He was sitting in the chapel, his mind so far astrayed he wondered if he could ever come back. His wedding was rapidly approaching and it made him sick to his stomach to think he was going to marry a whore's daughter. A commoner that happened to have the favour of signor Malatesta, nothing more. It was so entirely beneath him it somehow broke his heart. And yet still he felt like he was going to be consumed by the fires of hell for all the things he said to her, the unpleasant way he was treating her. He was wrong to do so, he realized now, for she really was as naive and pius as she seemed. He felt almost ashamed to be so mean towards her, but at the same time his pride would allow nothing less.

his mind process was then interrupted as the sweet, almost angelic-like voice of his sister resonated from the walls of the chapel and he half-turned, only to see her already taking her place by his side. He was quite annoyed with her, they never were really close, but he expected her to be an ally of his when they came to Naples. Instead, she was befriending the notorious family and chatting with the Farneses as if there was no difference in status between the whore's bastard kids and the Medici family.

»Perhaps for an absolution from this horrible marriage, dear sister,« he replied in a tone, similar to hers, and he set his eyes upon the beautiful fresco on the wall of the chapel once more. »If Farnese had another bastard son, he would perhaps be more than fitting for you and I wouldn't have to dishonor myself so,« he added bitterly.

leandra | shut up it's a perf post and i love it short so!

»Nothing,« he replied with obvious dissatisfaction in his voice, »she has done nothing.« She had promised him that she will never bare his child and she had been acting like a spoiled child ever since he had first met her. She was going on about the morals she believed in and she was acting so very godsent that he felt as if.. as if somehow, in some sick and twisted way, he wasn't good enough for her. not that he would ever admit to it in a million years.

»A chance!« he repeated and laughed in ridicule. »A chance, she says!« He slowly shook his head, still not making eye contact with his sister as she was irritating him most terribly. »Perhaps it is not her fault, dear sister, that she is the daughter of a whore,« he then said, »But that does not make her any less of a whore's daughter, does it? And for the pope's eldest son to marry a woman like that..« He shook his head once more. He felt disgusted by the mere thought of it.

»Yes..« he nodded slowly, the mockery in his voice as obvious as ever. »That you are, dear sis, but it never stopped you before, did it?« His sister, sadly, would be just another common whore if it were not for the Medici name she carried. She was just lucky and he despised her. They were alike, him and her, but the things that were acceptable for a man simply were not acceptable for a woman. She needed to learn that.

leandra | lol leo the bitter asshole

»Oh, sister,« he really quickly shot her down since he was quite certain her words could not help him now, if anything at all, she was just making him feel uncomfortable and probably enjoying every moment of it. So he did what he knew best and made her know where her place lies by saying, »You never did know how to think like a man.« She always wanted to be like her eldest sister, he knew this much, but he also knew she'd never become like her. Leandra was in it for the fun, but their sister had a real neck to it and crushing others was her profession. Leandra could never come close to that.

Then he raised his eyebrows sharply, his eyes meeting hers along the way. »What are all these cheritable words about? When did you become a saint, sister? I must have missed out.« His tone was sharp and strong, he was obviously letting her know he has absolutely no interest in her pretend games and that this act of goodness did not become her.

»Please,« he then murmured when she turned into her old self and his eyes fell astray again. »Your wedding will be a farse much greater than mine, dear sis,« he reminded her with a sense of satisfaction in his voice. He truly believed that, and although it was not public knowledge, of what a man her sister's bethrothed was, he knew that the man would have very little interest in Leandra. Perhaps he'll rather go after one of her brothers, as she will certainly go after his?

»She is plain, and boring, and she is weak and she does not understand much of our ways,« he explained with a bored tone; he had told this to people so many times and he would have expected that there'd be no more questions as such, but his sister, of course, would never fail to press onto the troubling subject. »And she's a Farnese, at the end of the day.«

leandra | i know i love them they're SUCH SIBLINGS!

He looked her way again and he smiled for he believed her words to be so incredibly false. »Oh, dear sis,« he shook his head briefly before continuing, »you've always wanted to be like us. Like our brothers, like father.« He had seen her as a strong-willed woman who could not reach for the starts simply because she was – in fact – a woman. She had no choice what so ever in the matter, she was simply doomed to live in the shaddow of a man and conduct from there the very little plotting and twisting she could manage. She was not like her eldest sister, she was not as clever, perhaps, yet he could see the spark in her eyes, or perhaps he had just imagined it – but he felt as if she always felt the need to sit upon a throne, as only men could.

»Yes,« he then returned to his contemptuous tone, his eyes meeting the eyes of the dead Christ on the grande crusifix at the altar. »Yes, I can imagine what a splendous conversation that must have been. Perhaps I am indeed lucky.. perhaps my bethrothed is the least appaling of all the Farneses.« There was a specific way he always said that last name out loud, he hissed it from between his teeth as if it was the worst of all curses.

»Yes, I have realized that a long time ago, sister.« She was far from being a saint. She was, in many ways, worse than him; the entire Medici family was corrupted in their very own way, but he was always sure he was doing things in the name of the Lord, in the name of the family, things that needed to be done for all their sakes. »That would indeed be a good bedtime story,« he mocked. She couldn't love anyone, she was far too in love with the idea of herself. Another family flaw.

He left no reply to her last words for he did not want to discuss the matter further. People kept telling him that there was more than met the eye with women, but he did not believe it. Not mostly, but certainly not at all in the case of Stella Farnese. She was a beautiful girl, but that was all she was.

leandra