"Beauty is a Weapon at a Woman's Disposal"

[the_scandal_of_italy]

WHO: Lucrezia Borgia
WHERE: Bunglaow 27
WHEN: 6/07
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None
STATUS: Open

---

The shock of arrival had worn off as the day was nearing its end. To go from the Roman style celebrations to a vast wilderness had been a shock for her. The smell of Rome was familiar to her, the waste, food and people were almost comforting, even behind the walls of her mother's palazzo. To leave that and surround herself with...nothing, it was as much of a shock as the cold water she emerged from.

Villagers greeted her, others brought in through similar means. They apparently were confronted with new arrivals often, as their explanations seemed well rehearsed. They weren't disingenuous, just...memorized. She wasn't the first and she got the impression she wouldn't be the last.

Without Cesare or her father to guide her, Lucrezia followed the advice of those that found her. Once she was cleaned, she found a house to her liking and waited for the last of her daze to depart. Was this how her precious Djem felt when he arrived in Rome? So out of sorts and confused? The thoughts of her family weren't far from her mind, quickly chased by an overwhelming sorrow that threatened to suffocate her, as though she were drowning again.

Forcing herself to think of other things, Lucrezia collected a number of linens from the house and brought them to the front porch. She didn't know very much about cleaning, but she knew how to soak and treat linens, having sat beside Francesca as she tended to Giovanni Sforza's home. It took a bit of effort to bring a bucket of water to the house, but eventually she was seated on the front porch, singing to herself as she scrubbed the linens in fresh water. There was no soap, but did that really matter?

Comments

[the_scandal_of_italy]

She was touched by his gallantry, stepping aside as he insisted on helping her clean. "Lucrezia," she insisted. Much like Paolo, he seemed determined to address her formally. That wouldn't do. If he was going to look after her in this way, she intended to at least have them call each other by their Christian names.

She smiled, wiping her hands on her scrubs. "I don't think a bit of dust will make me ill, but you are kind." So kind that he offered her the chance to have some company while she scavenged for food. "You don't wish to dine with your family?"

[tooktheblack]

"I do, often, but I have a lot of family. You seem to have come here alone," Jon pointed out. "And you shouldn't have to have a meal alone in an unfamiliar place. I would be happy to break my fast with you if you'd allow it." He wanted to make sure that his family's new neighbor felt welcomed here in the village and he would do whatever he could to ensure that happened.

"I want to make certain that you have some people here that you can depend upon, Lucrezia, and you can't do that if you don't get a chance to know anyone. Is that all right? I don't want to make you uncomfortable by asking."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"I am alone. I had hoped that my brother would be here, as so many have their families, but there is no one that I know." But how many would know her? The name Borgia had always held weight in her life, whether for good or ill. They had always been infamous. Her fear and confusion at this world had to be suffered alone. When she felt she was in a more composed state, she began cleaning. But what would she do when the quiet came and she was alone again?

Jon Snow was offering her kindness and company, both she was in need of. She smiled, grateful and relieved. "Thank you. I would love to have your company." He was gallant and kind, a hero as sweet and generous as the ones she read about. It was touching that he was eager to look after her.

"You won't make me uncomfortable. I'm very grateful. I have never lived on my own before. I had lived in my mother's house and then my husband's...former husband." Thank God and all His Saints. "Never in a place like this where I must care for myself." She wringed her hands. "I am a bit afraid."

[tooktheblack]

"I have lived on my own for a while. I left my family's home at seventeen," Jon said, thinking back to when he'd left to go to the Wall. He'd been a boy then, summer-green, and now he was a man grown and someone capable of leading an army into battle; he'd done so more times than he could count.

"You seem too young to have been married, though. Then again, my dear sister has been betrothed three times and married twice. When politics are involved, you never know what may happen."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"So young?" That seemed so tragic. She had faced so much, so much of it difficult without her family. "Why did you leave home?" It wasn't for a marriage, he had made that clear. He could be a soldier, given his youth and build. "Were you only reunited with your family here?"

She smiled sadly, instinctively hiding her thoughts before a sweet expression. It was how she had kept Giovanni from knowing what she truly thought of him. The thought of her former husband was repugnant, a memory she would be happy to shed from her mind. "I was married for the sake of an alliance, one that my former husband had no intention in honoring." It was politics, but factions ran too deeply. "My father wanted to protect his papacy, so I was married to an old family, one that should grant him their army if he were in need of it."

Lucrezia frowned, still disgusted by Sforza's bigotry. "When my father needed aid, my former husband refused to come to his defense. He did not look kindly on my father's birth or in my family name."

[tooktheblack]

"I joined the Night's Watch," Jon explained. "Sort of a soldier's regiment made up of men from all houses and all walks of life. I was born a bastard, after all, and it was a better choice for me than living in the shadows of my true born siblings."

It had been, too, to get away from his father's wife. He respected Catelyn Stark greatly for her position as Ned's wife and the mother of his beloved siblings but she had been needlessly cruel to him. It had been better, in some ways, at the Wall.

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"You are a soldier?" That pleased her to hear, her suspicions were not far off the mark. She beamed at him in delight, her smile faltering only when he spoke of the matters of his birth. If Juan were here, he would have scoffed in derision and made a callous comment to make himself seem superior. In truth, what were they though, other than the cherished children of their father? Their parents were not wed. "I was born one as well, though my father legitimized me after he became Pope."

Though to many, it didn't change anything.

"Is it your father who lives next door to me?"

[tooktheblack]

"Yes, it is." It was too complicated to explain that Ned was truly his uncle and only his adoptive father - at least for the moment. It was simpler to say that Ned was his father and Lyanna his kinswoman for the time being, especially since Lyanna was actually younger than he was.

"My father and my brother and sister live in that house."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"Does that mean I will see you again after today?" She flashed a charming smile at him, letting that act as an open invitation. She was envious that he had family here, being apart from Cesare and her child was a pain that would drive her to tears each night. Company and friendship would be the greatest balm for her weary soul and Jon seemed willing to offer both.

"I will have a home to properly host you next time." Once it was finally cleaned.

[tooktheblack]

"I hope that we might see one another again," Jon said. Since she lived alongside his family, he imagined that they would cross paths fairly often; he visited the other Starks on a daily basis for the most part. He had gone so long without any family at all that he had yet to grow used to having them in such close reach.

"Of course, that will be guaranteed if my lady has other things that need to be repaired in her house."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"There is little reason to hope when we can make it happen." She opened the window, letting the fresh air chase away the musty smell. It was almost like a tomb. A home, frozen in time. She would need to find a way to fill it with life and color again. "Now that we are acquainted, you have no excuse not to come and visit me."

She looked around the room. There was no need to invent anything for him to repair. The signs were obvious. "You need only choose a room and there is something that needs to be fixed."

[tooktheblack]

"It was like that when I first came here," Jon said, giving her a sympathetic nod. It had been a few weeks of work to get the houses into a shape that was comfortable and livable but once he had, maintaining them had been much simpler than the initial clean up and repair. Lucrezia's house would be much easier, considering she would have help setting it up.

"We spent a few weeks setting them to rights. If you have ideas about how you want things arranged, I could help you set things to your liking. It will be easier for me to move furniture around than you, my lady."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"The furniture?" She grinned, kicking at the side of the couch. "Perhaps first I will find a way to refurnish it, a new cover." If she could find pretty enough material, which might as well be asking for a way home. "I wish it were possible to change more than that. I should someday like murals or something else. I cannot abide blank walls." But she was being picky and hopeful, both at once.

She glanced between Jon and the furniture. "I will need to do something, I think? If you had your way, Jon Snow, you would keep me from doing any work."

[tooktheblack]

Jon shook his head and held up his hands. "You wound me, lady. I just wanted to welcome you as neighbor to my kin and to this village and here you accuse me of taking over your work. I'll move whatever you want me to move but as far as murals for walls or recovering furniture, I will be useless. My idea of furniture involves tossing a fur over it and considering it done."

Frilly things were more Sansa's domain and he made a note to tell Sansa about her new neighbor; perhaps she'd like the chance to help make this house beautiful the way she made everything around her beautiful.

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"How very rustic." But no, that would never do. She would need to see this home that Jon had claimed and see to it herself. All men needed a bit of beauty in their surroundings, if only to help ease their minds and hearts from the struggles of the day. She was no great artist, but she knew how to transform even the most modest dwelling.

"I think we should simply clear away the dust and cobwebs. I should like to use my furniture before deciding where it should be placed." She grinned. "Are you so friendly to all of your new neighbors?"

[tooktheblack]

"I try to help everyone who comes here," Jon said. Admittedly, not everyone who arrived in this place was a beautiful woman so he might have been somewhat more friendly with Lucrezia than most but he was still helpful to all who came. He had been here the longest among most - only a few remained that had arrived with him - and he felt it was his duty to aid the newcomers.

"But since you live so close to my family, I feel I should help you more than I would most."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"You intend to be partial to me? I shall have to find a way to be worthy of your attentions." It is said with a coquettish smile, tipping her head just right so that her gold hair could catch in the light. What woman wouldn't want a man offering her so much attention and aid? He was a knight, rescuing a lady in distress. Perhaps even better, he seemed to be a man of grim temperament. Love play with such men was nothing short of enticing.

"How fortunate you are to have your family." She sighed softly. "I rather wish my brother were here." Or her son. She had lived without her family while wed to Giovanni Sforza and suffered because of it. "Do you have brothers?"

[tooktheblack]

"I have...had three of them," Jon explained. It had been ages since he'd seen Bran and Rickon and all that he'd heard from Sansa was that they were dead by Ramsay or Theon's hand. He wished he'd had the chance to rescue Rickon from Ramsay but as Sansa had advised, that had been a deliberate ploy to wound him and distract him.

"My brother Robb is the only one who is here with me now. I have two sisters. Only Sansa is here in the village."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"I have three as well. Two older brothers and a younger one, though I have always wanted a sister." But perhaps she wouldn't have been as cherished by her father if she had been one of many daughters. "I should like to meet your family." If only to be in a loving environment again. They might not be hers, but it would be comforting.

"Is your brother as handsome as you?" She grinned, naturally falling into her coquettish nature.

[tooktheblack]

"They say he's more handsome, actually," Jon said, laughing uncomfortably. Women had always fawned over Robb but Jon wasn't certain if it was because of his looks or because he'd be lord of Winterfell someday.

"Maybe I don't want you to meet my brother. Then you'll never want to talk to me again, will you?"

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"Do they? Then how is it I haven't met him yet?" She flashed a smile at him. It was easier to forget the manner of her arrival and how uncertain her life was here. At least for now, she could tease and flirt. Her mind could be occupied by something far more pleasant and enjoyable than be surrounded by fear and sorrow.

"Ah, but doesn't he live next door to me? I imagine I will cross his path sooner or later." Given how kind Jon was, she couldn't imagine abandoning his kind overtures.

[tooktheblack]

"You will and I will have to hope that I have made a memorable enough impression that you'll forget about how handsome he is and still have eyes for me," Jon teased. It wasn't something that came naturally to him, this sort of banter, but he was better at it now than he'd ever been before he'd left to go to the Wall.

"Otherwise, well. You'll just have to make a decision between two kings."

[the_scandal_of_italy]

King? Her head shot towards him, staring at him with wide eyes. She had been flirting and teasing him as she would any normal man, but he was a king. There was etiquette that was expected to follow, taught to her when she was a young girl. Despite being a bastard, she was the daughter of the Pope. She knew how to receive men of near equal standing.

"Your grace," she curtsied, her amusement evaporating. "I didn't know.

Juan would tell her that kings should bow to her, but she didn't possess his arrogance. She didn't mind paying respect where it was due. "I should have known. You have the bearing of a king."

[tooktheblack]

Jon held up a hand. "Please, no, none of that. I would rather you just call me Jon, all right? I was a bastard before I was a king and I'm never going to get used to people calling me your Grace and curtsying and bowing. I don't need it. I'm a king who fights in the vanguard and a king who works with his hands. Jon is just fine."

He smiled a little, somewhat sheepish. "Can you forget I told you?"

[the_scandal_of_italy]

She smiled softly, looking down at her hands shyly. "I was born a bastard as well. It was only after my father was named Pope that I was legitimized." He was a king, he was at least equal in standing to her, if not a bit higher than her in status. He was humble, at least. More so than the older nobility of the Italian kingdoms. No matter how he was born, it gave him more grace and majesty than they ever possessed.

"If that were possible than I would be able to forget arriving in this world. You are a king, you shouldn't be afraid of it." No more than she could control her standing as a type of princess. "If only all kings were as handsome. It seems like they should be, doesn't it?"