BloodStar

The atrium of BloodStar Castle was alive with the bustle of wealthy elites from around the relatively small empire abuzz with the return of their empress. Guests were dressed to the nines with men in full tuxedos and women in ball gown dresses. Servers gracefully rushed to ensure everyone’s drink was topped off and everyone’s belly content.

The concentrated wealth and power in the room, even without Xenia’s presence, was paired by an opulent atrium with handrails, chandeliers, stairs steps, door knobs, and more finished with embedded diamonds, rubies, gold, and other precious jewels.

A crackle of electricity shot throughout the room, and everyone turned to the grand staircase to see a swirling black portal flickering with small streaks of audibly powerful electricity. The portal fully formed in front of the staircase pulpit, and Xenia slowly stepped out of it to the roaring cheers and applause of her people.

She waved and smiled at the tremendous welcome; however, the roars of pride at the sight of their new empress only continued to grow. Xenia stood atop the pulpit looking down at her loyal subjects with a sense of pride until she finally motioned for them to quiet.

“It is one of the greatest days in our history, and as is usually the case, one of the darkest in history for our enemies. The BloodStar Empress lives!” Xenia ended her statement with an upswing, and the crowd roared once more.

After several moments, she quieted them once more, “If you are in this room tonight, you are part of the most powerful group of people in the world today. You are a part of the most powerful group in history even. I swear to put the BloodStar Empire back on top of the world. Back to our rightful place!”

The crowd cheered with raised drinks as elites nodded, smiled, and clinked their glasses. The sight of their new, powerful empress was a sight of power and invincibility that they all embraced fully. All but one.

A woman with short hair leaned over to a man near her, “The world needs stability. Not another war. She will be the downfall of us all. She’s a bloodthirsty slut. Just look at that unbecoming dress.” The woman scoffed audibly for several people around her to hear, and the man she was speaking to turned his head and shoulder away from her. She crossed her arms and looked up at Xenia. To her surprise, Xenia met her gaze and held it before she began again.

“Some of you may be wondering how I plan to put us on top. Will it be at the expense of BloodStar lives? Will it bring instability? Will it end in my death?” She surveyed the room with her hands outstretched in front of her on the staircase pulpit rail, “No. No. And No.”

A twisted smile of satisfaction appeared on her face as she continued, “I first plan to make an example of the Sage Empire. To finish what I started so to speak following through with Erika Sage’s death. Why the Sage Empire? Other than my hate for the Sage Family, they are also a very strong ally of the Heraklinos Empire. After annihilating the Sage Empire off the face of the Earth, Jarek will confront me directly. And after I kill Jarek, all other leaders and all other citizens will fall in line.”

She looked back to the woman scoffing at her earlier, and the two stared one another down once more as Xenia said, “Stability will have never been greater under my rule.”

The woman thought to herself, “Stare me down if you wish. You are a young fool. Let’s see who has the last laugh.” She then scoffed to herself as she sipped from her wine glass.

The crowd cheered until Xenia began again, “And everyone in this room will be assigned land, collect taxes, gain an obscene amount of wealth, and a grotesque amount of power.”

The crowd had one of the loudest cheers yet at the sound of her enticing words.

“So, as we stand at the precipice of being Kings and Queens of our world, let us drain the BloodStar wine cellars so that we may fill it once more with our plunder of the world.”

As the crowd cheered, Xenia began her descent down the staircase to mingle with her subjects for the first time as Empress of the BloodStar Empire, and as an afterthought she shouted, “I am also getting married tomorrow!”

The crowd laughed and hollered as she reached the ground level and the crowd migrated like a school of fish towards her.

The first to greet her was an enthusiastic old man who immediately bowed his head to her, “Welcome back Empress Xenia Victoria BloodStar. My condolences to you regarding the death of your mother. I would express more sadness were it not for the fact that this is exactly what she wanted, for you to do exactly as you are! Your mother, Empress Victoria, spent her days biding her time so that you could be an even greater Empress.”

The man bowed his head to her even further, but she reached out with her finger lifting his chin back up to look him in the eyes, “I promise not to disappoint my mother.”

She then walked into the crowd further with another elderly man asking, “Which province will you attack first in the Sage Empire? It would be an honor to send my men alongside you in battle.”

Xenia laughed as the man took her hand and kissed it, “As I said, my conquest will not be at the expense of BloodStar lives. And my conquest of the Sage Empire will not be province by province.”

The man looked at her with a questioning look, and she merely smiled and said, “You will see.”

The next group she came across was a gaggle of beautiful women keen to ask all kinds of wedding related questions. One of the ladies immediately began, “What a love story, Empress! A stud like Nero fighting for you all his life. Hand chosen by your own mother. Sworn to duty but succumbing to love! I must write a book on this romance, my heavens!”

The woman beside her scoffed, “Don’t mind her, Empress. If we may be so bold, we have a more pressing question.”

Xenia raised her eyebrows, “Anything.”

The woman eyed her group, and she then turned back to Xenia, “Excuse us for being forward, and forgive us for our prying eyes and runaway fantasies, but…” She tilted her head, “Here goes nothing… Is the sex good?”

The women all waited expectantly with bated breath. Xenia laughed with her hand up to her chest, “My my my. Come now ladies, you know me. Surely you’ve heard the rumors, they are true.”

She paused and thought for a moment, “If the sex was anything less than a mind-altering, out-of-body, take-me-to-heaven experience every single time then Nero would be long dead.”

Xenia smirked as the ladies all felt weak in their knees gushing with wild fantasies running through their minds which Xenia was quite privy to as she read their thoughts.

Xenia then changed her tone to a more serious one, “If I may, ladies. Why do I feel Lady Morgana Bledsoe has an edge against me?”

One of the ladies leaned forward and quietly said, “Lady Morgana has positioned herself quite well for a rule under King Ramses and Queen Zara. That is to say… she has an interest in seeing you fail.” The ladies all eyed each other nervously, “She is quite outspoken. Eager to cause a scene that one.”

Xenia nodded her head, “Thank you, ladies. I look forward to regaling you with my stories of my sex life over tea after this war is over.”

The ladies swooned as Xenia walked past them approaching a woman whose back remained turned to her as she neared.

The man speaking with the woman took immediate notice of Xenia approaching and informed the lady as well, “Lady Morgana, our Empress.” The man then bowed his head respectfully.

Lady Morgana merely turned to stand and face Xenia with no greeting and no show of respect. She stood firm and took a sip from her wine glass, “Empress Xenia.”

“Lady Morgana Bledsoe.”

Xenia wore a half-smile of amusement, “So you fancy me to be a bloodthirsty slut? Is it my dress? Too short?”

“So, it is true. You can read minds. How intrusive.” Morgana scowled at Xenia, and the crowd went dead quiet.

Morgana sneered, “Then allow me to say aloud what you already know. This world needs stability. It needs peace. It does not need sadism, cannibalism, war, torture, greed, and gluttony. The world more than ever needs an accord of peace to further human culture into an age of prosperity. Are you prepared to lead us in to a new golden age of humanity? Or would you have us follow you back into an immoral dark age?”

Xenia looked around and reassured the crowd, “It is always permissible to share your thoughts and opinions in my empire.”

She then looked to Morgana, “But Lady Morgana Bledsoe, I would advise you to step away from the line of treason. I daresay you are eager to cross right over it.”

“And I daresay you are eager to thrust us back one hundred years. Eager to riddle the world with death and violence.”

Xenia maintained her composure, “I am not the one who poisoned the president. I am not the one who declared a divine right to steal Texas from the United States. I am the one who quelled rebellions in the Saber Province. I am also the one who offered an olive branch to avoid war by way of marrying Jacek Heraklinos.”

Xenia laughed, “History hates me for no other reason than that I am a BloodStar, and that I am not the one writing it. That changes soon. And once the history I write reflects me as the goddess I am, will you then love me and worship me so, Morgana?”

Morgana’s mind rushed and teemed with offensive thoughts which she couldn’t repress, and Xenia smiled, “That’s too bad.”

Morgana began to feel a tingling sensation take over her body as she began to lose control over her own movements; however, the sensation abruptly came to a halt.

Constance jumped in between the two girls with a contagious atmosphere of energy and joy, “Excuse me my Empress. Lady Morgana just needs to take a nice long walk outside.” She put her arm around Morgana’s shoulder, “Isn’t that right?”

Constance looked at Morgana with a beaming smile as Morgana felt a true form of terror come over her after being exposed to a minimal amount of bloodbending from Xenia.

Morgana looked to Constance, “Yes. Uhh yes. That’s right. Forgive me, my Empress. A lot has changed in a short amount of time.”

Constance took a step away from Xenia with Morgana, but Xenia put her arm out stopping them both.

Constance smiled at Xenia, “This is supposed to be a party! I implore you to continue celebrating! A wedding and return of our ruler? A party for the ages!”

Xenia cocked her head with a serious expression, “It was a party.”

Without missing a beat, Constance smiled back at her, “It still is. And it still will be later.” She then winked at Xenia and thought, “You needed someone to test the hammer, no?”

The crowd could hear their collective heartbeats as they looked on with a cold sweat until Xenia’s serious expression turned to a genuine and wide smile, “You are quite right, Mistress Khan. You are quite right!”

Xenia lowered her arm and turned back to the crowd, “My best friend everyone, Mistress Constance Khan. Always reminding me to enjoy the party. So let’s party!”

The crowd felt a wave of relief wash over them as they let out relieved breaths and began to enjoy the food and wine once again.

Xenia smiled as she watched Constance and Morgana ‘go for a walk’. She silently thought to herself, “Such a tease Constance. Now I have to wait this party out knowing such fun awaits me. MmMmm.”