BloodStar

Chapter 50: Lady Innocente

Attendants stood at the ready in tuxedos opening doors and welcoming the empire’s most distinguished guests to the estate of Duchess Carmen Innocente.

Black limos, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and other luxury vehicles lined the enormous circle drive at the head of the 50,000 square foot French gothic mansion that took design cues from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

The guest list included bishops, cardinals, nobleman, and other privileged and wealthy individuals within the empire. As guests alighted from their vehicles with their dates, a magnificent red carpet greeted them and led them up the stairs to a set of hand carved stone doors depicting various scenes from the bible. Upon entry through the doors, guests were welcomed into an atrium with 50-foot-tall ceilings with the walls constructed of stone and stained-glass depictions revering the Lord.

The atrium had relics of the Christianity religion on display, paintings more than a millennium old, and even a life-sized wooden cross to remind everyone of the sacrifice the Lord made for all of Christianity.

Several senior Cardinals arrived including Cardinals Ricard, Pell, and Ortega. The atrium had swelled to nearly 150 people, and an audible yet hushed buzz of excitement washed through the crowd as the senior Cardinals made their entrance.

While most guests wore bespoke tuxedos, designer cocktail dresses, and other luxury garments, the Cardinals were distinguishable by their red and black robes.

The hushed buzz persisted for several minutes following their arrival as the party came to life. Champagne and wine flowed, and an excess of food littered the tables for guests to eat as they pleased.

The party was abuzz with life; however, suddenly the buzz grew to a wave of building excitement as one of the most revered Cardinals in the empire stepped through the door. In the signature red and black robes of a Cardinal, Cardinal Betoli stepped into the party. At 95 years old, he was one of the oldest members of the College of Cardinals. After Pope Gregory and Pope Peter, he also held the most power, even more so than St. Michael in the political realm.

Alongside Cardinal Betoli, he was joined by the man of the night himself… Pope Peter. The two men drew the attention of the entire party, and their arrival marked the start of the evening in earnest.

After a few minutes of mingling, a middle-aged woman dressed in an all-white beautiful hand-sewn dress appeared at the stone pulpit found halfway up the room’s central master staircase.

“Welcome to my home, distinguished guests of the empire. This is the atrium. While it is quite spacious, houses sacred artifacts, and offers unlimited tasty food, please do not feel constrained to this room for the night. The estate has gardens, terraces, waterfalls, mysterious rooms, and quiet getaways that you are most welcome to explore and use. And before the night gets too long, and our cups too empty… I would remind everyone the guest rooms are here for us to use should anyone like to stay overnight. And yes, breakfast will be served in the morning.” The crowd cheered the woman. The lovely and beautiful woman was the incredibly wealthy and respected Duchess Carmen Innocente.

“Lastly, we are here tonight to celebrate our revered Pope Peter. God has blessed him in battle, and He has blessed us with Pope Peter himself. On behalf of the empire, we honor and bow to our strong and graceful majesty, Pope Peter!” As soon as Carmen finished her sentence, the room roared to life with applause.

Pope Peter graciously accepted the honors and began to mingle with the crowd. Although he was the clear favorite to unilaterally rule the empire after his father, he knew it was still important to garner support given that his brother was an up-and-coming war hero of sorts. War heroes had the ability to stir the people, and Peter would never allow that risk.

As the Duchess gave her welcome speech to the party, one last black limo pulled up to the circle drive. An attendant rushed to open the door for the late arrival. The attendant nearly fainted at the beauty within the limousine.

First an outstretched leg covered in black pantyhose with black patent high heels stepped from the car. Then a black latex gloved hand reached for the door handle. Lastly, a beautifully shaped woman stepped out of the car in an all-black latex dress with a white cross over the chest of the dress.

The woman said nothing as she proceeded to the stairs leading up to the entrance. Her black latex dress fell the full length of her body stopping short of the ground by half an inch. A slit ran up the left side of the dress all the way up her leg exposing her perfectly toned and pantyhose-clad leg as she walked. The sleeves of her dress ran the full length of her arms and instead of separate gloves, the dress encompassed her hands as gloves would, fitting tightly over her hands and fingers. The top of the dress was conservative in the sense that it covered her entire chest; however, the tight-fitting nature of the dress around her chest left little to the imagination. The dress continued upwards above her neckline with the dress hugging her neck at the level of a choker.

Her tall stiletto high heels clicked against the stone as she entered the atrium. The party was swimming with life already and few noticed her entrance. Those that did were struck with curiosity as her long hair fell out of her matching latex veil which shrouded her head and face. Owing to the veil, onlookers could only imagine what beautiful face lay beneath.

As word spread about the mysterious beauty who had entered the party, even Peter took notice. He was struck with infatuation as he noticed that she oozed with sexual appeal; however, he also knew she valued the Christian ways owing to her nearly full covered dress and veil with hints of a sexual appetite given the latex material and full leg slit up her dress.

He quietly made his way through the crowd to find Duchess Innocente, “Carmen, if I may, who is the mysterious girl in the veil and black dress?”

Carmen shot him a glance and a smile, “Oh her? You have a very good eye Pope Peter. That’s my daughter.”

Pope Peter was caught with utter shock and surprise, “Your daughter?! Oh, excuse me for my lack of attention to your family Duchess. I am utterly embarrassed.”

Cardinal Betoli entered the conversation and softly said, “Do not be embarrassed Pope Peter. The daughter of Duchess Innocente is known to very few. She is here tonight at the request of myself for she has studied under me for many years. She is a treasure to our empire and one of the empire’s foremost scholars of Christianity.”

Carmen gave a delighted smile and said, “It’s a shame you two have never met. Allow me to fix this at once!” Carmen then snapped her fingers and waved for her daughter to approach.

As her daughter approached, Carmen shouted, “Come meet our empire’s leader. The height of Christianity on this planet. The one who you strive for greatness for in your studies under Cardinal Betoli. Pope Peter!”

The mysterious woman stopped before Pope Peter allowing him to take in her full sultry body up close, “I am Lady Elizabeth Innocente, daughter of Duchess Carmen Innocente. It is my honor to be in the presence of our Pope Peter.” Elizabeth curtsied to Peter with the utmost grace.

Peter responded in kind, “Lady Elizabeth. You honor me by studying under the highest of Cardinals Betoli. You have undoubtedly worked hard in the shadows to advance our agenda and religion throughout the world. I would like to know more of you studies if you have the time to spend with me.”

Lady Elizabeth bowed her head as to keep her face in the shadows of her veil, and her mother prodded her, “I have the perfect idea. Elizabeth. Take Pope Peter to the crystal falls cave within the papal suite. It was designed for his arrival after all, was it not?”

Elizabeth bowed her head, “Yes mother. I will do as you say.”

Pope Peter took her arm as she looped it through his arm. The touch of her tight latex dress against his skin aroused him to no end, and he had his sights set on Elizabeth for the night. Garnering support and favor with powerful members of the empire had just taken a back seat to the lovely girl in front of him.

As they walked off, Peter made small talk, “I love this dress of yours. It honors our religion and is quite becoming of you. Who is the designer…”

As the two disappeared into the estate, Duchess Carmen and Cardinal Betoli also receded into the depths of the labyrinthian house to stow away from the other guests for the time being.