BloodStar

Arthur sat at his desk within the newly built Presidential mansion in the heart of Highland Park, Texas in the Dallas area. He had his hands behind his head and his feet hiked up upon the table as he leaned back in his chair. Xenia had praised his performance at the Master Family Conference, and she even told him that she would take care of things from here. He had very little to be worried about and very little to prepare for in the upcoming invasion.

He smiled and looked up at the ceiling, and he heard a knock at the door. He called from his desk, “Come in! The doors open!”

The door swung open and one of his top-ranking generals marched in, “Sir! You look awfully comfortable for a president preparing for an imminent invasion against an army that dwarfs our own. Shouldn’t we be strategizing the placement of our troops, vehicles, and rockets?”

Arthur didn’t budge from his relaxed position and asked, “Where is the main invasion to take place?”

The general took a seat across the desk and said, “San Antonio. The outskirts of San Antonio. We would very much like to avoid another catastrophe like Houston.”

Arthur smiled and nodded, “We will avoid that outcome. Send 5,000 soldiers to San Antonio then.”

The general was shocked, “Just 5,000? Sir, we have 100,000 men at our disposal. I suggest we use every single iota of strength and power that we can muster.”

Arthur shook his head, “Just 5,000. In addition, do not deploy the rockets or vehicles that we have in reserve. We will need those for a later date.”

The general looked obviously flustered, “Sir. My expertise lies in military strategy, and I have to counsel you against your orders. This will almost certainly end in our defeat.”

Arthur shook his head again, “General. I have received confidential word from our ally in the BloodStar Empire that we will not be fighting alone. I cannot give you the full details as they have not permitted me to share those details with anyone. However, I can say that originally, they asked for none of our forces to be present.”

The general suddenly realized that Arthur was much more prepared than anyone thought him to be. He apologized and said, “I understand, sir. I had no idea that your diplomatic ties had secured such a powerful force to fight with. I will arrange for the 5,000 soldiers to transfer to San Antonio and keep the remainder in reserve.”

Arthur nodded his head, “Thank you general.”

The general then lingered and cleared his throat before saying, “There is one more thing. The United States Senator John Hammond has requested to see you before making his permanent departure to Washington D.C.”

Arthur leaned forward for the first time in the conversation, “Is he here now? Send him up!”

The general nodded and turned to summon Senator Hammond. Arthur called after him, “General! Not a word of our reinforcements. Not a word to a single soul. Do you understand?”

The general was a steadfast and die-hard Texan, and he meant it when he said, “I would rather die than spoil our war efforts, sir. Not a word.”

Arthur nodded and smiled as the general left the room. Moments later, Senator Hammond knocked on the door and let himself in.

Arthur stood from his desk with a big wide smile, “Hammond! Thank you for coming before you head back to lands I am no longer welcome at.”

Hammond gave him a big hug, “Arthur, you are ill prepared. That is the word on the street anyways. It’s not too late to alter your unenviable position. Rebuke the BloodStar Empire. Join a thriving force. A strong alliance.”

Arthur laughed, “That isn’t only something I can’t do, it’s something I am not keen to do.”

Hammond eyed Arthur with a grin, “You know something I don’t. You know something the world doesn’t. I told Monroe to tease it out of you at the conference, but that cocky bastard is a fool. Tell me Arthur. Tell me as a friend.”

Arthur shook his head, “You are right. You know you are right. You don’t need me to tell you so. But I also can’t tell you what you are right about. But I can tell you this, as a friend… when the time comes, I will vouch for you.”

Hammond looked to him with a frozen half-smile and then said, “Holy shit. She’s alive, isn’t she?”

Arthur drew in a deep breath and said, “Safe travels Hammond. Tell Monroe and Morrow they are grand fools for me, will you?”

Hammond laughed and said, “If you won’t tell me then I suppose I will have to wait for time to tell me if I am right.” He hesitated as he turned to leave and said, “Whether you have God-like reinforcements or not, stay safe Arthur. War is an unpredictable animal even for those with the upper hand, whichever side that may be.”

Arthur nodded as Hammond exited his office. He sat back down in his chair without a care in the world, for he knew he had the world’s most talented prodigy on his side. A talented and now very motivated prodigy. Xenia Victoria BloodStar heir to the BloodStar Empire and heir to the BloodStar bloodline powers.

___________________________________

It was in the afternoon, and Xenia was readying for the war ceremony to anoint her a warlord of the empire this evening.

She had designed a fashionable yet functional custom uniform for herself complete with armor, leather, and numerous accessories.

She stood before a mirror admiring her nearly complete outfit. From the bottom up she wore crimson red leather knee-high combat boots fully laced up in the front. Her legs were adorned with crimson red pantyhose that stretched up to her waist where she wore a crimson red metal-armored pleated skirt with gold accents. She wore a long-sleeve crimson red leather tunic that fit to her body like a glove and laced up in the back cinching her waist ever tighter and accentuating her large chest. Her hands wore matching leather gloves.

Constance came running up behind her, and said, “Are you ready for the final piece?”

Xenia nodded, and Constance raised a crimson red and gold chest armor piece to place over Xenia’s head. She then lowered it onto her shoulders. The chest armor was brilliant in deep red color with gold accents. It gave her a broad-shouldered appearance and the armor came to a point just over her lower sternum leaving her abdomen exposed.

Xenia turned to admire it in the mirror and said, “So this is what my mother has gifted to adorn me with at the ceremony tonight?”

Constance nodded with excitement, “It is an heirloom of your family. Your mother wore it in battle, and it is said to have enormous defensive capabilities. I don’t know the specifics, but speculation abound says it decreases incoming damage by 50%.”

Xenia smiled to herself, “I will have to confirm that with my mother, but that does sound amazing.”

Constance raised her hand and said, “One last thing!” She then raised a thin crown of ruby red gemstones and placed it atop Xenia’s head as she said, “The warlord’s crown.”

Xenia stood back to see her entire warlord outfit in the mirror and admired it fully. She said to Constance, “Who knew I would look so good in full armor. I really am to die for aren’t I?”

Constance laughed, “I would die for you. And if the opposing soldiers know what’s good for them, they will kill themselves before you reach them.”

Constance then said, “Who will you celebrate with after the ceremony? Has Jacek called you after you talked to him at the Master Family Conference Ballroom Dance?”

Constance began to undress Xenia, and Xenia said, “He hasn’t.”

Constance furrowed her brow as she realized she had just stumbled into an awkward answer, “Well, he did realize it was you, right?”

Xenia nodded her head as Constance lifted the armor off her chest and over her head, “He knows. I saw it in his face. He felt it in my lips. He knows.”

Constance scrambled to make excuses, “I am sure he is under lockdown given the impending war. Who knows if he is even allowed to use his cell phone right now. Furthermore, I bet Erika Sage follows him around like an annoying fly after seeing you two kiss.”

Xenia scoffed, “She is undoubtedly fawning over him like an insecure bitch. As she should be. I will take him from her eventually.”

Constance shrugged her shoulders and said, “You should call him tonight to see if you can get him down here for after the ceremony.”

Xenia looked to Constance in the mirror as Constance untied her leather from the back, “You really think I should call?”

Constance shrugged again, “It couldn’t hurt. Unless you have someone else in mind.”

Xenia said, “Arthur is fun but he’s preparing for war. Peter is fun but it would be a one-sided celebration. Jacek is the only man I know who I would consider a peer to celebrate with. He’s also quite attractive.”

Constance laughed behind Xenia, and Xenia smiled, “I will call him.”

Constance finished undressing Xenia and said, “I think that’s a great idea. I have a few very important preparations to make for your christening tonight, so I must be on my way. I will be back to dress you later this evening. Good luck with Jacek!”

Constance left Xenia’s royal villa, and Xenia lay on her bed naked as she dialed Jacek’s cell phone. The phone rang once and then went to voicemail. She looked at her phone oddly and dialed again. Once again, it went to voicemail.

Xenia assumed he was in an area with bad reception and waited a moment before she dialed once again.

This time, Jacek answered curtly, “What do you want?”

Xenia was caught off guard by his unwelcoming tone and said, “Hello to you too, Jacek. If you must know I’m lying in my bed naked thinking of you. I want you to come visit me.”

Jacek responded, “Xenia, our empires are at war with one another. The only time I want to see you is on the battlefield. I have a girlfriend I love now.”

Xenia laughed, “Jacek, I have always loved your sense of humor, but I’m serious. I am having a new title bestowed upon me, and I would very much like to spend the night with you afterwards to celebrate. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather play with all night long.”

Jacek’s tone didn’t change, “It’s not a joke. I love Erika with all of my heart. She is everything I need. As I said, I never want to see you again unless it’s on the battlefield.”

Xenia sat up in bed and raised her voice, “You have a girlfriend you love? Erika? Don’t kid yourself Jacek, you do not love her. And you know what, I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield, so I can remind you in person why you love me.”

Xenia then hung up the phone and threw it across the room. She had been humiliated and beaten down by the Holy Light Empire, and now she had just been humiliated and rejected by the heir to the Heraklinos Empire.

She angrily said to herself, “I will conquer the Holy Light Empire by myself if I have to. And I will force Jacek to love me over Erika. Once I get my hands on him, he will never again forget how much he loves me!”

She stood up and raised her ki aura uncontrollably only for a split second resulting in the walls scorching over and various objects including both bedside lamps shattering.

She channeled her newfound focus and calmed herself, “I will force this world to bend to me if it’s the last thing I do.”

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