England is broke and on the verge of war yet again. With growing fear inside the walls of the Westminster Palace leads King Henry VII to make a decision. After his eldest son and heir Arthur, Prince of Wales is married to the Spanish Princess Cathe...
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The Tudor Ship
They'd been on this ship for about 90 days and they'd still hadn't reached Florence yet. The ship captain had just informed the rest of the passengers aboard that they were nearing the Port surrounding the city of Pisa, then we'd have to travel either on horseback or by carriage to our final destination to the city of Florence. The captain reassured us that the journey to Florence should only take us about two hours. I was removed from my thoughts when someone came up to me.
"They say that Florence is the heart of all Europe, hopefully you won't have any difficulty with claiming her's." It was his Lady grandmother who'd just approached him.
"The task shall be done just as I've been told to do, Lady Grandmother." Harry said.
"Oh Harry you were always my favorite, it makes good sense that you should get the better bride." Harry only huffed in annoyance; he wanted to move on and focus of his future, as well as his current task at hand.
"You might not have been born the heir, but you'll have every man jealous of you that you get to call the girls yours. I know you think of yourself as a charmer but make sure that your only focus is the Medici girl, we need her." His grandmother was just reaffirming what everyone knew he had to do to win her heart and gain all of her money in the process.
"Lady Grandmother, do you know anything about her, I mean besides the fact that she's beautiful?"
"Harry, what I've heard is only rumors and gossip so there's no use in me saying them aloud when we don't even know what's true and what's false." Harry turned his head from once looking out at the vast ocean to the face of his grandmother.
"Please tell me what you know I'll take whatever you say with a grain of salt." After that statement from her grandson Lady Marget gave in to his demand.
"Very well than, She's the youngest sister of Lorenzo Medici, the current head of the family since his father passed away. She devotes a large part of her time to charity, the arts and her family. I also heard that she loves flowers and is skilled with a horse." Harry nodded his head in satisfaction at least now he knew something about the woman that his family was pushing him toward.
"Thank you Lady Grandmother, you've managed to set my mind at ease a little bit." She smiled at him and walked away to be with the rest of the Tudor Court aboard the ship. Harry started to close his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind, until he noticed that now someone else was standing next to him wanting to converse. He turned his head to look at the intruder, and sure enough it was his sister Meg.
"Hello Meg, did someone send you over here to check up on me again?" I asked sincerely.
"No, Harry I came to that concussion all by myself. I just looked so lonely I thought I would just visit." I just nodded my head to her to signify that I was listening. She then continued on to say.
"Have you thought anything about the girl that they want you to marry? What was her name again?"
"Her name is Maddalena, Maddalena Medici"
"Wow, even her name sounds luxurious." I only chuckled at her response even though Meg was a year older than me, me being born a boy I was forced to grow up a lot faster than her.
"Do you think she'll be nice? I hope she's nice." This made me chuckle.
"Yes Meg I think she'll be nice, she'll have to be." After that I thought the conversation would be over. But I was definitely wrong. She put her hand on my arm so that I'd look at her and she said.
"Harry, you know that I love you right. I only want the best for you, and I hope that she can give it to you." After that heartfelt statement from my sister I couldn't help it but hug her. After that Meg went back to our family and I looked out into the sea until the captain said that we were entering the Pisian port.
Once we arrived in Italy I couldn't believe how beautiful this country was. Everyone was taking their time taking in the scenery of the new country. Once everyone was ready we made our way to the horses and carriages. The women rode in the carriages whereas the men took the journey on horseback. Everywhere we went was so beautiful the country was so filled with life and warmth. Then before we knew it we were at the gates to officially enter the city of Florence. Once we were allowed to pass through everyone stared at us. Apparently they don't see many English men here. I could see people gossiping about us wondering who we were, some of higher intelligence found out quicker than others by the Tudor crest made visible on the guards armor. Once we made our way through the city I was blown away at the magnificence of the city.
We stopped at a Large estate that apparently used to belong to a former noble who had been disposed of and banished from the city about two lifetimes ago, that was where we would be staying.
****************************************** Stay tuned guys in a few more chapters the Tudor's will meet the de'Medici's! See you soon
