The Castel Annarietta

Artur knew that His New Wife's Birthday would Be Coming Up so he chose to Make the Building of this New Vineyard a Top Priority. But the Vineyard alone, would not Suffice, he'd need to Import Various Exotic Ingredients. To that End He put in a Delayed Order For Naziri Honey, Mandrake and Pomegranate From Cintra, Alina Spice From Zerrikania, Koviri Lemons, Rivian Cherries, and Lyrian Apple Cider. He Kept This Quiet, Planning On Surprising Annarietta With The Gift.

Ultimately, Artur's Plans Would Come To Fruition, Because He Needed Anna Henrietta Convinced Of His Good Will and Intentions, and This Was The Best Way To Do That. What Better Means To Prove That, Than Was But To Name The New Vineyard After Your Lady Wife? Artur Kept His Sword Handy, In Case Anna Henrietta Needed Saving.

Artur's Plan To Prove His Intentions To Annarietta Were Given A Substantial Opportunity Following The Passing Of The Owners Of The Casteldaccia, Hortense, Coronata, and Belgaard Vineyards Through Means Both Natural and Unnatural. Artur Quickly Bought The Coronata and Belgaard Vineyards Alongside The Casteldaccia and Hortense Vineyards, To Serve As A Cover For His Castel Anna Henrietta Plans. But With Vermentino In The Way Of His Plans For A United Wine Industry, He Would Need To Deal With The Vermentino Owners, One Way, Or, Another.

Artur Set Things In Motion, Had His Mean Arrange and Cause Problems For The Vermentino Vineyard, Like Planting Archespore Seedlings In The Fields, Burning The Grapes and Vines, Then He Could Initiate Loans With Slightly Reasonable Interest Rates, To Get Things Back On Track, Only For "Raiders" and "Bandits" To Make Off With Anything Of Use. Artur Would Eventually, But Covertly Send Debt Collectors, Before Finally Liquidating The Assets and Lands Of The Vermentino In Order To Cover The Debts. In Essence, A Bloodless Takeover. Artur Would Not Let Up However If Push Came To Shove, He'd Turn Up The Heat and Increase The Host Of Problems.

A Simple Bit Of Sabotage Was A Pale Replacement For Masterful Manipulation and Self-Destruction By Ones Self, This Was Far More Efficient and Expedient. Artur Would Now Find The Need To Create A Wine Consortium, Between The Most Influential Vineyards Of Toussaint, and To Promote The Interests Of The Wine Industry In Toussaint. The Vineyards of Tufo, Vermentino, Castel Revelo, and Corvo Bianco Were Invited. Vermentino Was Still Plagued By Problems, But Joining A Consortium Of The Most Influential Vineyards and Families Of Toussaint, Which Was Led By The Duke, Was Another Ploy On Artur's Part.

Artur Sat In His Chair, As A Portrait Of Him and Annarietta Was Painted, The Portrait Was The Third One, The First Was More Official, The Second In An Embrace, and This One Meant To Depict A Wild Nature Conflicted By Womanly Elegance. They Were Allowed To Chat, But Only If They Maintained Their Positions. "Annarietta? I Have A Confession, I Trust You Have Noticed The Orders For Raw Materials Exceeding The Costs I Have Established? Well, I Have Been Building A New Vineyard, In Secret." Says Artur. "Why In Secret?" Asks Annarietta. "Because, It's Called The Castel Annarietta." Says Artur, and Annarietta Looks Into His Pale Indigo Eyes, and Kisses Him Deeply. "I Love You." Says Annarietta. "Feelings Mutual." Says Artur As He Returns The Kiss.

With Artur's Secret Revealed To Henrietta, He No Longer Needed To Hide His Planned Gift For Annarietta, He At Once Pushed The Scheduled Build Ahead Of Time, Since Annarietta's Birthday Was Quickly Approaching and Time Was Very Much Not On His Side. Artur Revealed His Plans To Create A New Vineyard To The Nobles Of Toussaint In Honor Of The Duchess, and The Nobles Supported His Plan Wholeheartedly. One Of Artur's Proposed Initiatives Included The Wine Consortium. His Proposition Was That The Consortium Set The Standard For All Vineyards, In The Present and In The Future, An Appealing Prospect For The Fickle Nobles Of Toussaint. Artur's Pride and Joy Was To Be The Castel Annarietta, Aside From Annarietta Herself Of Course.

Artur Stood At The Finished Castel Annarietta, The Vineyard's Fields Were Rich In Soil Quality, They'd Receive Ample Sunlight and A Reroute Of The Local Stream Ensured The Fields Were Never Parched Or In Need Of Water. The Vineyard's Grapes and Vines Were Already Planted, and A Greenhouse Nearby Ensured Any Special Growth Was Used To The Best Of Their Quality. A Deep Cellar Was Constructed With Plentiful Underground Storage Space, Including An Underground Hot Spring Which Artur Tapped To Both Supply The Castel Annarietta A Source Of Heat, and, To Warm Wines, Which Would Be Part Of The Process In Heating and Cooling To Bring Out Flavor. The First Wine Was To Be Called, The Butcher Of Zerrikania. Such A Dark Name With A Exotic Place Would Feed The Reputation, As Was The Case With Good Wine Vintages.

All He Needed To Do, Was Await The First Wine To Properly Grow and Be Bottled..................