In Italy
Susan and Knud left the dining room and walked down the stairs from their hotel.
"I can't live from just a brioche and a cup of hot cocoa for breakfast," Susan grumbled. "I'm not an Italian or a Frenchman. I hope for something more substantial to restore my joie de vivre before I can honour the beauty of this old city."
"Take it easy, Susan," Knud said. "As soon as the church next door opens, we can do our morning devotions there, and after that we'll find a nice place to eat some bread or maybe even a pie."
"I love you, Knud!" Susan said. "You're always full of forgiveness and solutions, when this grumpy old hag need rescue from her own self."
After a rosary in the old, Roman church and an excellent meat pie accompanied by a very good cappuccino in the café at the next Susan's normally cheerful self was restored, and she and Knud took the tram to the old library, where they hoped to find some old books on magic for their school.
***
Knud saw the reflection in the mirror only seconds before Susan.
"Susan," he said only a bit louder that a whisper, "that deception spell of yours, do you still know how to cast it?"
Susan gave a curt nod, and slowly pulled her wand from her stocking, where she had put it upon learning that backpacks, even small ones, were not welcome in the library.
The air felt a bit thicker, or maybe she was just nervous.
A man entered the library through the double doors, his long coat dripping small droplets of water on the floor. Susan wondered how as his long hair was not wet. It was unkempt, hanging down over his shoulders, giving him a regal or scholarly look. He looked at Knud with an intense stare. His dark eyes bored into Knud's blue ones. Then the man looked down on the book, Knud was reading. It was one of the real old tomes, chained to a lectern by a long chain of steel. You could lift it, read it, hold it to the light from the narrow, high set windows, but you could not just walk off with it.
The man extended one, grimy hand and traced the letters on the spine: "L'arciduca Cosimo terzo di Medici ed i suoi eredi," he said, translating the Latin title into Italian. "Siete storici - are you historians?" he asked. Susan cast the Mál sameinast, and Knud responded that indeed they were.
"I am Lorenzo" he said. "The seeds that the old archdukes were planting in the past, are alive and blooming in me."
"An heir to the old Cosimo himself," Knud said, "we hope to enjoy the harvest of these seeds in the days to come."
"Only if you do not forget," Lorenzo said, his not very clean face coming closer and closer to Knud's, the drops from his coat dripping right in front of Knud's shoes. But Knud stood his ground. "Do not forget," he repeated, shaking his finger at Knud, "do not forget that honour is my due. I am the duke's only heir, the only living Medici ..."
Susan carefully cast the Deception spell at the self-proclaimed duke, and he continued spouting incoherent sentences at Knud right until the police and the doctors caught him. The head of the library hurried over to Knud and Susan and began apologizing profusely: "We owe you an apology," he said. "Poor Lorenzo here is quite mad, but generally harmless. He loves to scare the visitors by standing totally still in the fountain and suddenly speaking to them. When there was no tourists, he came up here today. Terribly sorry I am, I should have watched him better."
"Is he an heir of the old archduke?" Knud asked. The poor Lorenzo sat on a stool, the epitome of dejection.
"As far as we know, no, he is not, even if he sure looks the part," The head of the library said, pointing to a portrait of the old duke over one of the lecterns. Knud looked from the portrait, back at Lorenzo, noticing the nose, the sleek hair, cut just so, and the intense black eyes in both men. "Yes, he sure looks like a grand-grand-gran-son of him up there."
The head of the library nodded and shook his head. The doctor took Lorenzo by the hand, and followed by the other men they left. When their steps had dwindled to almost nothing the head of the library looked at Knud.
"I'll tell you a secret," he said." According to the annals, church registers and so on, the old duke has no living heir. But we'll know soon enough. We had a DNA test made of all the Medicis buried here, and just because I could, I let Lorenzo join the batch. would you be interested in the results?"
"I sure would," Knud answered. "Here's my card. You have been very kind."
The head of the library left, closing the double doors behind him. Knud eyed Susan with suspicion. "Did you hex him too or are they all as mad as hatters here?"
***
"I will forgive this," Susan said, "but it's going to take some time. I'm not as saintly as you are." Susan stood over the tiny sink in their hotel room, trying to wash out the green ink, the young helper at the library had spilled over her bag.
"Let me help," Knud said. "Hold open the bag, then I pick up the things not stained by the ink. That should give you a better chance of getting it all off without damaging anything down there."
Susan opened her bag and Knud pulled out some of Susan's book, her diary, watercolour sets and pencil case.
"It seems all the important stuff were not hit by the cascading ink," he said, trying not to laugh, but not quite suceeding. Susan gave him a stinky eye and then looked into the bag. "No really! Only the bananas are totally soaked"
Knud dried off the stuff in lots of paper towels, and went out to put them down on the floor in the adjacent room.
When he returned, Susan had emptied the rest of the bag's content in a green, soggy heap in the sink and was quietly casting a spell on her bag. I tried a variation of the water-proofing spell," she said. "Tomorrow we will see. Now I need a bath, I feel green all over."
"You're not," Knud said. "But do take a bath, then I'll go shopping for some new bananas and some snacks and maybe even find a nice place for our evening cappuccinos. Will you come when I call?"
"How will I know it's you?" Susan asked.
"You will!" Knud said with a lopsided smile and sneaked out the door, leaving the security chains in place.
"Those chains will break if you keep on like this. But fine, I don't feel like closing them after you half naked and dripping green water all over." Susan said to his back.
When Susan once again was dressed, combing and braiding her hair, she heard a whistle from below. At first she did not really notice it, but then she realized that it had to be Knud. He was whistling Greensleeves! Susan laughed, ran to the window and looked past the shutters. Yes it was him. She opened up the shutters and wawed at him. "I'll be down shortly," she mimed. Knud gave a nod and sat down on one of the chairs along the street. Placed there to keep the cars off parking because of some lavoro, taking place tomorrow, but very practical for waiting.
"Tell me where we go for cappuccinos?" Susan asked when she had joined Knud at the street.
"I won't, just follow me." He looked as excited as a child before Christmas and Susan took his hand and followed around corners and down narrow lanes. "Close your eyes!" Knud ordered. Susna complied, and slowly he propelled her around a few more corners, and in through a door. Susan could smell the coffee brewing, good coffee, hear the tinkling of cups and spoons, the hissing of the cafetera and the murmur of many voices.
Knud helped her sit, and bade her open her eyes.
"This can't be true!" Susan exclaimed. On the wall hung a giant Medici family tree, and the man behind the bar was another spitting image of Lorenzo il Magnifico. This one well groomed, shoulder long jet black hair, and dressed in modern clothes, in a cut that with just a little imagination did resemble Rennaissance clothing.
Knud ordered two cappuccino, an they drank slowly, savouring the good coffe, the creamy milky foam and the crunchy sugar. Perfect.
Susan sighed. "So many mysteries. Tomorrow well have to try and get to the bottom of just some of them.
"Again we agree, my dear." Knud said.
Susan and Knud left the dining room and walked down the stairs from their hotel.
"I can't live from just a brioche and a cup of hot cocoa for breakfast," Susan grumbled. "I'm not an Italian or a Frenchman. I hope for something more substantial to restore my joie de vivre before I can honour the beauty of this old city."
"Take it easy, Susan," Knud said. "As soon as the church next door opens, we can do our morning devotions there, and after that we'll find a nice place to eat some bread or maybe even a pie."
"I love you, Knud!" Susan said. "You're always full of forgiveness and solutions, when this grumpy old hag need rescue from her own self."
After a rosary in the old, Roman church and an excellent meat pie accompanied by a very good cappuccino in the café at the next Susan's normally cheerful self was restored, and she and Knud took the tram to the old library, where they hoped to find some old books on magic for their school.
***
Knud saw the reflection in the mirror only seconds before Susan.
"Susan," he said only a bit louder that a whisper, "that deception spell of yours, do you still know how to cast it?"
Susan gave a curt nod, and slowly pulled her wand from her stocking, where she had put it upon learning that backpacks, even small ones, were not welcome in the library.
The air felt a bit thicker, or maybe she was just nervous.
A man entered the library through the double doors, his long coat dripping small droplets of water on the floor. Susan wondered how as his long hair was not wet. It was unkempt, hanging down over his shoulders, giving him a regal or scholarly look. He looked at Knud with an intense stare. His dark eyes bored into Knud's blue ones. Then the man looked down on the book, Knud was reading. It was one of the real old tomes, chained to a lectern by a long chain of steel. You could lift it, read it, hold it to the light from the narrow, high set windows, but you could not just walk off with it.
The man extended one, grimy hand and traced the letters on the spine: "L'arciduca Cosimo terzo di Medici ed i suoi eredi," he said, translating the Latin title into Italian. "Siete storici - are you historians?" he asked. Susan cast the Mál sameinast, and Knud responded that indeed they were.
"I am Lorenzo" he said. "The seeds that the old archdukes were planting in the past, are alive and blooming in me."
"An heir to the old Cosimo himself," Knud said, "we hope to enjoy the harvest of these seeds in the days to come."
"Only if you do not forget," Lorenzo said, his not very clean face coming closer and closer to Knud's, the drops from his coat dripping right in front of Knud's shoes. But Knud stood his ground. "Do not forget," he repeated, shaking his finger at Knud, "do not forget that honour is my due. I am the duke's only heir, the only living Medici ..."
Susan carefully cast the Deception spell at the self-proclaimed duke, and he continued spouting incoherent sentences at Knud right until the police and the doctors caught him. The head of the library hurried over to Knud and Susan and began apologizing profusely: "We owe you an apology," he said. "Poor Lorenzo here is quite mad, but generally harmless. He loves to scare the visitors by standing totally still in the fountain and suddenly speaking to them. When there was no tourists, he came up here today. Terribly sorry I am, I should have watched him better."
"Is he an heir of the old archduke?" Knud asked. The poor Lorenzo sat on a stool, the epitome of dejection.
"As far as we know, no, he is not, even if he sure looks the part," The head of the library said, pointing to a portrait of the old duke over one of the lecterns. Knud looked from the portrait, back at Lorenzo, noticing the nose, the sleek hair, cut just so, and the intense black eyes in both men. "Yes, he sure looks like a grand-grand-gran-son of him up there."
The head of the library nodded and shook his head. The doctor took Lorenzo by the hand, and followed by the other men they left. When their steps had dwindled to almost nothing the head of the library looked at Knud.
"I'll tell you a secret," he said." According to the annals, church registers and so on, the old duke has no living heir. But we'll know soon enough. We had a DNA test made of all the Medicis buried here, and just because I could, I let Lorenzo join the batch. would you be interested in the results?"
"I sure would," Knud answered. "Here's my card. You have been very kind."
The head of the library left, closing the double doors behind him. Knud eyed Susan with suspicion. "Did you hex him too or are they all as mad as hatters here?"
***
"I will forgive this," Susan said, "but it's going to take some time. I'm not as saintly as you are." Susan stood over the tiny sink in their hotel room, trying to wash out the green ink, the young helper at the library had spilled over her bag.
"Let me help," Knud said. "Hold open the bag, then I pick up the things not stained by the ink. That should give you a better chance of getting it all off without damaging anything down there."
Susan opened her bag and Knud pulled out some of Susan's book, her diary, watercolour sets and pencil case.
"It seems all the important stuff were not hit by the cascading ink," he said, trying not to laugh, but not quite suceeding. Susan gave him a stinky eye and then looked into the bag. "No really! Only the bananas are totally soaked"
Knud dried off the stuff in lots of paper towels, and went out to put them down on the floor in the adjacent room.
When he returned, Susan had emptied the rest of the bag's content in a green, soggy heap in the sink and was quietly casting a spell on her bag. I tried a variation of the water-proofing spell," she said. "Tomorrow we will see. Now I need a bath, I feel green all over."
"You're not," Knud said. "But do take a bath, then I'll go shopping for some new bananas and some snacks and maybe even find a nice place for our evening cappuccinos. Will you come when I call?"
"How will I know it's you?" Susan asked.
"You will!" Knud said with a lopsided smile and sneaked out the door, leaving the security chains in place.
"Those chains will break if you keep on like this. But fine, I don't feel like closing them after you half naked and dripping green water all over." Susan said to his back.
When Susan once again was dressed, combing and braiding her hair, she heard a whistle from below. At first she did not really notice it, but then she realized that it had to be Knud. He was whistling Greensleeves! Susan laughed, ran to the window and looked past the shutters. Yes it was him. She opened up the shutters and wawed at him. "I'll be down shortly," she mimed. Knud gave a nod and sat down on one of the chairs along the street. Placed there to keep the cars off parking because of some lavoro, taking place tomorrow, but very practical for waiting.
"Tell me where we go for cappuccinos?" Susan asked when she had joined Knud at the street.
"I won't, just follow me." He looked as excited as a child before Christmas and Susan took his hand and followed around corners and down narrow lanes. "Close your eyes!" Knud ordered. Susna complied, and slowly he propelled her around a few more corners, and in through a door. Susan could smell the coffee brewing, good coffee, hear the tinkling of cups and spoons, the hissing of the cafetera and the murmur of many voices.
Knud helped her sit, and bade her open her eyes.
"This can't be true!" Susan exclaimed. On the wall hung a giant Medici family tree, and the man behind the bar was another spitting image of Lorenzo il Magnifico. This one well groomed, shoulder long jet black hair, and dressed in modern clothes, in a cut that with just a little imagination did resemble Rennaissance clothing.
Knud ordered two cappuccino, an they drank slowly, savouring the good coffe, the creamy milky foam and the crunchy sugar. Perfect.
Susan sighed. "So many mysteries. Tomorrow well have to try and get to the bottom of just some of them.
"Again we agree, my dear." Knud said.
~ ~ NOTES ~ ~
Lorenzo il Magnifico (1449 - 1492)
Grandson of Cosimo the Elder (1389 - 1464)
Grandson of Cosimo the Elder (1389 - 1464)
Sometimes reality surpasses imagination. As it happened to me.
I was right only in so far that that there is no direct male heir of the old Cosimo I, called the Elder. But via female lines ... Medici descendants abound - among those the English princes.
And if we go back a few generations from Cosimo the Elder, cadet branches of the Medicis exist and still have male heirs, among those at least two called Lorenzo de' Medici.
One is an honest to God, live and kicking Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, who with his blond hair and blue eyes looks nothing like my Lorenzo: Prince Lorenzo de' Medici.
The other is a historian, also a descendant via a cadet branch: Lorenzo de' Medici, who totally looks the part. Try growing his hair longer and put him in Renaissance clothes. And you'll have a spitting image of Lorenzo il Magnifico, grandson of Cosimo I.
But it goes almost without saying that my self acclaimed Prince Lorenzo de' Medici is none of these two, actually he's wholly and totally a figment of my imagination.
-- -- --
Susan and Knud are in Florence as you have most probably guessed from the talk of the Medici princes and so on.
What you could only maybe guess is that the library with the chained books is a real place. We are in the Biblioteca Laurenziana (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML). A fabulous place.
Here's an old print of the chained books:
I was right only in so far that that there is no direct male heir of the old Cosimo I, called the Elder. But via female lines ... Medici descendants abound - among those the English princes.
And if we go back a few generations from Cosimo the Elder, cadet branches of the Medicis exist and still have male heirs, among those at least two called Lorenzo de' Medici.
One is an honest to God, live and kicking Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, who with his blond hair and blue eyes looks nothing like my Lorenzo: Prince Lorenzo de' Medici.
The other is a historian, also a descendant via a cadet branch: Lorenzo de' Medici, who totally looks the part. Try growing his hair longer and put him in Renaissance clothes. And you'll have a spitting image of Lorenzo il Magnifico, grandson of Cosimo I.
But it goes almost without saying that my self acclaimed Prince Lorenzo de' Medici is none of these two, actually he's wholly and totally a figment of my imagination.
-- -- --
Susan and Knud are in Florence as you have most probably guessed from the talk of the Medici princes and so on.
What you could only maybe guess is that the library with the chained books is a real place. We are in the Biblioteca Laurenziana (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML). A fabulous place.
Here's an old print of the chained books:
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