A Visit from Venice

[Cecilia Selvo]

Cecilia, Queen of The Most Serene Republic of Venice, as it is known, arrived in London. She has been traveling around Europe, trying to make friends and allies, in case her country was ever in danger. As she stood, ready to get off the boat, four of her guards walked off first. The guard captain help out his hand, which Cecilia took as she stepped off the boat, being followed by another four guards. Two men ran off the boat, both bearing the flag of Venice on a pole. They got in front of all of the guards as they began to walk through the streets and towards the castle.

They certainly were getting a lot of attention from the people, since some of them stopped what they were doing and watched them walk by. Venice, as it is widely known, was one of the richest countries in Europe, since it dominated in sea trade. With the Isle of Crete with the city of Iraklion on it, Venice was able to trade with almost all of the middle-eastern nations and the Byzantine Empire.

After a few moments, they arrived at the castle. The doors were opened and the first people to step in were the two men carrying the flag of Venice. One turned to the left and the other to the right. The four guards in front of her split up and two went to the left and right, standing next to the flag bearers. As the Queen walked inside, the guards behind her did the same. She looked around and saw some of the servants staring at her. Cecilia smiled at them, since most were staring at her dress. She had on a scarlet velvet dress on with gold stitching and gold embroidery on it. Her blond hair was kept up in a bun, with a few strands running down the side of her face.

"Could you please get your King or another person, so that I may speak with them?" Cecilia asked one of the servants, who nodded quickly and ran off into the castle. Cecilia walked further into the room, her eyes looking around at the different architecture of the building.

[Edward I]

When Edward heard that the Queen of Venice had arrived he quickly ordered for his hall to be prepared as he strode out to visit the Queen, she was lucky to come The Tower of London at this time as Edward disliked the Castle preferring Windsor and its rolling grounds to the stuffy castle in the city with the smell of the city and the Thames so close. He was in London listening to some magistrates and visiting the City Mayor. If she had come any other day she would have had to go to Windsor or even to Nottingham. As Edward walked through the doors of the entrance hall he saw the Venetian Queen looking around at the buildings and her guards close to hand. As he got closer he said "Welcome to London and England noble Queen, can I help you? I presume you are here for some reason would you like to join me in my hall we will have a feast tonight to celebrate your arrival."

[Cecilia Selvo]

Cecilia's head turned to look at Edward as he walked towards her. She bowed her head slightly, as a sign of respect as she listened to what he said to her. "Of course I will join you at your feast. I have come to England with a proposal that may help both of our nations, so that we may become stronger." Cecilia said as she looked at the king. He looked older then her, but then again she was not surprised. She had become Queen at such a young age and she even wondered if news of the Doge's death reached this far north. She doubted it, but she may be wrong. She has found that most of the northern powers are very resourceful, so the king may have heard about it. But, for now, she was only worried about the fate between their two nations.

[Edward I]

Edward wondered what she wanted so far from her home, he had heard from one of his priests that she was ruling the city of Venice, he did not know how or why but he thought that maybe her husband had died, or been exiled but a scandal like that would be easily heard. Oh well, he thought he could ask her in a minute. As they entered the cool hall in the castle, he moved straight through and came to a hallway. He walked straight through it to a reception room, set aside from all the others, for occasions like this. He gestured for her to sit on one of the fine couches and asked her "Please tell me, what sort of proposal do you have in mind because I would like to make my country stronger, I think we all need friends in a time like this."

[Cecilia Selvo]

Cecilia looked around as she followed him into a room, which was decorated more lavishly then the others. When he gestured for her to sit down, she nodded and sat down on the couch, straightening her dress as she sat elegantly. Her blue eyes went to his as she listened to him speak to her. "I couldn't agree more. That is mostly the reason why I came here myself. I know our two nations are far away from one another, but I think we will both benefit from an alliance? Perhaps we could even work out a trade agreement." Cecilia said as she looked at him, her right hand over her left on her lap. She was taught by her mother how to be lady-like and to act elegant, which clearly showed in her movements.