It was a glorious time to be in the old king's good graces...
****
Senator Benedict Biondello became more of a close advisor for the king, while keeping with his time as a strator. He knew that his time as one was going to be up soon and he wanted to make sure he had something to fall back on before that happened. He and Alonso continued to talk to one another, still keeping up with Ichiamo’s best interests.
The new crisis that came up was finding a new wife for Ichiamo. He needed to show the world that he could love again before the tyrannical tendencies took over. The problem was that king gave up on love. Since Katharina, he never wanted to look or feel that way about another female ever again.
Benedict stressed time and time again that he needed this move, even if it meant that he had to choose someone at random. Still, the king said no. The part-time strator gave up on trying.
Then, one day, when he went home, he was given a letter from his servant. Benedict unfolded the letter and read it to himself.
He saw the last sentence after the signature:
Come to Solaria. Tell no one. Not even King Ichiamo.
Then he saw the name on the letter.
Lysander.
This froze him slightly as his servant tried to get his attention. Shaking it off, he ordered his servant, "Get a plane ready for me. I'm going to Solaria!"
****
Bianca Stilicho had been away from a life she was accustomed to for almost a decade. Since the end of the Force of Arms War, she was trying to find a way out of a dangerous situation.
She found it four years later on the planet Zestir in the Hallow Points, as a stripper and prostitute. With the little money she had and her son, Hector Bozario, she left for a land completely unknown to her. It was not until she went into a strip bar and saw how the females were making good money with their dance moves, she decided to give it a try.
With no kind of training in the art of seductive dancing, she took a chance doing it.
In the end, her main inspiration for getting through it was what would have happened if she died in that attack from the Byzants. With that, she took on the risk and within a year, she was one of the best dancers in Zestir.
Within another few years, she was one of the best known and most respected dancers all over the Hallow Points. Everyone knew her name and with her talent, she would make different trips to perform for greedy, horny males with money to spend.
For this, she took on the name Dementia.
She never told her family back in Solaria. Her older sister was living her life as a Solarian queen as far as she knew. Her family became nothing more than an interference. Her only family was Hector, and she held on to him as hard as she could. Everything else was put in place to either enhance or protect Hector.
The job itself did not come with its hardships. She ended up getting hooked on one of the drugs of the new age, the DVX. It was a way to keep her energetic and happy.
As the years went on, it got worse. Hector was an adolescent and he could see the signs that his mother was going down a trail of destruction. Bianca could care less as long as she took care of business. In the end, he said nothing else about it. Sometimes, he would go there to see her to act as a conscience for her and a protector for others.
Anyone could catch her at her office, a club known as the Lumia, the largest gentlemen’s club ever in the Hallow Points. After tribal warfare, the Hallow Points was known for their strip clubs. Anyone who wanted to relax and see some of the most seductive and intense dancing in the world went to Lumia. If a male were a good client, he would get a surprise from the Lumia's Queen of the Dance: Dementia.
One day, it was a special day for Dementia because she came with a whole new routine, something she had never shown anyone before. The dance was known as Dangerous because of its level of difficulty but excitement.
The reason for the dance was for the special gentlemen coming into Zestir; males who years ago came in and made an impression on the planet. She only knew them by the name they came by.
The Metine Byzants. The kings of the metine spice trade.
For this night, there were only a few dancers scheduled as appetizers. The floor was completely Dementia for that night. It was when the gang came inside that the dancer on the stage immediately left without a command from the owner.
Then, the owner came out and told the males that the time had come. Before, he gave thanks for the Metine Byzants for coming to the club. On the stage, he could see how packed it was; the most he ever had here to see his main attraction.
He gave Dementia a special presentation. The men clapped their hardest and the minute they saw the shapely-bodied woman come on the stage, silence came like a wind. There was no kind of noise whatsoever.
Then, two men who were in the back of the crowd came to the front to get a closer look. No one said a word because these men were known all over Zestir.
They were the two bosses of the Metine Tribe, Issac Arius and Cassio Ramirez.
They had come a long way from men escaping terrible pasts to men who controlled their futures and the futures of thousands under a banner of the lone Second Renaissance sect. Within a few years, they were known all over Hallow Points, putting other tribes in fear. One of the reasons was because they were a tribe unlike any other.
They came together because of a business-minded goal: controlled all the metine bases in their planet. No one messed with them as long as they had control of the best DVX in the ATM.
When Dementia came onto the stage, they sat with their eyes glued to her revealing body. Issac yelled for joy as Cassio tried to turn away. He was not into women like he was used to. Ever since his last love was gone and his days of being a gigolo ended, he was determined never to go back to that life. Issac made up for Cassio's close-mindedness by being more of the party animal of the two.
Drums started banging from the balconies of the club. Dementia came out with the darkest of outfits to present mystery. Sure enough, she came out with gymnastics-style moves; going from tame to the extreme. Then, fire emerged from the sides of the stage. The stage was large enough for her to move in and she took advantage of it in every way.
The men were amazed, including Issac and Cassio. They asked for more. And more was what Dementia gave them.
She proceeded to take off the clothes, starting with the top to show the breasts. Then, the pants came off to show the luscious legs. She had a mask on her face, which became the last thing that came off.
That was when Cassio’s eyes widened, observing something familiar in her face.
“It can’t be,” he whispered.
Issac turned to him. "You said something?"
Suddenly, Cassio got up and jumped on the stage. Just as Dementia made a jump, Cassio grabbed her in midair. His face turned more to shock when he saw the face close-up.
“Bianca?” he said.
Dementia got so agitated that she pushed him off and almost fell flat on the ground. She rubbed herself off and saw Cassio’s face.
“It is you,” Cassio said. “I can’t believe this.”
Bianca did not return the favor. She slapped him in the middle of the stage. The crowd started booing, but for Cassio not Bianca. She ran off the stage and the show was over.
Cassio chased her all the way outside. She got her bags and put on some pants. She went out with her breasts showing. She did not noticed or cared one bit. Cassio grabbed her by the arm and she shook it off.
“What are you doing?” Cassio asked trying to cover her up with his jacket, but Bianca pushed him away.
“What are you doing here?” Bianca asked almost simultaneously.
“That’s what you have to say? I thought you would be happy to see me. I mean…” Cassio could not bring out the words. He wanted to say that he could not believe that she was alive.
But all that came out was, “What are you doing in a place like this? This isn’t for you.”
It was an insult to Bianca.
�
�And what makes you think you know what’s best for me?” she said sassily.
“I’m sorry! I just don’t know what to say about this. I mean…here you are. You’re alive. You’re here. You’ve been here the whole time?”
Bianca breathed hard, but brought herself together. She saw that Cassio was not in the uniform, but in some flashy black-laced suit, hanging with other flashy suits who looked more like they were Germanic tribes.
“What about you?” Bianca asked. “I never seen you in a suit before.”
“Well, I’m trying to change my image,” Cassio joked.
“It suites you.”
Cassio liked this moment. Seeing Bianca again was the spark that started the past flame again. He offered to take her home. He took his jacket and covered up her naked body. That was when Bianca noticed her breasts were showing for the street rats to see.
Together, they walked home.
When they got to her apartment complex in a seedy part of town, he wanted to come inside, but Bianca was reluctant to do so.
“I can’t leave this place without seeing you again,” Cassio said. "Is there a chance we can see each other again?”
“I...don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Bianca stressed. "Too much has changed.”
“I know. But we can spend the time talking about that. Something tells me you needed it for a long time. And so do I!”
Bianca cracked a smile and went to her apartment complex she brought after saving some money for her new job. Cassio waved, determined with his newfound fame and connections, to find out what happened all those years ago...
****
Benedict Biondello arrived in Solaria days later. He had to wait for a couple more days before he could see the benefactor who gave him the letter. He was picked up by a butler and had been taken to a secret house. It was smaller than the villas he was used to in Crystal Metropolis, but that did not matter.
He went into the doors and went straight to the bedroom. There, he saw an old man, laying down, coughing as soon as he arrived. The butler came to him and whispered in his ear. They both took a look at Benedict, more nervous than usual. He had a knife at the ready, just in case.
The butler came to him. “He wants to talk to you in private.”
The butler left, and Benedict was alone with the leader who helped him reached the position he acquired at the moment.
Baptista Lysander.
He walked slowly to the bed; close enough to observe that Baptista had bags in his eyes. Benedict did not want to catch what he had, so he kept a certain distance.
“What is it you want?” Benedict asked. “How do you know--?"
“I know all about you and everything else going on in Crystal Metropolis,” Baptista said. "I even know what happened to my daughter. And I know you had a hand in it. My guess is that the king wants to finish the job. He's just buying his time."
Benedict thought that it was time to dig further. "You gave me a letter saying you wanted to talk to me."
“I know what the king had to do,” Baptista said. “I haven’t seen my daughter in a long time. Had I known what she was doing, I would have taken her out of there before Ichiamo got her hands on her. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Baptista smirked.“No you’re not. From what I hear, you was the first to bring this to the king’s attention. You're more responsible for her death than the king is.”
That was what he was waiting for. Benedict awaited an attack.
Baptista raised himself up slightly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Biondello. If I wanted you dead, you would have been dead by my butler before you enter my home. I may be sick, but I still hold power within my world. No, Mr. Biondello, you’re going to do something for me; something to pay back for not only what you did to my Katharina, but also for the generosity I've shown you all these years."
“And if I don’t?”
“Do you really want to go against me with everything I can do? Besides, if you say no, the king will know anyway and by the time you go back to him, he’ll know we had this conversation.
Your reputation will be ruined. You’ll have nothing. You’ll wish I had killed you by the time I finish with you, Strator.”
Benedict’s nervousness turned into fear. The irony of it was that throughout the entire time, Baptista did not flinch or show any kind of anger. He was cool as ever. Not even the bony hand of death was not going to get the best of Lysander.
“What do you want from me?” Benedict asked.
“I just want you to bring someone to see me.”
“Who?”
“My other daughter. Her name is Bianca."
Benedict could not believe his ears.
Another daughter? Someone who could be worse than Katharina?
“I need to see her before I pass away,” Baptista said. "The last time I check, she was on a planet called Zestir in the Hallow Points. Your job is to bring her back here. Afterwards, you’re going to take her back to Crystal Metropolis with you.”
“For what?”
Benedict took a deep breath. “A present for the king from me. A wife.”
Then, from out of the walls came a monster-like figure, bigger than the two of them put together; bigger than the entire room. He came right to Benedict and stare him down.
“This is my servant, Florizel,” Baptista said. “He’s going with you to make sure you do what you’re told. If you don’t do it, he has orders to strike you where you stand. But I’m sure that we won’t have that problem, won’t we?”
Once again, after years of thinking he had escaped the grip of the Solarian lord, he was back in Lysander’s pocket. At first, it was with him to get his position as a powerful orator for the Strator Circle. Then, it was under the queen in which he had to keep an eye on her.
Still, it would solve his problem of finding a wife for the Santos king...
****
Benedict Biondello made the trip immediately with Florizel around but staying in the shadows, not making a sound. Florizel was part-human/part-android, made specifically for security of the Lysander businesses.
He was a scary sight, especially for Benedict.
They made it to Zestir within a few days. With the information he received from the elder's sources, he was to find her at some club called Lumia. She was supposed to perform there on the night he arrived.
In coming into the club, he found that the place was worse than the whole of Crystal Metropolis. He knew about the tribes of the planet, but he did not know how crazy they were. Lumia was like a safe-haven for people trying to escape the life of the tribe. In all the waiting, Benedict thought what the younger sister of the deceased queen would look like. Her beauty was one thing that he did love about the queen before she turned into a temptress.
Then, she came on the stage. Dementia came with one of her dance routines. Benedict could not believe what he was seeing as Florizel sat to his shoulder in his stone-cold gaze.
“She really is beautiful,” Benedict said.
It would be when the club was going to close than Benedict would get the chance to talk with her. She came out from the back and said goodbye to the bartender.
Then, Benedict came to her.
“Bianca Lysander!"
Bianca stopped in her tracks. “What did you call me?”
“That’s your name, isn’t it?”
She could not say anything to save her life. “Who are you?”
“I came here to get you. Your father wants to see you.”
“You don’t know my father.”
“You’re right, I don’t! I was called from Crystal Metropolis to do this for him. I’m Strator Benedict Biondello.”
“You work for the king?” She started chuckling. Benedict knew that this was going to be crazy. "This is something. How does my father know about the king?”
“They were partners,” Benedict
answered. “Until he retired.”
“So what does he want with me?”
Benedict came to her and said softly, “Your father is dying. He wants you to come and see him. There’s something that he has to tell you.”
Bianca chuckled. “You’re lying.”
“Trust me. My life depends on this. He’s dying, and he wants me to come and get you. Trust me, Bianca. If I’m lying, the servant behind me is going to kill me anyway. So what do you have to lose?”
Bianca look behind him and recognized Florizel standing up. She believed Benedict from that moment.
INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic Page 34