent?" "My first wife, my sweet Maddalena, died in childbirth." "There is testimony that your first wife dallied with a stable boy." "Injury upon insult!" "Giovanni." "Giovanni, stop!" "Stop!" "Briconnet was never one of the issues we agreed to discuss." "Della Rovere..." "Or Sforza." "Told Charles to cast that line knowing we despise the worm." "In feigning illness you have reinforced how large a hook in your mouth Briconnet is." "Sforza and della Rovere will not let Charles relent." "I guess we must grant Briconnet his ceremony." "We shall not be the fish, but the fisherman." "Guillaume Cardinal Briconnet," "Archbishop of Saint-Malo." "Herr Burchard, I hear the French broke into your home and stole from you what you stole from us." "He is the man who violated your mother." "In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti." "Amen." "Your Holiness." "Your Holiness." "You side with us once again because we have made peace with France?" "We have always been on the side of Holy Mother Church." "And Cardinal Sforza?" "He retreats to Milan." "And della Rovere?" "Will remain with King Charles." "As brothers in Christ, the Civitas Dei is your spiritual home." "You are always welcome under us." "Do you have a mother, Briconnet?" "Then you know why you die." "Hola, hermano." "I had not heard of your return, Brother." "Nor I of yours." "Huh." "Of course, I am not surprised." "Now that peace has been declared and the danger gone." "You know nothing of what you speak." "Is that so?" "I know that I forged a fearsome German force, loyal to our father." "They were blackguards." "I know the moment I left town, you, in your incompetence, lost them." "You dare criticize..." "I know that I gave up my freedom to protect this family, while you ran and cowered, drinking Ischian wine." "Fuck you." "Your very existence mocks the name of Borgia." "And I suppose you are worthy?" "More so than you." "Then come, let us see who is the true Borgia man." "Where is your beloved escort, de Corella?" "Are you sure you do not want him to fight for you?" "I need no protection, alfenique." "Are you certain?" "This night, I killed a man." "I still smell his blood." "Cesare, Juan, release one another!" "Now is not the time for rivalries." "You, come here." "Holiness, I..." "I went to Ischia to build a new Papal Guard." "My son, I thought I had lost you." "Is not a father's love remarkable?" "Giovanni Sforza signed the divorce decree admitting his impotence." "I am free to marry." "A real marriage this time, for my freshness is still preserved." "Oh, Alfonso, all I refuse and you I choose." "Lucrezia." "Pantisilea, you must find a way to ferry the letter to Ferrara without my family knowing." "Your secret is safe." "Come." "Well, Herr Burchard, is the King of France ready to give his sacred oath of obedience?" "Not quite yet, Holiness." "When last I saw him, he was still eating, his boots were standing beside him, and he asked me the third time to repeat the order of the ceremony." "You asked for His Majesty to renew his vow of loyalty in front of the people of Rome." "Perhaps he agreed only to embarrass you." "We will wait no longer." "Did you lose your way, Majesty?" "Even with Cardinal della Rovere leading you?" "Well, His Eminence has been turned around as of late." "Forgive our tardiness, Holy Father." "But the death of Cardinal Briconnet's son has upset my court." "I am afraid two final amendments must be made to our agreement." "Amendments?" "Under your instigation, Ferdinand of Spain was named" ""Most Catholic Majesty" by Pope Innocent." "I, too, should like to be called so." "That is impossible." "There cannot be two Mosts." "Then strip Ferdinand of the honor." "No." "We will grant you, Charles, the title Most Christian King." "Ah." "Bon." "As to the second amendment..." "You will accompany us to Naples and anoint me as sovereign." "You test us, so we shall test you." "From where does this sudden demand of yours come?" "Will you ride with us or not?" "We would go of our own choosing, but not at his insistence." "The agreement must stand as is." "Villain." "The time is now, Majesty." "Give the order, and I shall wipe away this Borgia cretin from the earth!" "No." "No." "Kill a pope?" "And turn Borgia into a martyr and a saint?" "If you will not accompany me, someone you trust must." "Cesare." "You demand too much, Charles." "He will not be a hostage again." "No." "Then this is our last meeting." "Holiness, Naples is lovely in the spring." "I will go with the King." "Not as your hostage." "We hereby appoint Cesare Cardinal Borgia as Papal Legate to the court of Avignon, with all the immunity that implies." "I am the papal legate." "A papal legate represents the Pope." "Do you represent us?" "Highness..." "The ebb and flow of war," "Cardinal della Rovere." "We must each of us give up something to gain something." "Holy Father," "I have come to render homage and reverence, as did my imperial ancestor, Charlemagne." "My brother cannot be a hostage again." "Giulia, only you can convince the Pope." "What can I do?" "If you both have failed, what magic could I conjure?" "Ah, Vannozza." "Come to see the child?" "I have come to join my voice with my daughter and your brother, entreating you to speak on Cesare's behalf." "Have you tried to persuade the Pope?" "I am refused admittance." "Oh, well, since you ask so sweetly, all right, I will try." "When I next see His Holiness, I will trumpet Cesare's cause." "More wine, Djem?" "We want you to know, we agreed to transfer you to the French only because all other paths are blocked." "The truth?" "What galls me most is how you betrayed not only me, but your own child." "Djem." "Careful." "No." "He is free to speak." "I have known since the day I arrived in Rome that I was a mere spoke in a great global wheel." "But Cesare?" "He's your blood." "I would rather die a thousand deaths than deliver my son into the hands of my enemies." "And yet, where is your son, Shahzadeh?" "Some would say, Father, that Cesare is no longer your son." "Cesare will always be my son." "No." "You had one daughter under your roof." "Lucrezia." "Then, little Laura." "And now, after his stay in Marino, you have three." "What?" "I..." "Is this true?" "Cesare, stop." "Your hair, so soft." "I never noticed." "Like a woman's." "Enough, let him go." "Careful, Brother." "I feel you getting aroused." "He broke my nose." "Deservedly so." "Get up." "You will not mention your brother's misfortune to anyone." "Not a soul." "Nor you, Djem." "I fought, Father." "Believe me," "I fought with every sinew." "The mark of a true man is not the sufferings he endures, but what he takes away from his sufferings." "I swear to you, as your father, as the Vicar of Christ," "we shall, in time, have our revenge." "Good night, baby girl." "Rodrigo, our child has made me feel closer to your other offspring." "I understand how difficult sending Cesare away with the French must be for you." "I am heartsick." "Do not be." "You do what is right." "In tribute, Highness," "I present these two Cappadocian horses." "I have heard you are quite the master of the stable." "I am grateful." "You see, I have won over this pope." "Ours is a lasting friendship." "Fall in beside us, Legate." "I want to keep you close." "I am sorry, Father, for my behavior last evening." "Diego Lopez de Haro is here with an adjuration from Spain." "Queen Isabella is in despair." "Francisco de Cisneros has been her confessor and confidant for years, yet he refuses to assume the cardinal's robes." "He believes he is unworthy." "We do not care." "Charles of France has forced us to reverse a papal decree." "He has wrecked Rome, taken our son, and now marches on Naples unobstructed!" "If ever there was a powerful king, it is that cripple, not your aloof Ferdinand." "As to Cisneros' lack of desire to be a cardinal, we say, let him rot!" "If you were to issue a papal bull ordering Cisneros to become a cardinal..." "Force him to accept?" "Why would we do that?" "We have never even heard of such a thing!" "If you issue the papal bull, the Queen will convince her husband to join the fight against France." "Oh..." "It will be done." "And so, Maximilian, the success of France in Italy diminishes your imperial influence." "Spain is on her way to fight in God's name." "Will you leave two lesser countries to feast at our table?" "You are Emperor of the Romans in name." "Stop squatting by the Alps and be so in fact." "See that Maximilian takes this letter from your hands and your hands alone." "Verbum Incarnatum." "His Holiness," "Pope Alexander VI of that name, calls to order a meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals." "We have come together, my brothers, only to part." "Farnese, you will leave today for Siena." "Colonna, for Ferrara." "Orsini, for Venice." "Riario-Sansoni, to Florence." "You will convince the dukes and doges, the merchants and the clergy in each city, that we must, once again, come together to save Italy." "The King of Spain will join us." "So, we are certain, will the Emperor." "We shall forge a Holy League which will decimate the French and bring della Rovere to his knees." "As with Constantine, Justinian and Charlemagne, the Lance of Longinus bestows victory upon its keeper." "All hail Pope Alexander."