Post by Joanna Montefiore on Nov 17, 2014 12:58:08 GMT -5
Their arrival in Anzio was accomplished without fanfare, though the Montefiore family did not conceal themselves or the pride they wore like a mantle as they made their way through the humble streets of the fishing village selected within the neutral zone as the meeting place. The negotiations to end the feud had each and every Montefiore slightly on edge, Joanna very much included, and it left her restless. Matters were far from settled between she and her sisters, yet she had promised Niccolo to accompany the family to the south.
She could not hide her anxiety from everyone; there was one who knew her almost as well as Niccolo, and that was her cousin Demetrio. Some years her senior, he stood protective watch over her brother as the Captain of the Ducal Guard, a stern and formidable force with which to contend. For the gentle Dove, Demetrio was occasionally intimidating yet she had occasionally sparked a smile from him that reassured her that despite his near-slavish devotion to duty and his blades, a good heart beat within his breast.
Most of the family were within the chambers assigned to them; Allegra was tending to a bath in the room the two youngest would share. To grant her sister much-deserved privacy, Joanna opted to descend to the common area of the inn to wait for the others. Niccolo had expressed a wish that they share the evening meal together, a request she would not refuse. Patience was a well-ingrained virtue in Joanna as she studied the cold hearth adorned with flowers in lieu of flames. The heat of the day made a fire unnecessary, though a welcome breeze swirled through the foyer from the open front and back doors as she absently toyed with the bracelet circling her left wrist.
Quiet by nature, she said little, but observed those who came and went, a glance flickering up the steps from time to time to see if anyone would going her soon.
@demetriomontefiore