INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic

by Justin Conley

  ​​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.

  ****

  When they got to the front gate Lysander Villa, Bianca Lysander breathed in the Solarian desert air. It had been years since she even came near Solaria. With her son Hector to the side of her and Benedict Biondello and Florizel behind her, she strolled inside and headed for her father's room.

  She opened the door and she found him lying flat on the bed being tended to by his nurses.

  Bianca looked up to her father like a god. Seeing him not able to control his own body, she could not believe it. However, Baptista did not feel as if he was sick. He felt confident, something Bianca wished she had in her.

  She came closer to him, along with his grandson, Hector Bozario. Bianca introduced the two to one another. Baptista smiled with his partly-white teeth. Hector did not know what to think of this elder he hardly knew. Before he could, Bianca gestured him to step outside with Benedict while she and her father talk.

  When they were alone, Baptista made his point. “I’m dying, sweetheart. Sooner or later, I’m going to be among the stars. Before that happens, I have to tell you this.”

  “About what?” Bianca asked.

  “It’s about your sister. Katharina…is dead.”

  Bianca was shaken. “Kate can’t be dead. How did that happen?”

  “She was killed by King Ichiamo himself. I don’t know what Crystal Metropolis did to her, but by the time it was over, the king was tired of her. He could have exiled her or send her back here. He didn’t have to kill her. Still, the Santos clan always thought they were masters of the universe. I practically gave Kate to him and this is what he does!"

  Baptista coughed. “I brought you here to tell you that you’ll no longer have to be a dancer anymore. Because you’re going to be the next queen of Crystal Metropolis. Soon, your son is going to take over as the next Santos king. That would be the perfect revenge for me and for your sister. King Ichiamo disgraced this family. Now, we’re going to disgrace him.”

  “Is this what you want with me, Father? You want me to marry the king of the ATM?”

  “He needs a wife. And you’re beautiful. Plus, Benedict Biondello will see to it that it happens. He owes me."

  Bianca’s shock turned to amazement. She could be queen like her sister. Being a queen sounded much better.

  Baptista called everyone
standing outside to come into the room. Hector and Benedict entered the room.

  "Let me see my grandson," Baptista said.

  Bianca nudged him and Hector went close to him and sat on the bed.

  "My grandson! Growing up so fast. Just remember. No matter what you do with your life. You're a Lysander. You come from a long line brave men. There are only three things I want from you. Protect your mother. Protect your family. And scorn all others!"

  ****

  The Lysander Beau Lombard were fueled and Bianca was given anything and everything she needed along with her son for the trip to Crystal Metropolis, a first for the both of them.

  When they entered a Beau Lombard, Benedict made sure that Bianca and Hector was comfortable and ready to go.

  "How do you feel?" Benedict asked.

  Bianca shrugged. "Nervous! What's waiting for me in Crystal Metropolis?"

  "Another world," Benedict answered. "But I'll make sure you get used to it."

  Looking into Bianca's innocent eyes, he realized that he was about to entered old territory. However, what was different from his experience with Katharina Lysander was that this time, Bianca could be perfect for his plans, and since she was going to be an amateur in the ways of Crystal Metropolis, it would be perfect to manipulate her and Hector from the start.

  For the rest of the trip, he planted the seeds in Bianca's ear to make sure she played her part to perfection...

  ****

  Cassio was spending his last days making a few runs, but he made plans to see Bianca before he left back to his gangster lifestyle. He was planning to take her away from the life of a dancer forever in love and bliss for the two of them. There was no war standing in their way.

  ​He went to the apartment where she lived. He knocked on the door, but no one came to it. Then, he asked around. No one saw her or knew where she was going.

  He drove back to the Lumia. The bartender told her that Dementia did not work there anymore. Not believing him, he went more and more into Lumia, expecting to see her come out as if it was a surprise.

  She never appeared on the Lumia stage. She did not return to her apartment. Cassio had missed her by a split second. Once again, she was gone. Once again, she left him for some unknown reason after finding each other.

  Returning back to Issac after days staying away, Issac just welcomed him back; just like he did many times before.

  “There’s plenty of stuff to occupy you,” he told his partner Cassio. "Forget her. If she did this before, she could do it again. Don’t be a fool and start chasing her again."

  Even though it was tough, Issac was right. Cassio had to forget about her and attend to business.

  In his final night, he returned to the Lumia and drank Bianca Livingston out of his system for good and said goodbye to that life.

  For now on, he told himself, he was going to be Cassio Ramirez, co-leader of the Metina Byzants. Being there for his Byzant crew, the only family left, was his only responsibility.

  ****

  99 B.E.

  It did not take long before Ichiamo had another woman in his life. Between the cursers in his royal court, the Strator Circle, and his close friends, everyone presented a woman trying to seduce him and become the new queen. Ichiamo understood what they were doing and played along with the charade.

  Suddenly, when he was in his throne room being entertained by evening music, a woman appeared before the king and in one of her best performances ever, she enchanted the king with the gift of dance. She brought out a round metal ring and wrapped it around her body. Using her hips, she spun it around and around. The coup de grace of her performance came when the ring caught fire, but she only went faster and faster, moving from the hips to her hand until it hit the ground and the fire went off the minute it did.

  She gave a bow and everyone in the throne room clapped wildly. Even the king could not stop clapping.

  "What is your name, my dear?" Ichiamo yelled.

  "Bianca, your majesty! Bianca Stilicho!"

  Ichiamo gave a nod and Bianca made her exit.

  Benedict Biondello presented himself before the king as the rest of the patrons’ gossip amongst each other.

  "What do you think, my king?"

  With a smile to Benedict, Ichiamo's love fate was sealed and Bianca would go through a name change.

  ​In the last month of 98 B.E., Ichiamo, in his seventies, had married upper-thirties dancer Bianca Stilicho without a hitch. It was a grand wedding with the entire court involved. Everyone in a position came to give their respect to the new couple and wished them the best of days.

  He even made the announcement at the wedding he had adopted Bianca's son Hector Bozario as a Santos.

  Despite everyone being happy, the happiest person of all was the one who brought Bianca into Ichiamo's life: Benedict Biondello.

  ​Before the marriage, Benedict formed a good friendship with the younger Lysander. He had learned about her hard life during and after the war and felt a little sympathy. He would tell her everything to expect in Crystal Metropolis and being a part of the historic clan. He told Bianca that Ichiamo was a benevolent man and with his help, the king would accept Bianca into the family as well as her son Hector.

  For Bianca, however, since she was s stranger in a new land, there was a way Benedict could make her a better queen and his status in the ATM rise to limits never seen.

  The first part of that plan was accomplished with the king’s marriage.

  The second part came into play: take Ichiamo down to avenge the Lysanders.

  For the first two months of 99 B.E., there was compassion in the new relationship. She saw Ichiamo’s benevolence in the works. King and queen made trips around several moons near Crystal Metropolis to once again make his presence. Although there were signs that the king’s health was diminishing, Ichiamo never showed it to anyone. Falling in love put more pep in his life. Bianca was a shining light in his dark outlook, even if it was for a little while.

  The next month, there were signs of separation Bianca could see. Ichiamo did not become attached to her for long. It was good for her, as she still had Benedict to go to for conversations if needed. Some of those conversations were intimate in nature, but no romance emerged from it. She had to be careful not to show those feelings, as Benedict told her on several occasions. Benedict was a good shoulder to lean on whenever Bianca headed into a depressive state, always reminding her that in due time, her future will be secure.

  Another problem emerged right along with Ichiamo's disinterest: her son Hector's extreme interest in Crystal Metropolis' hip gritty lifestyle.

  Along with making sure she knew the ins and outs of the kingdom, Bianca used the time to familiarize Hector with his surroundings and connecting with his adopted brother and sister Cassius and Isabella.

  This was not to be as Hector became more interested in hitting the clubs and drinking all night than learning about a kingdom he would inherit one day. Without his mother's knowledge, Hector would just sneak out of the Santos Palace, spend the entire night drinking and flirting with female Crystal Metropolitans. Sometimes, he was so drunk that he never appeared in the Santos Palace when summoned and Democrat Guards had to search all the townships for him.

  Plus, there was some kind of heated rivalry between the adopted son Hector and biological son Cassius. Cassius was practically ignored to cater to Hector and his troubles. The roles of the Santos sons were already painted among the public. Cassius was the ambitious learner and Hector was the partier and drunkard.

  Benedict witnessed all of the madness unfolding through the Second Renaissance media web, who took vested interest in the new generation of Santos children.

  He wrote a message for Bianca:

  My dear Bianca! Send Hector to the Special Records Chamber. Let Hector know the history of the Santos family so he would know what he’s getting into. He must learn the mistakes of the family so that he won’t make those same mistakes...

  ****


  "How long do I have to be down here?" Hector asked his mother as she was thumbing through different papers.

  "Until I'm satisfied," Bianca answered with authority.

  Making a plan to spend as much time there as possible, Bianca and Hector made their home in the Special Records Chamber underneath the Santos Palace. The room was made by Nero Santos during his reign with the sole purpose of preserving history of the Aventine Monarch for future generations.