Original subtitles

Subtitled by TVE.

I take this place where we shall found the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz!

Achieving the Empire has a price. The king needs help from his nobles.

That I become emperor will benefit everyone.

But Castile needs its king here.

We will not give him the money he so urgently

needs without receiving anything in return.

What will you demand this time?

That he cede part of his power to us and swear to fulfill our demands.

The money worries me.

Your mother still keeps goods worthy of a queen that she will not use.

Of the seven electors, three are princes of the Church.

We must secure the four votes of the laymen.

And among them, Frederick of Saxony's vote is fundamental.

Bribes will not be enough. You will need something more.

It is not in my nature to suffer for a

predicament that will conclude in my favor.

You will be the next emperor. What is this jest about?

Frederick of Saxony will support you if the Pope supports you.

Even my own family turns their back on me!

I have decided to present my candidacy for the Empire.

The king has no possibility of achieving the imperial crown. Make him see it.

Do what I ask and England will support your nephew Charles.

When he is emperor, his power will protect you.

Castile insists that you marry the Portuguese infanta. You know this.

On the other hand, there is no sovereign as rich as her father.

Collect the dowry and you will not have to kneel before the Cortes.

- Are you a Christian? - Jerónimo de Aguilar.

Christian and subject of Queen Doña Juana and her father Don Fernando.

(AGUILAR) Powerful Moctezuma

offers you these presents and gives you

what you desire as proof of his friendship.

- He asks that you take them and leave. - He doesn't ask, it's an order.

Your mother's madness is an obstacle to the imperial throne.

It is just that it compensates for it.

Let us not deceive ourselves, this is theft.

And if my aunt doesn't get the endorsement, it will have been for nothing.

Castile's gold settled our debt.

Lord Fugger has been good enough to lend us the same amount

with new interest.

The Empire will recover its splendor. And we will achieve it together,

for you will be my right hand.

Only I will be the candidate for the Empire.

I did not commit my vote to your family, but to Fernando.

If the King of Spain presents himself,

the reasons I gave you then are worth the same now.

Aguilar!

I have passed from hand to hand.

Until I am sacrificed before the gods.

That will not happen. Because I will protect you.

Now, we only have our hands and one certainty:

conquer this land or die in the attempt!

From the Indies has arrived a true treasure!

That Cortés fellow has put the Empire at your feet, Your Highness.

Charles may have gotten the gold,

but we have the votes bought

and, above all, the Saxon on our side.

Me? Present myself as emperor?

You will win. For they will prefer you to the powerful Charles.

Do you think I'm going to give up 18 percent of such a sum?

I haven't come this far to turn back now.

- What do you propose? - Hundreds of mercenaries surround us.

I withdraw my candidacy. My vote is for Charles of Habsburg. I swear!

Either the King of France exterminates me or I will be the master of Europe.

Music

(LUTHER) To this humble Augustinian friar who subscribes, Martin Luther,

but not only to him,

it is terrible to see that the supreme lord of Christianity

lives in such luxury that no king can match it.

He calls himself "most holy," and is more worldly than the world itself.

It would not be strange if God made sulfur and hellfire rain down

and sunk Rome into the abyss

as he did in times past with Sodom and Gomorrah.

Since all his being, work and activity

are directed against what was established by Christ,

would not the Pope be the Antichrist?

Excuse me.

I trusted that you would cure my melancholy.

No one will be able to, if you do not cease your obsession.

(SIGHS)

The Empire was made to the measure of my greatness.

And it has been snatched from me by that Fleming so vulgar, yet blessed by God.

If you cannot accept his victory, make it bitter for him.

Act!

(Sighs)

That Fleming has achieved the greatest victory he could ever imagine:

erasing your drive.

Will you allow him to do so?

At last, the Empire.

I am eager to go and, at the same time, I know I will miss what I leave behind.

It is as difficult to love this land without

reservation as it is to come to disdain it.

You will govern the Spains during my absence.

But it is my wish to make full use of the 3 years the Cortes have granted me.

Will you have the spirit for so long? Will the Spanish have it?

However much they have granted you that absence, your departure offends them.

They resist everything and curse everything but always end up agreeing.

I must leave.

Give me an account of everything.

Commotion outside

Good God! What has happened?

(GROANS) Let the physicians see him!

They stoned him when he ordered them to disperse.

- Disperse them? - There are hundreds of Castilians

surrounding the palace. They are furious about your departure.

Go out, and your journey will end in the other world.

We have been patient,

but, time and again, Charles has ignored our petitions.

And now, when he has taken our revenues, he leaves.

Must we serve one who wears the crown of Castile

as a means to win that of the Empire and not as a privilege?

Since he arrived, he has looked only to his own good, despising ours.

I refuse to prostrate myself before one who bleeds us to aggrandize himself,

before one who misappropriates the wealth of our kingdom!

Only we love Castile. Only we can save it.

Maldonado is right.

Every community, every Castilian, in arms against Charles!

- In arms for Castile! - (ALL) For Castile!

Tlatoani Moctezuma,

in a thousand ways I have tried to stop the bearded ones. Nothing has worked.

Not even the gold?

I even raised the city of Cholula in arms to stop them. It was useless.

- Did they win easily? - They razed it.

- Where are they? - At the gates of Tenochtitlan.

All the omens announced their arrival.

We have only succeeded in spilling our blood.

You have fulfilled your duty.

And is it not my duty to save the lives of my people?

They are not gods, tlatoani, but mortals.

Let us attack and you will see, because we will be many against few.

Never before I order it.

Never, tlatoani.

Sir.

How do you feel?

Fortunately, they aimed at the heart.

(JOKES) And what one doesn't have cannot be disgraced.

Your Highness.

I regret adding terrible news to what has occurred.

The rebels of Toledo have taken the Alcázar.

What has become of the corregidor? He has been expelled from the city.

They want nothing to do with whoever represents royal authority.

But who are those who rise against His Highness?

- Nobles? Peasants? - Above all, bourgeois,

but they have found supporters of all conditions.

Such defiance demands to be repressed or more will soon sprout.

But how can I launch an attack before leaving?

I cannot leave a kingdom in flames.

The lack of authority would feed the revolt.

I advise you to delay your departure.

Do not dare look him in the eyes.

Whoever offends him in such a way receives death as punishment.

Infinite are the honor and emotion

I feel at meeting the great emperor of Tenochtitlan.

My name is Hernán Cortés.

And I come from a kingdom beyond the ocean.

Hernán Cortés,

why do you come before me?

By order of my lord, the King of Castile,

I come to show you the true faith:

that Jesus Christ is the son of God

and that those who believe in Him can expect eternal life

and the flames of hell await those who despise Him,

as your people do, believing in idols.

Do you dare insult our gods?

Devotion to my faith has led me to offend you unintentionally.

I beg your forgiveness. Our ties must be friendly

or not be at all.

Stop!

I am only a man honored to see you and eager to know your empire.

Melt our steel if you so desire.

Our spirit is one of peace.

Dear friend...

Your Highness.

I thank you for your invitation.

I admit I feared that Charles's victory

would cool relations between France and England.

Neither I achieved the Empire nor you the papacy. For now.

And since we failed each other mutually, we will

know how to forgive and strengthen ourselves,

now that one man accumulates so much power in Europe.

Do you propose an alliance against Charles?

His aggrandizement threatens us. Our kingdoms cannot isolate themselves.

It would not be proper of you to simply accept his victory

and I imagine you eager to return the blow, but...

England has no will whatsoever to enter into war.

Neither do I.

For, as you will surely understand, encouraging a conflict between Christians

would not bring me closer to Rome.

Who has spoken of war?

I propose a peaceful agreement.

Encourage Henry to meet with me for such purpose.

Encourage me to do so.

(SIGHS) A pension of 12,000 ducats,

which would double in case of agreement.

The next time we meet,

Henry will be at my side.

Your Highness.

There is no war without prior penance.

I ask your forgiveness.

I came to think that the kindness with the bearded one was sincere.

Every man deserves to be heard.

At least once.

When will the attack take place?

Grant me the honor of cutting the throat

of the one who offended our gods with it.

I must rest.

Withdraw.

Your Highness, Cardinal Wolsey has met with King Francis.

They are planning an alliance.

Who sought whom?

The invitation came from the French,

although they assure that it is only a peace agreement.

Allow me to doubt the intentions

of a man from whom I snatched what he most desired.

(Sighs)

I will write to England. My aunt Catherine must help us prevent it.

Let us not forget Rome.

Getting the Pope's favor would hinder their plans.

I offer to convince him.

Let us trust in the pontiff.

Strong has always been the bond between Rome and the emperor.

Do you see the scepter in my hand?

Before Henry, Francis, or the Pope, I am still Charles of Ghent,

King of Spain and emperor of nothing!

As soon as the revolts cease, you will leave without delay.

The revolts will cease as soon as I am crowned.

When those Castilians fear the force of the Empire.

Enough! Every minute I spend here

is encouragement for those who wish me ill,

both in Castile and in Europe. We leave!

May God not permit his desire to seize the Empire

to lead him to lose these kingdoms.

Your Highness!

I regret entrusting you with the regency in such circumstances.

I accept the challenge,

but you must reconsider the powers you delegate to me.

How will I control the situation with so little command?

You will fulfill adequately.

You have much confidence in me... Or very little.

If you fear I will abuse the power you are going to grant me, rest easy.

Resting easy is what I avoid, your reverence.

Are you in dealings with France again?

They court us, but I have not yet decided if they deserve us.

I am glad that is so. Our nephew Charles asks you

to meet with him before meeting with the French.

God bless my renunciation of the Empire. I keep my wealth

and my favor is sought by all.

You would not equate the emperor with a humiliated and penniless monarch.

Your nephew has not yet worn the crown.

And to obtain it, he carries such a debt

that he will meet God without having paid it.

Consider also what each one could bring you in the future.

Since God has not wished to grant you a male heir,

a worthy engagement for your daughter Mary would be very valuable.

Francis has long promised to unite our descendants.

But he has never sealed it with his signature.

You will not find a better occasion for him to agree.

Francis needs you.

Shall I arrange the meeting?

You know that the French will drag you into his ambitions.

You, who have no interest in a conflict!

Charles possesses so much that he aspires to no more.

Every man always aspires to more, Catherine.

Strange creature!

Use it for hunting. One single animal will bring you a hundred.

They say you have been walking restlessly for several days.

To what end?

I would not have gotten this far if I were not a curious man.

Your land is full of wonders.

Does it differ much from Castile?

Yours must be a great empire.

Humble, compared to yours.

But we are governed by a king who possesses

a thousand dominions from north to south

in an immense land we call Europe.

There, the colors are pale compared to these.

Without knowing it, we had a word for your empire:

paradise.

- Do you know it? - Yes.

I have seen your people inhale it.

(SPITS AND COUGHS)

I do not understand what inconvenience you see

in a peace agreement between two Christian kingdoms.

Francis has not extended his hand to Charles.

And if he has not done so, it is because he is plotting something against him.

Suppositions. Furthermore, Rome is not in favor

of only one man growing great in Europe.

My lord is the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire!

- Impossible greater loyalty to the Church. - He will have occasion to prove it.

I have signed a bull of excommunication against one of his subjects.

Do you refer to Luther?

With more than enough generosity, I have given that heretic 60 days to recant.

If he does not do so, he must be arrested immediately.

The emperor will so order. Why would he act otherwise?

And you, Your Holiness?

Will you compensate that zeal you demand of us in safeguarding the faith

by rejecting an alliance between English and French?

I will do so.

When Luther rots in the most fetid of dungeons.

Footsteps

I have missed you so much...

How do you feel? At home.

Your Highness.

Did you have a good crossing? Yes, thank you.

You will miss the sun of the Spains.

Heat is not given by the stars, but by company.

I wish I could stay here for the 3 years the Cortes have granted me.

How so? Why would you have to advance your return?

I have not left a calm Spain. There are disobediences, rebellions...

- What do they demand? - Everything... and nothing.

I am beginning to think that complaint for

complaint's sake is in the Spanish character.

A childish disloyalty... Absurd!

They have shown loyalty on numerous occasions.

They did so with our grandparents. Thus they rewarded their good government.

If it was your intention to offend me, I forgive you.

Criticism is a habit proper to those who have no command.

And even more so of those who aspire to it without achieving it.

Door

I ask your pardon.

It is not you who disturbs my spirit.

Ferdinand did not put himself forward as a candidate.

If you harbor any resentment for it, let it be toward me.

The affection I have for you prevents it,

but I still feel the wound.

You were disloyal to me.

I watched with anguish as your triumph became impossible.

I had to do something so the Empire would not fall into foreign hands.

What does he know of these lands? What did you know of Castile?

Ferdinand has learned much. His advice is of great help to me.

Did you intend to turn an advisor into emperor?

Charles...

Had you lost the election,

would it not have pleased you more to see

Ferdinand on the imperial throne than Francis?

By God! You are brothers.

Do you consider his barbs brotherly?

No, no... I know you.

If his words have hurt you, it is because

you doubt what you have done in Castile.

Value wise criticisms, Charles, or you will end up surrounded by flatterers.

They will not wound your pride, no.

But they will turn you into the worst of tyrants.

Door

Door

You have verified that I did not lie when

I said that nothing would be lacking here.

I have everything a man with worldly ambitions desires.

If only it were so.

What do you lack?

Power.

I was educated for politics, not to drowse in a golden cage.

I desire nothing more than to stay up late in offices.

Entrust me with a position where I can be useful to you.

The importance of your work as advisor to our aunt is not small.

You possess more titles and domains than any man. Is it not enough?

Do you perhaps feel it as a threat that I exercise power

if I do so in your service?

I distrust you only to the extent that I distrust everyone.

I will not remain at court without purpose.

What do you insinuate?

Your Highness... Do you bring good news from Rome?

Not what I would wish.

His Holiness has issued a bull of excommunication against Luther.

If he does not obey it, you will have to arrest him.

Only then will Rome mediate

to prevent the alliance between English and French.

When the time comes, I will order his arrest. But he will recant.

Is there a worse condemnation for a believer than excommunication?

Have you read his writings?

Luther denies that Rome mediates between God and men.

What value will he give to a threat from someone

whose authority he does not respect?

Perhaps he does not fear for his soul.

But excommunication begins the path that leads to the stake.

The Germans regard him as a hero.

And he has the favor of great men like Frederick...

Great men who have lived too long

outside imperial authority.

My coronation will remind them of their place and end their audacity.

Salamanca, Segovia... The uprisings do not cease.

And with greater boldness, since the king departed.

If you thought this flame would extinguish itself, disabuse yourselves.

If I do not act, it is because the Crown's ruin

prevents me from gathering the army I need.

- Try to negotiate, then. - With what authority?

I would have to consult Charles on every detail.

While messengers crossed Europe, the comuneros would take everything.

I need the help of the lords of Castile.

Only if they put their hosts at the service of the Crown

can I pacify the kingdom.

I will ask them so. And earnestly.

But the revolts have spread because those who could have stopped them

did not do so.

We shall have to see if they agree now.

I followed him discreetly.

After his meeting with Adrian, the duke visited several lords.

What happens?

The Crown seeks the favor of the nobility.

I doubt it will win them to its cause.

The lords' disaffection toward Charles rivals our own.

The regent will do everything in his power to make our uprising

appear as a riot with no purpose other than disturbing the peace.

We want correct government for Castile, not to plunge it into chaos.

And so we have proclaimed it.

It will be easy for them to contradict our words.

We need the support of someone

whose legitimacy no good Castilian would question.

Queen Juana.

(AGITATED SIGHING)

- Did you wish to see me, Your Highness? - Where are the missing jewels?

And the money? Guarding this place does not give you rights over my possessions.

I know of this theft, but I did not dare denounce it.

To point to the king as a thief would have brought me troubles.

How dare you accuse my son of such baseness?

- I will order you arrested! - (LAUGHS)

Respect your queen, wretch!

- No! - Release Her Highness!

We have found it in Moctezuma's treasure chamber.

Sir, you were right!

It is much greater than we could ever imagine.

God has blessed our audacity with a sea of gold!

If anyone lays a hand on it, I myself will cut it off.

Nothing but the promise of riches made us follow you.

A promise that will be fulfilled. But not before governing this place.

Sir, there are millions! We can never subdue them!

It is a miracle we wake up each morning. We live fearing their attack.

Let us take the gold and flee never to return!

Here there can be no greater conquest.

If you must fear anything, it is disobeying me.

(AGUILAR) Captain!

Captain!

My lord, bad news. Four of our men have been killed.

- By whose hands? - By Moctezuma's emissaries.

Damned savage!

We will be next if we stay.

Find your steel and follow me.

Bell tolling outside

(CONSECRATES THE EMPEROR IN LATIN)

(CONTINUES THE CEREMONY IN LATIN)

(THE ARCHBISHOP CONCLUDES THE CEREMONY IN LATIN)

I arrest you in the name of the Crown of Castile.

You sold us concord, and your men murdered ours.

I know nothing of that crime.

If what you say is true, I beg your pardon.

Four lives cannot be paid for with an apology.

Until I have certainty that they did not follow your orders,

you will remain under my custody.

No one steals the freedom of the emperor!

After ending your life, I will avenge my men.

For each dead Spaniard, a hundred Mexica will fall.

Place yourself under my custody:

you will have the best treatment and your people will have nothing to pay for.

- (MALINCHE) Look out! - Stop.

Stop.

Serious must be

what you have to tell to make me abandon my coronation feast.

How serious? The rebels have taken Tordesillas.

They have put themselves at the service of our mother.

They wish her to reign. Without you.

Damned Adrian! How could he allow it?

Do not expect authority from one who did not obtain it.

Adrian is a sensible and loyal man.

And you govern too many domains to do so in person.

Your mistrust could make you lose the Spains.

So be it, so be it! I will grant him more command.

Do not lose hope, my lord. Few betrayals are born from a mother.

I must write to Adrian. In solitude.

(SIGHS AND Sighs)

I have kept her isolated for fear of losing the throne.

I have barely visited her and, if I have done so,

it has been to steal her possessions.

Charles, trust... How can I trust?

If she yields, it will not be betrayal, but a deserved punishment.

Everyone detests an old head on young shoulders.

So Erasmus taught me. But my head is young,

and I carry so much weight on my shoulders that

they already give way like those of an old man.

Forgive my error, your reverence.

Born of inexperience more than mistrust.

Do whatever you think appropriate

to prevent the rebels from turning us against the queen

or leading her to betray us.

- My dear Henry. - Esteemed Francis.

Chroniclers will narrate this meeting for centuries.

Two kingdoms, once confronted by a hundred-year war,

now celebrate their harmony.

Fear, envy, greed, hatred, and pride.

Let us eliminate them and we will have permanent peace.

Ah! Petrarch! But remember:

The most disadvantageous peace is always better than the most just war.

Erasmus. Accompany me.

Is his height not enough to remain above me?

A few years ago, we met to sign a peace,

under his reverence's auspices.

Our mutual esteem has not changed. But Europe has.

Let us seal this agreement today and be on guard against new rivals.

Let everyone know that the dauphin and my

daughter will one day be husband and wife.

Could there be a greater guarantee of perpetual friendship

than making official the engagement between our children?

We will be family. I thought this moment would never come.

You have pleased me with my most beloved sport.

I did not know such thing. If I am honest, I had them brought for my enjoyment.

I also love wrestling.

- Do you practice it? - As much as I can.

And you?

Why not?

- I remind you that he hates to lose. - By build,

I would bet on Francis, but an intoxicated Englishman is unbeatable.

Blessed diplomacy, which will make them end in a draw.

(GROANS) We leave!

Your Highness, it was just a game. Let us return to the banquet.

- At least surpass him in magnanimity. - He is dead to me!

(Sighs)

You should feel the humiliation of your king as your own.

If indeed you discern which of them you serve.

Spare me, mother. Besides, I risked nothing. The agreement is signed.

But, now, Henry is eager to break it.

(Sighs)

I come to ensure you lack for nothing.

Only honor.

And I want to recover it.

The crime has not yet been cleared up.

As if my destiny depended on that!

How much gold do you want for my freedom?

Unfortunately, I am harder to please than my men.

I want you to declare yourself a vassal of Castile

and rule this empire with you.

My offer will not change. Your authority over the Mexica

will diminish each day you spend in my custody.

Until you cannot even negotiate.

Anticipate it...

and bon appétit.

You give shelter to his men and now also to his gods.

Be silent. You must not humiliate them so that ours are not annihilated.

- For a few dozen men? - For the Empire behind them.

If we attacked, they would cross the ocean to take revenge.

Your people would die smiling under their steel.

Now, walk with your gaze lowered.

It tastes to them like you are subdued by the invader and that burns them inside.

The end of what we know is written, Cuauhtémoc.

I am only trying to ensure it is not with blood.

My emperor lets himself be treated like an animal?

They detain me at night. They fear I will escape.

You lack the necessary pride to do such a thing!

(MOCTEZUMA) What do you intend to do?

Stop!

You do us a great honor by accompanying us. Preside over our meeting, my lady.

For you govern us.

With these words, we will make it known that we submit only to you.

And that you agree with it.

It pleases me that you seek the good of the kingdom against those who abuse it.

And that you take shelter in me.

But, first, I wish to hear you.

We have long yearned for whoever governs us to lend us an ear.

We thank you for it.

He will sign. But, meanwhile,

I will let Regent Adriano know that we are one with you.

It will be a great help, my lady.

No news from Castile?

I have gone days without sleep visiting me.

I fear going to bed a king and waking up overthrown.

Surely, the messengers must be getting lost in France.

They know of our problems and thus they magnify them.

Fortitude, Your Majesty. Whoever awaits you now must not sense weakness.

(SIGHS)

Your Majesty. What an honor that I am granted

the emperor's first audience!

Compensate for the privilege by serving me in what I must ask of you.

You will know that Luther has not yet recanted his heresies.

The deadline has not yet ended. There are still days left.

Do you not deduce from his silence that he resists obeying Rome's order?

He is your protégé. Make him see reason.

Mine is the university where he teaches, not his soul.

Do you underestimate yourself?

Luther will answer to your authority if it is firm.

Do you not see that he endangers the peace in Germany?

Nothing worries me more than the destiny of the Empire.

Then...

will you act accordingly?

Have no doubt.

Do not even think of wavering.

Do you want me to risk my life for ideas with which you do not commune?

Freeing Germany from the abuses of Rome interests me as much as it does you.

We both share the same goal: that these lands be sovereign.

My crusade in service of your political aspirations...

And these in service of your crusade!

The conjunction of both will make the movement unstoppable.

But only one of us will be condemned to the stake.

Everything I aspire to depends on what you have started having no end.

Go ahead. And I will strive to protect you.

You have my word.

- News? - From Dueñas.

The Marquis of Buendía's serfs have rebelled against him.

And they have done so in our name. The example has spread to other domains.

- God is on our side... - You speak wrongly.

These men put us in the bind of recognizing their struggle as ours

or not doing so. In both cases, we will err.

We must use them to win other strongholds!

Maria, if the enemy changes, our cause becomes perverted.

To overthrow a king, the wrath of many men is needed!

And, in each man's heart, nests a reason against his lord.

In Dueñas, anger has raised a whirlwind that blows in our favor.

Do not question the causes.

If we support them, we will make enemies of the nobles.

- And their lukewarmness has done us good. - It is not lukewarmness that we need!

But drive, to gain ground. And we will get it from the people.

From their rage for suffering abuses and hunger.

I am sick of meetings and waiting for that deranged queen's signature!

What happened in Dueñas was not in vain.

The time has come to attack.

The Marquis of Astorga, the Count of Béjar,

the Marquis of Villena...

At last, at your service.

Protecting themselves under the skirts of the Crown

now that the revolt threatens their goods.

They will serve me very well so that I may forgive them.

The rebels have attacked Villalpando. What are your orders?

That the nobles leave their castles

and bring peace to the kingdom once and for all!

I deny Rome!

The pope promises the sinner the salvation of his soul

in exchange for money.

Indulgences are nets to fish for

the riches of men!

Boos

Jan Hus

burned at the stake.

And perhaps my words will bring me the same fate.

But listen to me, Antichrist of Rome!

Yours will be consumed before my flesh!

Boos

That demented friar!

And that traitor from Saxony who protects him!

What is your opinion?

The duke fuels hatred against Rome because he wants for himself

what he now must share with the pope.

Tax money. And the properties of the Church.

Emancipating from Rome would put everything in his hands, but, before the people,

he is the defender of their sovereignty.

So, if I were to arrest Luther, the Germans would see me as a tyrant

at the orders of the pope.

If you have the princes against you and the consequences will be fatal.

What if they respond by threatening the borders of Flanders?

If I lose the pope's favor,

the threat from England and France will extend to all my borders.

(Sighs)

My lady,

the grandees have launched an army upon Villalpando.

Ours could do nothing against it.

Declare that the throne belongs only to you

or the enemies of our cause will not stop until they annihilate us.

Sign at once, Your Highness! Or they will fall upon us!

You will find yourself subjected again.

We are raising a kingdom, we place it under your command.

We free you, and you still doubt?

You seem dead in life as many say.

- Withdraw! - With our lives,

we will defend what would have cost you only a signature.

Why, mother?

Do you intend for me to overthrow Charles?

He in no way deserves your loyalty.

You deny yourself the command that everyone has usurped from you.

Your husband, your father, and my brother!

And now the rebels!

I will not be a key for the ambition of others again.

Because of your absurd loyalty, we will remain prisoners.

Is that the sentence you want for both of us? For me?

I cannot betray my own son.

Take me with you!

Take me! I beg you!

I will assume the repudiation of my own. Death, if it must come.

It will be better than returning to the life I had.

The battlefield is my place.

Yours, to wait sheltered for our victory.

When it becomes reality,

you will enjoy the dignity that has been denied you.

Do you promise? Even if the queen never shelters you?

You have my word.

Go and conquer.

Your Highness.

(CATHERINE OF ENGLAND) Dear nephew and Caesar,

I regret to inform you that my husband,

the King of England, has sealed grave agreements with France.

But I let you know that these were tarnished by Francis's conduct,

whose infinite boastfulness greatly wounded Henry.

Your visit is a pleasant surprise, Your Majesty.

We are honored to receive the brand new emperor.

I regret, then, not giving you such satisfaction.

For who stands before you is only Charles, your nephew.

My dear aunt.

We have hardly had time to prepare anything to celebrate your arrival.

You relieve me. Imperial glory is a cumbersome disguise

and flaunting it, an exhausting imposture.

Rest.

We will meet with you when you have recovered from the journey.

I thank you for it.

What Francis should envy is not his Empire, but his character.

You are right, Your Highness. However...

It is striking that someone who scorns glory

has ruined himself to obtain it.

Since the emperor does not please you, you will not have to suffer him.

I will excuse you from our meeting.

If I stopped dealing with those who displease me, I would be a poor chancellor.

You are one when you suggest agreements driven only by your ambition.

Use the recess to count the gold coming to you from France.

It grieves me that it is Francis and not Charles who has offspring.

I would have preferred to marry our little one to a son of his.

You see a setback where there is room for profit.

They are not returning.

Do you have any jewels left, mother?

What are you plotting?

If the rebels do not win,

there is a way to be free, without you falling into treachery.

Let's flee!

- To where? - What does it matter?

With funds, we will soon be far away.

I am the queen, I cannot run away.

We will return. But only when Charles has ensured us a dignified life.

Forgive me.

I will not praise your beer when English beer exists,

but God damn French wine!

That is my intention:

that what I offer you makes what he offered you undesirable.

Speak. I can dine and negotiate at the same time.

Reject the alliance he proposes to you.

I would gladly do so,

but I would lose my daughter's engagement and I would regret it.

No, if it is not in exchange for another.

You well know I have no male heir.

(CATHERINE TAKES A BREATH) But... you are one.

Do you want me to become engaged to Princess Mary?

She is barely four years old. I would have to wait a lifetime to marry her.

Francis plans to attack you.

He lives obsessed with your victory.

His thirst for revenge is irrational.

He is no longer king of France, he is king against you.

I trust you do not intend to frighten me to win my will.

Believe me.

Agree to our conditions.

And let us isolate the Frenchman with our agreement.

Happily I accept being your son. But, if Francis attacks me,

your troops would join mine to defend me.

Family is the bond,

politics, the price.

So be it.

Your Majesty!

Where you see a lunch, there is a council. You will have to wait.

I thought it would please you to know that Tordesillas has been recovered.

(SIGHS)

He snatches an empire from me and, now, an ally.

What wrong have I done to God to deserve Charles?

Did he force you to humiliate Henry?

Only that has put him in his favor.

My pride is not something I can shed at will.

It will be, then, your condemnation.

No.

It will be the key to my victory.

For only he who refuses to lose

could dare to launch his troops against an entire empire.

I present to you the new Archduke of Austria,

my brother Ferdinand.

The title ennobles you, but it also burdens you with duties.

Grave are the troubles in these lands.

Therefore, I need aid to guard them when I am absent.

And, for that, I trust in you.

Make yourself known.

Courtly music

I swear to obey and fulfill the commands of King Charles of Spain.

With him who represents him here, Hernán Cortés, I will govern these domains.

I will keep my word if you do the same.

I have sworn to protect you from whoever rebels against you. And so I will do.

And you will enjoy the highest dignities.

Your subjects will see no humiliation in you.

I want their contentment, because only that will maintain peace.

Start by contenting them by celebrating the festival of the Rains.

So it shall be.

Do women in your land also use flowers?

Yes,

but they look a thousand times less beautiful.

The flowers that grow there are poor fodder compared to those that abound here.

When you speak of Castile, I imagine a scorched and sad field.

Perhaps I remember it harshly.

But that is how love rules:

vilifying what was known before.

This land has bewitched me.

And you it.

Or you would not have come to rule it.

In no other would I do it with more pride.

It has been good to cross an ocean and a

thousand sleepless nights to find my place.

Storm

The festival of the Rains.

(AGUILAR) My lord!

They have become feverish. They seem possessed

by the evil one. And even more so our men.

They believe the Mexica are preparing in this manner to attack us.

What are you saying? Calm their delusions!

Too late. They are already heading to the palace.

They want to seize the treasure before they fall upon us.

Do what you can to stop our men.

(MOCTEZUMA SOBS)

Is this the peace you would bring?

Loot my treasure and open the entrails of my people?

It was a festival!

I will punish the guilty with death.

But let's first stop the chaos reigning out there.

The entire city is a battlefield.

Should I deny them the right to avenge this massacre?

I submitted to you to prevent it. I owe you nothing!

Will you allow tens of deaths to become thousands?

Are the lives we can still save worth less than those already lost?

We govern this Empire! We cannot shirk our command!

Now less than ever!

The culprits of this slaughter will be offered to the gods.

And the other Spaniards will live apart. So

that nothing like this ever happens again.

Now, you know there will be justice.

Let the violence cease, then!

I am still your emperor. And, as such, you must obey me.

I have seen his eyes.

- And they are those of a traitor. - I submitted to save you.

But what is it that you do not understand?

To save you!

Huh? (SCREAMS IN PAIN)

Stop!

I promise you I will return peace to this place.

Your men will be mine.

- You have my word. - Captain! Only escape remains.

- They are falling upon us. - We will not abandon this place.

Either we escape or this will be our final resting place.

Sir!

We had a word for your empire:

paradise.

I have decided to attack the emperor on several fronts.

Enough threats already loom on our borders, sir.

They see you as the only obstacle standing between them and the treasure.

Half of Spain has risen against him.

And the German nobility will not make it easy for him.

In Burgos, there are still many loyal to our cause

and we can reconquer it.

I thought I might soon communicate to His Majesty

that Castile was at peace again.

Padilla has reorganized his forces and that has encouraged the rebels.

The pope wants to know why I have still done nothing against Luther.

Promise me we will see each other again.

- Tell me, father. - Promise me you will not marry

until you have married your sister to the emperor.

The war that confronts us can only end in one way:

with the victory of the Crown.

She is my wife, Maldonado!

The future of France is at stake.

You are asking me to censure the king himself on a matter of war.

No one, except God, must judge you.

I wish to return to Castile.

They want me to pay the wages of their armies!

Do you recant these writings?

Whoever raises his sword against me or against any of mine shall die!

France attacks us.

Here is what was agreed.

Did you keep Lautrec's money?

A trap...

I've fallen into a trap!

Your Highness, we have the opportunity to win the war with a single battle.

I will intercede for you and do everything in my power

to give you a husband worthy of the Queen of Portugal.

Who is the candidate most likely to succeed him?

(JUAN) You said it yourself: Either Caesar or nothing.

You dare to demand respect?