PALAZZO VOIELLO
MESSELIA, SARTORIA
Colonel Alberto Puigneró raised his arms as he received the signal that the official car was arriving, giving the signal to be ready to start. First Councillor Bonaventura and his wife were standing nearby, ready to greet the Merovienne Chancellor. Colonel Puigneró saw the car approaching the Giardino Bianco and gave the signal to begin. Puigneró, a Tavoletro native, was the proud conductor of the Sartorian Air Force Band, and therefore in charge of the musical aspect of arrival ceremonies. He was proud of the role he and the band were playing, showing that the Sartorian Armed Forces were not merely an instrument of war, but most importantly an institution that supported the civilian elected government.
Marco Bonaventura heard the ceremonial music just as he also saw the official car approach. He always enjoyed arrival ceremonies for their elegance and festive feeling, and today was no different. He saw the Chancellor get out of the car, as an airman held the door for her, and he smiled at her, bowing as was custom in Sartoria before shaking her hand.
"Chancellor, it's so good to see you. I hope your stay here has been good so far?"
Pleasantries were exchanged, which included introducing his wife, before he invited the Chancellor to greet the principal government officials in attendance. There was the Second Councillor, of course, along with the Foreign Councillor, the Defence Councillor, the Trade Councillor, the Deputy Speakers of the House and Senate, along with other senior officials. It was a relatively cold day, so they were all wearing overcoats; truth be told, this year's winter was being quite unforgiving, but they still managed. They proceeded to an elevated platform and Marco invited the Chancellor to stand next to him.
"The national anthem of the Kingdom of Merovia, followed by the national anthem of the Republic of Sartoria."
Marco stood in attention, taking the time to survey the view in front of him. He knew that behind him was the Palazzo Voiello, the official residence and working place of the First Councillor. It had been used for this purpose since the final years of the principality, when the Old Palazzo Malzo had been bombed by the White Hand Consortium. In front of him he saw the Giardino Bianco, a park that was open to the public most of the time, except when it was used for official ceremonies; it stood out due to its abundance of white roses. On it where an assortment of soldiers carrying flags from Merovia, Sartoria and the various realms, along with people who had been invited to attend the ceremony. He was used to this view for the most part, it was not so different from the other arrival ceremonies that he had been to since his election as First Councillor.
Following the anthems, Marco and the Chancellor left the stand to conduct the military inspection, followed by a brief march by a ceremonial multi-service corps once their returned to the stand. It was all part of the ceremony, motions that had to be made. Finally it was time for the welcoming remarks, first by Marco and then by the Chancellor, after which they would go to the Palazzo Voiello to exchange gifts and have a private meeting. Marco approached the podium and began his remarks.
"Chancellor Sardou, on behalf of the Privy Council and the Sartorian People, I would like to extend our warmest welcome to the Palazzo Voiello and to Sartoria."