BloodStar

Chapter 89: A Blessed Welcome

News of Xenia’s arrival in the Holy Light Empire traveled quickly. Tens of thousands of people gathered around the Holy Light Empire Basilica in the capital city anxiously hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

The people of the empire had a surprisingly positive attitude surrounding their new ruler. Pope Gregory had neglected the common folk allowing the rich to get richer and for corruption to spread freely. Xenia represented a new hope for the lower 90% of the empire.

Xenia and Michael rode in a chauffeured armored SUV towards the basilica. The chauffeur called back through the intercom, “We are approaching a large gathering around the basilica to welcome Warlord BloodStar. It may be slow going and potentially dangerous.”

Xenia turned to Michael, “You didn’t tell me the people would be so keen to have me here today.”

Michael gave a slight smile, “It’s a bit of a surprise although I guess it shouldn’t be. My father and brother didn’t exactly treat the people of this empire well.”

Xenia responded in the intercom to the chauffeur, “Stop at the outskirts of the gathering. I will walk from there.”

The chauffeur promptly responded, “Yes, Warlord. But please know it will be a quarter-mile from the Basilica entrance.”

Xenia smiled and responded, “Perfect. I want to see my new people.”

The car came to a stop, and the chauffeur informed them, “We have arrived.”

Xenia looked to Michael intently, “My door, Michael.”

He hopped out of his side of the SUV and walked around to open her door. She gracefully stepped out as she extended a black pantyhose-clad leg out of the car before fully exiting as she waved at the crowds with a charismatic smile.

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She wore knee-high boots, black pantyhose, and her floor length black latex dress with a provocative slit all the way up her leg and white cross adorning her chest. Her sexual yet religious dress was quickly becoming her signature uniform within the Holy Light Empire.

People cheered at the top of their lungs as she alighted from the vehicle welcoming her as their new leader. She quickly took note that this crowd was unlike the welcoming crowds in her empire or the United States. The people were clothed in tattered rags for clothing, and their hygiene was far from the average standards she was used to seeing.

She began to walk down the street lined with thousands and thousands of her supporters. Mothers held their babies out for her to bless, men waved for her attention, women cheered her as an example of their power in the world, and kids looked up to her in awe.

She walked over to a mother with a large fungating facial mass disfiguring her face. The woman had two small children in her hands carrying them to keep them safe from the surrounding crowd.

Xenia stopped and said, “Are these children yours?”

The woman nodded, “They are. I beg of you to provide for them once I pass. My facial cancer will soon take me I fear.”

Xenia smiled and raised her hands as she called out to the crowds, “Healthcare should be accessible to all!” She then looked to the mother and said to her, “These children will need their mother to raise them.”

She gathered a glowing ball of white energy in her hand and allowed it to pass from her hand to the mother as it seeped into her body. The mother’s facial cancer slowly began to dissipate until it was finally gone completely. Furthermore, the mother’s skin was glowing with a shiny luster she hadn’t seen since her youth.

The mother began to praise Xenia, “God has blessed you. You are our true ruler! Thank you! Thank you!”

The woman began to shed tears as Xenia continued her walk along the streets. The next person that caught her eye was a man in his young twenties around her own age. The man held a sign that said, “Kiss me”.

She stopped in front of the man, and he nervously held the sign not knowing if he had offended her. He knew she wouldn’t stop to kiss him, so she likely stopped to disapprove of his joking sign.

However, Xenia shrugged her shoulders and said, “Why not?”

She grabbed the shirt of the man and pulled him in close for a sensual kiss until finally letting go of him and continuing her walk along the row of people.

The man was in shock and touched his lips as his friends around him shouted exclamations of disbelief and joy.

Xenia presented herself as a personable, relatable, and kind ruler, and the image wasn’t exactly inaccurate in regard to the people she ruled. She had always favored those who she ruled over including her soldiers and people who showed her the respect she believed she deserved.

She finally approached the steps of the Basilica which were a grand shallow set of steps leading a long path up to the ornate door to the church. She stopped and turned to face her new people, “This is the beginning of a prosperous era for a reinvigorated people!”

She smiled and waved, “Pope Gregory has neglected the most important resource of this empire… the people!”

The crowd cheered as she acknowledged their worth. She began to speak again; however, she was interrupted by a man rushing out from the crowd towards her.

The man wore a vest of C4 explosives and held a detonator in his hand as he yelled, “I may not ever be able to kill the likes of you! But I can kill your people that you claim to love so much! The truth is you’re a killer and a monster! Admit it and leave our country!”

The crowd let out a collective and loud, “Booooo!” as they showed their distaste for the man’s actions.

Xenia immediately bloodbent him to a statue against his will preventing him from detonating the explosives. She slowly descended the shallow steps towards him as she called out, “Fear not! You will find that one of the best advantages of having me as a ruler is the safety I provide to my people and the power I use to ensure it.”

The man desperately tried to click the detonator; however, try as he might, he couldn’t budge an inch. Xenia walked up to the man and held her hand in front of his face as she yelled out, “Now witness the fate of those who would dare attack me and our empire!”

The crowd cheered her on as she began to extract every drop of blood in the man’s body through his throat. She held her hand in front of his mouth as she bloodbent his blood out of his throat and mouth and into a ball that continued to grow as blood left his body. The stream of blood leaving the man’s mouth was terrifying as the life slowly faded from his eyes.

The man’s skin complexion turned pale as liter after liter of blood collected in a ball near her palm until finally the man was a ghost-white, and the ball of blood had grown in size to its fullest.

She quickly stepped forward to kiss the man on his pale lips before allowing him to fall dead to the ground. The crowd cheered as she then converted the ki energy in his blood to a healing energy which she then dispersed above the crowd allowing it to fall where it may.

The area of the crowd which absorbed bits of the man’s energy felt a vigor and rejuvenation from the healing ki, and the whole crowd began to chant, “Xenia! Xenia! Xenia!”

She reveled in the love of the masses as Michael walked up the steps with her as he had trailed her from behind the entire time.

She turned to walk with him as she looped her arm through his. The two walked through the ornate set of doors leading into the basilica. As they entered and the two doors closed behind them, the cheers of the crowd were suddenly muffled. Xenia looked around to find a huge welcoming atrium with ceilings 100 feet tall and walls decorated with stained glass depictions from the bible.

Michael complimented her in earnest, “I have never seen the people of this empire so keen to be ruled. You really do have a charisma about you.”

She gave him a smile and said, “I know. People just love me. And why shouldn’t they? I am going to give them more wealth, better health, and a fair chance at life.”

Michael expressed some worry as he said, “Don’t act too rashly. You just got here. The elites of this empire are not fools, and they will be instrumental in continuing to run this empire with their support.”

Xenia sharply said, “I am not a fool either. Those elites who are willing to bend to my command and my terms will be welcomed with open arms just as John Vand has. However, those that give me any resistance or show any disrespect, I will feed to the people.”

Michael began to change the subject; however, she cut him off, “You will learn quickly, Michael, that I do not tolerate insubordination or corruption at the expense of my people. I have the personal wealth and the personal power to make decisions freely of outside influence and do as I like.”

She stopped walking and pinned him against a stone wall, “Is that clear? I don’t want a single concession from the oligarchs who have lived so extravagantly under Pope Gregory. The time of corruption is coming to an end in this empire.”

Michael nervously nodded, “Understood Warlord BloodStar.”

She ran her hand through his hair and smiled at him, “Oh come now. We are alone. It’s just Xenia.”

She leaned in to kiss him against the wall and rubbed her hand over his crotch until he became aroused, and he began to throb to her touch.

She then suddenly stopped and said, “You have the most to lose if you decide to betray me Michael. I like you. You can have everything including time with me. I want you. Can I have you?”

He nodded, “You already have me. Xenia.”

She smiled and released him from her hold against the wall, “You give my body chills, Michael. Come, let’s go. A quick meeting before you must head off to international conferences.”