Ramses and Zara sat together at a table on a beautiful terrace overlooking an equally beautiful view of the ocean below. There was nothing simple about the scene as they all had mimosas and appetizers within the castle of a very recent enemy of war as they attempted to avert yet another war within their own empire.
Ramses took a sip of a surprisingly pleasant mimosa. He sat the drink down gently upon the table and looked to the swarm of people that had since shown up, “So to avoid a civil war, we have to be dragged through the mud of bending to her will?”
Zara gazed onto the heap of reporters and journalists who had since shown up as she sipped her drink alongside Ramses, “Is it so bad? Or would you rather be on the other end of Xenia staring you down instead?”
Ramses chuckled to himself, “Now I suppose that is a good point. We should all be thankful that we no longer have to contend with Xenia as an enemy. I suppose while this endeavor may be an annoying and somewhat odd one, at least Constance seems to be enthusiastically willing to help our cause. Almost too willing.”
Zara nodded, “I think that’s just who she is. She has charisma and commits herself 110% to whatever cause she chooses to support. For better or worse.”
Ramses sighed and picked up a slip of paper in front of him, “Have you had the chance to read our itinerary for the next few days?”
“Yes. It would appear we will be honored guests at the Khan Castle for longer than we thought. And here I was thinking this would be a day trip. It’s almost as if she knows we are willing to go to great lengths to achieve her help. She is… incredibly calculating.” Zara gulped down the last of her drink as she continued to look on to Constance wooing the crowd.
Ramses raised his hand for the waiter and held up two fingers to indicate two more drinks and said, “At least she is content to be the center of attention sparing us from the drudgeries of politicking for the moment.”
“Now that is something we can cheers to.” Zara smirked as they both looked on at Constance smiling and gesturing as she captivated the crowd on the terrace.
Within the crowd, a reporter asked Constance, “So you are content to help King Ramses and Queen Zara who were until recently your enemy. They were also declared traitors by Empress Victoria and Warlord Xenia BloodStar. Why have your loyalties changed? People will surely question your motives and your integrity.”
Constance clasped her hands together and smiled, “My Empress and the heir to this empire, Xenia, were my top priority in serving. But make no mistake, my loyalties have always been to the empire first. I served the empire through the Empress and the Warlord. Ramses and Zara served the empire through different means. We each have differing justifications for our actions; however, our motives were the same. Our loyalties were the same. The empire.”
The reporters were in awe of her surprisingly coherent and logical answer, and another reporter thrust a microphone in her face as he asked, “Why have Ramses and Zara come to Khan Castle? Do they seek to dethrone you as Mistress of Khan Island?”
Constance laughed, “They would never, darling. Quite the opposite, they have come with an olive branch and a proposal to help mend our fractured empire. They need my help to join the empire and vault our great people to glory once again on the world stage. Now that Xenia and Victoria are no more, who better to represent the old ways than myself?”
The reporters nodded until another chimed in, “If this is strictly an internal matter, why are Master Sage and Lord Heraklinos present as well?”
She smiled and shrieked with excitement showing no tempering of her enthusiasm as she answered yet another question, “Why is Master Sage here, you ask? That is a question that hardly needs answering. Look at her. She is the epitome of grace as a mediator. If Ramses and Zara don’t get along with me, she is here to help us sort things out.”
Constance then winked at the reporters, “But come on, let’s be honest. Who wouldn’t get along with me?”
The same reporter followed up, “And what about Lord Heraklinos?”
Constance bit her lip, “I don’t know. Maybe a little arm candy for Erika?”
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“Do you mean to say you find Lord Heraklinos attractive?” The reporter held no punches in pressing her.
She pushed her tongue against her cheek and said, “Don’t blame me. What girl doesn’t think so? Even Xenia had a crush on him, and her taste was impeccable.” She gave a soft, “Mmm” to herself before continuing, “In all seriousness, he is here as the muscle. The threat of force should it be needed. But it isn’t needed. The most force I would need from him to fall in line is a good spanking.”
The reporters all eyed each other as Constance openly lusted for the partner of a sitting Master. She then turned to them in their silence and said, “But he is taken. So I will have to find a different date for the Khan dinner party in a couple of days to celebrate Ramses and Zara.”
The reporters went into a frenzy, “You have a dinner party planned?! Will the press be invited? Do you have a guest list? What will you wear?”
Constance laughed, “There are a great many things planned in the couple of days. Stay tuned and take lots of pictures won’t you? It will be an exciting couple of days.”
She then raised her hand for her personal attendant who approached with haste as she commanded him, “Please see the press out. I want to address my guests in private now.”
The attendant snapped his fingers, and the press were promptly escorted out without much ado by a team of Khan attendants.
Constance then skipped over to the terrace ledge next to the two tables where Ramses, Zara, Erika, and Jacek sat. She gazed out over the ocean as the sun began to set, and she said, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Her guests were silent, and she turned around, “Surely you have all had time to read the itinerary I laid out while I handled the press for you all. You’re welcome by the way!”
Erika smiled through her teeth, “Thank you, Constance. And yes, we have all had the chance to read the itinerary. We also all have similar concerns. There is nothing here of substance.”
Erika picked up the itinerary and began to read it off, “Tomorrow we have beach day, yacht outing, evening luau. The next day we have morning spa and a large gap of time until evening ball gown dinner.” She put the itinerary down and looked up to Constance, “And let’s not forget, tonight we have hot tub soiree listed shortly after this terrace meet and greet.”
Erika sighed, “We truly appreciate the effort you are putting forth into our relationship; however, I must say this is quite the list of obligations for heads of state such as ourselves, especially with such short notice.”
Constance leaned against the terrace ledge with a big grin, her enthusiasm still unwavering, “Yes! The lower terrace houses an amazing hot tub. Xenia and I used to enjoy nights there. It is much closer to the ocean, so we can hear the crashing of the waves. You will all love it!”
Zara stopped her before she could continue, “I think what Erika is saying is that this is a huge expenditure of time. Something we are very much short on these days. Might there be a more efficient way of achieving our goals. We could insert meetings to discuss the details of our working together to unite the empire.”
Constance clapped her hands together, “There will be plenty of time to discuss the details when I return with you all to the BloodStar Empire mainland following the evening dinner.” She looked at them all with a beaming smile.
Ramses frowned, “Returning with us?”
Jacek couldn’t help but be entertained by Constance’s antics. He put his forehead into his hand to try and hide his smile as Ramses continued, “Why don’t we skip the next couple of days on Khan Island and head back now to iron out the details?”
Constance tilted her head slightly and drew in a breath, “I am not one to lecture. I allow my superiors to read between the lines.” She motioned her hand at them all to indicate them as her superiors as she spoke, “However, I am finding that you are all quite intent on making this about what you want.”
Jacek’s smile faded as he prepared for a potentially violent outburst that he knew Constance was all too capable of.
Constance smiled at Jacek taking note of the change in his atmosphere but continued speaking to the group, “You have proven yourselves to be worse than amateurs when speaking to your people. The very people you wish to unite. And you are proving it again. You all keep moving the bar lower and lower for yourselves when it comes to impressing me.”
She folded her arms and tapped her finger on her forearm but maintained her smile, “It’s not about what you want, it’s about what image you want. I am creating an image of us being united. Do you think the next couple of days will go unnoticed by everyone but ourselves? What good is ironing out details in a conference room if the people have no view of us working together? Instead, I intend to show them through the media how much fun we are having as we work together. If you push me away, you are pushing away your helping hand. The very hand that you came here seeking. You would be defeating yourselves before we even get started.”
The four of them sat in silence. They could only admit that she was right. Xenia and Constance had always been more in tune with their people than other leaders.
Constance leaned forward off the edge and twirled as she passed their tables by until stopping to face them, “So, on that note. Hot tub! Tonight! I’ll see you all in a couple of hours. Don’t be late!”
She maintained eye contact as she jumped from one set of eyes to another extracting nodding affirmations from them as she beamed with enthusiasm yet still. After she had four nods and a couple of soft groans, she once again clapped her hands together and shrieked with excitement, “I am off to prepare! Ladies, if you need to borrow any swimsuits, feel free.”
She turned and walked off with a bounce in her step as she thought to herself with a smile, “As if either of you could ever fit in my tiny bottoms or fill my top bust.”