Messina, Syracuse, and Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily.
This wedding was different than most. As the wife-to-be was all but imprisoned in Syracuse and the groom-to-be was banned from entry of Palermo until the wedding. Thus, there would be no rehearsal, and the actual event could be rather chaotic.
When the day came, two parties left eastern Sicily, independent of one-another. From Messina, Friedrich V von Wettin with a small bodyguard unit traveled west to Sicily, with Friedrich sitting in a horse-drawn carriage, but sadly, he was essentially alone. His new close friend, von Kues was in Palermo, running the government until the conclusion of the wedding. His uncle and Marshal was traveling to Palermo from Syracuse, escorting the bride along with thousands of other German soldiers. The only notable person in Friedrich's entourage was the famed von Grimma, whom exchanged stories of war with the young king-to-be on the trek to Palermo.
Finally, after quite some time, the walls of Palermo were visible to the Messinan party. The driver of the carriage shouted
"Approaching the gates, your highness!"
And with that, as if staged, a small band of men encircled the carriage and killed the driver. In the commotion, one of the horses broke free and ran. Friedrich, von Grimma, and two other guards were trapped surrounded by virtually a dozen men.
One of them sounded rather familiar.
"Saxon, your end is now. You will not take this kingdom from my family, nor will you take my cousin to be your slave in the eyes of God."
Two Catalans entered the carriage only to have their heads lobbed off. Sensing this was going nowhere, Count Luis had the carriage set on fire. This forced those inside to emerge, and a small battle ensued. After killing one man with only a ceremonial rapier, Friedrich was stunned to see that one of the men he fought was the original suitor of Maria -- the imprisoned Federico of Bavuso. This sighting enraged the young Friedrich, who ordered von Grimma to kill Bavuso that instant. Unfortunately, von Grimma was in the process of fighting two men at once, and Friedrich was left on his own.
Margrave Friedrich von Wettin of Meissen and Baron Federico d'Altavilla of Bavuso weren't that dissimilar. They shared a name, they shared the desire to marry Maria, they also shared heritage. They both saw themselves as the sole heir to the Hohenstaufen legacy. Federico from his mother, whom was among the last living Hohenstaufens, albeit of illegitimate descent... And the Margrave saw himself as the rightful heir for the obvious reasons. Maria and all of the other claimants were such because of Manfred, whom was a bastard son of Friedrich II. Federico, too was descended from a bastard son of Friedrich II. However, after all of the Hohenstaufen men had died, it was only natural, at least to the Wettins that the crown should fall to them. However, the empire had only recently been at war, and the diet decided not to assist in supporting their claim.
They stared at one-another and both began moving in a circular motion around the other. Federico had a sword, Friedrich only had a small rapier. While Federico could slash, Friedrich would have to thrust. An obvious disadvantage, but the young Margrave was still confident. Federico was in his thirties and had a wound in his abdomen from the assassination attempt against him some months ago. The two Fredericks grew impatient, and, without words or signals agreed to charge on eachother in stereo. As Federico neared Friedrich, the former screamed "AVE MARIA!" and swung his sword at the latter, who ducked and thrusted the point of his knife into the chest of Federico, reopening his wound.
Count Luis had survived the battle and began retreating in an attempt to escape. His horse passed Federico and he urged the wounded Baron to jump on. Using most of his energy, he successfully attempted to do so, and both Federico and Luis escaped.
As the carriage had been set ablaze and they were alone, Friedrich and von Grimma treked on foot to Palermo, but luckily they were already nearly at the gates.
The gates were opened upon their arrival. Perhaps only because Maria had not yet arrived and the guards wanted to ensure her safety. Regardless, for the first time in his life, Friedrich stood in the capital of his namesake. Friedrich II of the Holy Roman Empire, known by his peers as 'Wonder of the World', He had held his court in Palermo as the Sicilian crown was his first and favorite. The Saxon could understand why. Palermo was greater than Dresden, than Messina, and even greater than Syracuse. He agreed with his ancestor that the city was a fitting host to an imperial court as he walked toward the cathedral.
Upon arrival at the cathedral, he met with von Kues and told him of the events that transpired earlier. von Kues then told him that this was a blessing in disguise, and that he should go about the wedding as if nothing had happened.
Some hours later, Maria arrived, surrounded by German soldiers. Friedrich, showing compassion, banned them from the cathedral. He would take Maria on her word.
As the ceremonies progressed, it was interesting to see who was in attendance. Most of the groom's family were there, with the exception of Balthasar, who remained in Prague. However, virtually none of the bride's family were present. Her bastard brother stood in the back, unnoticed. Her teenage cousin, also named Maria was present, even though her father, Count Luis had staged the assassination attempt earlier that day. Perhaps that was a mistake, or perhaps an oversight.
An Avignonese priest read to Maria, while both an Avignonese and a Roman read to Friedrich, each trying to shout louder than the other. It became a spectacle and a competition, and it entertained the hundreds assembled rather highly. Friedrich couldn't help but chuckle. Unfortunately, Maria, still rather upset, couldn't do more than muster a false smile.
Maria was hesitant when it was her time to recite the traditional vow. Friedrich muttered to her under his breath that Bavuso had broke out of prison earlier and his fate lied in Maria's hands. The Queen kept her word and took her oath before God. Friedrich then, mockingly hesitated as he rolled his eyes and put his finger to his chin. He then recited his vows, taking his oath. As the ceremonies drew to a close, an impromptu coronation went on and Friedrich was crowned King of Both Sicilies, while Maria was crowned yet again, even though she had been with her father's death years earlier. After the coronation, Friedrich kissed his mother and the entire party left back to the palace for celebration.
Neither Maria nor Friedrich had ever met her bastard brother. Rumors of his death had been circulating for years and had been accepted by most, however Friedrich's agents assured him otherwise and pointed his attendance out to the king. Friedrich ordered his arrest, which happened just as festivities began at the Palace of the Normans.
Friedrich had mixed feelings. He was greatly pleased that the wedding and coronation were both successful, but he was still enraged with the events that took place outside the city walls, and he wanted revenge.
After the dancing was over, some guests were permitted to sleep at the palace. All of Friedrich's relatives were to stay, as was the younger Maria, as was von Kues, von Grimma, and, naturally, the royal couple, who departed to what was once Maria's, but now
their room.
As Maria sat on the foot of her bed, she remembered the events that took place there months earlier, with Federico breaking in and telling the story of Charles of Durazzo's supposed plans. She thought of her father's death, and of nearly having Federico executed. She sighed and put on a facade as Friedrich approached her. As they consummated their union, it made Maria feel more alive, but only briefly. When it ended, Friedrich kissed her on the forehead and left the room. She was emotionally drained and went to sleep.
Friedrich, only sixteen, had no experience prior to that. However, he rather enjoyed himself. The event did little to subdue his thirst for revenge, however, and he broke into the younger Maria's room and sealed the door behind him.
The younger Maria had not been asleep. She was looking out the window at the city. When she turned around to see the king in his robe, she didn't know what to say.
"...What.. brings you to my chambers, my king?"
A devilish grin revealed his intentions, and yet, his words masked his motives.
"I have come only to ask if you enjoyed today's festivities."
Maria was a smart girl. She was rather mature for thirteen and received glances from all kinds of men. She knew what he intended to do, so she decided it was better to gain something from it and participate actively than the alternative.
"I have indeed enjoyed them, and I thank you for asking. However, I left myself feeling envious of my cousin. I won't be able to marry any time soon. Where is my cousin? Is the queen asleep?"
Friedrich smirked.
"Yes. Today's events were rather hard on her. She had a long journey, the ceremony was rather emotional, and... Well, she was understandably tired."
The two looked out at the stars in the sky. Several hours later as the sun began to rise, Friedrich returned to his room, luckily, Queen Maria had not yet awoken.
They both slept through the day, waking up virtually in unison shortly after sunset. Friedrich met with von Kues and spoke more about the assassination plot.
"It is not a matter to worry over, Your Majesty. Maria has received a letter from the Elector of Pfalz. We shall duplicate it and state that the second was retrieved from one of the assassins."
"That sounds perfect. You have my blessing."
The next morning, men placed the new Coat of Arms of the King and Queen on the wall above and behind the throne. It was both large and elaborate, containing titles and claimed titles of both the King and the Queen.
Friedrich and Maria stood and watched as it was completed. Both were satisfied, although Maria wasn't fond of how the Aragonese arms of Sicily had been placed. She thought the arms as a whole were quite good, however, and convinced herself that her marriage would be a happy one. Court was open once again, only this time, Maria was not alone on the throne.
