Torriani Palace
Duchy of Venosa
Rain was sweeping across southern Potenza, and it fell hard. Outside the palace one could barely see a few feet in front them, almost rendering any travel impossible. For that reason, most of the Torriani clan had chosen to stay inside and enjoy the warmth of the palace. Duke Guido himself was standing before the large window at the end of the main hallway, looking at the rain as it fell on the gardens outside. A cup of tea rested before him on the window sill, reflecting the rain hitting the window in an almost perfect, but beautiful, reflection.
Francesca stepped up behind her brother, running her hand up the middle of his back and onto his shoulder. Guido had heard the click-clack of her high heels as she approached, but as usual he trusted her enough to keep his back turned.
"Were you behind Duke Gustavo's vote of no confidence?" Francesca asked in a soft voice that assured Guido it was her.
The young Torriani duke smiled and picked up his tea, sipping it quietly before replying, "Somewhat. I told Prime Minister Merlino he should see if the Chamber of Ministers would humor themselves with it. The result was what I cared about more."
"Why was that?"
Guido shifted his eyes, catching the reflection of his sister's dark eyes in the windowpane. He smiled more, saying in a whisper:
"So I could see if this Chamber enjoyed removing nobles from power...they might have to remove someone even higher someday..."
Grand Duke's Palace
San Salvo, Potenza
Eldizio stared out the window at the rain, drumming his gloved fingers quietly on the arm rest of his chair. He was facing away from the door, which he normally didn't do while resting in his office, but he had a soft spot for rain, and was enjoying the show. It would keep him calm for the meeting that was about to start.
The door opened, and a servant said, "Your majesty - His Royal Highness Duke Gustavo di Morosini is here."
"Show him in," Eldizio said. He usually wasn't so curt with his servants, but the serious subject was on his mind and prevented his tone from raising beyond anything else besides neutral. He turned the chair around slowly, looking at the face of his desk. Many pages lay there, spread out in a nice fan formation. The front page revealed that it was sent by the Chamber of Ministers, and anyone who knew the latest news reports would be aware that it could be nothing else than the demand from Potenza's parliamentary body for the abdication of Duke Gustavo di Morosini. The grand duke lifted up his eyes and saw the Morosini duke enter, the servant shutting the door behind Gustavo. He was definitely a tall, dashing man, of strong build. Strong build...and the only thing he seemed to fight were young ladies...
"Your majesty," Gustavo said, smiling brightly, "very good to see you. I trust you're doing well."
"I've been better," Eldizio said, his tone low in pitch, "tell me plainly Gustavo - are the stories true?"
"What stories, your majesty?"
"That you beat your youngest daughter."
Gustavo made a scoffing gesture at that, "Nonsense, I disciplined my children like any other father would."
"Adalina often had bruises that looked more than mere discipline," Eldizio remarked, "and why would she leave the country all of a sudden?"
"I don't know. That girl was never right. I mean, thinking of joining the military? In her state?"
As the duke's last few words teetered out of his mouth, the room became filled with a rather sinister silence. The grand duke was staring coldly at Gustavo, his fingers drumming on his other hand in slow, exact rhythms. Finally he said:
"Gustavo, you're not making it easy for me. The grand duchy no longer wants you to be Duke of Cremona. Please defend yourself before I make a decision I may hate making."
"Decision? No, you can survive this tide!" Gustavo said, his demeanor showing that he was getting slightly antsy. "You know you can. Let the press have their fun. Let the Chamber of Ministers rattle. It means nothing. Only you have the power to do anything. You don't need to do anything!"
"Gustavo, you beat your daughter. What father would do that?"
"Don't you tell me how to run my house!" Gustavo suddenly exclaimed, slamming his fist on the grand duke's desk and causing him to sit up. "Don't you dare! You may run this grand duchy, but I am leader of my house! I can't do whatever I want, especially to my dike daughter!"
"Gustavo!" The grand duke stood up, raising his voice. It was something Eldizio did very rarely, and when he did, people tended to listen from shock. "Don't you dare talk to me that way in my office. I am the Grand Duke of Potenza, and while you pledge loyalty to this nation, you will pledge loyalty and respect to me, do you understand?!"
"You are no grand duke!" Gustavo retorted. "Not even close! You follow the whims of the people every which way! You suck the cock of Engellex and Talemantros! You-"
"Gustavo, you will not speak to me that way in my office," Eldizio interrupted, calming his tone only slightly, "I'm not-"
Suddenly, the Morosini duke threw a fist right for Eldizio's face. The grand duke ducked quickly but was still caught in the jaw, feeling his face jerk to the side from impact. He fell in his chair and hit an emergency button on the side of the table. In an instance his scorta - the personal guard - were inside, grabbing Duke Gustavo by the arms and pinning him against the top of the desk. The Duke of Cremona was writhing now, acting like a rabid animal and trying desperately to break free of the scorta grips. The grand duke walked around the table, rubbing the area of his jaw that had been struck, feeling a small patch of purple begin to form.
"Duke Gustavo di Morosini," Eldizio said grimly, "you are dismissed. Tomorrow you will be expelled from Potenza, and as long as I am in power, you will never return. Now take this daughter beating bastard out of my sight."
The scorta lifted Gustavo up and dragged him out. Eldizio shut the doors and sighed, looking at himself in the mirror. There was, in fact, a nice splotch of purple forming in the area that Gustavo had struck. With a sigh, Eldizio whispered to himself, "How will I explain this to Aldone?"
Duchy of Venosa
Rain was sweeping across southern Potenza, and it fell hard. Outside the palace one could barely see a few feet in front them, almost rendering any travel impossible. For that reason, most of the Torriani clan had chosen to stay inside and enjoy the warmth of the palace. Duke Guido himself was standing before the large window at the end of the main hallway, looking at the rain as it fell on the gardens outside. A cup of tea rested before him on the window sill, reflecting the rain hitting the window in an almost perfect, but beautiful, reflection.
Francesca stepped up behind her brother, running her hand up the middle of his back and onto his shoulder. Guido had heard the click-clack of her high heels as she approached, but as usual he trusted her enough to keep his back turned.
"Were you behind Duke Gustavo's vote of no confidence?" Francesca asked in a soft voice that assured Guido it was her.
The young Torriani duke smiled and picked up his tea, sipping it quietly before replying, "Somewhat. I told Prime Minister Merlino he should see if the Chamber of Ministers would humor themselves with it. The result was what I cared about more."
"Why was that?"
Guido shifted his eyes, catching the reflection of his sister's dark eyes in the windowpane. He smiled more, saying in a whisper:
"So I could see if this Chamber enjoyed removing nobles from power...they might have to remove someone even higher someday..."
Grand Duke's Palace
San Salvo, Potenza
Eldizio stared out the window at the rain, drumming his gloved fingers quietly on the arm rest of his chair. He was facing away from the door, which he normally didn't do while resting in his office, but he had a soft spot for rain, and was enjoying the show. It would keep him calm for the meeting that was about to start.
The door opened, and a servant said, "Your majesty - His Royal Highness Duke Gustavo di Morosini is here."
"Show him in," Eldizio said. He usually wasn't so curt with his servants, but the serious subject was on his mind and prevented his tone from raising beyond anything else besides neutral. He turned the chair around slowly, looking at the face of his desk. Many pages lay there, spread out in a nice fan formation. The front page revealed that it was sent by the Chamber of Ministers, and anyone who knew the latest news reports would be aware that it could be nothing else than the demand from Potenza's parliamentary body for the abdication of Duke Gustavo di Morosini. The grand duke lifted up his eyes and saw the Morosini duke enter, the servant shutting the door behind Gustavo. He was definitely a tall, dashing man, of strong build. Strong build...and the only thing he seemed to fight were young ladies...
"Your majesty," Gustavo said, smiling brightly, "very good to see you. I trust you're doing well."
"I've been better," Eldizio said, his tone low in pitch, "tell me plainly Gustavo - are the stories true?"
"What stories, your majesty?"
"That you beat your youngest daughter."
Gustavo made a scoffing gesture at that, "Nonsense, I disciplined my children like any other father would."
"Adalina often had bruises that looked more than mere discipline," Eldizio remarked, "and why would she leave the country all of a sudden?"
"I don't know. That girl was never right. I mean, thinking of joining the military? In her state?"
As the duke's last few words teetered out of his mouth, the room became filled with a rather sinister silence. The grand duke was staring coldly at Gustavo, his fingers drumming on his other hand in slow, exact rhythms. Finally he said:
"Gustavo, you're not making it easy for me. The grand duchy no longer wants you to be Duke of Cremona. Please defend yourself before I make a decision I may hate making."
"Decision? No, you can survive this tide!" Gustavo said, his demeanor showing that he was getting slightly antsy. "You know you can. Let the press have their fun. Let the Chamber of Ministers rattle. It means nothing. Only you have the power to do anything. You don't need to do anything!"
"Gustavo, you beat your daughter. What father would do that?"
"Don't you tell me how to run my house!" Gustavo suddenly exclaimed, slamming his fist on the grand duke's desk and causing him to sit up. "Don't you dare! You may run this grand duchy, but I am leader of my house! I can't do whatever I want, especially to my dike daughter!"
"Gustavo!" The grand duke stood up, raising his voice. It was something Eldizio did very rarely, and when he did, people tended to listen from shock. "Don't you dare talk to me that way in my office. I am the Grand Duke of Potenza, and while you pledge loyalty to this nation, you will pledge loyalty and respect to me, do you understand?!"
"You are no grand duke!" Gustavo retorted. "Not even close! You follow the whims of the people every which way! You suck the cock of Engellex and Talemantros! You-"
"Gustavo, you will not speak to me that way in my office," Eldizio interrupted, calming his tone only slightly, "I'm not-"
Suddenly, the Morosini duke threw a fist right for Eldizio's face. The grand duke ducked quickly but was still caught in the jaw, feeling his face jerk to the side from impact. He fell in his chair and hit an emergency button on the side of the table. In an instance his scorta - the personal guard - were inside, grabbing Duke Gustavo by the arms and pinning him against the top of the desk. The Duke of Cremona was writhing now, acting like a rabid animal and trying desperately to break free of the scorta grips. The grand duke walked around the table, rubbing the area of his jaw that had been struck, feeling a small patch of purple begin to form.
"Duke Gustavo di Morosini," Eldizio said grimly, "you are dismissed. Tomorrow you will be expelled from Potenza, and as long as I am in power, you will never return. Now take this daughter beating bastard out of my sight."
The scorta lifted Gustavo up and dragged him out. Eldizio shut the doors and sighed, looking at himself in the mirror. There was, in fact, a nice splotch of purple forming in the area that Gustavo had struck. With a sigh, Eldizio whispered to himself, "How will I explain this to Aldone?"