Hector complained the entire time there. He did not like the stench of the place, wishing he was back on the street with a drink in his hand and a female on his arm.
Bianca kept a clear head about it, but she could not help but to comment and explain over and over again why it was necessary.
“You have to learn your history,” Bianca told him.
Hector complained about a lot of things not related to royal matters. Bianca could see what happened. He had been so dependent on his mother throughout most of his life that her destiny has been intertwined with hers. Bianca knew this, but kept him at the hip, even though Hector was an adult.
At the same time, learning about her new family became an adventure for Bianca. One of the figures she explored that interested her the most was the life of Ichiamo's grandmother, Luciana Boardwalk Santos. Reading her journals and news clippings about her exploits and those of her son Timon, she couldn't help but admire her. Even though Nero Horrando Santos was considered the king that put the family on the galactic map, it was Luciana that gave it the infamy the ATM feared.
Not only that, something enticed Bianca about a former servant and concubine becoming the most influential queen of the galaxy through her powers of deception and being able to navigate through the family just by studying her settings. Her son Timon became an extension of her rule.
Turning to her son moving things around, Bianca drew a parallel. Here she was a former erotic dancer who became queen of the galaxy with a son needing something to inspire him to take on a monumental undertaking. Grinning from ear to ear, Luciana Boardwalk Santos became the archetype for what she wanted to be in her new home; something beyond even what her own father wanted for her.
It was to be a challenge. Unlike Timon, who was a general of armies, Hector had turned into a nitpicker with an out-of-shape body and a rude attitude. She made it in her mind that if Hector was going to be a good Santos king, she needed to take Luciana's approach. She had to be there to make his decisions for him.
She needed to be the general to Hector's psyche and a surgeon of all his urges and desires.
When it was time to come out of the secret basement, she was ready. She went back to Benedict at the Strator Circle with what she learned, telling him about every piece of ATM history; even the aspects he and his fellow strators never knew.
The rulers. The wars. The deals made that change the ATM, and the strategies made for the rulers to come into power.
Benedict was shocked. He had created a monster.
A new Katharina...
****
Lately, Ichiamo spent more time with himself, making plans for his mortal end. He could tell by the way his body was feeling death loomed around the corner. Right next to it was the other main enemy of the family: scandal.
In the past, he never wanted to be a king. He only wanted to do the best he could to make Crystal Metropolis a better place to live. His family never expected he would be around for this long while everyone else in his immediate family had gone to the stars.
Presently, he was the last of a generation that witnessed the Santos family at its most dominant. He was around during the likes of Nero's move to Crystal Metropolis, Luciana's devious schemes to make Timon king, Timon's purges against the family, or Cheron's vengeance against universal society.
The highlights of the Santos clan were observed through his eyes, making him realize one thing over and over again: that he even lived through it all.
His time was almost at an end.
It did not become clear until a night in the year 98 B.E., when he went to see a fortune-teller to tell him his future. In his younger years, he would have thought of this as a joke. When he went this time, he went as a man who has seen and done things. The fortune-teller told starting off telling him his future in a few words.
“Death of a regime. Birth of a new machine.”
With this new message swimming in his head, he made preparations for that end. One of the main moves to correct was unifying his family.
Since adding Hector into the mix, his other son, Cassius, was at odds with him. Since the death of his mother by the orders of his father, he never was on his father’s good side. Ichiamo tried his best to make things right for him; even going so far as to change his will to make Cassius and Hector joint rulers. This made matters worse and Cassius was angrier than ever with his father.
Then, he brought the family together for a nice dinner and family togetherness. Right away, Cassius showed everyone his hand.
Ichiamo took a bite of some fruit. Immediately, Hector was eating and complained, "This is a better meal than I ever had at the Hallow Points."
“Maybe you should go back there with the rest of the beasts,” Cassius said.
It was meant to be a joke, but Ichiamo was not pleased. "Cassius, apologize to your brother."
"He's no brother of mine." Cassius cursed at his father and stormed out of the dining room.
Bianca ate her food and watched the argument played out with interest. Taking a page from Luciana's playbook, she observed and kept silent, letting her eyes do the talking. The riff between husband and stepson/nephew was good in her eyes. Hector wondered why Cassius lashed out at him, but Bianca was pleased that her son was clueless.
Isabella left the table, along with Ichiamo when he found his family disintegrated, leaving Bianca alone in her inner triumph. The old wounds of the Santos family were coming to the surface little by little...
****
Ichiamo tried time and time again to bring his family together, but the more he tried, the worse it got.
From the end of 98 to the beginning months of 99, father and son did not talk or look at one another.
They came ahead when Ichiamo was in the Secret Records Chamber, writing several letters to give to certain people. Cassius came inside, disturbing him. He wanted to leave right there, but Ichiamo told him to stay. Cassius sat right by him near a chair.
“My son, we can’t keep doing this,” Ichiamo said. “There has to be some common ground. I’m willing to forgive if the fault is on me, but we can’t keep doing this to each other.”
Cassius nodded. “Does this mean you can bring my mother back?”
There was the nail he tried to avoid. It had been years since he thought about the order to kill Katharina Santos, the only bad mark in a long line of good ones. All of this started and ended with Kate Santos. Seeing the blank stare in his son as he asked the question, Ichiamo thought about how it could have been handled. He could had exiled her like in the past or divorced her.
“I know you will hate me for the rest of your life because of that, Cassius. I hate myself for it. But my feelings aren’t important. One day, you will be king along with Hector. You must make sure you don’t make the same mistakes I made.”
Then, another thought came into his head. One of them concerned Cassius.
“There’s something I want you to do,” Ichiamo said. “I want you to leave Crystal Metropolis for a while. When you get the word, then you can come back.”
“Why?” Cassius asked.
“I feared Crystal Metropolis is going to get more dangerous. I need you safe until then. Go to Guapa. You'll be safe there."
“I’m not leaving," Cassius stressed. "This is my home. Plus, I can’t leave my sister. Who’s going to protect her? And I’ll be damn if Hector’s going to do it.”
“I found a remedy for that. Everyone’s going to find out soon. I want Isabella to marry Hector.”
Cassius was aghast. "Are you kidding me?”
“This union has to occur. It’s for her own safety.”
“Safety for what?”
Ichiamo rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “I wish I could say. Look, don't fight me on this. I need you to go to Guapa. There are some cousins there that will keep you safe until it’s time to come back.”
“I’m not leaving, Father. Never! I've been gone for too long and I lost things slip in this family. This is my home, and any
thing is going to happen to me, then I’m going to face it and kill it.”
Cassius stormed out the door. Ichiamo knew that was coming. Once again, there was going to be a family riff...
****
Near the middle of the year, Ichiamo spoke mostly to the Crystal Metropolis Strator Circle, telling him of future plans for the future heirs to the throne.
However, there were a few who knew of his real plans.
One of them was Alonso Fontaine, who had been his right-hand for years, and standing by to view the spectacle. He had watched over most of the king's affairs when there were times Ichiamo couldn’t handle it. He knew that if anything, he would want the ATM to be freed for the people instead of being rule by king after king.
He told no one but a select few.
“There was a time and a place for everything. Right now, it’s a secret.”
The other person was Lucius Gaines, who had adjusted to the Crystal Metropolis streets and had made frequent trips to the Santos Palace to run errands for the king or just to have conversations about life and the universe. He also went on special expeditions for the king.
One of them was also another special plan for him.
“Sometimes, I fear that Crystal Metropolis will be destroyed,” Ichiamo told him in one of their conversations. “I want you to find some places where another Crystal Metropolis, a second Crystal Metropolis, could be built.”
All Ichiamo had ever been throughout most of his life was serious. Lucius thought the plan was ridiculous because he never saw Crystal Metropolis attacked or bombed by foreign planets.
Most of all, he wanted to address himself to the strators, his closest allies. They were going to be the most work because they represented the people, and the people needed good representation so future mistakes would not be made.
He addressed this in one of a few “final addresses.”
“I fear that you'll be the future of the ATM. Therefore, you must never forget that the people will rely more and more on you to represent them in the affairs of the planet. So you must not disappoint. I could only do so much, but I knew that much I was able to do was because all of you had faith in me.”
Benedict Biondello was in the audience to hear the speech. From what he got from them, the Santos king was admitting a sort of defeat. If that was the case, then the time had come for the plan to go to action.
****
Benedict went back to his villa where Bianca usually dwell quietly if she was not in the Santos Palace. In the next to the last speeches the king made to the Senate, he called Bianca to meet him at his home.
She came in black cloak, sat on his couch in the dining room, and the minute Benedict entered and saw her, he came right out with it.
“Bianca, it’s time.”
From there, they went over different strategies for what to do.
But there was only one simple way.
“Poison usually always works,” Benedict said. “Solaria's infamous for using it as well. You have to use it when he is at his most vulnerable. Dinnertime would be appropriate. Since Hector is away from the planet, he’ll never know what happens. I'll give him the message to come back to Crystal Metropolis after the deed is done.”
“What about Cassius?”
“One plan at a time. Right now, Cassius isn’t a threat. The threat is Ichiamo. Now, remember, you must be calm. Act like there’s nothing wrong. You’re just enjoying his company. Then, ask one of the servants to put the poison in one of his dishes. Make sure you know yourself where it’s going to be.”
“And watch him eat his life away.”
Benedict gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Pretty soon, you'll be queen and your son king. That will make your father proud.”
Bianca nodded. “Yes it would.”
****
Bianca waited for the king to arrive back to the Santos Palace after another meeting with strators. The Santos Palace was practically empty with the exception of night guards. Cassius was in Guapa, Hector was in Cyprun, and Isabella was in Illyr.
This calmed Bianca down. No one would be around to be a witness. She had a servant Ursula prepare food, which included the king’s favorite dish, ripe plums from Illyr.
She presented the food herself to the king at the dining room table, which was unusual for any queen. They had a big dinner just for two people, as if Ichiamo was expecting the rest of the family to come back to eat it.
Throughout the entire night, there was nothing but eating. Ichiamo ate quickly and Bianca took her time. She saw that the king was hungrier than he had ever been. All she could feast her eyes on was the plums. He had touched them yet. She wanted to say something, but waited. She saw that Ursula was around the side, anticipating the same thing Bianca was: would he go for it?
Then, the king went for the plums, taking one in his hand. For a split second, he saw his wife as she grinned. He stared for a while, seeing if he could find something in them. There was nothing from the distance he was, but there was something there.
Then, as if he was getting out of a trance, he chomped on the plums one by one. When he was finished with the basket the plums were in, he laid back, eyes wide open. Ursula came closer, ready to take the dishes away. Bianca got up and went around to the back of the king's chair.
Bianca went close to his cheek. Then, Ichiamo turned the corner to view Bianca's face. Suddenly, he could see it. The secret that he wondered, with death speaking in his ear, revealed itself.
“Bianca!” he whispered. “Bianca, I’m sorry. I will tell your sister the same.”
Bianca went slightly back.
Did he know all along, he thought.
Then, as if he dreamed his last vision, Ichiamo closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Ursula came to Bianca and saw the king’s face. “Is he dead?”
Bianca shook the king's shoulder."I don’t know. We’ll put some more poison in him just to be sure. I have to make some calls.”
While Ursula took out a vial to inject more poison into Ichiamo’s body, Bianca took out her cell made some calls. All of the messages were the same.
“The king is dead. Long live the king.”
****
The Santos family came back in full force for the funeral of the beloved king Ichiamo Boardwalk Santos. His coffin was taken to all the townships and every citizen in those townships stood by as the coffin went by to pay their respects. Some even opened the coffin to view the face of their elder king for the last time. Not since the days of Nero Horrando Santos, had a King been so beloved after shaky beginnings.
The body returned to the Santos Palace four days after its travels and ended up in the throne room, where the court stood in attention and gave their final salute. Bianca Santos supervised the toast to the memory of a remarkable 29-year reign and claimed the new rule to belonging to both Hector Bozario and Cassius Santos based on Ichiamo's will.
The cursers and advisors were proud that at least Ichiamo left a biological son of his blood to rule. Some were not too sure about the newcomer Hector ruling alongside them. His pudgy appearance left something to be desired; a complete contrast to a handsome, muscle-bound Cassius.
Also, Bianca announced another stipulation to the will: the engagement between Hector and Isabella. Isabella had no objections. Once again, Hector brought his disgust to the open. The court could see Hector and Bianca arguing with one another with whispers.
During the funeral wake held in the throne room and dining room, glares between Bianca and Cassius went on all night as they were on their respectable sides. It had gotten to the point she had to leave the party and be alone so she would not say anything about it. The court watched with intrigue as they could see something brewing between the square of Bianca, Cassius, Hector, and Isabella.
Ichiamo died peacefully, just in time for the winds of scandal to come back and shake things up...
****
“Cassius has to go,” Bianca screamed out in Ben
edict's living room.
“And how are you going to do that?” Benedict asked. “Ichiamo hasn't even been buried in the ground.”
“He’s starting to think I had something to do with it.”
“Why would he think that?”
“He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t even like my son. It’s strange because he's practically my nephew and I can't even say anything about it.”
“You know why!"
"I know, I know. I'm a Lysander."
Benedict sat down on the sofa with her. "Look, for now, Cassius has to feel like he’s doing his father’s work. And as you suggest, let Hector take care of himself. Those two don’t like each other anyway.”
INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic Page 39