The Borgias, Season Two

Cesare Borgia:
(to the nuns tending to Della Rovere) You may leave us, Sisters.

Nun:
But, Cardinal-

Cesare Borgia:
There is no need for last rights, but your prayers will be welcomed. (they start to leave, Della Rovere tries to speak) Hush, Cardinal- I will attend you.

Nun:
Cardinal- (Cesare shuts the door in their faces)

Cesare Borgia:
And you, Sisters, let us hear your prayers. (kneels next to Della Rovere as the latter watches him) Don't worry- if you're not dead by now, you will live. Your tongue will be swollen for days- no talking, I'm afraid. All of your prayers must be silent ones. (he bathes Della Rovere's brow) Altar boys and cantarella- neither can be trusted. But, you must know by now, Cardinal, there is no hiding place. Even here, in the depths of the Umbrian olive groves, we will find you. (pause) The French army is ensnared in Naples, the French King is ill with the Neapolitan disease, God is in His Heaven- and the Pope on his seat, in Rome. And, my plea to you, Cardinal, is still the same: work with us, not against us. (leaves)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Ambassador. (walks past to the Papal Throne, humming to his grandson)

French Ambassador:
(bows) Your Holiness. (he is forced to wait longer than usual, as the Pope walks slowly in a rocking motion to keep the baby calm)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
There we go! that's nice, isn't it? (sits down with the baby held to his chest) So, how can we be of assistance?

French Ambassador:
(stands up, rather loudly) The whereabouts of Alf-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(gestures for him to keep his voice down) Shhhh! Pion isimo!

French Ambassador:
(more quietly) Alfonso of Naples is still at large. (the Pope pretends to look surprised) We have reason to believe that he infected his own city with the pestilence that plagues it.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Oh- but how could that concern us? We would have the Ambassador gently remind the King, that Naples has the habit of rejecting those who would conquer it. (the baby begins to fuss) The Moor, the Turk, the Norman- shhhh (quiets the child) Why should the French be any different?

French Ambassador:
But, Your Holiness invested King Charles with-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
SHHHH! Pion isimo! (to the baby) It's all right, darling, it's all right. (to the Ambassador. sharply) We granted the King his wish- Naples. He has Naples; he regrets that fact. That is his tragedy, and not ours! (the baby starts to fuss again) And now you've woken the child; shame on you, Ambassador! (walks past him, to the baby) Shh-shh-shh, it's all right, it's just the nasty Ambassador. Let's go and find your mama.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
So... Cardinal Della Rovere is still alive.

Cesare Borgia:
I would... hardly call it living.

Juan Borgia:
(snidely) You need lessons in killing, Brother.

Cesare Borgia:
From you?!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Enough! (pause) And King Charles of France, what of him?

Cesare Borgia:
(smiles) He has been struck with the Neapolitan disease.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(nods) As we had hoped. So... Now, is the time of reckoning, for those who betrayed us.

Juan Borgia:
What- the Vitelli, the Orsini, the Sforza?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
All the great families of the Romagna and the Papal States. Our task... is vengeance. We believe that the Cardinals will now, from henceforth, do our will- but now it is time to make sure their families feel the wind of our displeasure.

Juan Borgia:
"'Vengeance is mine', sayeth the Lord."

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(smiles and shakes his head) Vengeance... will be ours. (looks at both of his sons) We shall subdue the arrogance of those Papal States, one by one by one. We will force them back into the arms of Rome. But, above all, the Sforzas... their betrayal of our Papacy shall be avenged.

Cesare Borgia:
By whom? (indicates Juan contemptuously) This headless cock? (Juan lunges at him, Rodrigo forces them apart and cuffs them around the heads)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
WILL YOU STOP THIS DISCHORD?!! (gestures forcefully at them) WE ARE FAMILY! WE ARE ONE! And, we will only triumph AS ONE! (long pause) For, we have a second task -it is called renewal. We would restore Rome to its' former glory. Under the Borgias, it shall shine, as it did beneath the Caesars. But, if we are to achieve this greatness- your birthright- it will be together. As one! As family. Now, let me hear you speak that word. (takes Juan's wrist and holds his hand to his own) Give me your hand, Cesare. (Cesare does so, reluctantly, and Rodrigo holds it to his and Juan's) Family.

Juan Borgia:
Family.

Cesare Borgia:
(slightly hesitant) Family.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
...Family.

Cesare Borgia:
(watching Lucrezia's baby sleep) Can I hold him?

Lucrezia Borgia:
And wake him? That would be cruelty indeed.

Cesare Borgia:
I must hold you, then. (he hugs her) Tell me again, my love- who was his father?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles sadly) A groom, Paolo. But I called him Narcissus, so divine was his face.

Cesare Borgia:
Should I envy him, then?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles up at him) You have read your romances, dear Brother; you must know that such a love is impossible.

Cesare Borgia:
Impossible loves- I am very much afraid they can become an addiction.

Lucrezia Borgia:
... There is one your heart must find room for, Cesare. One you must love before you can love anyone.

Cesare Borgia:
And, that one would be?...

Lucrezia Borgia:
(squeezes his hand) Yourself.

Julia Farnese:
(dressed as Minnerva at a Roman masquerade) Juno.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(dressed as Juno) Well spotted, Julia Farnese. (they dance) And, you are?...

Julia Farnese:
You may call me Minnerva.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(smirks slightly) Oh, and to think- you were Venus, once.

Julia Farnese:
And, I soon may be a vestal virgin. (Vanozza chuckles)

Vanozza Cattaneo:
You fear for the constancy of your lover's affections?

Julia Farnese:
And, if I may be so bold... I would ask for your advice.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
When his eye wanders, as it did from me to you?

Julia Farnese:
You must hate me.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
No. And, if you would take my advice... don't do as I did; rage, remonstrate, play the wounded wife.

Julia Farnese:
No? So, what is the goddess Juno's advice?

Vanozza Cattaneo:
He is Janus tonight, is he not? He looks both ways. Allow him his fancy- let him look both ways. But, be sure one of those gazes falls on you.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(finds Vittoria back in her disguise, restoring the ancient Roman art works) Do you never rest? (Vittoria smiles) Where do you sleep?

Vittoria:
(grins) Under silk covers, last night.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(chuckles, shakes his head) On a normal night.

Vittoria:
On a straw bed, on a studio floor.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(crouches next to her) So, you know the streets of Rome- the slums, the tennants- you live among the common people.

Vittoria:
I am one of them, Your Holiness.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(strokes her ear) Hmm- not for long, I would hazard, knowing your talents.

Vittoria:
... Does the Pope of Rome not know his flock?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sighs and looks around)... You see the gilded cage we live in. We meet with princes and pergunters and prelates, and... very few of the common people. (pause, kisses her head) We might... need your assistance. (Cardinal Sforza appears behind them and clears his throat, the Pope stands up) Ah, Cardinal Sforza! Come to view our... Roman treasures? (gestures around them)

Ascanio Sforza:
Etruscan, I would wager.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(surprised) Ah- the Cardinal is an expert in such matters?

Ascanio Sforza:
The Cardinal has seen Donatello's David, and marveled at the source of its' eros. Now, he knows.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
And, the Cardinal thinks there may be scandal, perhaps?...

Ascanio Sforza:
(stiffly) The Cardinal does not care. What the Cardinal does care about are the Vatican finances.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Ah- yes. (to Vittoria) You will excuse us, young maestro.

Vertrice:
Stop!

Paolo:
(sharply) You mock me, fair lady.

Vertrice:
If I did, forgive me- kind sir.

Paolo:
My name is Paolo.

Vertrice:
Vertrice. (smiles and takes his arm as they walk through Rome) I mistook you for a client! A girl has to work.

Paolo:
Must you so debase yourself?

Vertrice:
If I do not lift my skirts, I starve.

Paolo:
Better to starve, surely.

Vertrice:
What, like the rest of Rome? (gestures at some of the commoners) They were fed yesterday, but today they starve.

Paolo:
But, there is such wealth and evidence here, my lady- how could anybody starve?

Vertrice:
There is wealth, of course- but, we starve. Whilst Lucrezia Borgia dines on a silver plate. With a fork. You have heard of a fork, Paolo?

Paolo:
No, my lady.

Vertrice:
Well, it's all the rage, now- and I'll bet Lucrezia Borgia dines with a fork of solid gold.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Cardinal Versucci

Cardinal Versucci:
Your Holiness. (they sit)

Rodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI:
(smiles) You have been in charge of the Office of Public Works for how many years?

Cardinal Versucci:
(smiles) Oh, for as long as I have been a Cardinal, Your Holiness.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Mmm-two decades? (Versucci nods, chuckles) After which time the orphans of Rome find themselves destitute. (Versucci's smile vanishes) And, the Cardinal has built himself how many palaces?

Cardinal Versucci:
... Three.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
You see the irony there?

Cardinal Versucci:
... The poor will always be with us, Your Holiness.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(scoffs) The poor- like the pigeons! (storms down the hall, Versucci hastily follows)

Cardinal Versucci:
I- I beg your pardon, Your Holiness-

Rodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI:
Does the Cardinal believe the pigeons will always be with us?!

Cardinal Versucci:
Is this a riddle? (the Pope whirls around and points at him)

Rodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI:
We will have curatorial funds used for their declared purposes! Money destined for the poor should GO to the poor! (walks on into the next room, where Julia Farnese is sitting at a desk) So, we will have you go through the last two decades of your accounts, with one we have designated to supervise them: the Lady Julia Farnese. (puts his hand on Julia's shoulder)

Cardinal Versucci:
(offended) What Your Holiness proposes is unthinkable!

Rodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI:
What- that moneys destined for the poor should go to the poor?

Cardinal Versucci:
That a woman should have access to curatorial accounts. (Rodrigo looks expectantly at Julia)

Julia Farnese:
(mockingly, looking away from Versucci) Can a woman not count? Add, subtract?

Cardinal Versucci:
Count her children, perhaps. (Julia spins around and glares at him)

Julia Farnese:
(coldly) There's a new method, Cardinal. Devised by the Florentine bankers. (Versucci scoffs, Julia gets up and approaches him) It is called double-entry bookkeeping... and it proves a valuable tool in tracing all missing funds.

Rodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI:
So, the Cardinal shall help you in your efforts to source those missing funds- while we shall attend to another matter of worrisome import. (leaves)

Cardinal Versucci:
(bows, seething) Your Holiness.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(returns to her apartments after her midnight meeting with Paolo) Is he sleeping, nurse? (pulls back the curtains around her son's bed to reveal Cesare sitting next to it)

Cesare Borgia:
(mildly disapproving) He did miss his mother.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(shocked) Cesare!

Cesare Borgia:
You have a lover, Sis?

Lucrezia Borgia:
No, Brother. (closes the curtains, walks around the cradle) But, this child has a father.

Cesare Borgia:
A stablehand.

Lucrezia Borgia:
...Who has come to Rome.

Cesare Borgia:
Ah- unwise.

Lucrezia Borgia:
You disapprove?

Cesare Borgia:
Not yet, but I know those who would.

Lucrezia Borgia:
My father-

Cesare Borgia:
Your brother.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(sighs, sprawls over her own bed) My husband whipped him. My brother would flay him.

Cesare Borgia':
Which is why you go out hooded.

Lucrezia Borgia:
At night, like a phantom. (pause, she sighs, Cesare looks down) Cesare, he suffered for me in absolute silence. He would've died for me. The least I can do is let him see his child-

Cesare Borgia:
You loved him, Sis?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles slightly)... I did. Perhaps, I do.

Cesare Borgia:
(stands, approaches her) Then you must see him.

Lucrezia Borgia:
You would help me?

Cesare Borgia:
(sprawls over the bed next to her) Once, and only once. Just... tell me what to do.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Find us a room, where we can spend one night together away from prying eyes-

Cesare Borgia:
(meets her eyes) One night. You promise?

Lucrezia Borgia:
I promise.

Cesare Borgia:
(pause) Go to our mother's house, tomorrow evening. She needs to see her grandchild, does she not?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles) And?...

Cesare Borgia:
Leave the rest to me.

Paolo:
Who walks with me?! (they don't answer; he breaks into a run, turns a corner and sees another cloaked man ahead of him) I mean you no harm, kind sir, whoever you may be! (he tries to flee but is caught by the other two men, who drag him forward; the third man removes his hood, revealing himself to be Juan)

Juan Borgia:
Suicide. A sin even a Pope can't forgive. (puts a noose around Paolo's neck and tightens it) Because dead men can't confess.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(trying to console Lucrezia, who is in deep mourning after Paolo's "suicide" and is refusing to nurse her crying son) Please talk to me, my love. You are the light of my life... the light of this family's life. If that light goes... (clutches her hand, worried)

Lucrezia Borgia:
... I would ask just one thing of you, Father.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Anything.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(looks him straight in the eye) Permit my Paolo a Christian burial.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(closes his eyes quickly) He is a suicide- it is impossible. (Lucrezia sits up, holding a scrap of paper)

Lucrezia Borgia:
This note was pinned to his sleeve. (Alexander takes it and examines it)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Yes. A suicide note-

Lucrezia Borgia:
(angrily) But he could not read or write Father! (Alexander looks up at her, startled) My Paolo could not even pen his own name. (long pause)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
... So, it was murder. (pause) Where is the murderer?

Lucrezia Borgia:
...Too close for comfort.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sighs angrily) I will not have this family at war with itself!

Lucrezia Borgia:
(coldly) And I would have my Paolo saved, from the fires of Hell.

Rodrigo Borgia:
(nods resignedly)... And your infant must... feed.

Juan Borgia:
... Holy Father.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(curtly) Have you come to confess? (Juan comes over to his chair, kneels and puts his arms around his father's shoulders)

Juan Borgia:
That I am sorry, and-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sharply) For what?!

Juan Borgia:
... For my sister... and for her loss.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(takes Juan's hand in his own) You... will choose a bride, in your ancestral homeland, Spain. You will travel there... And you will become the Borgia... that I always hoped you would be! (shoves Juan's hand aside and storms out)

French General:
(to Caterina and Giovanni Sforza) And, if the King decides to ride north, your armies would ride with his?

Caterina Sforza:
Yes- in return for a certain consideration.

French General:
And, this... consideration? (he attempts to drink, but Caterina takes the glass from him)

Caterina Sforza:
His cannon. (the French commanders chuckle)

French General:
(smirks) You would have him leave his cannon to the Sforza armies?!

Caterina Sforza:
Not every piece. But, enough to defend our castle at Forli- to replicate the great fortresses of France.

Charles VIII:
(looks up after a moment)...Giovanni Sforza.

Giovanni Sforza:
(gestures to Caterina) And my cousin, Caterina Sforza, Your Majesty.

Charles VIII:
You have many cousins, I am told. (takes a cup of wine) Are they all impotent, like you? (the French laugh)

Giovanni Sforza:
That is a vile Borgia slander- perpetrated by the Pope himself.

Charles VIII:
(grins) Which is why you are here, of course- you would have a taste of vengeance. The Italian appetite for vengeance astounds even us, Lord Sforza-

Caterina Sforza:
(steps forward) the Italian appetite for vengeance may be boundless, Majesty, but happily for you, the Spanish appetite for war is not. (Charles stares at her, intrigued)

Micheletto Corella:
You have news for me?

Taxidermist:
He's ordered the evacuation of Naples.

Micheletto Corella:
So, the King will travel with his own troops, yes? (the taxidermist nods, Micheletto removes his knives from the paper)

Taxidermist:
The Sforza armies, too.

Micheletto Corella:
... It will take days to gather such an army- three, at least. So, I must hurry. (hangs a large pouch of money in front of the drawing, then heads for the door) This is for your retirement.

Taxidermist:
(bows and clasps his hands) Thank you- thank you.

Micheletto Corella:
(warningly) And, for your silence. (the taxidermist hastily nods, Micheletto walks out)

Caterina Sforza:
(fully armored) You make a manly figure on your horse, Cardinal- but the French cannon will soon break down your walls, and you will be impotent in the face of them. (Giovanni Sforza smirks)

Cesare Borgia:
(calmly) My walls may yet prove stronger than you think, my Lady.

French soldiers:
Part for the King! The King! Make way! (Charles, fully armored but still sick, rides out to join them)

Charles VIII:
(coldly) We have Italian friends, Cardinal Borgia, but our business... is all French.

Cesare Borgia:
And, that business is?

Charles VIII:
To gain entry to the city of Rome. The easy way... or, the hard. You have decorate the walls of Rome with flags and pennants- to welcome us, I presume?

Cesare Borgia:
(smirks) Your Highness is indeed welcome... to march on, past Rome.

Charles VIII:
(furious) I warn you, Cardinal: I shall RAZE your city! Take terrible revenge on YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND THE PAPACY ITSELF!

Cesare Borgia:
You must enter, first.

Charles VIII:
My cannon will gain me entry! Twelve hours, I have been assured, to batter down those walls!

Cesare Borgia:
... Perhaps my cannon will make their statement, first.

Micheletto Corella:
CANNONS, FORWARD! (the "cannons" are rolled into the attack position)

Caterina Sforza:
(to herself) How did they manage to?...

Charles VIII:
(ashen-faced)...General?

French General:
(looking equally worried) Our battle line is still forming, my Liege.

Cesare Borgia:
I must compliment Your Highness on his ingenuity. Chained cannonballs can take apart a regiment, like... a knife through butter. (Charles looks away) Are you not well, Your Highness?

Charles VIII:
We have the Neapolitan fever.

Cesare Borgia:
(nods) Perhaps battle should wait, then- until his full health returns. Or, perhaps he should trace his gracious path home- to fair France. (turns and rides back inside the gates)

French General:
Do I give the signal, my Liege?

Charles VIII:
Do I look like a fool, General?!

French General:
No, my Liege. (pause)

Charles VIII:
We ride on, past.

Micheletto Corella:
You should spare yourself this, Your Eminence.

Cesare Borgia:
Why? Why should I spare myself? (he walks through the burned-out nunnery, Micheletto follows with a torch) I should've foreseen this. (he looks up at the fresco he commissioned, with Ursula Bonadeo's face)

Micheletto Corella:
... Your Eminence. (Cesare enters the next room to find Micheletto standing over the body of Ursula, with her ears cut off)

Cesare Borgia:
...Ursula. (he kneels next to her and touches her bloodstained face) She chose God, Micheletto... and God repaid her with mutilation.

Micheletto Corella:
I know little of God, Your Eminence.

Cesare Borgia:
(full of grief and rage) God is deaf, God is blind- God is pitiless. (pause) She has released my heart... of all emotions, but one. (looks up at Micheletto) Vengeance.

Micheletto Corella:
(nods) Vengeance is sweet.

Cesare Borgia:
So, who did this, my friend?

Micheletto Corella:
The French. (picks up the remnants of a banner and examines it) This flag belongs to the cavalry of Gascony- these women were sport for army scouts.

Cesare Borgia:
Scouts?

Micheletto Corella:
They're renowned for their savagery- necklaces of severed ears. (Cesare removes his cloak and covers Ursula's body with it)

Cesare Borgia:
We must give them a lesson, then- in outrage. (they walk away) You were once a stray dog, Micheletto- masterless.

Micheletto Corella:
I found my master in you.

Cesare Borgia:
There must be other stray dogs out there, in Rome.

Micheletto Corella:
There are many. Sons of warlord families, condottiere who long have outlived their usefulness.

Cesare Borgia:
Search out a dozen of them- whom we can school in the art of vengeance.

Cesare Borgia:
(on Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua) He talks of honor, Father. There is nothing-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Interesting concept, honor, isn't it? It's like its' cousin, valor.

Cesare Borgia:
(sarcastically) Honor has cousins?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Oh, it has many cousins.

Cesare Borgia:
Rather like Cardinal Sforza.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(nods) And, they've all led Kings and armies to their doom.

Cesare Borgia:
So, why should we now make common cause with Milan?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Because, when the French have left this "fair paradise", the Milanese will still be with us.

Cesare Borgia:
So?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(smiles and shakes his head) This 'League'...cannot beat the French. Even in their weakened state. And, I doubt the French can beat this League. (pause) So, if the two armies batter each other to death... as the lawyers often say, qui berne?

Cesare Borgia:
(nods) "Who benefits?"

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(nods) Mmm. A weakened Venice, a weakened Milan, a weakened Mantua. (shrugs) Has to be worth a weekend in Tuscany, surely. (Cesare smiles at his father's cunning, Rodrigo chuckles and slaps him on the shoulder)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(observing the poor as she and Julia Farnese walk through Rome) These children need an orphanage!

Julia Farnese:
Indeed, they do. But, the nunneries that used to care for them are starved of funds- and the orphanage on Piazzo Naverna is now a Cardinal's palace. Here, once stood a statue of the goddess Selas Minnerva- and here flowed crystal springwater from the Alban Hills.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Statues are easily restored; water is not.

Julia Farnese:
(looks directly at her) So- I would use my wit, and yours, to outwit those who divert funds, and water, from poor houses and palaces.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(nods) Cardinals- and the Curia.

Julia Farnese:
You are far too clever. (takes her arm and leads her away)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles) It would be fun, to outwit a brace of Cardinals.

Julia Farnese:
More than fun- it would save lives. And, there is one more brain I would engage in our cause: your mother's.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(chuckles) My mother? But, she-

Julia Farnese:
You must admit, three minds would be better than two. And, your mother and I are far beyond such enmities.

Charles VIII:
We are ill, Your Holiness. This battle may well be our last- which is why we have requested a private audience.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Not for your... confession? (crosses himself before the altar and joins Charles at the table)

Charles VIII:
My sins are many, Your Holiness, and they are all bloody ones. Perhaps, even the Pope of Rome... cannot forgive them.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
So, why have you requested our presence here?

Charles VIII:
To use your diplomatic skills... to spare us this battle.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
... Well, perhaps if you were to surrender the booty you have pillaged, to our Holy Mother Church... we might do something.

Charles VIII:
(smiles tightly) With respect, Your Holiness, you have fooled me once. For a man of God, yours... was a most ungodly stratagem.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(shrugs) So, why our presence?

Charles VIII:
(angrily, gesturing to make his point) If they are fool enough to join battle with me, I will destroy them, utterly! I will be pitiless, I don't know the way, but my cannon will ANNIHILATE their armies! I will DRAG you, in chains, to Avignon and see you end your days in ignominy! All this, before I die. Are you listening, "Holy Father?!" (thunder sounds outside)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(flatly) ...We hear you. We will convey your words to the lead forces. (stands up, starts to leave, then stops) Ah! Listen. Is that the sound of rain? (sarcastically) Can, even the King of France light his cannon in the rain?

Charles VIII:
(sneering) You think we don't know how to keep powder dry?!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(coldly) Do you think the Lord God doesn't know how to make rain?! (leaves)

Guiliano Della Rovere:
Friar.

Girolamo Savanarola:
(lighting candles) Are you the cleric in red?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
I find the robes of your Order suit me better, at this... pitiful juncture.

Girolamo Savanarola:
Have you taken our vows?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
I can no longer serve the Pope of Rome.

Girolamo Savanarola:
Ah, yes. I heard of your plans for his deposition. Your plans failed. Miserably.

Guiliano Della Rovere:
...Indeed. I must confess to failure.

Girolamo Savanarola:
Oh, so have you come here to make a confession of your failure?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
No. I'm here to propose a solution to the sickness in our Holy Mother Church.

Girolamo Savanarola:
(smirks) A solution?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
We must remove him.

Girolamo Savanarola:
From the Chair of St. Peter's?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
From the Chair of St. Peter's-

Girolamo Savanarola:
But you tried that already.

Guiliano Della Rovere:
From the Chair of St. Peter's- and, from this world. (Savanarola pauses)

Girolamo Savanarola:
... I shared a vision with you, once. Of the bloated figure of the Borgia Pope, lying blackened with sickness, on the floor of St. Peter's. No one dared approach it. Are you saying you're the one to bring this to pass?

Guiliano Della Rovere:
Only if I have your blessing, Friar- and, the blessing of your Order.

Girolamo Savanarola:
You have the blessing of the Lord- for He shall bring it to pass. And, if my vision was a true one, you will have my blessing- and the blessing of the Lord Himself. (pause) "Be the sword of the Apocalypse, the sword of Righteousness. Ride out like Death, on a Pale Horse." (gives Della Rovere a grim smile and leaves)

Caterina Sforza:
(giving Cesare a tour of Forli Castle) My son, Benito, longs for a soldier's career.

Cesare Borgia:
Mmm- It has much to recommend it.

Benito Sforza:
You bear arms yourself, Signore Borgia?

Caterina Sforza:
No, my love- he wears a Cardinal's skirt.

Benito Sforza:
(glancing at Cesare's military garb) But, your dress is that of a-

Cesare Borgia:
I am a civilian, today. An ambassador.

Caterina Sforza:
He comes bearing a message from his father, the Pope of Rome. (turns to face Cesare) Have I guessed correctly, Cardinal?

Cesare Borgia:
(smiles) You think so little of your charms?

Caterina Sforza:
(smiles back) Oh- you've come to sample them, perhaps?

Cesare Borgia:
Perhaps. (removes his cloak)

Caterina Sforza:
While bearing a message from the Pope of Rome.

Cesare Borgia:
The Pope does send his best regards, and would request your... beauteous presence at the Chair of St. Peter's.

Caterina Sforza:
He would sample my charms also?

Cesare Borgia:
(shrugs) Perhaps. He would feel your lips on his... Papal ring.

Caterina Sforza:
(pause, steps towards Cesare) He would have me kneel to him. Bow.

Cesare Borgia:
The whole world must bow to the Holy Father.

Caterina Sforza:
(doesn't take her eyes of Cesare) Whom does your mother bow to, my son?

Benito Sforza:
(proudly) Nobody.

Caterina Sforza:
(smiles) You heard him, Cardinal. His mother bows to nobody.

Cesare Borgia:
And, if "Nobody" were to sit at her table?...

Caterina Sforza:
She would not bow. But there are other forms of obesence. (she walks into the dining room)

Benito Sforza:
(follows her) Other, Mother?

Caterina Sforza:
Indeed, my son. There is a form of surrender which implies no submission. It gave birth to you.

Benito Sforza:
... I confess that I'm lost, Mother.

Caterina Sforza:
(chuckles) Indeed, you are truly a soldier, made of hard wood! (pats his cheek, meets Cesare's gaze) But, the Cardinal must know... I only kneel when it suits me. As must the Holy Father.

Cesare Borgia:
If you do not come willingly-

Caterina Sforza:
Oh, hush, Cardinal, hush! You are our guest this fine evening- I'd have no discord between us. You can relay the Holy Father's message in its' fullness tomorrow.

Piero de Medici:
We live in a fortress, now. Barricaded against the sea of zealots in the streets outside.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Hmm- "zealots".

Piero de Medici:
Their fervor for the Friar's visions increases daily. They would ban all art and ornament, and they have set their sights on the coin of the Realm itself!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Money? Dear God...

Piero de Medici:
They see gold and silver coin as part of the fallen world. They would reduce all exchange to a state of barter only possible in the Garden of Eden!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(pretending to examine a sculpture) Hmmm- and what of banking?

Piero de Medici:
(scoffs, imitates Savanarola) "Did Adam need gold coin?! Did Eve need a bank?! Did Cain charge interest to Abel?!" (Machiavelli smiles briefly, Cardinal Sforza and Medici chuckle)

Ascanio Sforza:
And what of the Church's deposits in your banks?

Piero de Medici:
They would scatter them like chaff. (he starts to sit. Machiavelli clears his throat, and Medici hastily stands up again) And, if they knew, Holy Father, of your personal accounts, they would burn the bank to the ground.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Well, then- perhaps we had better have our wealth brought back to Rome. (Machiavelli frowns)

Piero de Medici:
How? The Friar has his spies everywhere.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(shrugs) Well, perhaps the good Friar could be bought.

Piero de Medici:
With money?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
No- a Bishopric. Generalship of the Dominican Order. (sits)

Piero de Medici:
(also sits) The Dominican Order already does his bidding.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
And, how can you buy one who would outlaw trade itself?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
You offer him something that money cannot buy. Heaven itself.

Augustino:
Micheletto... we cannot meet again.

Micheletto Corella:
Why?

Augustino:
If I were caught, I would be disemboweled and burned-

Micheletto Corella:
It's a cruel world!

Augustino:
Too cruel. (Micheletto grabs him and twists him around into a headlock/stranglehold)

Micheletto Corella:
I have killed many men in an embrace such as this-

Augustino:
Did you love them, too? (Micheletto twists him sideways, indicating one of the graves)

Micheletto Corella:
This grave- this is my father's grave. And I loved him too- when I held his head thus. (releases Augustino angrily) Now you go, and you be married. Some folk say it is better to marry- (kisses Augustino forcefully) than to burn.

Cesare Borgia:
(sees Giovanni Sforza enter the room, starts and then smirks) My Lord Sforza.

Giovanni Sforza:
I arrived in the early hours.

Cesare Borgia:
You must have. You have... business with your cousin?

Giovanni Sforza:
Matters of state? Always. (takes some food from the table and nibbles it)

Cesare Borgia:
So she requested your presence here.

Giovanni Sforza:
She told me it would be... appreciated.

Cesare Borgia:
Mmm. And, can you tell me why?

Giovanni Sforza:
To talk of your father's proposal to her.

Cesare Borgia:
My father- the Pope?

Giovanni Sforza:
Mmm- I can only think of him as your father. The father of that... slattern I was tricked into marrying-

Cesare Borgia:
(exhales sharply in anger) Be careful, Lord Sforza.

Giovanni Sforza:
What?

Cesare Borgia:
I hold my sister's interests dear.

Giovanni Sforza:
(smirks) Hmm- I'm aware of that. (pause) You humiliated me, before the whole of Rome. (Cesare smiles thinly)

Caterina Sforza:
(enters the room) You shall have your answer, Cesare Borgia.

Cesare Borgia:
It is why I am still here, my Lady.

Caterina Sforza:
My answer is simple. It is no. (Giovanni smirks, Caterina starts to leave)

Cesare Borgia:
Let me be clear. (she stops) You refuse to come to Rome? (Caterina smiles and leaves)

Giovanni Sforza:
My cousin refuses to debase herself before that... swine that wears the Papal Tiara

Cesare Borgia:
(with burning anger) That question was for her, my Lord.

Giovanni Sforza:
And you have her answer.

Cesare Borgia:
Yes- and you will have mine. (he stabs a knife into Giovanni's hand, pinning it to the table-top. Giovanni wrenches it free with a yell of pain; they scuffle, but Cesare quickly gains the upper hand, forcing his knife nearer and nearer to Giovanni's throat) I promised my sister your heart, on a dinner-plate! (finally forces the knife deep into Giovanni's throat, then turns him around and stabs him repeatedly in the belly and lower chest) But I can find no heart!

Ascanio Sforza:
From our Holy Father. (Savanarola rises and turns around) Christ's vicar on Earth, the Bishop of Rome and the heir to St. Peter: a greeting and apostolic benediction to his most beloved son... Girolamo Savanarola. I am Cardinal Ascanio Sforza.

Girolamo Savanarola:
The Vice-Chancellor.

Ascanio Sforza:
Indeed.

Girolamo Savanarola:
Then, you know all there is to know about corruption.

Ascanio Sforza:
... His Holiness hears you are a zealous worker in God's service, at which he rejoices (Savanarola looks away in disgust)... and is intrigued to hear that you proclaim that your prophecies proceed directly from God. (Savanarola looks back at him) Is this so?

Girolamo Savanarola:
God speaks through me. I hear his voice. Of this, there is no doubt.

Ascanio Sforza:
As befits your vows of obedience, His Holiness would have you journey to Rome to discourse further with him on this matter-

Girolamo Savanarola:
Has the Good Lord's lightning not yet silenced this...Borgia Pope? But, tell him my work is here, ridding Florence of its' sodomites and blasphemers. And, my work only will be ended... when the last sodomite is burning in Hell. (smiles coldly)

Ascanio Sforza:
Perhaps a different destiny awaits you in Rome.

Girolamo Savanarola:
In the Castell St. Angelo?

Ascanio Sforza:
(chuckles and withdraws a Cardinal's hat from his cloak, offering it to Savanarola) No- in the Vatican.

Girolamo Savanarola:
Oh- as Cardinal?

Ascanio Sforza:
A seat in Consistory. (Savanarola takes the hat and walks back over the pulpit, looking at it thoughtfully)

Girolamo Savanarola:
(turns back to Cardinal Sforza) No man can put a price on salvation. (throws the hat back at him, hitting him on the shoulder)

Cesare Borgia:
(enters Lucrezia's quarters to find her watching her sleeping son Giovanni) The sleep of the innocent. (pause) I promised you a heart, Sister.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Whose? Your own?

Cesare Borgia:
I promised you the heart of Giovanni Sforza- on a dinner plate. (Lucrezia looks shocked) His blood... on this knife will have to suffice. (unwraps the bloodstained blade and shows it to her)

Lucrezia Borgia:
... What does it say of us, Brother, that you...promise me this, and I would accept?

Cesare Borgia:
Do you accept? (Lucrezia looks up at him, then walks across the room)

Lucrezia Borgia:
I would rather have my innocence back. Be as I was, before I married that... vile man.

Cesare Borgia:
(strokes her cheek) Impossible, I'm afraid- for either of us. (the Pope walks into the room)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Prime has been sung, terse approaches (kisses Lucrezia) yet some barely rouse their souls! (opens the window to let in sunlight and sighs in satisfaction) Darkness...into light!

Lucrezia Borgia:
Father, Giovanni is sleeping.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Oh, yes yes yes! (lowers his voice, to Cesare) You have, um... broached the matter, my son?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(looks at Cesare)... What matter? (Cesare looks away guiltily)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
... The matter of Forli. (gives both of them a direct look) Our need for... the most sacred alliance. (pause) The matter, in a word, of marriage-

Lucrezia Borgia:
(angry) Ah, I see. I am to be put back in the marketplace. (glares at Cesare, who folds his arms) Did you know of this, Brother? (turns to their father) And how secure did the last alliance you sold me into prove to be?!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(firmly, but guiltily) It is your father's wish- we would have you married! It's as simple as that.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(laughs sarcastically) I will not marry. Never again. So, there let it rest.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
We are shocked by this... ingratitude!

Lucrezia Borgia:
Even so, I will not marry.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sharply) It is a daughter's duty to marry her father's choice! (Giovanni begins to wake)

Lucrezia Borgia:
So, I am to have no voice in the matter?! I am to lie on my back and wait to be ravaged by a beast of your choosi-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Enough! Enough! This language... does not become you. (points at Cesare) And save your salt- say nothing.

Cesare Borgia:
(coldly) I haven't uttered a word.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
No, but we can hear you thinking. (gestures at Lucrezia) This will come to pass- you shall see. Even if we drag you to the Basilica! (storms out as Giovanni begins to fuss, Lucrezia glares at Cesare and goes to quiet him)

Cesare Borgia:
(sighs and sits down) Like me, you have just declared a war.

Cesare Borgia:
(sees Machiavelli walking through Rome at night) Signor Machiavelli. (Machiavelli joins him, they walk into an ally) Welcome... to Rome.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(sarcastically) I appreciate the informality of your welcome.

Cesare Borgia:
What is the news from Florence?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
Ah- Officially, I am here to open the shutters on the Villa Medici for my master, Piero de Medici. Stones have been thrown at his house in Florence- large stones. He believes he will be safer here in Rome.

Cesare Borgia:
Not without our protection.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(nods) The Medici have made many enemies, that cannot be contested.

Cesare Borgia:
What of the Medici bank? Is it a sinking ship?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
Oh, I am not a banker, but... it may have already sunk.

Cesare Borgia:
You may not be a banker, but you are the Medici's Ambassador. You... know these things.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(shrugs) True, I have been privy to sensitive negotiations. Signor de Medici values my opinion- especially as he does not... have one of his own. But, I am really nothing more than a nuncio- a messenger boy. (they walk on)

Cesare Borgia:
And what message does the boy bring? What of the Vatican funds?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(flatly) Every penny could be lost. (Cesare stares at him in disbelief) That is the sad truth of it.

Cesare Borgia:
... Where has the money gone?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
That is the golden question- you are not alone in wanting an answer. There are funds; the question is, where might they be?

Cesare Borgia:
(impatient) Do you know?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
I am told that what remains is on the move. Some here, some there... although, not on its' way to whom it belongs.

Cesare Borgia:
Where?!

Niccolo Machiavelli:
That, I do not know. Not yet. Until such time, it is as I told you: I am here to open the shutters of the Villa Medici.

Cesare Borgia:
(gritting his teeth) Signor Machiavelli, a more... specific insight into this matter would be much appreciated. (he and Machiavelli bow to each other and depart)

Vanozza Cattaneo:
Your father claims I have warned you against the dangers of marriage. (Lucrezia smiles) You have incurred his extreme displeasure. I think it might make him ill.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Well, then father and daughter will be ill together! the thought of marriage turns my stomach.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
It's within his prerogative to marry you to whomever he may please.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Well, then let him do it. (flops back over her bed) And he can fish me out of the Tiber.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(looks at her) He's asked me to vet suitors on your behalf.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(sits up, looking offended) And you agreed?

Vanozza Cattaneo:
More or less. (Lucrezia sighs angrily) At least it leaves you with a choice! (sits next to her daughter)

Lucrezia Borgia:
Mother, the man I married was a beast. I was little more than meat to him.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
And yet, you took the stableboy as your lover. (they both smile)

Lucrezia Borgia:
Well, that was different.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
Then, there is hope for you yet.

Lucrezia Borgia:
... I do not deny that the warm touch of a lover would ease the pain.

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(takes Lucrezia by the chin and looks at her) So- all is not lost. (embraces her)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Friar Savanarola berates us daily. He preaches... heresy. That God speaks to him, and him alone. He must be silenced. (pause, looks at Cesare) We charge you with this task- and this will require all your patience. (slaps Cesare on the arm) You will travel to Florence, and you will ban him from preaching the word of God.

Cesare Borgia:
(scoffs) He will laugh in my face.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
of course. And then, we will charge him with heresy.

Cesare Borgia:
He will laugh in your face.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Of course. And then, we will excommunicate him.

Cesare Borgia:
(frowns) He will... deny your right to do so.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(smiles) Of course. And, then... we will burn him. (pause, Cesare smiles) Vengeance, you see, can wait...a lifetime, if necessary.

Children:
Vanities! Your gold, your silver-

Niccolo Machiavelli:
Wait- before you speak! (the boys silence) I would have you cease marking chalk crosses on my door. (nods to the lead boy) You may continue.

1st Child-Acolyte:
Vanities! Your gold, your silver, your trinkets, your books. Give up your vanities!

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(coldly) I have no vanities. I have only my intellect, which I am reluctant to relinquish- and, as you can see, with these looks, I have no vanity.

1st Child-Acolyte:
(obviously parrotting Savanarola) An Eternity in Heaven or an Eternity in Hell! What will it be?!

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(unimpressed) Hell.. is here, in this city! (gestures around them, steps forward, forcing the boy back) Heaven has, of late, been removed to another place!

2nd Child-Acolyte:
Are you a sinner?

1st Child-Acolyte:
The Son of Man will return in his Glory! And he will judge both the quick- and the dead! Give up your vanities, or face the Wroth of God!

Children:
Give up your vanities! Give 'em up- give up your vanities!

2nd Child-Acolyte:
Would you have us break your windows?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(contemptuously) So... God is now reduced to breaking windows. Wait- one moment. (closes the door. After a moment, he re-opens it, and- much to the bewilderment of the boys, offers them a glass case containing a stuffed eagle-owl) Here! (the lead boy takes it)

1st Child-Acolyte:
Come to the square- (Machiavelli shuts the door in his face)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(storming into Vanozza's villa) Vanozza!... Vanozza!...Vanozza! (Vanozza enters the dining room at the same time as him) Did you know of this?

Vanozza Cattaneo:
Of what?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
That our daughter, betrothed to one, gives herself to the brother?!

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(sarcastically) Lucrezia? It's not possible- how could she be so foolish?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(impatient) With the help of those around her, perhaps? What advice did you give her, hmm?

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(sits down) I merely said, that if she married to please you, she may yet love to please herself.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sighs in exasperation) And you thought that wise?!

Vanozza Cattaneo:
(curtly) I married one of your choosing, to be free to love you.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
But you are not the Pope's daughter!

Vanozza Cattaneo:
Rodrigo, she will love whom she chooses- she is a Borgia. (Lucrezia enters, Rodrigo angrily turns on her)

Lucrezia Borgia:
I hear the Palavacini boys have gone. (walks past him)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
Yes- because you would marry a pauper with a paintbrush! (Lucrezia kisses her mother,then turns to face him)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(coldly) I would have married Calvino Palavacini, as you bid, dear Father- but, if I had followed my heart, I doubt I would have married either of them.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(sarcastically) Oh- so the future of this family is enthralled to your heart, hm? (Lucrezia's expression softens just a fraction)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(strokes her father's chin)...If it is, it needs mending. Like my heart.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
These people trust their fates- their fortunes- to the power of spells. Come. (they follow the growing crowd) Savanarola understands that what haunts a man's mind in the night, is what rules him. He trades in the fear of Hell.

Woman:
Untie me! Untie me! Please, I've done nothing!

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(grimly)... Here is a different kind of bonfire.

Woman:
God will punish you!

Cesare Borgia:
(sickened)... What is her crime?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
(shrugs, pretending it is obvious) She is a witch. People believe she has the power to cast them into Hell.

Cesare Borgia:
(nods) Fear.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
Fear of damnation. And, the hope of a better life in the next world. (they observe as the stake is affixed to the ground and wood piled around the shrieking woman) That is what Savanarola promises- he trades in miracles. Show him to be wrong... the man will burn. Just like the witch.

Niccolo Machiavelli:
If Angels can fall, from Heaven into Hell... then, so can we all. The Demon waits to devour us.

Cesare Borgia:
... Then we must go wrestle with the Demon.

Cesare Borgia:
Girolamo Savanarola, I am Cardinal Cesare Borgia- and I come bearing the authority of His Holiness Alexander the Sixth, Pope of Rome!

Girolamo Savanarola:
(points degradingly at him) Here is the Pope's messenger: his bastard son! (smirking) One of many, we hear- Father across the nation! (the congregation laughs and applauds, Cesare advances through them)

Cesare Borgia:
Brother Savanarola, you stand accused of defying Papal orders to cease your heretical preaching, and of refusing to present yourself in Rome to bend your knee to our Holy Father!

Girolamo Savanarola:
I recognize no such power! My authority comes from a higher being than your Godless Pope in Rome! (the congregation cheers)

Cesare Borgia:
(smiles dangerously, draws level with Savanarola) Then we must put it to the test. (Savanarola looks confused, Cesare lifts his torch) A trial by fire; the whole of Florence can be judge and jury. (the congregation begin to mutter, shocked) I challenge you, here, in this temple of God- as Christ our savior walked on water, if you can walk through fire untouched... then I will follow you through the flames.

Girolamo Savanarola:
(fiercely, but more hesitant than before) God speaks through me. I am not afraid. I will walk through the fire... and he, he that follows me... will burn!

Juan Borgia:
(limps into Lucrezia's room after her son's baptism) Sister. So, finally the bastard has a name. (Lucrezia glares at him as the maid leaves) Blessed by our Holy Father, and saved from damnation.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(coldly) And you, dear Brother- will you be saved from damnation?

Juan Borgia:
(puts his hand on the crib) The angels smile on me-

Lucrezia Borgia:
(swats his hand away) Please don't! (Giovanni starts to fuss)

Juan Borgia:
(leans malevolently close to her) One day, you'll realize that everything I've done has been for your own good. If you had tried to marry that waster from Genoa, the one with the paintbrush... I would've taken good care of him.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(sarcastically) For the good of the family, no doubt?

Juan Borgia:
(stares at her for a moment) Always. (limps across the room and sits)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(angry and sad) Like you "took care" of Paolo- a stableboy- for the good of the family?!

Juan Borgia:
(stares at her, indifferent) Exactly so. Everything I do is for the family. (Lucrezia looks nauseated) Were it not for our father's affection for your bastard son... I would've tossed that piglet into the Tiber at birth. It's the only baptism it deserves.

Lucrezia Borgia:
We are all bastards. You, me, our brothers- we are all bastards!

Juan Borgia:
Yes- perhaps. (stands up, limps menacingly close to her and Giovanni) But, we... are Borgia bastards. And there, dear Sis, lies the difference. (limps around the cradle, sets down his cane and picks up Giovanni) Hello, little piggy- time for a little dance, I think. (he walks onto the second floor the main hall, Lucrezia comes after him, frantic and enraged)

Lucrezia Borgia:
Leave my baby! Juan, leave my baby alone! No, No!

Lucrezia Borgia:
Leave my baby alone! (she finally manages to wrestle her son back from Juan's hands and flees back to the nursery)

Juan Borgia:
(high from the opium) Brother. (limps towards Cesare) Have you come to beg forgiveness for your insult?

Cesare Borgia:
... I have.

Juan Borgia:
(claps him on the shoulder) You are already forgiven.

Juan Borgia:
Imagine... that you're sitting on the edge of a vast well, your feet dangling over the edge. Moving slowly around the walls of the well, like smoke, there's... a world of wonders reaching down, as far as the eye can see.

Juan Borgia:
You see, these wonders... are your life. (pause) I glimpse us, Cesare. Two brothers in harmony, walking together. (smiles) All these visions are the work of tears.

Cesare Borgia:
...Tears of blood?

Juan Borgia:
... No. (stops) Tears of the poppy. Everything is there for you to see. Your birth... and, of course, your death. But... but the miracle is, that there's no pain. (laughs shakily) I've been in pain, Cesare, for all my years. (pause) And, you... you are in pain, Brother. I can feel it.

Cesare Borgia:
(face contorted with emotion)... Yes. I am in pain.

Juan Borgia:
... You would end your pain. (embraces Cesare)

Cesare Borgia:
... Yes. (pause) And I would end yours.

Juan Borgia:
My Brother... what is this? (Cesare's face hardens again)

Cesare Borgia:
Only God forgives. (stepping forward, he stabs Juan twice more in the stomach) We're Borgias. We never forgive. (He and Micheletto both grab Juan, holding him upright)

Micheletto Corella:
... I stand in awe, Your Eminence.

Cesare Borgia:
...You killed your father.

Micheletto Corella:
And still, I stand in awe.

Lucrezia Borgia:
Stop!... Who are you?

Alfonso of Aragon:
(smiles pleasantly) I'm Prince Alfonso D'Aragona, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno.

Lucrezia Borgia:
What are you doing here?

Alfonso of Aragon:
(not realizing who she is) I'm suitor to the Lady Lucrezia, daughter of His Holiness Alexander VI, Pope of Rome.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(annoyed) Indeed. Lucrezia Borgia? (Alfonso nods, she decides to toy with him)...Poor boy. Come! I will take you to her. (she leads him away from his entourage into her apartments) So, you are suitor to the Lady Lucrezia?

Alfonso of Aragon:
I am.

Lucrezia Borgia:
A great responsibility for one so young. Take off your cloak. (Alfonso looks puzzled then smiles slightly)

Alfonso of Aragon:
If I remove my cloak, what will you remove in return?

Lucrezia Borgia:
You'll see. (gestures for him to take off the cloak) The Lady Lucrezia has a great many suitors. Some are wheat... some are chaff. And it falls to me, to separate the one from the other. (Alfonso smiles and removes his cloak)

Alfonso of Aragon:
I am neither wheat, nor chaff. I am Alfonso D'Aragona... and I am flesh and blood.

Lucrezia Borgia:
(sizing him up) Turn around.

Alfonso of Aragon:
(shrugs) If it pleases you. (slowly turns in a circle)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(smiles slightly)... It pleases me.

Alfonso of Aragon:
Now, you must do the same in return. (walks slowly around her)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(turns slowly in a circle) If it pleases you.

Alfonso of Aragon:
...It pleases me. (smiles) So... What now? How far, does your Lady Lucrezia care for this game to go on?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(shrugs, approaches him) There is no limit. Just as one would have one's groom break in a new horse...so it is, with my Lady's lovers and me.

Girolamo Savanarola:
... I know what you are.

Micheletto Corella:
(sarcastically, approaching the cage holding Savanarola) Yes?

Girolamo Savanarola:
I have had your kind stoned to death, and their corpses... dragged through the streets.

Micheletto Corella:
(kneels in front of the cage, so they are eye-to-eye)... My kind?

Girolamo Savanarola:
Men... who lay with men. (disgustedly) Sodomites, who corrupt young, innocent boys- who artists use as angels. I have cleansed Florence... of her sin.

Micheletto Corella:
(calmly) And yet, here I am. (Savanarola grunts noncommittally) Your last chance. Will you confess?

Girolamo Savanarola:
To you... to you, never! (Micheletto stands and walks over to the rack) To your master... yes. And none else.

Cesare Borgia:
(triumphantly, brandishing the forged confession) Holy Father, I bring you the signed confession of the heretic Girolamo Savanarola of Florence! (he sees Juan's body and stops) What happened?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(gestures to Juan tearfully) He was... dragged from the Tiber. Dogs, cats... the stillborn offspring of prostitutes... and our son. (turns away)

Cesare Borgia:
Leave us, Cardinals. (Sforza, Piccolomini and Versucci exit)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(embraces Cesare) Who would do such a thing? Who would dare?! Who had cause to wish him harm?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(coolly, staring down at her brother's body) Any one of the many he harmed. (Julia and Vanozza stare at her)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(spins around) What? (Cesare releases him and moves towards Lucrezia) What did you say?

Lucrezia Borgia:
(looks away) Nothing, Father.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(angrily) What do you say?!

Lucrezia Borgia:
(finally meets his eye) You asked, "who would do such a thing?" The answer is many people, Father. Many people.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(shocked and offended)...That does not stand! (gestures at Juan) Here lies your brother- murdered, in cold blood! And, you speak as if... (looks in disbelief at Cesare, Julia and Vanozza) "Many people?!" Many people, you say? Do you count yourself among that number?!

Lucrezia Borgia:
I-

Cesare Borgia:
Father-

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
LET HER SPEAK!

Lucrezia Borgia:
(steps forward, tearful and angry) What would you have me say?! You know what he did to me! What he took from me- you all do! And you stood by, for the honor of the family. (pause) I have wished him dead a thousand times. And now, you want me to mourn him? I'm sorry, Father, I cannot. (she steps back, next to Cesare)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(stunned, hurt and angry, to Cesare)... And you? He was your brother- you show no tears? Are you stone?

Cesare Borgia:
... I wept them all out for him, long ago. Over and over, I watched him fail, and I wept. (resentfully) You should know- you were there. And still, you- you granted him your every favor!

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(quietly, but with barely-contained rage) Take... yourselves, both... away from our SIGHT! (Cesare leads Lucrezia out)

Cesare Borgia:
So- Lucrezia is to be married.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(turns around, smiles feebly) The brightest and- bleakest of days.

Cesare Borgia:
They say you're not eating.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(turns away, paces) We fast... We abstain. We scourge our flesh- we take all mortification- and still, we are punished.

Cesare Borgia:
This is not God's doing, Father.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(tearfully) Everything is God's doing! (gestures at Juan) Until we find his murderer- until we scour all Italy- Juan shall not be buried!

Cesare Borgia:
There must be a funeral. It is arranged-

Rodrigo Borgi/Alexander VI:
NO! We will not send him to purgatory! He will have no rest, until we find who did this! (to himself) There can be no hiding place so deep we could not seek them out!

Cesare Borgia:
... There will be no need of that. (Rodrigo turns around, stunned)

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
... Do you know who did this?

Cesare Borgia:
(nods)...I do.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(moves towards him) Well, then tell us!

Cesare Borgia:
... You truly wish to know?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(looks confused, then hesitant; sits down in front of Juan) Ahh... Well, we... must.

Cesare Borgia:
(walks around Juan) Then first, I ask that you hear my confession.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
... Your confession?

Cesare Borgia:
And, I further ask that you release me, from my vows as Cardinal, and- and I ask for your forgiveness, of my sins.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(stares at him) What... sins have you committed?

Cesare Borgia:
I have protected the Papacy against its' enemies, when none other would stand its' ground. I have made my family strong, in the face of those who would weaken it. I have brought low the heretic Savanarola and outwitted the French King, and all this, Father, all this- I've done for Rome, the Church, and for you.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(confused and frightened)... T-tell me your sins. (Cesare kneels next to him)

Cesare Borgia:
It is this, and only this: That I have taken upon my head... the act that none other would dare commit... though its' commission, benefits all. (Rodrigo realizes what he means and looks horrified) I swore a vow, long ago, that I would put an end to anyone who brought dishonor on our family, dishonor on our own, dishonor on you.

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(horrified) Ohhh. Ohhh. OHHHH! (stands up hastily and clutches at Juan's shoulders)

Cesare Borgia:
(shaking with emotion) So, you see, Father- the robes of a Cardinal no longer sit easy on my shoulders! (raises his fist) A Cardinal's ring makes it harder, to grip the hilt of a sword! I beg, that you will release me of my vows, and you will grant me your forgiveness! (long pause, Rodrigo stares tearfully at Juan's body)...Father?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(wearily) ...We release you from your vows.

Cesare Borgia:
... Father?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(to Antonello) Bring us some wine. (Cesare drinks, Antonello brings over the wine-pitcher, pours some into a cup, and drains it)

Antonello:
(pause)... It is good, Holiness. (Rodrigo nods and gestures for him to pour; Antonello fills his goblet, then takes the tray across the room)

Cesare Borgia:
(staring at the earth coating Rodrigo's hands and robes) What's happened to your hands, Father?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(glances at his filthy hands)... We have buried our son. (Cesare stares at him in disbelief) And, we realize now... that, we have brought this... upon ourselves. (takes a drink)

Cesare Borgia:
Father...

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(shrugs) You, are our own doing. What you've done, is our doing also. We brought you to this. (Cesare looks away angrily) You say, we granted every favor to him... but, our favors fell on him so easily. Of their own accord! (sees Cesare is still resentful and sighs sadly, smiling) You are too much like me. A man feels less favor, for his own image, reflected.

Cesare Borgia:
(long pause, trying to form the words) If I cannot have your affection... can you at least grant me, your forgiveness?

Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI:
(conflicted expression) I...

Cesare Borgia:
Father? (Rodrigo staggers towards him) Father! No- Father! (Rodrigo begins to convulse and bleed from the mouth as he grabs Cesare's arm) HELP! (He cradles Rodrigo as the Pope collapses)

Lucrezia Borgia:
(runs into the room with Vanozza, Julia and several others) Father!

Ascanio Sforza:
Guards!

Cardinal Piccolomini:
Holy Father-

Vanozza:
Rodrigo!