(Angevin Union)
-I wonder if I should actually call this ‘King’s Gambit’ but ill save that for later, maybe
-anyways, here’s a little flashback of how Carlo Durazzo became the Pretender of Hungary.
As Ivan Frankopan prepared to bring Louis of Orleans back home to Hungary, he received an urgent message from a bird. The bird told him, in Elizabeta’s voice, “the proposal with Louis has to be annulled. Maria is just a princess again and Carlo Durazzo has become king…but this situation will be solved.” Frankopan nearly died falling off his horse hearing this. What has that retarded queen done now?
In Zagreb, Croatia…a grand meeting was being held. The King of Naples, Carlo Durazzo was surrounded by all of his Croatian and Hungarian supporters along with his army from Naples and a handful of Albanian warriors from Durres. There was Ban Ivan Horvat and his brother Bishop Pavao Horvat at the head of the congregation with their arms draped over Durazzo’s shoulders. There was much noise and paper flying around the room. King Tvrtko of Bosnia stood near the front of the room quietly appreciating the party. Ban Ivan Palizna sat down during the festivities as he still was wounded under his clothing. And then there was Baron Istvan Lackfi doing parlor tricks for some youngins in one corner.
There was one gentleman dancing around with a bunch of busty Neapolitan women. He was quite tall with dirty blonde hair. He had a very muscular build and some scars across his body. This was Sir John “Acuto” Hawkwood, a Condottieri (mercenary contractor) from Essex. Well, he’s English but he’s spent his career in France and Italy and is renowned for his genius formations in battle. He is such an destructive mercenary that his one (1) year raiding of the Tuscany region caused a coalition to rise against the Pope since he was hired by the Papacy at the time. Milan, Florence, Siena, Naples, Sienna, Pica, Lucca, and Arrezo would crush Papal armies that he had deserted by that time. When that Pope died, naturally, the citizens of Rome pressured the Cardinals to rush the process of choosing the next Pope, allowing them have disagreements between Urban and Clement. He is now 62 years old and the head of the White Company.
Acuto would then suddenly be pulled away by a cane. He was pulled in by his Milanese wife, Donnina Visconti, who was big and beautiful as well. She gave him a stern look while he tried to apologize. She then stepped on his foot and his four kids tackled him to the ground. Remember the names Acuto and Visconti.
There were 7 elite knights in Durazzo’s retinue, they were known as the Chevaliers de Navire. The first five were Carlo Ruffo, Giannotto Protogiudice from Salerno, Gofferedo Marzano, Francishello Guindazzo, and Bartolomeo Tomacelli. They were each average Italian adult man wearing the Anjou blue. Then there was Loys Enghein, the ruler of the island of Morea. Enghein is his home county, all of the way in Wallonia. But he rules over Morea in service of Durazzo. He actually wore his own colors of black and white with special yellow crosses making a pattern over his robe. Lastly there was Palameade Bozzuto who was the brutal jailer for Durazzo’s aunt, Queen Johanna of Naples, before they decidedly killed her. He was a very large man and wore blue.
Why were they partying? Pope Urban, who seemed to have betrayed his alliance with Durazzo most recently, was spotted hiding in Genoa and thus out of power. Now all Neapolitan forces could be sent to Hungary. They were also able to convince enough Croat and Magyar families to begin an attack on the reigning Anjou. Here comes the Durazzo!
With the Voivode and Sigismund away, Angevin Croatia sent 25,000 men to the capital Buda. Despite the large size, they were not devastating to the land as they moved. They made it to the capital by noon and promptly took it as Durazzo commanded the defenders to not attack their new king. He would walk through the castle until he found Queen Dowager Elizabeta, King Maria, King Hedwig, and Palatine Garai in the throne room. She was smiling widely while Garai looked at the ground. Maria and Hedwig looked content if anything. Durazzo was followed in by his seven knights and Acuto, who looked around stupid, kicking his dirty shoes on the clean floors. They stopped halfway.
“So you’ve finally came,” said Elizabeta.
“Yeah? Maria isn’t wearing the crown…”
“And what did you come for?”
“Well potentially, battle, but ultimately, the Crown of Hungary!” He leaped off his horse and landed right in front of Elizabeta. He pointed his sword at her and the Palatine’s sword came in between. “Give it to me.”
“Well let’s have a Diet meeting to confirm your kingship. You already brought all of the Croats so everyone else should be here by tonight.”
“Oh. Tonight. Okay then,” he turned around and unequipped his sword. “Well this is turning out nice and easier than I thought.”
After that, Durazzo put out an order to his troops to shoot down any bird leaving Hungary. The girls were running through the castle, chasing a rat, when suddenly Maria stopped. She looked at a slightly open door where she heard moaning. She was about to look through but Hedwig then tackled her asking, “WHAT’S WRONG!?”. They fell through the doorway and there were Elizabeta and Garai sitting across the couch. They are still wearing their clothes, Maria thought. Hedwig whispered kind of loudly, “hey did you think they were fucking?” Maria looked back at her with a pissed face.
Then the Cardinal stepped past them, “sorry girls. Queen, I have returned.”
“Oh good. It seemed you had completely disappeared. I asked everyone about you but no one had seen you.”
“To contemplate with God, one must truly remove themselves from the Earth. Now, how have things progressed?”
Garai said, “Well our entire military went out to fight Poland, enforcing Hedwig on the throne with a potential marriage to Jogalia of Lithuania. And now Durazzo will be king here.”
“I see, very nice. What?”
The Queen said, “it’s nothing to worry about, Cardinal. Come with me for a moment.” She went through a different door down another hallway. The Cardinal followed casually and closed the door behind him. “You know we can’t really decree anything without the Royal Seal you keep on your person.”
“That’s fine. The country is insatiable so it would be a bad omen to enact something without the will of God infused to it. What bothered you so much? Land grants and seizing? Those things aren’t specific to a timetable-”
“SOMEtimes you talk…a lot. Sorry. I greatly apologize for the outburst.”
“Then, what did you want to say, Elizabeta?”
“Well since your presence is needed for such a seal then perhaps you can escort Hedwig out of the country. The Poles cry for her, it almost brings me to pity them.”
“Why can’t you?”
“Because what am I to do for a creature I created, that I’ve only seen half my life. I fear if I give her away, I’ll never hear her silly voice again. Maybe at least if I had her for a year I could get tired of it. Cardinal, for a man close to Jesus, what is love?”
“A rhetorical question, I do these when I want to keep talking,” he muttered to himself.
“Is it the unwillingness to let her go be free so that we could always be together or letting her go because I am satisfied with what we’ve shared over some time?”
“Did you feel this way towards Lajos?”
“I’m questioning it as he ascends. But is love measurable by time? Could mathematicians find my capacity for love? Should it be 3 years? Or the 30 years I spent with Lajos? But I didn’t get tired of him yet.”
“Then you sound ready to let go, even if it’s the last time you ever see her again. But you don’t have to be so attached, love transcends space and time, Elizabeta. Maybe your love for your daughters may indeed save both kingdoms.”
“So optimistic and concrete. I’m going to remain in the middle to continue pondering my question.”
“I don’t appreciate stubbornness as a reply to advice. What else?”
“Oh yes, about Hedwig, but only send her if I am in danger. So you watch over her now. If God so informs you that I am in danger, you and her can go to Poland. They then won’t have the Royal Seal to do anything and she can have Poland to stay safe.”
“And when would you like to practice Reconciliation?”
“For what?”
“You sound like you’re about to commit a sin if you were to end up in danger.”
“Not me. You never know with Durazzo. Well, let’s go, it’s almost time for the Diet.”
And so the families indeed gathered that night. It takes days to travel across Hungary, even if they were enthusiastic about coming, but Durazzo decided not to be suspicious about this. Of course, unbeknownst to him, Elizabeta had been watching over his party and she preemptively called on the nobles for a Diet when he left Croatia. This was also smart for if he was aggressive with his entry, all of their armies would eventually buffer him. While every family was present, some of their heads weren’t; i.e. Baron Csak and Ivan Frankopan so their opinions may be neutered. Well, even so, the meeting began with the Royal family, the Cardinal, and the Palatine sitting in their usual place. Maria was without her crown. After the opening prayer, Durazzo and Ivan Horvat would step onto the stage.
The Palatine presented “And so, due to greater judgment and sense, presenting our new ruler, Király Károly Anjou-Durazzo Harmadik (the Third).”
A raucous and celebratory roar echoed from the Carpathians to the Alpine Mountains. Many in the crowd stood up and threw their clothing here and there. Some stayed in their seats, very disappointed but quiet. The Palatine screeched into the conch shell so that they could silence.
Elizabeta said, “if you lot find it so acceptable then so be it. For the safety of the Kingdom, I welcome my relative and Maria will transfer the crown.”
Maria walked down the stage to hand it over. The Crown of a Christian Kingdom becomes a sacred thing upon the genesis of a country. Priests have tapped into a magic that stores the essence of monarchs generation by generation so that when the Crown is inherited, that essence is transferred to the next ruler. The first crowning was with Charlemagne. For Hungary, it would be Saint Istevan, the First King of Hungary. The receiver must be completely voluntary even if the crown was stolen. The Cardinal quickly prayed over Carlo and then placed the crown on his head, beginning a new prayer for the transfer of kingly essence.
Once it was finished, Carlo raised his fists in the air, “Huzza!” and his people repeated this as a mirror. Carlo then said, “first I would like to thank all of those in Croatia that first believed in me rather than some female king. I plan to make Hungary a superpower on this continent and you all will help me. I come from Naples but Hungary will come first and still I see value in cooperation between the kingdoms. Naples sits as the rich crossing point between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and so from there, Hungary can gain greater control of the Balkans and rob trade from Venice and Genoa. This campaign will be accomplished by you great Magyar families” which cheered loudly, “the holy 12 Croats” who cheered loudly, “and my seven knights from Naples working all in tandem.” They rose but could not make noise as they were observers. “Now break, I must attend to consolidation.” Elizabeta thought, wow Durazzo was better spoken than usual…
And later, at night, the Anjou-Kotromanic girls and Monsieur Durazzo were having dinner in the royal dining hall. His knights and Acuto were with him along with Horvat. The Cardinal was here on the favor of the Palatine who was busy with paperwork. The three girls sat in one corner of the room. Tvrtko came into the room carrying Palizna as he walked with a cane. “Beta, good to see you again. You still look beautiful.”
“Thank you cousin. And the Ban, how could you have ever been so badly injured?”
“I ran into the wrong person. But the act is an act, I can fight ten men right now. That is why I remain Ban despite Carlo’s concern.”
“I understand, please enjoy, the servants worked hard tonight,” Elizabeta said. Tvrtko sat across from her with Palizna at the bottom of the table. The others were munching away happily. Maria and Hedwig kept eyeing each other. Maria then shrugged and reached for a fork. Next to her was Bozzuto who swiftly stole the fork and stabbed the table with it, nearly impaling her hand. “Watch yourself honey,” her mother said calmly.
“Your fork is over there, mine was plain clean,” he said with a rude tone. Maria simply waved his hot breath off her face.
Hedwig seemed to be categorizing the food on her plate and then she said, “oh okay so Lady Durazzo is just a relative, right?”
“Sure honey. Hey, monsieur, where is she exactly?” the Dowager asked.
“Back home in Durres whining about me coming here. She didn’t think it would be a good idea, that I’d be in some danger. But you’ve been very nice to me, Auntie.”
“Ah well a woman’s intuition is a good thing to invest oneself in,” she said quietly but the king did not hear. The Cardinal gave her a weird look.
“Gotta go take a shit,” Acuto said rising. As he passed by Horvat, he stole a loaf of bread off his plate and scurried away.
“That little shit!”
“Ew, he’s gonna eat that while pooping!” Hedwig said to Maria causing both of them to giggle.
“Quick question, where did you find an Italian like that?” the Cardinal asked.
“From England,” Durazzo answered. “He’s ungovernable but more accurate than the best diviner.”
“Well he’s quite ruder than any Anglo that I’ve met. He did not even pray as we blessed the food.”
“He has his own relationship with God. But he is a Milanese civilian, I cannot defend completely.”
The Cardinal shrugged. After some time, Elizabeta asked, “and Durazzo, do you have any plans for Poland? Giving you Hungary because of your relation to Lajos gives you precedence over all his territories.”
“That would be more complicated. I don’t know any Poles. I may as well have to let that go. Sigismund hasn’t returned from it yet, right?” Maria’s face reddens from anger but she stayed quiet. “He can have that if he wants.”
“Well he doesn’t really want from what I understand,” said Horvat, “from what I understand, he has as much support as you over there.”
“Nice.”
Elizabeta said, “well I guess that’s better for you, not to waste Hungary-Naples forces over there. It’s too far away and too different to this environment you’ve found yourselves comfortable in.”
And later Durazzo mentioned, “but I can’t wait for you guys to meet Margarita once she feels comfortable. We can all be still one united family here, I do not mind your staying. An Anjou Union in Buda.”
“Oh of course. And don’t you have a cousin in France as well?”
“Oh a nephew, I think. His father died trying to go after me so I can’t consider them apart of the family if he doesn’t amend things.”
“I see, running out of Anjou soon…”
“Well also, I have my two daughters and a son with Margarita. I’ll bring them soon.”
“Yes for sure. They should see you out,” she muttered. Now the Cardinal was staring at her with a curious look.
And later, Elizabeta rose to help Durazzo cut up some dessert. She leaned over him from behind, slowly moving the knife forward and back. Everyone watched her passively except for the concerned Cardinal. She suddenly hugged him tightly saying, “oh I am so happy for your generosity and hospitality! You really don’t have to keep us but if you insist! I am happy that we are happy and it seems I didn’t come off too mean on you in last year’s Diet.” As she hugged him, the knife was pressing against his chest but no one seemed bothered.
“Ahaha, well be careful, I am not apart of the dessert.”
“Oh but you are sweeeeet!” she giggled and he giggled and they seemed to wrestle around while her arm nearly thrust the knife into him. Or at least, that’s what the Cardinal saw.
Hedwig said to Maria, “wow, mom really acts fake sometimes.”
Maria shushed her, “you say too much sometimes!”
“OH!”
But the girls did not know her plans. After the dinner, Elizabeta pulled Durazzo aside. “This is Blaise Forgach, the Master Cupbearer. They wanted you to visit the winery tomorrow to get the king’s opinion on the country’s produce. They are very good at their job and I trust them with my undying heart to get any job done.”
“Ah, nice to meet you. Well, we can go at noon. I like to wake late.”
The next day, the Cardinal sent one of his servants to follow Elizabeta, Durazzo, and Forgach to the winery. When they got there, the Palatine seemed to be standing guard so the servant felt to afraid to follow. They waited by some trees. Later, only Elizabeta and Forgach left, with the crown in hand. The servant prayed to God whether or not he should leave now or investigate. God put him to sleep under that tree until the dead of night when no one would be around. He thanked God for this once he realized that fact. Then he went in and found the heavily injured Durazzo clinging on to dear life. He ran back towards the castle but came upon Bishop Horvat first and decided to tell the priestly man the news. “Tell this to the Cardinal please”. The Bishop agreed to do so but simply retrieved Durazzo’s party and informed his party to leave Buda soon. Durazzo would unfortunately die on their way to Croatia.
Vlad thought to himself, wow I’m suddenly starting to like the old queen.
tdwriter 