Behind Bars

Posted on Wed Jan 25th, 2023 @ 12:05am by Giuseppe Orsini & Princess Jessica Orsini
Edited on on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 10:37pm

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Harris Detention Center, Upstate New York
Timeline: Date 2371-07-19 at 1525
2621 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

It had been three days since his home had been invaded and he had been taken into custody by police; three days since he had nearly murdered his harpy of a wife. He had been treated well despite being quite uncooperative the first day of his incarceration. He had assaulted two of the officers assigned to him, but it was clear there was no getting out of this. The past couple days he had been docile and cooperative, though he offered no information to any questions asked of him. He may not have had the intelligence of his father, but even Giuseppe could see the writing on the wall here. The question was why now? They had been so very careful, there hadn’t been any hints or inklings, so why? It was a question that had been plaguing him for days, and even as he walked shackled among his four guard escort with the promise of a visitor at the end of his journey, it was the question at the forefront of his mind.

He was brought into a small room with a reinforced window and was made to sit down in the chair that was bolted to the floor. His shackled arms were attached to the also bolted down table, and he was left alone. The only thing not bolted to the floor was the chair opposite to him for his guest. It had to be a lawyer.

The door stirred as the controls were manipulated from the other side, and then they opened to reveal the very woman he had been attacking three days earlier. Jessica had clearly been taken care of and her bruises were gone. She wore a sleeveless gray dress that highlighted her figure, and a large and stylish white hat. On her face, however, she wore a mask of fear. In her arms she held their son, Antonio. He was the one who broke the silence.

“Papa!” The Grand Duke said loudly, no idea what was happening in his head.

Giuseppe had looked up when the door opened, and immediately his expression faltered into a frown when he saw his son. Jessica was secondary, and truthfully he was more annoyed at seeing her here than anything. She was just going to nag, though there was some satisfaction in seeing the fear on her face - maybe now she understood that she should have respected him all along. His eyes were only for his son though, and he managed a smile at the boy’s outburst. “There’s my handsome boy.”

He paused and finally looked to Jessica and greeted her with a cool, “Wife.”

“Papa! Papa!” The little boy said again, looking to Jessica and pointing toward his father. He wanted him, but Jessica’s eyes said no.

“Giuseppe.” She said, seeming like she was going to vomit. She sat in the chair opposite him, her dazzling eyes sparkling at the man from under dark eyebrows. “We’re safe and are being taken care of. I know you would want to know.”

“Good. Thank you.” His hands flexed slightly at the sounds of his son calling for him. “If you’re not going to bring him here so I can see him, then take him away. You’re just going to upset him keeping him from me.”

“He is here to see you. Otherwise, I would have left him back at the Palace.” She said, looking at her husband with sad eyes. “I think it’s time to talk, Giuseppe. You have to start thinking about how we can get out of this situation.”

“If he’s here to see me, then let him see me.” Giuseppe replied, his voice cool as he regarded her. He ignored the rest of what she had said; he had nothing to say to her on the matter.

“You know I’m not allowed to give him to you, Giuseppe. You can see him from here.” She said, her eyes indicating just a hint of irritation. “And, if you refuse to take any of this seriously, he will be raised on tales of his traitorous father who beat his mother and lost an Empire.”

She turned her eyes to him now. They were softer and full of quiet pain. “Our other child will hear the same story.”

“Other child?” Giuseppe asked, frowning in quiet confusion while internal fear of what she was about to say plagued him.

“When I was taken from our home, they delivered me to the Palace at Rio. Your mother was very kind and had a doctor see me right away to tend to my…injuries. They discovered that I’m pregnant.” Jessica said it avoiding eye contact with her husband and abuser. It was terrible to have his child inside her, far more painful for her than the first time. “I’d been nauseous for a few weeks, but I thought it was just stress.”

For a long few moments Giuseppe was quiet as he considered this. He had always wanted a large family, a chance to be a father - a real father unlike his own - but it seemed fate had other ideas for him. He licked his lips and finally looked at her directly, a gentleness there that he had given her when they had first been together. “I am sorry, Jessica. I’m sorry for what… who I became. Look at me.” He paused until she complied, “I can see it causes you pain, you don’t have to keep the child if you don’t want it no matter who says anything against it. You understand that, right?”

Jessica forced herself not to scowl at him. Was he suggesting, after all he’d done, that she kill her child. Instead, she swallowed hard and licked her lips as well. Breathing heavily, she shook her head.

“Killing a royal baby is a terrible sin.” she said. “I could never do that, Giuseppe.”

She ignored his apology. They were far past her believing any of that. But she still remained gentle, so he wouldn’t be able to tell that, in her heart, she was waiting for his execution.

“Then don’t. Like I said I can see how it hurts you, but it’s your choice just as getting rid of it would be.” He paused for a moment and sighed. “What will you name it?”

“I hadn’t thought about it.” she said, turning her eyes away for a moment as the boy on her lap started to play with her hair and smile at her. “Maybe you could be around to name them yourself. But…things have to change first.”

Giuseppe quirked a brow. Surely she wasn’t that stupid. He was in here, he was done; whether or not his father actually found anything of his plans was completely inconsequential. He could just have Nolan Nazar plant evidence, pull strings, whatever it took. He sat back as much as the shackles would allow, he would see how much she had turned on him.

“I’m listening.”

“I spoke to your father. The situation is dire, but he’s promised me no harm will come to me if I was honest with him.” she started, experiencing a bit of fear at the prospect of making Giuseppe angry. “He wants names…that’s all. I haven’t given him anything and he hasn’t pressed unkindly or threatened me. He says he had you arrested to prevent you from continuing to meet with people and plot a coup…he said he is keeping me in the palace for the same reason. We might be prisoners, but we have to lean on his mercy, real or false. It’s our only hope.”

She looked down at their son with sad eyes. Would he even remember his father? Would his crimes stain his son for his entire life? Might he still be Emperor one day?

“Would you ever kill your son, Giuseppe? Or would you do whatever you could to save him; to get him to relent; to forgive him?”

“You know I would never kill our son, Jessica.” Giuseppe said, his jaw tightening. He wouldn’t even kill her even though he had wanted to. “But my father is not me and he has already threatened to kill me once if you remember. He doesn’t make empty threats and that threat is why we are even in this mess. He will kill me if it pleases him, and I believe it will please him greatly.”

Yet he doesn’t strangle his wife, does he? she thought to herself, her own jaw setting. She sighed, sad and long.

“Maybe you're right. But what if you’re not? In the worst case, if he really intends to kill us, he will do as you say and simply make up a list of names. They would be executed, innocent or guilty, and so would we. At least, if we beg his forgiveness and are honest with him, we might live to raise our children.”

“He won’t kill you, Jessica. He doesn’t kill women unless they pose a direct risk to his power and authority. You don’t.” It wasn’t meant to be cruel, but the tone with which he spoke made it so. He frowned and tried to gentle himself then. “You will be fine, you will raise our children and I know you will bring them up right. Just… don’t be foolish. Accept that it is done.”

“And who will protect our son when he is old enough to be a threat?” she asked, raising her voice this time. He’d struck a nerve somehow, though no one would have known it was there. “The sons of a rebel are always threats, Giuseppe. The sons of a redeemed man are not. Surely you can see that. You dying is the worst thing that can happen to our children. Why won’t you fight for them?”

“Redemption. Jessica,” Giuseppe sighed and shifted, he wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose but the shackles prevented it, “gods, please, enough. You can’t be so foolish that you are putting stock in anything my father said. The man is not normal, he is no father. He is the Emperor and it is on the Emperor - present and future - that you and our sons will need to beg mercy from. You are a woman and my son - my children - are innocents. If he has a heart he will not move against any of you, but if he does not, we all die regardless of what happens.”

“So you won’t even try?” She asked, irritated. He was right, she knew. He was a dead man and, alive, he was cruel and stupid enough to doom them all. But, if she could get him to give up those names, it would go a long way to making sure she and their children did survive. “Think about how much safer it will make me and our children if…if the Emperor knows he got everyone who supported us. He’s paranoid, Giuseppe…he wants to know names and, if he doesn’t hear them, that’s when things get unpredictable. Please, just..please.”

She looked powerless and tired, and the worry she had been experiencing showed.

“What is there to try, Jessica? You’re right, he is paranoid, and even if I were to name every name in our lives he would still not be satisfied. There would always be a suspicion I’m holding out. Give him what you know if you like, protect yourself. There will be nothing more.” Giuseppe shook his head. “He will show exactly what kind of monster he is in the end, just as I have.”

Jessica looked at him, her eyes fearful. This time it wasn’t about her; she knew she could give names and he believed. It was for him.

“They’re going to hurt you, Giuseppe. They’re going to hurt you until you tell them everything. He didn’t tell me so, but I can tell.”

She didn’t love her husband anymore, but she did still have a lingering care for his well-being. Such things were hard to get rid of.

“He’s going to hurt your friends too. If you don’t give people up, it won’t stop. And more than just our children will be in danger.”

“I know he will, Jessica.” Giuseppe sighed and for just a moment he let his defeat show. “That is going to happen anyways. I’m not sure why you don’t understand that. If he goes after the people who have called me friend and yet have nothing to do with any of this, he will only publicly display how he continues to devolve into a paranoid madness. When he does, the people may yet call for a different boy emperor.” His eyes settled on Antonius and then went back to Jessica. “Take care of them.”

Jessica looked at him, not knowing what else to say. He was stubborn as a mule; that was what got them there in the first place. She stood suddenly but slowly. Antonio, sensing they were leaving, reached his hands out to his father with a frown.

“Papa!” He called out simply. It was a demand.

“Jessica, please.” Giuseppe implored her. “Bring him around here and at least let me kiss him goodbye. I can’t hurt you.”

She looked at him silently, her eyes meeting his in a question.

“Give me a name and I’ll let you kiss him goodbye.” she said, cradling the boy as he tried to get down out of her arms. “Who is the highest ranking military person in your pocket?”

“Papa! Let me have him!” he said, starting to throw a rather loud tantrum. Jessica, despite herself, started to tear up. But she wouldn’t cry in front of Giuseppe. Those days were over.

Jessica finally received something she had likely wished to get for a long time; Giuseppe looked up to her with genuine hurt in his eyes. He looked to Antonio and his eyes became slightly wet. “My boy… be good for your mama. Be strong.”

Jessica looked at him with a resentment as deep as all the others. She’d never wanted to see him hurt; she wanted to see him good. His love for his son notwithstanding, he was blinded by his own stubbornness. Simple outmaneuvered fool. She wanted to say something mean; something that could make his shame complete. But she couldn’t.

“Goodbye, Giuseppe.” she said. And in that moment, she knew he knew it was the last time they would see each other in this life. The tears that had been building in her eyes, a mix of grief and anger, ran down, a match for her son’s.

“Papa! Let me have him!” Antonio cried.

“Jessica.” Giuseppe called after her quietly, waiting until she turned to look at him. She could never resist turning to look at him no matter how angry she was; on some level deep down, there was still some care left between them. He looked up into her beautiful eyes once more, one tear rolling down his cheek. “I am sorry I couldn’t do it for us, for our son. I did try.”

“I loved a man named Giuseppe Orsini once, years ago. But he died slowly.” She said, her eyes steeled and defensive, even as tears poured down. “I think you will die quicker.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the open door.

END