BloodStar

General Mattison huffed and puffed stewing in anger as he ascended the staircase to the plaza of Bella Domina. Every second since he had returned to the Holy Light Empire’s capital city, he had intended to confront Nero for his cowardice, and that moment had finally arrived.

He walked along the plaza and up to the ornate doors decorating the entrance of Bella Domina. He swung them open to enter the architectural marvel, and he immediately spotted Nero and another at the head of the cathedral.

“Nero! You have some answering to do!” Mattison made it very clear he was unhappy.

Nero looked up from his work to eye Mattison with a scowl, “Answer to who?”

Mattison marched right up to Nero and yelled, “To me!”

Nero continued to hold a blood red and black orb in his hands as an old woman next to him in crimson robes continued to focus and pour her ki into the orb. Nero looked away from Mattison and said, “We are busy. Leave.”

Mattison huffed and cried out, “You and your old witch here will stop! You will both stop at once!”

The old woman indeed stopped and looked to Mattison. Mattison couldn’t help but to notice her skin looked as if she were a hundred years old as it wrinkled upon itself and sagged. The woman looked shriveled and weak.

He then looked to Nero, “I have a great deal of respect for you as a warrior Nero. But what the fuck are you doing?! Warlord BloodStar is alone. She is alone, and she is alone with Jarek Heraklinos at her front doorstep!”

Nero sternly but calmly replied, “I have been called here by Empress Victoria BloodStar herself. My work here is paramount, General.”

Mattison jumped at his explanation, “As Warlord, is she not the highest authority outside of the empire? Are her orders not superior to even that of Empress Victoria’s in regard to matters of war?”

Nero looked to Mattison with a serious face, “They are formally superior to that of the Empress’s, yes. However, in practice, Xenia isn’t a fool. She isn’t willing to casually overturn a direct and vital order from the Empress herself.”

Nero quickly turned back to the old woman helping her imbue ki to the orb he held. Mattison grabbed Nero’s arm and looked to him, “Casually? Casually?!! Jarek Heraklinos is going to kill her. He, St. Michael, Erika, Jacek, all of them. They are going to kill her! And you think that situation to be casual?! That is an emergency! And yet here you are toiling with orbs and old witches! Maybe you aren’t the man I thought you were. You certainly aren’t the man Xenia thought you to be.”

Nero took the orb and placed it upon a cushion before turning to Mattison and taking a step towards him with an angered look on his face; however, the old woman stopped him, “Nero. Stop.”

Her voice was shrill and shaky as expected of a woman over one hundred years old. Nero stopped at once and took a step back.

The old woman then moved her long gray hair out of her face and looked to Mattison, “It has been a long long time since someone has dared to call me a witch to my face.” She put her finger up to her chin and said, “Hmm. Yes, they did used to call me the Crimson Witch, didn’t they? Until I killed them all.”

Mattison snarled, “And who are you may I ask?”

She smiled, “You mean to tell me you don’t recognize your Empress when you see her?”

Mattison furrowed his brow, “What?! No. But how?!”

She laughed the laugh of an evil witch, “Ahhh yes there you are. Now you see me. I am Empress Victoria, and you are right to give grief to Nero. However, know this. His work here is more important than you or anyone can know.”

Mattison felt the shiver of a cold chill down his back as he thought to himself, “I just openly criticized the Empress as an old witch to her face. What have I done?!”

He fell to his knees and began to profusely apologize, “Empress Victoria, forgive me! I am but a fool! I only intend to send aid to Warlord BloodStar.”

Victoria smiled down upon him, “Stand General Mattison. You have proven your loyalty to my daughter, and for that, I commend you.”

Mattison stood, and Victoria grabbed the red and black orb in her hands and held it out for Mattison to see, “I assure you General, our work here is vital to the success of Xenia. Time will tell you all you need to know. However, for now, just know that everything is going exactly as planned.”

He silently nodded as she placed the orb back on its cushion. She then gestured to herself, “Obviously, I have seen better days, have I not?” She ran her fingers through her grey hair, “With my bloodline powers absent, and my ki rapidly depleted into this orb, I am afraid my healing abilities have failed me, and my age has rapidly overcome me.”

She then gestured to Nero, “But all is not lost, Mattison. As my power has left me, it has entered others. This is no long Gladiator Champion Nero. May I introduce to you BloodStar Immortal Nero. Second in command taking orders only from the Empress… soon to be Xenia.”

Mattison frowned, “Empress?” He looked at her with concern. It didn’t take much to surmise that her generous bestowment of power and reckless abandonment of her own body could mean nothing good for the now plainly old Empress.

She snapped out of her ramblings and smiled at Mattison, “I fear I have said too much darling. Please share nothing you have heard here today with anyone.”

Mattison nodded, “Not a word. But I must ask. How is it you intend to help Xenia from here? What is this orb?”

Victoria looked down and raised her hood over her head as she shrouded her face in darkness and said, “General, I do not plan to help her from afar. I plan to make haste to the BloodStar Citadel at once.”

She walked past Mattison and called out to Nero, “Invictus Sanguis is complete. Nothing can stop the BloodStar lineage now. You know what to do once she returns to you, Nero.”

Nero nodded, “I stake my life on completing the task.”

Victoria continued to walk down the cathedral aisle and called out to Mattison, “General. Take your leave from the armed forces for now. Nero and I will take it from here.”

Mattison frowned but nodded, “Yes, Empress.” He looked on to her as she exited Bella Domina and thought, “The Empress, the Crimson Witch, finally off to battle. I wish I could see the look on Jarek’s face!”

He then turned to Nero. The two silently nodded at one another before Mattison said, “Until I am needed again, Nero.” He then left the church to take an unwanted leave from duty.

_______________

Xenia opened her eyes as she woke for the day. The golden morning sunlight lit up her room with rays of warmth as she stretched her arms above her head.

She lay in bed thinking to herself, “Everything feels brighter. Everything warmer. Everything… peaceful. What is this feeling?”

She stood from her bed and donned a short white silk robe as she moved to the window and looked to the sky, the sun bathing her in its morning light.

She felt an unusual sensation and smiled to herself, “What is this? I’ve never quite felt it before.” She moved her hands over her body feeling the warmth until finally both hands came to her stomach and rested.

Her eyes went wide with shock, and she stood frozen as she came to a sudden realization.

“This? This feeling… I know my body inside and out… and yet I have never felt this feeling.” She walked over to her desk chair and fell into it still in shock.

She grinned to herself and then softly uttered, “I’m… pregnant.”

She raised her knees into the chair and hugged her legs with her eyes peeping over the top of her knees as she grinned behind her legs thinking to herself, “I’m pregnant!”

She then leapt from the chair and ran to the courtyard. She looked to the sun and the sky and twirled with her arms out. She was smiles all around as she sat on the ledge of a fountain and eyed the BloodStar Citadel with a new perspective on life.

“This baron citadel won’t do! I need life! I need people, animals, I need happiness to surround me today!” She shouted out with glee in her silk white robe.

Jacek rounded the corner with a stern look, “Someone is in a good mood this morning. I take it you enjoyed last evening then? I hardly heard you. Hell, I hardly saw you.”

She stood and beamed with a smile at him, “Last night changed my life, Jacek.” She sighed and swooned her eyes towards the sky.

He held a matte grey spear in his hand, gripping it firmly. He knew his duty today, and he also knew her happy mood wasn’t going to make it any easier for him.

He stepped forward holding his spear, “I have scouted our meeting area with the Allied Forces leaders. They will not be entering the citadel. Instead, they are waiting for us halfway between here and their camp.”

Xenia flipped her hair still beaming with a wide-faced smile and gleaming white teeth, “I don’t think I will be going, Jacek. That meeting is no longer important to me.”

Jacek frowned, “No longer important? It may determine the fate of this war. It may determine the course of history.”

She looked to him and shrugged, “Tell them the war is over. I am going home.”

Jacek grunted and walked up to her grabbing her shoulder, “Xenia! They won’t believe that for a second. They especially won’t believe it if it doesn’t come from your mouth. You must go!”

She turned to him still smiling to his surprise, “Fine. You look ready to go. Spear in hand. Let’s go right this second then. I want to end this war with haste.”

She began to walk towards the gate wearing only her white robe. She didn’t even wear shoes as she began to make way towards the meeting area.

Jacek rushed to catch up to her and asked, “What’s gotten into you today? Are you really intending to end this war?”

She hugged his arm and smiled up at him, “Jacek. I’m pregnant.”

His eyes went wide with shock as his thoughts began to race, “Pregnant?! Pregnant?! Today of all days?!”

He gripped his spear and choked as he responded, “Pregnant? But… but how can you be sure?”

She smiled and hugged his arm even tighter, “I’m a BloodStar. I know the human body. I especially know my body. I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life. And I’ve never been more certain about ending this war, today.”

Jacek was stunned into complete silence. He and his allies also intended to end the war today. But by very different means.

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