Chapter 16 - A Few Farewells
OOC: I like this title. But don't worry, the AAR isn't ending! Also, we have an introduction section again!
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---- Introducing ----
Adron Konstantinos - Theodoros' son
It was a dreary morning the day after Francesca had been kept in her office by the people of Athens. In the piercing December cold, it seemed like few people were going anywhere. Winter was a season for the farmers to stay inside and eat, for the artisans to complete their crafts inside, and for the merchants to stand outside in the cold hoping for a stray customer or two.
The Council had no session that night, nor would it for the next few weeks. The reforms made to the election of the King had made the Council look at its own body, seeking revision. In the end, it was decided to shorten the term of councilors from 10 years to 8 years, alternating with the Kingly elections every four years. That was enough elections to keep the people busy and bribed, but not saturated with corruption.
Theodoros was still home. Despite his efforts to make Francesca Queen, their relationship hadn't lasted long once it was rekindled. Perhaps a few months later, they simply drifted apart. Not even a formal breakup. Still, he had felt no need to evict the Russian woman that was still staying in his house after all those years, and he had enjoyed a few nights with her. This time they weren't so.. fake, as the last, that fateful morning when assassins killed Francesco I.
He was an old man now, though. That had been a long time past. A few of their nights together had produced fruit, though, which sometimes he thought might come back to bite him. Indeed, it was well he had kept her hidden, the priests wouldn't have looked upon him well after knowing that he had three children with a woman he wasn't married to!
She was still middle-aged, just ending her years of childbirth. Graciously, a local priest had offered them a marriage, and forgave them both of their sins. His children with her were pretty much legitimate heirs to the Konstantinos dynasty, the only viable ones at this point. Admittedly, he was disappointed with himself. With a son and three daughters, he should be happier, but he hadn't meant to marry a woman who could barely speak Greek anyway.
That was how he would die, an old man, sitting in a chair, surrounded by his family that he had a cool relationship with at best. That was how the first Russian heir - or half-Russian heir - took the headship of the Konstantinos line. Indeed, even more than his father or grandfather, it would be Adron Konstantinos that would shake the very foundations of Athens the most of anyone. Whether Athens would emerge for the better from it like it had the last two times, that had yet to be seen.
Back in the streets, the only people visible on the main road leading to the Royal Palace, which had been improved quite a bit since the independence from Venice so long ago, were three huge men. One glanced down at his list, a hand shaking from the cold air. One name had already been scratched out, 'Theophlyaktos Crispo'. The next name, 'Francesca Acciaioli' was his only focus at this point. He had to make the rounds that he had been paid to make, even in this cold air.
Urging two partners on, he grinned at the guards who were hanging around inside the doors, and they immediately let him through. They knew him and his partners as the couriers for the council and royal family. It was a tough job, you often had to sort your way through old ruins just to get to government buildings. If they were going to do such a thing, you would think they would at least rebuild the ruins.
He stopped off at the royal chambers, sending his letter in, then quickly leaving. That was the only two names for today. December really was slow, he supposed.
It didn't take long for the effects to settle in. Francesca had opened the letter, exposing the deadly spores inside. She wouldn't have noticed though, and would've had enough time to read the letter before it began to take effect. It was in the cipher she had created for her and Dimosthenes to discuss Athens' colonial exploits without being intercepted. That information could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
But the letter only said a total of six words.
"Die, accursed woman.
Lovingly,
Dimosthenes Crispo"
And that was how the second highest ranking candidate in the last election came to rule over Athens as King.
Though Nero Doria was nothing special, he would be the force that would cement the influential Doria family into power within the Athenian Republic. Over time, they would be the most innovative family the Republic had ever seen, and one of the most conservative as well. Indeed, without them, such a balance as it had would not have occurred.
They were closely related to the Apostolis family. They had produced the great Michael Apostolis, who, over time, would become revered as the Father of the Athenian Nation, a hero to all peoples. Every 3rd December, his death date was celebrated, another year of Athenian independence which was only achieved with his help. As many people thought, if only he had been there to see his name reach the fame that it truly deserved.
Oh, how the world could change...