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There were days when Arianna wanted to fire every single member of her Council; today was one of them. Perhaps it was because they were all old, or men, or a combination of both, but she simply could not see eye to eye with them.
"I think we should raise taxes," Councilman Lombardi said.
Bad idea, Arianna thought. After an unusually harsh winter, many citizens were already struggling financially. She had no intention of making it worse. As Duchessa, she was already bound to feel guilty about not being able to take care of every single one of her people, but both Rodolfo and Dethridge seemed to be under the impression that the extreme weather was an after effect of their actions in Classe last year and so it ate at her even more. She wished that there was some line of communication with the Anglian Stravaganti, if only to relieve her guilt.
"We cannot do that," she stated firmly. "Our people will only suffer."
The next person speaking was Councilman Bettini. Compared to the others he was fairly young still and he had only been appointed to the Council a couple months ago. "Your Grace, with all due respect, our coffers are almost empty. We have to do something."
"But not this," was the answer. "It will only cause further unrest."
She saw a couple men whispering to one another out of her earshot, possibly questioning her leadership.
"Councilman Parillo," she addressed one of them. "Do you have something to add?"
"Only that perhaps we could ask the other city states for help. You helped Lucia di Chimici gain rule over Classe. It would be appropriate for her to return the favour. Or maybe, we can strike a deal with her cousin, the Grand Duke-"
"Out of the question," Arianna interrupted. She did not want anything to do with Fabrizio di Chimici and she most certainly wouldn't ask him for money. Besides, from what she had heard, the other city states were struggling just as much.
"I think that has been enough for today," she said, trying on a much cheerier tone. "It is getting late. Let's revisit this discussion again tomorrow." It earned her both disgruntled noises and relieved sighs.
***
Luciano found his wife in the garden. He had not seen her all day, as she had been in an important meeting with the Council. He, too, knew that the Bellezzan people were struggling. Something had to be done, and quickly, but it appeared that Arianna and her councilmen just couldn’t see eye to eye on any possible solution.
He couldn’t blame her for that though. These men were all old and although their views were in line with those of most Talians, Luciano figured anyone from the twenty-first century would find them horribly outdated. As did Arianna, who was struggling to get them to cooperate with her plans. Which is how Luciano knew she’d be in the garden; to get a little peace of mind before the discussions continued tomorrow.
She was sitting on a bench near the fountain, one of her favourite spots. Luciano had never understood why that thing was even there; there was enough water in Bellezza already after all. But Arianna found it calming to look at the stream of water coming out of the top. That is what she told him at least.
She smiled at him as he approached; it was equal parts genuine and strained.
“How are you holding up?” He asked, taking a seat next to her. She leaned into him, putting her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her.
“It could have been worse.”
Luciano could always tell when she was trying to downplay her frustration. “So it went awful and they shot down every idea that you had?”
Arianna sighed. “Yes.” She paused for a second, then added: “Is this all our fault?”
“Of course not. It's not like we can control the weather.” He had hoped the last comment would make her laugh, but it earned him another, slightly annoyed sigh instead.
“That is not what I mean.”
He knew that. He knew exactly what it was that she truly meant. Both Rodolfo and Dethridge seemed to be under the impression that the extreme weather was an after effect of their actions in Classe last year.
Luciano knew that it ate at her, knowing that her peoples struggles might very well be the result of something they had done. It ate at him too, if he was being honest with himself.
Yet, there was no way of knowing for sure. They couldn’t contact any of the Stravaganti in England to compare notes. Besides, the damage had already been done and all they could do about it now was to come up with a way to minimize the impact.
“We don’t know for sure that any of this is because of what we did. So don’t punish yourself over it. That would do Bellezza no good anyway.” He wrapped his arm tighter around her.
“We need to get more people to come to the city,” Arianna said. Many Bellezzans earned their money from tourism, which had heavily declined. The winter had been cold enough to freeze the canals over and the prices of food had gone up tremendously due to scarcity, so that many people from other city states could no longer afford a trip to the City of Masks.
“The Council wants to raise taxes, but I think that’ll only make the problem worse. And don’t get me started on the unrest that it would cause.” She swallowed. “I’m trying to not be selfish here, but I think this might just get me unelected as Duchessa. If they don’t kill me, that is.”
Luciano could hear in her voice that the last comment was meant to be a joke, but he didn’t find it particularly funny. “Everything is going to be fine,” he reassured her. “You are going to come up with a plan to fix this and you’ll go down in history as the best Duchessa Bellezza has ever seen. I promise."
He heard Arianna chuckle a little. She lifted her head to look at him. “You really believe that, don’t you?”
“I do,” Luciano said firmly. “And I just want you to know that whatever happens, I am so proud of you.”
He lifted his free hand up to her face and kissed her. It was gentle and loving, but passionate nonetheless. It was a reassurance, a promise, that they were in this together; that he would always love her no matter what. Together, they could overcome any obstacle. But at that moment, there were no obstacles, no problems. It was just them and their love and it was perfect.
It was Arianna that broke the kiss. “What would I do without you?” She asked. She quickly realized what she had said when a smug smile appeared on Luciano’s face. “No, don’t answer that.”
Luciano chuckled. “Whatever you want, my lady.”
Arianna rolled her eyes and shook her head, but he could see her smiling. Then she got up, holding her hand out to him.
“I just had an idea,” she said, a devilish grin appearing on her face. “I think your kiss inspired me. So, how about we go inside and you can inspire me some more?”
Now that was an offer Luciano would never turn down. He took her hand and let her lead him inside.