Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1400872.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      The_Borgias, The_Borgias_(2011)
  Relationship:
      Cesare_Borgia/Lucrezia_Borgia
  Character:
      Cesare_Borgia, Lucrezia_Borgia, Juan_Borgia, Giulia_Farnese, Alfonso_
      (Borgias), Vannozza_dei_Cattanei, Rodrigo_Borgia
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_Modern_Setting, Sibling_Incest, Skinny_Dipping,
      Peeping, Explicit_Sexual_Content, Loss_of_Virginity, Consensual_Underage
      Sex
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-04-01 Completed: 2014-04-11 Chapters: 5/5 Words: 8786
****** Priapulida ******
by 50251sid
Summary
     Lucrezia sees what she should not have seen
***** Worms *****
“Psst…Lucrezia!”
“What?”
“Lucrezia!”
“What?”
“C’mere! Shhh! Be quiet!”
Sixteen year old Julia Farnese took her best friend, fifteen year old Lucrezia
Borgia’s hand and led her over a narrow, overgrown path through the woods to
the pond where neighborhood boys were known to sometimes swim. The two girls
were budding beauties. Julia, tall and slim with silky, light brown hair and
large, emerald-green eyes, moved gracefully and spoke with the voice of a dove.
Lucrezia was tiny, barely over five feet tall, with blond curls falling to the
middle of her back. Her eyes were large, blue and clear and her body was
voluptuous and rounded. They were similarly dressed in jean shorts and halter
tops, which revealed Julia’s elegant slenderness and Lucrezia’s luscious
curves.
“Jules, where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Be quiet!”
They heard splashing and male voices shouting.
“Jules, is that…?”
“The guys are skinny dipping. We’re going to peek.”
“Oh, no we’re not!”
Lucrezia twisted her hand from Julia’s grasp.
“Come on, LuLu. Have a look with me.”
“No! Some of those guys are my brothers. What’s wrong with you?”
“Tell me you haven’t seen them before.”
“I haven’t! And I don’t want to.”
“Come on, LuLu. For me. God won’t send a lightning bolt down to zap you.
Please!”
“No!”
“LuLu, the only naked men I have ever seen were in National Geographic. I want
to have a look at some real ones. Come with me. Alfonso is there. Wouldn’t you
like to see him?”
“Well…”
“Naked men, LuLu!  You might not get another opportunity like this.”
“Oh, all right. But if we get caught, I’m blaming you.”
“Blame away.”
The swimmers were carrying on so boisterously, making so much noise that they
probably wouldn’t have heard the girls approach if they had ridden up on
motorcycles. Julia and Lucrezia took up a vantage point behind thick shrubbery
that allowed them a clear view of the spectacle they had come to behold.
The five young men, wanting to enjoy a cool splash in the shaded pool, had left
the main group of picnickers attending a community get-together in the park.
Having shucked their clothes, they were engaged in exuberant splashing and
ducking each other, laughing and shouting with complete abandon.
Julia clapped her hand over her mouth as Alfonso scrambled out of the water and
ran around the pond before jumping back in again, his body tucked into a
cannonball.
“Oh my god, LuLu! Did you see him? He’s so hairy!”
Lucrezia’s face was beet red. She was unable to reply. Acutely, uncomfortably
aware that two of the swimmers were her older brothers, she kept looking away.
Through the foliage, she could see her brother, Juan’s red hair plastered to
his head. He howled with merriment at Alfonso’s antics, then started to climb
up the muddy bank to leave the pool.
Lucrezia covered her eyes. Julia’s eyes widened with pleasure.
“Your brother is hot! And hung! You should see him.”
When she heard the splash as Juan dove back into the water, Lucrezia lowered
her hands from her face.
Just in time to see her eldest brother Cesare get out of the pond.
She had seen photographs of the Apollo Belvedere. The Praxiteles Hermes. The
Ares Borghese.
The Cesare Borgia more than equaled them in beauty.
At nineteen, he was tall and lean, with smooth muscles and long, graceful
limbs. His dark hair, slicked straight back, fell to his broad shoulders,
dripping rivulets of water down the length of his body. His nipples were small
and dark, beautiful medallions. His arms and legs had a very light covering of
black down, but his torso was smooth except for a thin line running from his
navel to his pubic hair. Lucrezia tried not to look at his privates, but she
couldn’t help herself. Knotted around his neck, he wore a black cord which
somehow made him appear even more naked. He shook his head, then picked up a
towel and raised his arms to dry his hair. He turned around and Julia and
Lucrezia got a good look at his supple, dimpled back and small, neat ass.
“Jesus Christ, LuLu! Fucking A!”
Lucrezia felt Julia’s fingernails digging into her arm and yelped in pain.
She saw Cesare freeze, then turn his head towards her direction. He snorted a
laugh and broke into a grin. He turned and faced fully front again, and, to her
horror, locked eyes with her. His head raised up and he dropped the towel to
the ground, standing with his arms at his sides, making no attempt to cover up.
Lucrezia bolted, followed immediately by Julia.
“He saw us, Jules!”
“He couldn’t have!”
“He looked right at me. He made eye contact.”
“You’re just imagining things. He didn’t see us. And even if he did, so what?”
“What if he tells my parents? I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ll be grounded
until I’m thirty-five.”
 
The girls ran all the way back to the picnic pavilion where Lucrezia’s mother,
Vannozza, was unpacking cold fried chicken from an insulated container and
piling it up on a plate.
“Ah, good. You’re here. I can use some help setting up our food on the picnic
table. But why are you both out of breath?”
“We had a race, Mom. I lost.”
“Have you seen the boys?”
Lucrezia and Julia dared not look at each other, lest they laugh out loud.
“Um…no, Mom. Jules and I just went for a walk and didn’t see anything.”
“All right, well, help me get things ready to feed everyone. I said to gather
here at noon, and it’s almost that now.”
It wasn’t long before the skinny dippers came hiking over the hillside, fully
dressed now, their hair still damp, their demeanor still boisterous.
“Ah, food!” Juan exclaimed. “I could eat a horse.”
The young men sat down and attacked the picnic spread like locusts.
Vannozza went off to round up her husband and his friends, pitching horseshoes
across the way.
“Lucrezia.” Cesare’s voice was smooth velvet. “Come sit by me. I got you a
drink from the ice tub. Something told me you could use some cooling off.”
Cesare was straddling the picnic bench. He pulled his sister down in front of
him so she, too, straddled the bench. Wrapping his arm across her collarbones,
he pulled her back against his chest and pressed his cheek to her soft hair.
Her delectable little backside was right up against his crotch.
“Did you and Julia have a nice hike? Did you see anything interesting? Any wild
creatures, maybe?”
Okay, so he saw them peeking. Julia tossed her head.
“We saw a couple of little, tiny, unimpressive things.”
“Really? I’m told there are some mighty big snakes lurking around in these
woods. Just waiting for little girls to cross their paths.”
“Oh, yes! Now I remember. I did see a snake. But it was so little, I thought it
was a worm.”
Cesare laughed, wagging his eyebrows.
“A worm. Sis, did you see it too? Did you think it was just a little worm?”
Lucrezia, mortified, gulped down a long draught of her drink and did not reply.
Cesare continued, “Come for a walk with me and I’ll show you a snake.”
Julia shrugged.
“I doubt it would be worth the trouble to look for it.”
 
Fresh from a shower, her skin fragrant with warm cleanliness, Lucrezia had just
gotten into bed when she heard a light knock on her door.
“It’s me, Sis.”
“Come in, Cesare.”
Oh, shit. What would he say to her?
Her nightgown was thin, so she pulled a blanket up over her bosom. Bare
chested, in pajama bottoms, he stretched out beside her on top of the covers,
propping himself up on one elbow, and took her hand in his.
“Did you enjoy the picnic?”
“Yes. Did you?”
“I had fun. Did you and Julia do anything amusing?”
Lucrezia’s lower lip started to quiver. She had never been able to keep
anything from Cesare.
“Um…not really. We just went for a walk.”
“To look for worms?”
“Worms?”
“You know, Sis, I like your friend, Julia, but I’m not sure she always sets the
best example for you.”
Lucrezia began to whimper.
“I’m sorry, Cesare. I let Julia talk me into peeking while you and the guys
were swimming. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me. I won’t ever do
it again.”
“I’m not mad at you, Sis. I’m mad at myself for not recognizing that you were
growing up and being curious about things. I should have noticed that.”
“Why? What could you do?”
“Don’t I always take care of you, Baby? Teach you what you need to know?”
“Yes, but…well, this is different.”
“How? If you want to know about men, I’d rather you come to me, who loves you,
than some punk who only wants to take advantage of you.”
“I guess.”
“So, besides me, whom did you get a look at today? Don’t blush. Tell me.”
“Alfonso.”
“What did you think?”
“He’s awfully hairy.”
Cesare chuckled.
“Yeah, he is. Did you like that?”
“No. Yuck.”
“Anyone else?”
“No, I covered my eyes. But Julia saw Juan. She said he was really … hung.”
“Huh! Me she calls a worm!”
“You’re not a worm. I don’t know why she said you looked like a worm. You
didn’t. You were…big. Big.”
“She was just teasing me.”
“I think she likes you, Cesare. You know…that way.”
“Really? I’m flattered.”
“Do you like her too?”
“Not like that. She’s very pretty and all, but, well, there’s no one like you.
You’re the love of my life.”
Lucrezia smiled. She raised her round blue eyes to meet his fascinating hazel
ones.
“I love you too, Cesare. I wish I could be your girlfriend. I could never love
anyone like I love you.”
He leaned over and softly kissed her lips.
“You aremy girl. Always.”
When he kissed her again, he pressed her hand to his chest.
“I’ll always take care of you. Keep you safe. Make you happy.”
His third kiss was different, more intense, more intimate. It left her gasping.
“Goodnight, Sis. Sleep well.”
He rose from her bed and left the room.
That night, she dreamed of anacondas.
***** Artworks *****
Chapter Summary
     Wherein ideals take on forms
Chapter Notes
     Thank you to Avalonmedieval for the idea of using illustrations.
The next day, Cesare sat his sister down in front of his laptop to look at
Google images of sculptures and paintings of nude figures, both male and
female. He pulled up a chair next to hers and began scrolling through the
onscreen selections.
“Do we really have to do this, Cesare?”
“We do. Your curiosity is natural, but better you satisfy it by looking at
these figures than peeking at skinny dippers, which could get you in trouble.
Bear in mind, though, that these sculptures probably depict idealized men
rather than real ones.”
“I don’t think so. They look like you.”
“Me? Oh, no. You’re being too kind. Let’s move on.”
They do look like you. Especially the ‘Apollo Belvedere’. Those long legs, long
torso. Beautiful. Just like you.
 
 
Cesare sat transfixed, his mouth open, his eyes glazed over, as he came upon a
work by Guillaume Seignac titled ‘The Awakening of Psyche.’
He had never seen anything so erotic as the voluptuous nude woman with long,
fair hair, her arms raised as she stretched herself. Her face, although
delicately beautiful, was a study in concupiscence, inviting, challenging the
viewer to put up or shut up.
She has the same figure as my baby sister. Now I feel as if I’ve seen Lucrezia
like she saw me.
 
 
Neither brother nor sister slept well that night for the visions which
tormented them.
 
As small children, Cesare and Lucrezia were intensely close, preferring each
other’s company to any other in spite of the four-year difference in their
ages. He considered his little sister to be a magical creature, a visitor from
heaven, fragile, golden-haired and blue eyed. To her, Cesare was an idol,
strong, protective, her very own hero.
Already enchanted with his Lucrezia, Cesare considered it only natural that, as
she matured, she would become the object of his desire.
When she was fourteen, her blossoming beauty began to catch the eyes of boys at
school and in the neighborhood.  Cesare went into attack-dog mode. He let it be
known that his sister was off limits, and no boy was brave enough or foolish
enough to test him. When Lucrezia was not asked to the junior prom, she went
sobbing to her brother.
“Am I ugly, Cesare?”
“God, no! Why would you even think such a thing?”
“I’ve never gone on a date. I’ve never been invited. When I even try to talk to
a boy, any boy, they back away from me. All my friends are going to the junior
prom, and I haven’t been asked. I must be a disaster.”
He had sat her on his lap then, pulling her head onto his shoulder and rocking
her gently.
“It’s not you, Sis. It’s my fault. I put the word out that I would personally
kick the ass of anyone who tried to get near you.”
“But why?”
“Because you’re my girl. I won’t have anyone messing with you, trying any funny
stuff with you. If you want to go to the prom, I’ll take you. That is, if you
don’t mind going with your old brother.”
She lifted her head and smiled through her tears.
“Would you, Cesare? For me?”
“I’d love to.”
From then on, Lucrezia never went anywhere except in the company of her older
brother. Their parents were gratified and charmed by what they saw as Cesare’s
old-world gallantry towards his little sister. Other friends and relatives saw
this behavior as natural for a loving and protective older brother.
Cesare had not been a monk while he waited for his sister to grow up, but
neither had he been a satyr. He liked women, but he knew his heart already
belonged to Lucrezia. Reluctant to get involved with young ladies who might
hope for more from him, he dated casually, backing off when he sensed that
things may get too complicated.
 
Questions remained: When would the time be right for him to declare his love to
Lucrezia? What would her response be?
Cesare was pretty sure she felt the same towards him. She responded eagerly to
his displays of physical affection. She obviously had enjoyed the kisses he had
given her the night of the picnic, and she had seemed to want more.
He would find ways to be alone with her, more intimate with her. Heat things
up.
***** Cruel Chastity *****
Chapter Summary
     Wherein Cruel Chastity is conquered
The Borgia family attended the wedding of Rodrigo’s niece, Serafina, one fine
Saturday in August. The bride wore her mother’s old-fashioned lace gown and
veil. The lavish reception was held at an upscale private club. Julia Farnese,
a friend of Serafina’s, was invited, along with her parents and older brother,
Alex. Dancing began immediately after dinner was served. Cesare delighted
Lucrezia with his undivided attention. When a slow dance began, he held her in
a close embrace as they moved over the floor. Although a foot shorter than her
brother, Lucrezia that evening wore high heeled shoes that brought her up to
the level of his shoulders. He bent his head so that their lips were almost
touching as they gazed into each other's faces, oblivious to anything else.
Their intimacy, however, did not go unnoticed by their mother, who asked Cesare
to sit one out and keep her company.
Being a gentleman of the old school, Rodrigo Borgia was gallantly asking each
of the unattached ladies to dance with him. Julia Farnese giggled and blushed
most charmingly when he led her out onto the dance floor and swept her into a
graceful waltz. Juan partnered Lucrezia.
At their table, Vannozza impaled her eldest son with her eyes.
“What is going on between the two of you?”
“Beg pardon, Mom?”
“There’s something odd going on between you and Lucrezia.”
“What do you mean? Odd how?”
“I don’t know. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Something just isn’t right.
You’re too close to her. Too protective. ”
“Mom, I don’t know what you’re implying, but I can tell you this. My sister,
your daughter, is completely blameless. She’s a sweet, innocent girl, and I
want to keep her that way. Of course, I protect her. Of course, I watch out for
her. I’m her big brother. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing?”
“I think you do it a little too much, a little too self-servingly. When she was
younger, I thought it was cute the way you hovered over her. But no longer.
She’s never even had a chance to get to know a boy her own age. One would
almost take you for her boyfriend.”
“Do you want some little snot trifling with her? Taking advantage of her?”
“Cesare, she should be going out on dates. Socializing. Instead, she spends all
her time with you. That’s not normal.”
“Have you said these things to Dad? What does he think?”
“Naturally, he thinks you should never let Lucrezia out of your sight. That she
is a child and always will be.”
“So maybe what I’m doing isn’t so unusual after all. I’m just being a typical
male.”
Vannozza sighed. Why did she even waste her breath? She always came away
feeling trivialized and foolish. She knew what she knew, but no one ever
listened.
She was not fooled when Cesare approached Julia and asked her to dance.
Although the girl’s eyes lit up with excitement when he put his arms about her,
Cesare held himself slightly apart, as a brother would. It was only with his
own sister that he moved in intimately, like a lover.
 
That night, Cesare went to his sister’s room to bid her good night. Leaning
back against the headboard of her bed, he snuggled her close to him.
“Well, Serafina and Tommy are married, Sis. What do you suppose they’re doing
right about now?”
“Cesare, don’t make me blush.”
“You don’t think they’re sleeping?”
“I very much doubt it. They’re probably… fucking.”
Cesare burst into shocked, incredulous laughter.
“What a mouth on you! For shame, Sister!”
Her lower lip thrust forward.
“Oh, like you’ve never heard that word before!”
“Not from you, Little Girl. Not from these sweet lips.”
He ran his finger over her pouting mouth. She nipped at it playfully.
“I hate and I love that you’re growing up, Lucrezia.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I miss my baby sister who thought I was perfect. Her hero.”
“I still think that. I always will.”
“Will you? Then that makes it a little easier for me to see you becoming the
beautiful young woman that you are. But I can’t stand the thought that I will
have to give you up to some other man someday.”
“Oh, Cesare, no! That won’t happen. I’ll never love anyone else but you.”
“You love me as a brother. Someday you’ll meet a man and love him differently.
Romantically.”
“That’s how I love you.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Yes I do. You’re the only one I want. All my life, you’ve been telling me that
I am your girl. I believed you. Were you lying? Playing with me?”
“Lucrezia, we are brother and sister. We are supposed to love each other in a
certain way, and that way only.”
“So? So what if my feelings for you don’t fit into that neat little
compartment? So what if I want to love you and kiss you and touch you and make
love with you?”
“Stop, Sis! You’re saying things that can’t be.”
“Why can’t they? They can if we let them.”
“Do you really want me that way?”
“All my life.”
“Me too. I was afraid to tell you for fear I would shock and disgust you.”
“You couldn’t tell how I felt about you?”
“Well, yeah, I guess I could. But this is pretty far-out stuff. Really off the
beaten path.”
“It feels as natural as sunshine and rain to me. Kiss me, Cesare. Tell me how
it feels to you.”
She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing her mouth to
his, softly at first, then with increasing ardor. He responded eagerly, rolling
over onto her, running his tongue over her lips. She felt a hard bulge, which
she assumed was his cock, pushing against her belly.
“Can you accept this, Cesare? Can you be okay with this kind of love?”
“I can’t live without it, my baby. Love me. Let me love you.”
She slid her hand down his stomach to his crotch.
“I want this. I really want this. But not just yet. Can I have a little more
time until we go all the way?”
“We’ll take all the time you need. Would you like to do other things until
then? Like, we could make each other come with our hands. Get used to things
first. Until you aren’t scared anymore.”
‘Oh, it’s not that I’m afraid. It’s just that once I turn sixteen, I can go get
birth control pills without parental consent. I want to wait for that. I don’t
think I’d like condoms.”
“Jesus, Lucrezia, you amaze me! You’re so calm and cool. You’ve been looking
into this, haven’t you? What made you decide that now was the time?”
“Seeing you as 'The Apollo Belvedere.’ I’ve been dreaming about you ever
since.”
She pushed the blankets down and slipped out of her nightgown. He drew a sharp
breath of surprise.
Psyche. Awakening. Holy shit!
“Please go lock the door, Cesare. Then show me those 'other things.'”
 
With a preternatural sangfroid, a newly-sixteen year old Lucrezia demanded and
got a prescription for birth control pills. She simply told the doctor that she
was a virgin but wouldn’t be for much longer, having both a man in her life and
a raging lust for him.
She waited a week to be absolutely safe and then had Cesare take her to a motel
where he obliged her by relieving her of the burden of the chastity she had
long since outgrown.
 
So long as the laws remain such as they are today, employ some discretion: loud
opinion forces us to do so; but in privacy and silence let us compensate
ourselves for that cruel chastity we are obliged to display in public.
Marquis de Sade
 
 
Against Vannozza’s better judgment, she accompanied Rodrigo on a business trip
to Hilton Head.
“You’ll enjoy it, darling. We’ll play golf and dine elegantly and enjoy the
beach. We haven’t been away alone in ages. The children are old enough to be
alone for a few days.”
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, she thought.
 
Cesare lay in Lucrezia’s bed, intently watching his sister as she sat naked at
her vanity table, drying her hair.
Lush, soft, voluptuous, her head leaning back, her eyes closed, her full lips
pouting in preoccupation, she had raised one rounded arm to lift her hair from
her neck while she waved the hair dryer over her blonde tresses, which glinted
in the sunshine streaming through the window. Her opulent breasts swayed
sensuously with the languid movements of her arms. Her ripe, smooth belly and
thighs and buttocks glowed like pearls, like polished ivory. He caressed her
nude body with his eyes, transfixed by her sumptuous beauty. Surely she was a
vision, an angel come down from heaven, for no earthly creature could be so
ethereally lovely.
Her vanity table was cluttered with bottles and jars, lotions, perfumes,
cosmetics, hairbrushes. Flung over the back of her chair were bras and silky
panties. All the trappings of a woman. Which she was, undeniably. He loved that
she was tiny, that her body was soft and yielding. Let him be the big,
muscular, hard, rough one. She was every bit his equal, but in no way his
rival. When he had entered her body, he had taken possession of her, but she
had captured him as well. Her femaleness was so alluring to him that he was
hypnotized, bewitched by her.
Smiling, she turned to face him, swinging her entire body around, momentarily
opening her legs so that he caught a glimpse of her delectable blonde pussy.
“Good morning, Cesare, my love. How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby. You wore me out.”
He threw back the blankets and got out of bed, moving to stand in front of her,
between her parted thighs. She threw her arms around his waist and pressed her
cheek against his belly. He smelled warmly of sleep and spilled semen.
“I was so happy to wake up with you beside me. I love you, Cesare.”
He stroked her hair.
“I love you too. You’re beautiful, like an angel.”
When she raised her face to look into his eyes, his heart thudded within his
chest. He cupped her radiant face between his hands and kissed her, aching with
love, aching to possess her again, aching to stop time and make this moment
never end.
“Tell me you’re mine, Lucrezia. That you’ll always belong to me.”
“I’m yours, my darling. I want only you. You’re the only one who could ever
have me.”
She licked her way down his belly, down the thin black happy trail which she
loved. Dreamily, catlike, gazing directly up into his eyes, she took his cock,
which had become marvelously erect, into her mouth. He stroked her hair, his
breathing growing faster. Her soft lips slid over his length. He knew what she
wanted him to do. His grip on her hair tightened as he neared his breaking
point.
“Oh, my baby, oh, god, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
He came fast and very hard, thrusting his hips forward, giving out a strong
moan of fulfillment.
He dropped to his knees and leaned his head against her inner thigh. She
reached for a tissue and delicately cleared her mouth.
“Sorry, darling. You gave me a lot more than I could handle.”
“You make me so hot for you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Cesare. I love giving you head. I love sucking you.”
Just inches away from her pussy, his warm breath teased her. He wet his finger
with his saliva and stroked her clitoris, delighting in the scent of her.
“So beautiful. Mine. Only mine.”
She leaned back against her vanity table, her legs apart as he pleased her with
his hand. He moved closer and draped her thighs over his shoulders, bending his
head to bring his mouth to her. The obvious enjoyment he took in tasting her
never failed to thrill and further arouse her. She pulled on handfuls of his
hair as her orgasm shook her entire body. She sobbed out his name again and
again. She leaned forward and kissed him, his lips slick with her juices. When
she placed her feet back on the floor, he rested his head against her belly
until their breathing slowed down. His arms encircled her waist and she stroked
his hair. They remained thus for some time, a languid tableau of pink and ivory
and gold and bronze and ebony. Soft flesh and hard muscle. Small hands with
long painted nails and big hands with long fingers that slid gently over full,
tender, yielding breasts.
“You are my goddess, Lucrezia. There is no one like you. I could never love
anyone but you.”
“Cesare. My Apollo. Stay with me. Don’t ever leave me.”
“I’ve been yours from the moment you were born. Tell me you love me.”
“I love you. Love you love you love you….”
She bent down to press her lips to his.
***** Force Majeure *****
Chapter Summary
     Wherein discoveries are made
“Psst…Lucrezia!”
“What?”
“Lucrezia!”
“What?”
“C’mere! Shhh! Be quiet!”
Julia and Lucrezia were sharing a table in the school cafeteria during lunch.
Julia was obviously agitated.
“I need you to do me a favor. Find out for me if Cesare likes me.”
“Sure, he likes you. He thinks you’re funny and cute and …”
“No, LuLu. I mean, does he like me? Like, to go out with and stuff. That kind
of like.”
“Oh, Jules, I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything like that to me about you. I
wouldn’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“I just have this feeling. He danced with me at your cousin’s wedding. I felt
something. A spark.”
“That wedding was weeks ago. Are you sure it’s not just wishful thinking?”
“Why are you trying to discourage me? Don’t you want me to date your brother?”
“It’s not that. I just don’t want you to be hurt or disappointed.”
“LuLu, I need to know about this. There’s this guy…he’s been coming on to me
really strong. I’ve had a thing for Cesare since I was about twelve…”
“Julia, I had no idea!”
“Well, it’s true. And I’d much rather be with him than this other guy. So
please try to find out for me, will you?”
“Okay, but what if he only likes you as a friend?”
“I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
“Scarlett O’Hara.”
 
What to do? Clearly, Lucrezia was going to have to hurt her friend’s heart, but
she could not allow Julia to cling to the hope of having Cesare. Maybe this
other guy could make her happy. Lucrezia would talk to Cesare about it so she
could truthfully say she asked him, and then try to let Julia down as
compassionately as possible. But there was no way she herself could come out of
this without feeling lousy.
 
“I asked him, Julia. Well, I should say I kind of hinted around so as to not
seem too obvious, and I’m sorry to tell you that he doesn’t feel about you as
you hoped he would. He likes you, he thinks you’re very pretty and nice and
funny, but…”
Julia burst into tears.
“You’re lying! I know he likes me. You just don’t want me to have him.”
“That’s not true. Why would I do that? You’re my best friend. I want you to be
happy.”
“Yeah? Well, I talked to Juan. He says there’s some weird shit going on with
you and Cesare. He told me he hears strange noises coming from your room all
the time.”
“There are strange smells coming from Juan’s room all the time. Don’t listen to
him. He’s always stoned. He’s delusional.”
“He sure sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Otherwise, why would
he say such things?”
“There’s no explaining Juan. Jules, I’m really sorry. I hate having to
disappoint you. But you’re a beautiful girl. You don’t have to do without a man
in your life. Maybe you should give this other guy you told me about a chance.”
“You might be sorry you said that.”
“Why?”
“No reason. I’m just being pissy. I’ll get over Cesare, I guess.”
 
Vannozza was not having a good time of it this Saturday night.
Rodrigo had called and told her he had to extend his out-of-town business trip
until Sunday night. She cut her leg shaving with a new razor blade and had a
real job of it to stop the bleeding. She stained the bathroom rug when the cut
reopened after she had gotten out of the tub. When she bent to get a bottle of
shower spray from the cabinet under the sink, the medicine cabinet door had
swung open and she conked her head on it when she stood up. While brushing her
teeth, she had knocked her Dixie cup of water onto the floor, then slipped on
the puddle it left and banged into the wall.
Limping down the hallway to her bedroom, she passed Lucrezia’s room, and
Cesare’s right next to it. Saturday night and both her sixteen year old
daughter and nearly-twenty year old son were at home. That just didn’t feel
right, somehow.
In her bedroom, applying body lotion, she disturbed the razor cut and made it
bleed again. Dammit!
Pressing a tissue to the wound, she hopped on one leg to Lucrezia’s room.
“Sweetie, I need your help.”
Odd. Her daughter’s door was locked.
“Just a minute, Mom.”
Lucrezia’s voice sounded … peculiar.
Vannozza heard the clatter of movement, and then Lucrezia, wearing a bathrobe,
opened the door.
“What’s wrong, Mom? What do you need?”
“Why was your door locked?”
“Can’t I have privacy?”
“Sure, but why do you require it? Anyway, could you help me? I cut my leg
shaving and I need a bandaid. Please get me one from the bathroom before I
leave a blood trail down the hallway.”
Vannozza noticed Lucrezia involuntarily glance towards her closet. What was
going on?
‘Um…sure, Mom. Just sit down at my vanity and I’ll go get you a bandaid.”
When her daughter left to go to the bathroom, Vannozza got up and opened the
closet door.  Trying to conceal himself behind blouses, skirts and dresses
crouched a bare-chested Cesare, clutching his pajama bottoms to his stomach.
“Hi, Mom.”
“What the hell is this?”
“Um… it’s not what it looks like.”
“Oh!” Lucrezia had returned to her room with a box of bandaids.
“Cesare, put your pants on and come out. We need to talk.” Vannozza turned to
her daughter. “And just how long has this been going on, darling?”
“Long enough.”
“This has to stop. At once.”
Lucrezia’s voice was flat. Calm. Resolute.
“No, Mom.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’? How dare you defy me?”
“Cesare and I are in love. We won’t give that up.”
“You have to. It’s…sick, perverted!”
“Not to us. We can’t, and won’t, live without each other.”
Mother and daughter stood, toe to toe, eye to eye, neither one blinking.
Cesare, having no desire to get between two strong-willed, determined,
formidable women, attempted to remain silent on the fringes, but his mother
turned to him.
“And you, Cesare. What do you have to say for yourself?”
‘Um…well, Mom…what Lucrezia says is true. We love each other. We’ve always
known we were meant for each other. All our lives.”
“How do you know that? You’ve never let her even think about anyone else.”
“I never wanted anyone else, Mom. Only Cesare.”
Lucrezia drew near to Cesare, who automatically encircled her with his arm.
“We were afraid of our feelings for years, and we tried to deny them, but we
couldn’t any longer. You may think it sick and perverted, but for us, it’s
absolutely natural. The only way we can be.”
“Lucrezia, you are a minor. You are still under my control. I demand that you
stop this.”
“No.”
“For gods’ sake, child! Have you any idea what you’re doing? You’re having sex
with your own brother!”
“I’m having sex with the man I love. Who just happens to be my brother. And I
will never, never, never give him up. Mom, you just have to accept it.”
“I can’t. I can’t. What would your father say?”
“We all know the answer to that. Are you going to tell him?”
“No, Lucrezia, I’m not, but I should. You have to stop this.”
Cesare and Lucrezia answered together, as one voice. “NO!”
Against the two of them, Vannozza was weakening.
“What if you get pregnant, Lucrezia?”
“I’m on the pill, Mom.”
“I don’t know whether I’m more relieved or horrified to hear that. You’ve
obviously gone about this with some measure of planning.”
Cesare knelt beside his mother and applied a bandaid to her leg.
“We didn’t plan anything, Mom. But we couldn’t deny our feelings for each other
any longer. We had to go with it. I love Lucrezia. She loves me. I know it
sounds awful. But it just feels right. We don’t want to hurt you. We don’t
expect you to approve. But this is how it’s going to be. We will be discreet
and respectful of you. We won’t embarrass you. But, whether you can accept it
or not, Lucrezia and I are lovers. We don’t know what we will do from here, but
it’s a given that we will be together.”
“We love you, Mommy. We hope you can still love us.”
“Oh, Lucrezia! You ask too much! You ask me to overlook that the two of you are
having sex. It’s more than I can bear. What will you do? You can’t be married.
You can’t have a normal life.”
“Mom, Lucrezia and I know we don’t have all the answers. But we can work
anything out, as long as we’re together.”
“If it’s more than you can bear, we will move away so we aren’t right under
your nose.”
“You’re still in high school, Lucrezia. Cesare hasn’t finished college yet. Of
course, you must stay here. Give me time. This is a lot to get my mind around.
But you are still my children, and I love you.”
Cesare and Lucrezia embraced their mother.
“We love you too, Mommy. Thank you for trying to understand. It’s not something
we asked for, but there it is. We aren’t perverts. I truly love Cesare, and he
loves me.”
“There is nobody else in the world for me but Lucrezia. I’ve always loved her.
I always will. You can trust me to look after your baby girl.”
“And Cesare is everything to me. We’ll do right by each other.”
Vannozza wept.
“Every mother wants her children to find their ideal mates who will love them
above all else. I just didn’t expect your ideal mates to be each other.”
“Please don’t cry, Mommy. It just worked out that way. I fell in love with the
man who is perfect for me and makes me happy. I hope I make him happy too.”
“She does, Mom. She does.”
“I’d be lying if I said I wished it could be otherwise, because Cesare is the
man I want, and I’m glad to have him. I wish he weren’t my brother, but I’m not
sorry that he’s the one I love.”
“The same goes for me, Mom. I could never love anyone but Lucrezia.”
“I understand what you’re saying. I worry for you, for your future, but it
seems there is no way around it. Please be very careful in your actions. This
could lead to disaster, you know.”
“We’ve been lucky so far, Mom,” Cesare said, kissing his mother’s cheek.
“Luckiest of all is to have you for our mother. You’re the greatest.”
Tsunami. Avalanche. Tornado. Love. One cannot stand against such extreme forces
of nature.
***** Division and Multiplication *****
Chapter Summary
     Wherein our tale comes to a conclusion
True to their word, Cesare and Lucrezia guarded their public behavior, their
circumspection made easier by knowing that they would be able to give vent to
their passions during the night. Vannozza began to understand the nature of
their love for each other and to believe in it. For her own ease of mind, she
wished she could confide in someone about it, but she kept the secret, although
it was a hard burden to bear. Juan would occasionally make troubling remarks to
her about his brother and sister, but she did her best to deflect these. She
guessed that Juan was hurt by what he saw as his siblings’ exclusion of him
from their closed world. Poor Juan! Perhaps it was Middle Child Syndrome. He
had always stood apart from the rest, his face a study in hurt and bafflement.
Her heart ached for her troubled, injured, angry boy. If only he could find a
girlfriend. He would probably be so much happier.
Julia began seeing the “other guy,” although she spoke almost nothing of him to
Lucrezia, her supposed best friend.
“What gives, Jules? You’re dating someone and you don’t tell me about him.”
“He’s not Cesare. That’s all you need to know.”
“Julia, I value our friendship. I miss you. I am really, really sorry that you
were hurt over Cesare, but it’s not something that was done deliberately.
Please, can’t we be friends like we used to be?”
“I don’t know, LuLu. I’d like to be, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s
something you’re not telling me about Cesare.”
“What would I have to hide from you? He just doesn’t have the feelings for you
that you would like him to have.”
“Is he dating anyone now?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Someone with his looks and personality is unattached? Come on!”
“I guess he just likes playing the field. He doesn’t want to be tied down.
There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Well, he never played in my field. He never even gave me a second look. Why?”
“Jules, I don’t know. Doesn’t your new guy make you the least bit happy?”
“I guess he’s okay. But I wanted Cesare so bad!”
Julia began to cry. Lucrezia hugged her and held her while she wept. After a
tearful moment, Julia’s body stiffened and she pulled herself away from
Lucrezia.
“I’m done crying. Time to move on.” Her voice was cold.
 
“I left my sweater at Julia’s house and I think I’m going to need it tomorrow.
Could you take me there to get it, Cesare?”
“Is she home?”
“I called her and she said she was going out, but her mom would give it to me.”
“Okay.”
As they approached Julia’s house, Lucrezia squinted.
“That looks like Dad’s car driving up. It couldn’t be, could it?”
“It is Dad, Sis. What is he doing here?”
“Pull over, please. Turn off the headlights.”
Julia emerged from the house and walked quickly to Rodrigo’s Lexus. When she
got into the car, she embraced him and kissed him passionately. He started the
car and they drove away.
Cesare and Lucrezia sat, stunned.
 
“Julia, tell me it wasn’t my dad I saw you go with last night.”
“I hoped you’d get to my house in time to see me leave with him. I wanted you
to know.”
“You’re having an affair with my father!”
“So what? You’re sleeping with your brother!”
“How dare you say such a thing?”
“Are you denying it?”
“Well, I… what does that have to do with you and my father?”
“You wouldn’t let me have Cesare. Oh, no! You selfish bitch, you had to have
him yourself. Rodrigo wanted me. He’s been after me since your cousin’s
wedding. So why not?”
“You’re mad because Cesare doesn’t want you?”
“That’s right. I wanted to get back at him. And you.”
“What’s happened? We used to be best friends.”
“And we still would be if you hadn’t moved in on Cesare.”
“Julia, I did no such thing. It’s not Cesare’s fault if he can’t love you. Or
my fault either.”
“He wanted me. I know he did. Until you went after him. I have eyes. I saw you
chasing him. You were so easy. How could he have resisted?”
“Julia, I’m telling you. You’re wrong. How could you do this to my mother?
She’s been so kind to you.”
“She has, yes. And I never wanted to hurt her. But Rodrigo was there, and he
was too good to resist.”
“He could be your father!”
“And Cesare is your brother! That hasn’t stopped you.”
“Julia…”
“Tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”
“All right, all right! But it’s not like you think. We’re in love. We have
always been. Are you in love with my dad?”
“I care for him. He’s experienced. He makes me happy in bed. He says I make him
feel young again.”
“That’s pathetic. Do you like being an old man’s toy?”
“He’s not old. You all just think he’s old. No wonder he needed a young
girlfriend.”
“Julia, for god’s sake, please give him up! You’ll tear my family apart.”
“From what I’ve seen, there’s not much there to tear. Rodrigo told me all about
it. Your parents don’t really love each other. They’re just together out of
habit. And you and Cesare…well, that’s a whole other story, isn’t it? Imagine
what it would do to your family if it came out about the two of you. Call it
love, call it what you will, it’s still a brother and sister fucking. Incest.”
“Julia, I’ve never known you to be vindictive. What’s happened to you?”
“I trusted you and you screwed me over. How you and your brother must have
laughed at me! Well, who’s laughing now?”
“We never laughed at you. We were sorry for the pain we knew you felt. I beg
you not to hurt my family.”
“Too late, LuLu. What’s done is done.”
 
 
“CESARE BORGIA!”
Lucrezia jumped when she heard her father bellowing as he flung open the front
door. He sounded drunk.
She and her mother hurried from the kitchen where they had been preparing
dinner.
“Rodrigo, what’s going on?   What’s the matter?”
“Did you know about this, Vannozza? What your son and daughter were doing right
under our noses? You, there! You unnatural whore!”
Rodrigo grabbed Lucrezia by her hair, slapping her over and over again.
Vannozza screamed and tried to pull Lucrezia away from her father.
“Dad! Stop that!”
Cesare’s cold, commanding voice caused everyone to turn around. He had come
running down the stairs, with Juan right behind him.
“Let Lucrezia go. I’m the one you want to beat on.”
Lucrezia screamed. “No, not Cesare. Don’t hurt him. It’s all my fault.”
“Well, isn’t that touching? Look how they defend each other. I should kill them
both.”
“Rodrigo, please. Calm down. What is this all about?”
“You mean you don’t know, Vannozza? You really don’t know that they’ve been
fucking –that’s right, Juan – fucking each other for months and months?”
“Mom didn’t know anything, Dad. Now let go of Lucrezia and come get a piece of
me, if you need to hit someone.”
Rodrigo shoved his daughter towards her mother and took a huge swing at Cesare,
who blocked it with his forearm.
Juan came up behind his brother and tried to pin his arms behind his back.
Cesare sidestepped and Rodrigo landed a punch on the chin of his younger son,
knocking him to the floor.
“Look what you’ve done, Cesare, you lousy bastard! You live under my roof and
you seduce your little sister –YOUR SISTER! Get out! I disown you. And take her
with you. Get out of my sight.”
Vannozza gasped in horror.
“You can’t mean that, Rodrigo! They are our children. Where would they go?”
“I neither know nor care. They disgust me.”
“Who has made these accusations, Rodrigo? Where did you hear this?”
“Julia Farnese told me. She said Lucrezia admitted it to her.”
“And how did you come to hear this from Julia Farnese?”
“Well, I…” Rodrigo was taken up short. “I…I ran into her.”
“And out of the blue, she said, ‘Hey, Rodrigo, guess what?”
“Not exactly, but…don’t change the subject. Your children have been screwing
around –“
“My husband has been screwing around. What is Julia? Sixteen? Seventeen? Maybe
I should be taking a swing at you, Rodrigo.”
“Vannozza, I…”
“For most of our marriage, I have looked the other way while you chased after
young girls, because I was afraid to be alone. But I realize that I have for
all intents and purposes been alone anyway. You will not hurt my children. You
will not hurt me anymore. I am done with you. Cesare, Lucrezia, please go
upstairs and pack some things, enough for a few days. We will sort this all
out, but for now, we need to go somewhere safe. Lucrezia, did he hurt you? Do
you need to see a doctor?”
“I’m okay, Mom. But I don’t want you to leave your home on my account.”
“She’s right, Mom. Lucrezia and I will go.”
“Cesare, Lucrezia, I haven’t been at home here for a long time. I need to
leave. Juan, you are welcome to come with us. You decide.”
“I’m staying. I want no part of you sick fucks.”
“As you choose. By the way, Juan, when I was putting your laundry away, I came
upon the bag of drugs you had hidden in your underwear drawer. Rodrigo, you
will hear from my lawyer.”
 
 
Lucrezia, having finished her shift and clocked out, headed for her car in the
supermarket parking lot.
“Lucrezia.”
She recognized the voice. But it couldn’t be, could it?
“Julia? How did you know to find me here?”
“Juan told me where you had moved. He gave me your mother’s phone number and I
called her. She told me where you were. Lucrezia, I had to see you. I have to
tell you how sorry I am.”
“For what?”
“For what I did to your family. For what I did to you.”
“Why? Why are you sorry?”
"I caused your family to break up. Your parents to divorce. You and Cesare to
be estranged from your father and brother. I’m so sorry. I was vindictive. I
blamed you for keeping Cesare from me, and I wanted to hurt you back.”
Lucrezia shrugged.
“At the time, you said there wasn’t much of a family to break up. You were
probably right. Anyway, it’s all water under the bridge now.”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine. Cesare works at the university and is going to school at night. He has
just one more semester until he graduates, and Mom is a hostess at a very nice
restaurant. I’m working here for the time being. I get health insurance, which
I need. As you can see, I’m expecting a baby.”
“Is it…his?”
Lucrezia took a breath and bit the inside of her cheek.
“Yes, it’s Cesare’s.”
“Things have changed so much for all of you.”
“It was toughest on Mom. She had the biggest adjustment to make. She hadn’t
worked in such a long time. Dad only had to pay her alimony for a year, and
then he stopped paying child support for me as soon as I turned eighteen.
Everything we have pretty much goes toward Cesare’s education right now, but,
as I said, he graduates soon, and we hope things will be better. We’re all
close, and we all do our little bit. It could be worse. How has Dad been
treating you?”
“Rodrigo and I are …not together anymore.”
“Oh, wow. Really?”
“He has a new girlfriend. A younger one.”
“Julia, you’re only twenty-three.”
“You know how it is with some men. As they get older, their girlfriends get
younger.”
“I’m sorry, Julia. That had to have hurt.”
“It made me realize how much I hurt all of you. And how wrong I was to do it.”
“As I said before, it’s water under the bridge. We can’t go back. Only forward.
Mom met a really great man and has been going out with him for a while now.
Cesare and I are happy together, excited about the baby. We’re doing okay. I
really should get going. Cesare doesn’t have much time to get home to eat
dinner and then back to class, so I need to hurry and fix him something. It was
nice to see you, Julia. I wish you well.”
“Lucrezia, please. Can we be friends again? I miss you so much.”
“Julia, I just don’t think that’s a good idea. All that water under the bridge
washed away a lot of things, you know. I’ll tell Mom I saw you. Your apology
may mean something to her. Goodbye, Julia.”
Lucrezia got into her car and drove away. In the rear view mirror, she saw
Julia bring her hands to her face as if she was crying.
She supposed she should feel something…anger?...schadenfreude?... but she felt
only a curious, vague hollowness. Poor Julia Farnese. She never did learn to
tell a worm from a snake.
The baby kicked and Lucrezia rubbed her stomach over the spot.
Soon, Little Girl. Very soon. I hope you look like your father. We’ll name you
Chelsea or Chessa, something that sounds like Cesare. I love him so. You’ll
love him, too. And your grandmother. Love made you, Little Girl. Love surrounds
you.
Lucrezia smiled to herself. In a short time, she would be with Cesare, feeling
his strong arms around her, his kisses on her lips, his big hands caressing her
belly. He would lament that she had been on her feet all day and would promise
her that soon, very soon, she would not have to do that ever again. She would
massage his shoulders and press her cheek to his hair as she put his dinner in
front of him, and her heart would nearly burst with love. For him. For her
mother. For the baby. For the life they had built together.
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