Cantarella Fan Fiction ❯ Comfort ❯ Chapter 1

Comfort

By: eternalsailorsolarwind

 

Disclaimer: Cantarella and all its characters belong to history and You Higuri. I'm just playing with them.

 

A/N: Slight Chiaro/Cesare. Mild spoilers for volume 3 of the manga. Chriaro's POV.

 

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Somehow, I always know when he needs me.

 

I'm not sure what it is that tells me when he tosses and turns in his sleep; the darkness inside him tormenting him even in his dreams. The Sight, Fate, whatever you want to call it, it's never been wrong.

 

Getting up from the chair that I've been dozing in, I cross into the alcove where Cesare sleeps in the lone bed in the hired room. The dark-haired beauty is asleep, though that sleep is restless. I can see the sweat on his brow even in the moonlight. The room is slightly chilly, though not uncomfortable. Muttering, he turns his head sharply, as if twisting away from something, and I see tears caught in his lashes.

 

“Vanozza,” whispers the young Borgia cardinal, his voice breaking in sorrow.

 

I sigh; ever since Lady Vanozza's death during the French sack of Rome, Cesare's sleep has been broken by thoughts of the woman who mothered him. The only other person, other than myself, that could see and drive off the demons that inhabit his body. The only person, other than his sister Lucrezia, that Cesare loves. I feel a surge of jealousy that I quickly tamp down, wondering where it came from. It's not my place to be jealous of my Cesare's mother.

 

I watch him for a moment, seeing him look momentarily fragile, before giving in. I know what he needs; I know that I want to give him what he needs. Not only out of a sense of guilt for not doing what Cesare asked all those years ago, but because I can't bear to see him hurting over what he is becoming. I care too much.

 

I slide into the bed with him, not at all surprised when Cesare's restlessness stops and the younger man rolls over to face me. He's still asleep, but now his breathing has evened out. The nightmare has ended, for now.

 

“Mmmm, Chiaro?” asks the sleepy voice of my …employer.

 

“Yes, Cesare?” I reply quietly.

 

“Nothing, just making sure,” he replies, rolling closer and resting his head on my shoulder. I put my arm around him automatically, letting him use me as a pillow and a blanket. Giving him what comfort I can.

 

I wasn't surprised when he quickly drifted back to sleep, his fingers knotting in my shirt to make sure I don't move. I stroke his hair as I follow him into slumber, smiling gently as I enjoyed the comfortable feeling of his body lying snuggled into mine.