Lolita was abruptly awakened by the relentless pounding on her door, groaning as she glanced at the alarm clock on her polished bedside table.
2:00 am. Whoever is waking me up has a death wish.
She pushed off her lambswool blankets and rolled out of bed. Her manicured toes sunk into the carpet as she stormed to the door stormed to the door. Peering through the peephole, she spotted Alina, her hair styled in a high bun, nervously twisting her apron over her black dress. With a swift motion, Lolita grasped the crystal doorknob and flung the door open, stepping onto the red-carpeted floor illuminated by the bright chandelier that cast a warm glow against the stained-glass windows. She dripped in wealth like a candy apple covered in chocolate.
Lolita crossed her arms. "Why the hell are you waking me up in the middle of the night?"
Alina whimpered, "My Ruler, I'm sorry to wake you up, but the Dynasty Tower has been bombed."
"What the hell? Are you fucking kidding me?" Lolita raked her fingers through her golden hair, pulling at the strands that tickled her thick thighs.
"No." Alina's dark brown eyes filled with tears.
"How do you know this?"
"One of the government officials contacted the castle," Alina said.
"Damn it. Contact the committee members for an emergency meeting in the board room."
Lolita returned to her room and slammed the door. She grabbed her house slippers out of the maple shoe cabinet. Her feet slipped into them; she entered her private washroom. The black marble tile floor didn't have a speck of dust.
On the pristine white Calcutta marble counter lay her birth control packet, a bottle of diet pills, and her hairbrush; with no time to style her hair, she quickly grabbed the brush, knowing her world had just been irrevocably altered.
She turned on the sink and splashed cold water onto her diamond-shaped face. Stress felt like a tight scarf tied around her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. Her pursed lips let out a controlled breath. She returned to her bedroom and entered her closet to grab her housecoat. It matched her green lily-coloured silk nightgown.
Knock. Knock.
Lolita left to answer the knock on the door.
"What?" Lolita snapped.
Lolita's grey eyes shot daggers at Alina, who froze under the intensity of her glare, reminiscent of Medusa's petrifying gaze.
"I got a hold of Axel and Artemis, and they're here. Maxwell's phone went straight to voicemail. I think he's on vacation with his wife."
"I don't care about Maxwell's personal life. Tell them to meet me in the boardroom and bring me a sangria!" Lolita slammed the door and strolled down the hallway.
Upon entering the room, she noted Axel's dishevelled appearance—slippers instead of shoes, messy hair, and a laptop bag slung over his oversized sweater—while Artemis, visibly shaken, had his emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Artemis' voice was hoarse as he spoke, "Lolita, the Dynasty Tower has been-"
"I know!" Lolita interrupted. "My maid told me. I can't believe this." She sat in her throne chair, and Axel sat across from her at the mahogany table.
Artemis sat in the seat across from her. "I've brought my laptop with me. I'll warn you that the video is hard to watch-"
"Just show it to me!"
Artemis nodded, retrieving his laptop from his bag and setting it on the table. He uploaded the video of the bombing Dynasty Tower that he'd saved in his files. Lolita shrank back in horror as she watched the video. The video shook, and the cameraman sobbed.
Alina entered, carrying a drink for Lolita on her tray.
"Just hand it over and turn on the fire; it's freezing in here," Lolita snapped impatiently.
Alina complied; she placed the tray on the table and activated the electric fireplace, flames flickering to life.
Lolita said, "The aircraft is a Fighting Hawk. Technate is the only country in the world that makes those planes!" Lolita banged her fist on the table.
"How do you know that Technate bombed us? And not another country?" Artemis asked.
"Because Technate haven't sold their planes to other countries. Catwerp has its own aircraft, the Angry Tiger. Technate. Technate is a backwards country, full of terrorists." Lolita answered.
"How do you know Jacob Kennedy is responsible for this?" Artemis asked.
"The bastard did this because I haven't paid off our external debt. It's not a crime to borrow money from another country." Lolita answered.
"How much do we owe to Technate?"
"I'm not going to tell you that! Jacob is a greedy bastard wanting me to pay a high interest rate on our national debt. He's done this to other countries. He's screwed over Cascadia; they're a third-world country because of him!"
"Weren't they always a third-world country?" Artemis scratched his neatly trimmed beard.
"Yes and no. Jacob Kennedy has made the living situation worse in Cascadia. He's trying to do the same here."
"We were lucky, nobody was inside the tower because it was closed." Artemis had a wistful smile.
"I'm not worried about that!" Lolita snapped. "If Technate wants war, we'll serve it to them on a gold platter."
Artemis cleared his throat. "I don't think war is a good idea." His voice was hoarse as if he'd breathed in the smoke from the fire.
"Don't you dare question me! I'm the Ruler of this country, and I'm declaring war against Technate. I'm going to make the announcement tomorrow."
"Lolita. I think you're stressed out and are overreacting. Lack of sleep has clouded your judgment." Artemis said.
"I just watched terrorists from Technate bomb the Dynasty tower! That tower was four thousand years old! It's a historical building." Lolita snapped.
"What do you think we should call the war?" Axel raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Artemis gasped. "I think we should go to Technate and meet with Jacob Kennedy. We can come up with a peaceful resolution to this." Artemis said.
"No!" Lolita slammed her fist on the table. "I'm not meeting up with that asshole. He's the one who started this war!"
"I'm here!"
They turned to look at Tyler, wearing a baseball T-shirt and red pyjama pants.
"I'm sorry, I'm late. I'd tried to get here as fast as I could. The maid informed me about the bombing of the Dynasty Tower."
"It's fine, Tyler," Lolita said. "Just go sit down."
Tyler took a seat beside Artemis.
"What's your drink?" Axel asked Lolita.
"It's a Sangria." Lolita smiled.
"We should call it Sangria war!" Axel responded.
"No. We should name it the Crimson War." Tyler retorted.
Lolita shook her head. "No. There is already a war named that. You forget about the war between the Anua and Sumer. It happened because Anua refused to accept Zo-pak speakers. After all, they want Ba'vi to be the main language of Anua."
"I remembered that war," Artemis said. "Sumer became a third-world country. It used to have high-paying jobs and affordable housing. Anua's military tanks and planes destroyed most of the houses in Sumer, leaving most of its citizens homeless. Lolita planning a war against Technate will not help us as a country; it'll only hurt us."
"Axel, I liked the name. Sangria is a bright red colour; it reminds me of the colour of blood." Lolita said.
"Remembered when you first met me and you threw your red wine at me?" Axel said.
"Oh. Axel, that was a long time ago, and you put me in a bad mood that day." Lolita finished her drink, enjoying the fruity taste. "I want to see Technation soldiers drowning in their blood!"
"We should plan another meeting when all the committee members can attend, and Lolita, you can get their input about the war," Artemis said.
"I'm not changing my mind, Artemis. However, I do agree with you, not enough government officials are here, and too many of them are missing out on important information. I'm going to dismiss the meeting and inform you when I plan another one." Lolita finished her drink. They'd left the boardroom, and Lolita returned to her bedroom.
She spent the night posting information on her website. On her laptop, she had no internet censorship; the laws for the average Intermarium civilian did not apply to her. She wanted revenge, like a tiger wanted fresh meat. If she could have it her way, Jacob Kennedy would be a dead man.