Vetranis was among the last of Berengar's guests to leave the borders of the Reich. Currently, he was standing in a room with his daughter and her three children. It took some time for the Byzantine Empire to come back to reality after hearing the astronomical figure that Berengar had agreed to give to the Golden Horde as an investment.
Fifty billion marks were the equivalent of two hundred and fifty billion united states dollars from Berengar's past life. Naturally after hearing that such a monumental sum would be given to a group who was only just recently hostile to him, The Byzantine Emperor was now scowling as he vented his frustrations to Honoria.
"I still can't believe that your husband is willing to invest so much into a bunch of barbarians. For over a decade, we have supported the von Kufstein Dynasty and their ambitions, and yet the amount of wealth that the Kaiser has invested into our Empire is a fraction of what he is now giving the golden horde!'"
Honoria was about to defend her husband's actions when her eldest son interfered. Alexandros was in the midst of playing with his younger brother Constantinus, whose age could be counted on a single hand.
The two of them were using plastic building blocks to create a castle. Upon hearing his grandfather complain about a lack of investment into his empire on the part of his German allies, the boy prince was quick to remind the man just what such a thing entailed.
""You know my father, grandpa. Are you sure you want to accept his money? Because I assure you, he will take something far more valuable in return... And with the German army at his back, you will not be able to go back on the agreement. It's how he got mother, and the canal, remember?"
A heavy sigh echoed in the room as Vetranis let out all of his frustrations in a single gasp of air. He looked over at the boy and responded with a single phrase while expressing a tone filled with defeat.
"all too well my dear boy, all too well..."
Upon seeing how exhausted his grandfather was with the current state of things, Alexandros was quick to comfort the man with some words regarding the future.
"Khorijin isn't educated enough to understand what she's doing. I can only commend father for taking advantage of her in such a manner. If you really think about it, the money father is investing into this new state will eventually make its way back to us, in the form of reparations. Not to mention, by being in such proximity to the Golden Horde, we will become their most valued trading partner.
However, I suppose that in the meantime I can talk to father about financing some cheap loans for our empire to help you get started on your reconstruction efforts."
A bitter smile formed on the Byzantine Emperor's face as he gazed upon his adorable grandchild, who was already more capable ruler than he had ever been. With another heavy sigh, he expressed his thanks to the boy.
"Thank you Alexandros. I'm glad to have someone I can count on.. I haven't had someone like that since Arethas left us. Speaking of... Your father has left the matter of your engagement up to me to decide.
Because of this, I think the most suitable match to be your future wife is Arethas' granddaughter. Serena is an adorable little girl who is currently eight years old. I think it is a match your father would approve of. How about I introduce you to her the next time you are in Constantinople?"
Alexandros was stunned to hear that his father had left the matter of his engagement up to his grandfather. However, the boy had heard tales of Arethas Maniakes from his father, and it seemed like the two men had quite a solid friendship before the Strategos of Ionia's unfortunate demise.
Thus, after careful contemplation, Alexandros nodded his head with a stoic expression on his youthful face. He responded to his grandfather's proposition with a tone filled with indifference.
"Whatever grandpa thinks is best."
Honoria closely observed her son's expression when her father had brought up an engagement. Such a thing was no small matter, as whoever was chosen would be the boy's partner for life. Yet, her son did not react in the slightest. This caused her to worry just a little about her son's future. However, since Alexandros had agreed to this proposal, she would not interfere.
While Vetranis was speaking with his grandson, Berengar was mediating a conflict that was brewing between two of his concubines. Khorijin had maintained her place in the Royal Palace, not wanting to return to her homeland, until all of her people had been gathered.
However, on this day, there was another barbarous beauty who had entered the palace, As the Aztec's ambassador to the Reich, Tlexictli regularly commuted between her villa, and the palace to discuss matters of importance with her lover.
However, today, of all days, she had encountered Khorijin, wandering through the palace with a complicated expression on her pretty face. Since first arriving in Germany, Khorijin had been thoroughly stunned by everything she had witnessed. Trains, trolleys, busses, electricity, refrigerators, televisions, radios, these were just some of the few inventions that had made the barbarian Princess's head spin.
As a nomadic warrior princess, Khorijin had grown up in a vastly different society, and yet in this city, things she could not even imagine not only existed, but were commonplace. The grand feats of architecture alone were beyond her wildest dreams.
Being so lost in such a vast and opulent palace, Khorijin often struggled to find her way around. Which is how she ran into the Aztec princess. Like usual, Tlexictli was dressed in loose-fitting clothes, which she vastly preferred over the intricate dresses worn by German women of the upper class.
From the moment the Aztec Princess gazed upon her Mongol counterpart, she knew that Khorijin was a warrior, thus she had decided to test the woman by getting in her face. After all, for such a foreign beauty to be wandering the palace, it only meant one thing, that she had another competitor. With this in mind, Tlexictli immediately approached Khorijin and looked down upon her, while insulting her lack of muscle.
"Berengar must be getting soft, the amount of delicate flowers he keeps around keeps increasing. To think that he would take another helpless woman into his harem. I mean look at you, you are completely lacking in the muscle that is required to be anything more than a victim. At the very least you are no warrior!"
Khorijin's understanding of the German Language was extremely limited, but she could just manage to make out how Tlexictli had insulted her. The woman's finely trimmed brow raised slightly as she looked up at the Aztec Princess and judged her.
This muscle stacked woman had appeared out of nowhere, and insulted her appearance. Though she might not be quite as ripped as this brown skinned woman, Khorijin had quite a bit of pride in her accomplishments on the field of battle, let alone her appearance. So much so, that she would not let such an insult slide, and was quick to counter Tlexictli's venomous words with her own vile tongue.
"You think those muscles make you a great warrior? I'll have you know that speed and agility are a great asset. After all, no matter how strong you are, you will never be a man's equal. You claim you are a great warrior, yet here you are, walking around the Kaiser's palace as another one of his playthings. Clearly you have already been conquered, and are thus not worthy of my time and effort."
Tlexictli's brows narrowed when she heard such a bitter remark. Conquered? Was this arrogant woman not the same as she? Little did the Aztec Princess know that Berengar had yet to taste her mongol counterpart. Thus, she became rather enranged, and pushed Khorijin against the wall before chastising her.
"You think you are better than me? Fine, I call your bluff, there is a simple way to prove who among us is the better warrior."
It was about this time that Berengar walked in on the two women and noticed that they were butting heads. He quickly broke the duo apart before asking them what was going on.
"What the hell? I presume this is the first time you have met, and yet here you are, fighting like you are mortal enemies. Just what the hell has happened between you two?"
Before Tlexictli could even speak, Khorijin responded to the woman's previous words, completely ignoring the presence of the Kaiser as she did so.
"Very well, I accept your challenge. How shall we test our might?"
This remark caught both Berengar and Tlexictli off guard. However, after thinking about it for a second, the two of them could understand the reasoning behind such a bold move. Khorijin was a warrior, and her pride had been hurt by Tlexictli's remarks.
Naturally she would never let such a thing slide. Thus, Tlexictli shifted her gaze towards Berengar and smirked sadistically as she informed the man of the little game she was about to play.
"It's a good thing you stopped by. You can bear witness to the winner of this contest. Let's go to the Palace's gym!"
After saying this, the Aztec Princess dragged the Kaiser and her opponent to the gym that existed within the palace. Though Berengar was confused about how things had ended up like this, he would not deny the chance to see whatever challenge Tlexictli had concocted.
In the middle of the gym was a large mat space, where Tlexictli was quick to completely strip out of her clothes, before bouncing around like a wild beast. Khorijin witnessed the primal beauty of the naked warrior princess and felt slightly embarassed. When she accepted the woman's challenge, she did not expect that she would have to get naked. Thus she was quick to call out her opponent's shamelessness.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Why have you dragged me here? What is this test of yours?"
Tlexictli merely grinned before shifting her gaze towards Berengar who was watching her finely toned body bounce around, as if he had been completely mesmerized by her beauty. With a pleading tone, she made a request of the man.
"Berengar, will you be so kind as to fetch us some oil? Obviously there is only one way to settle this dispute, this stuck up bitch and I are going to wrestle to determine who is the better warrior!"
Berengar smiled and nodded his head in agreement with Tlexictli's assessment. Khorijin needed to be knocked down a peg, and the best way to do so was to put her through the humiliation of naked oil wrestling. Thus he was quick to do as requested.
Before long Berengar found some hempseed oil, and quickly brought it into the room, where the two princesses were staring each other down. Without hesitation he stepped forward, and started applying the oil to Tlexictli's finely toned body, an act which caused Khorijin to blush in embarassment.
This was perhaps the first time Berengar had seen the woman make any real emotional expression. Which he found cute. After applying the oil to every inch of Tlexictli's body, he approached Khorijin, whose first instinct was to run away.
However, would Berengar allow such a thing? He quickly grabbed hold of the woman and forcefully stripped her out of her clothes. He took one long look at the woman's fit body, and nodded his head in approval before applying the oil to every crevice of her figure. Once Khorijin was nice and slippery, Berengar walked stepped off the mat and stated the rules of the competition.
"You will be fighting under basic submission grappling rules. The two of you will wrestle until one of you taps, or is injured to the point of no longer competing. All forms of submission are allowed, and it is your responsibility to protect yourself at all times. Understood?"
Tlexictli smiled and nodded her head. She was bouncing in anticipation, an act which immediately caught Berengar's interest. As for Khorijin she felt completely out of her comfort zone, but since she had been challenged she had decided to do everything it took to win, after all wrestling was a pastime of her people, and even she herself was quite competent in the practice.
With both fighters having accepted the conditions, Berengar smiled and hung back to the side, planning to witness this feast for the eyes with his fullest attention. As he paced around the mat, he gave the command to begin.
"Ready? Fight!"
With these orders given, an epic bout was about to take place between two warrior princesses. One that only Berengar had the privilege of witnessing.
