80. Bride of the Adriatic
Date Written: July 15, 2019
Date Posted: November 27, 2020
Characters: Veneziano, Seychelles, France, Romano
Summary: Veneziano gets married to the sea.
Notes: There's a tradition in Venice where the doge throws a ring into the Adriatic Sea to symbolize a marriage between the city of Venice and its main source of income. To my knowledge, I think people still celebrate this tradition.
Seychelles fixed together a flower crown from an assortment of daisies that she found somewhere in an Italian field. There was nothing too intricate about weaving the flowers into a suitable crown, but the African island still pushed forth heavy focus on her project. As her nimble fingers completed the crown, the corner of her lips curled up in childish delight. Nearby, France was steadily sewing a white puffy dress on top of Veneziano's figure.
Finally, after a few more finishing touches were added to the crown, she held it up in the air and approached North Italy. Veneziano, not really paying much attention to his surroundings, audibly let out a shriek when he saw Seychelles snap her fingers in front of his face. He had been about to retort with indignation, but found himself smiling in delight when Seychelles held out her gift.
"How lovely!" Veneziano gasped in surprise.
At the sound of the Italian exclaiming, the young woman held up her crown closer to his face. As the blooms brushed against his nose, he was filled with the scent of the flowers and the urge to sneeze.
Fortunately for France and himself, he didn't give in to the urge.
"Your flower crown, your highness." She held the circle of flowers above her bowed head as if Veneziano was one of those kings of long ago.
"Grazie mille, dearest Seychelles." He then lowered himself on one knee and allowed the giggling island to crown him. "Do I still look cute?"
"As cute as ever." France poked a needle hard into one of the seams, which caused to the Italian to cry out in pain.
"What was that for?" Veneziano rubbed his side frantically to calm his upset skin.
France glared at the young man before pointing at the African Nation in a heated gesture.
Seychelles may have been oblivious to the interaction as she started to arrange even more flowers in a bouquet, but Veneziano understood. There was to be no flirting with the former French colony. After nodding in affirmation for his neighbor's benefit, he adjusted the straps of his fluffy gown and gave a little twirl.
"It's been almost two hundred years since I've last worn a dress!" He gave another twirl; this time, however, he did it in heels. "Ah, the memories."
Seychelles smiled. "You look wonderful, Mr. Italy."
"Good God! Almighty!" Romano looked up from his phone to deliver the world's scariest frown. "We were supposed to be talking about financial bullcrap not… well whatever the hell this is!"
"But, Romano! You know how important this day is to Venezia! Let us have some fun!"
"You throw a goddamn ring into the water. You know how stupid that is?"
"As if you're doing any work, Romano." The younger sibling leaned into his big brother's personal space, which allowed him to give his brother the world's biggest pout. "Come on, let's have fun."
Romano sighed. "As long as I'm not wearing the dress."
