Читать книгу The Twilight Lord - Bertrice Small - Страница 12

Chapter Four

KALIQ of the Shadows looked out over the valley of horses where his herd and the herds of his brother princes stood grazing. “It is done,” he said, turning to his beautiful companion. “And neither the clan families or Magnus Hauk suspect.”

Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries, nodded. “What will happen now?” she asked. “I pray her memory does not return to her until it is finished.”

“Her memories are safely stored and only the Munin can give them back to her. I will not see that done until the child is well along,” Kaliq said. “Then Lara will have her memories and will instinctively know what she must do. Kol is besotted with her, Ilona. It has worked out perfectly.” He smiled, well pleased. “And Lara will be safe for the interim.”

“They still search for her,” Ilona remarked. “The clan families are heartbroken. They cannot be convinced it was not their fault. But Magnus believes that Hetar is responsible for Lara’s disappearance. He would go to war. Mortals can be so irrational.”

Kaliq chuckled. “They can,” he agreed. “But does it not prove to you, my fair Ilona, that the Dominus of Terah loves his wife beyond all reason? He is really the perfect husband for her.”

“I wish they had met after this. How will you manage to keep what is happening from him when we regain her? And how will Lara cope with what has happened to her? You know how damnably honest she is. A wicked mortal trait! She will want Magnus to know everything and I do not believe he can live with it. It will destroy them both.”

“Ilona, Ilona, you surely know me better than that,” Kaliq murmured chidingly. “Trust me, my queen. I would never destroy Lara or any she loved.”

Ilona sighed. “Inscrutable as always,” she replied. “I don’t suppose you will tell me what it is you plan to do, Kaliq.”

He smiled again. “Nay, I will not. You complain that mortals are irrational, Ilona, but your faerie race can also act without logic or reason.”

“Do not act so superior with me, Kaliq,” the queen of the Forest Faeries snapped.

“But I am superior to you,” he said calmly. “And my kind are far older than your race, as well.”

“If it had been my choice—” Ilona began but he stopped her mouth with his hand.

“It was your choice when this task was offered to you, Ilona. You might have refused but you did not. It was your choice to take John Swiftsword as a lover and, between you, create Lara. You knew her destiny. There must always be balance, Ilona, and Lara brings that balance.”

“But I did not know I would love my daughter as I do, Kaliq,” the queen cried. “I thought being separated from her all those years had drained me of any love I might have harbored. Alas! My cold faerie heart betrayed me. I do love Lara and I am terrified of this destiny she has been given.” Ilona sobbed. “Look at me! I weep! Faeries do not weep, Kaliq! They should not weep! Yet I do!” She stamped her feet furiously at him.

“Do you believe I do not weep at the thought of the Twilight Lord possessing my exquisite Lara?” Kaliq demanded. “I have observed Lara from her birth. I watched as she grew into the beautiful girl Gaius Prospero, in his pique, sent from The City. She should have been brought to me first and never known the brutality of the Forest Lords, yet even I am not completely privy to the will of the Celestial Actuary. But then I had her in my care and she proved an incredible pupil. I shall be haunted until I finally fade from this realm by the nights we spent together. You weep, Ilona? Your tears can be no more heartfelt or bitter than mine, oh queen of the Forest Faeries!”

Ilona reached out a small delicate hand and touched his cheek. “Forgive me, Kaliq. You have always loved her, I know. I am sorry her fate was not to be yours.”

He smiled ruefully. “Her spirit could not have been content in the confines of our desert kingdom,” he admitted. “And Lara would surely not be pleased with either of us if, in her absence, we allow Hetar and Terah to go to war. I have sent my brothers, Lothair and Nasim, to The City to gather what information they can. The High Council is little more than a mockery of what it once was but if the Shadow Princes eschew it, then it appears as if we are no longer a part of Hetar. With Gaius Prospero, if you are not with him you are against him. While he will never be bold enough to attack us for he fears our magic, our presence on the High Council alleviates his paranoia. He believes Terah weak without Lara and even now plans to attack Magnus Hauk at the first opportunity.”

“The Terahns have a small army thanks to my daughter,” Ilona said, “but I doubt they could hold off a full-scale attack from Hetar. The Crusader Knights and the Mercenaries are great in number. Once they see the richness of Terah it will not be easy to hold them back. They could not in a thousand years wear out the land there. And that is only on the Terahn side of the Emerald Mountains. The New Outlands possesses an equal amount of land. Terah offers an invader lands and slaves without number. Do you believe that Gaius Prospero is farseeing enough to dare such an expedition?”

“I do not know if he is farseeing but he is surely greedy enough. It is his right hand, Jonah, who has the greater intellect and instinct. Actually, I consider Jonah a more formidable human than I do Gaius Prospero. The emperor can be tempted from his path and I have already arranged for him to be so subverted. My brothers and I have created a female who will so remind him of Lara that he will do what he must to possess her. Without her he will wither and die. She will hopefully keep him from his own folly long enough for Lara to meet her destiny and then return to her husband and family.”

“A woman? You seek to have a mere woman distract Gaius Prospero?” Ilona asked. “And what of the more dangerous Jonah? If the emperor is bedazzled by a mere woman does that not give Jonah his opportunity?”

“Jonah will be far too busy, I suspect, calming the emperor’s two wives, Vilia and Anora. And Vilia, who is Jonah’s secret mistress, will also be busy attempting to persuade her lover to take this chance to destroy the emperor.” Kaliq chuckled.

“If this creature you have created looks like Lara, will not Jonah be suspicious?”

“Come and see for yourself what we have done.” Kaliq invited the queen. He led her to a tall mirror. The prince gestured with his right hand and the mirror grew dark.

Then it cleared to reveal a lovely young girl picking spring flowers in a meadow. The girl was petite and slender. As she stood clutching her bouquet, Ilona saw she had a heart-shaped face with two beautiful violet eyes. Her long reddish-gold hair flowed free, contained only by a narrow ribbon. She bore a slight resemblance to Lara but not enough that it would be noticed immediately.

“Her name is Shifra,” Kaliq said softly. “We gave her just enough allure and knowledge that Gaius Prospero will be overcome by his lust for her.”

“It will do no good,” Ilona said. “Remember that Lara cursed his ability to enjoy pleasures any longer.”

Kaliq laughed, remembering the incident. “That is true, my dear Ilona, but we have made it possible for Shifra to overcome that curse. For the first time in several years the emperor will enjoy pleasures. And he will enjoy them every time he mounts her. That is why he will want to make her his third wife and his empress. Can you imagine the uproar his decision will cause within his household? Vilia was wise enough to befriend Anora when Gaius Prospero took his second wife. And Anora was content to let Vilia have the authority in the household as long as she was catered to and could practice her painful love with the emperor. But Shifra, being young and innocent when the emperor takes her, will begin to exhibit the pride of a woman who believes herself above Gaius Prospero’s senior wives and he will support her at every turn, infuriating the other two. You see, we have made Shifra an amalgam of both Vilia and Anora. The emperor will finally have his perfect woman in one woman.

“The lady Vilia is enormously clever. She will act in her own best interests, for remember, she has Jonah, who actually loves and admires her, though not quite as much as he loves himself. He is a very ambitious man and has just been waiting for an opportunity. Who knows what will happen when he sees the woman he cares for being abused and embarrassed before all of Hetar? As for Anora, she will destroy herself with her outrageous behavior when she realizes her rival has bested her. She has always considered Vilia her inferior in the emperor’s heart.” The prince smiled. “In the end it is Lara’s destiny that will prevail. Remember that from a distant tomorrow will come Hetar’s true destiny.”

“The prophecy,” Ilona said softly. Then she sighed. “I just wish I could have prevented my daughter from the pain she has, and will, experience.”

“Look! Look in the mirror,” Kaliq said. “Shifra is about to begin her journey!” And the Shadow Prince and the queen of the Forest Faeries watched fascinated as the band of slavers rode into the meadow.

Shifra looked up at the sound of hoofbeats. Recognizing the breed of horsemen bearing down on her she picked up her skirts and began to run. With a whoop of delight the slavers bore down on her until their leader, a man named Lenya, came abreast of the fleeing girl and scooped her up. Shifra fought him, beating at him with her small balled-up fists, and struggled to escape his grasp. “Let me go!” she cried. “Let me go, you barbarian!”

In reply Lenya swiftly turned the girl about so that she now lay facedown before him over his saddle. “Be silent, girl!” he told her. “You are caught and there is nothing for it but to accept your fate. It will probably be a most comfortable one, for you are beautiful and young.”

The slavers rode on until nightfall when they stopped to make a camp. Shifra was tied to a young tree while the slavers built a fire, found water and began to cook their evening meal. When they had eaten Lenya came with a bowl of stew and began to feed Shifra a small portion. He was pleased to see her eat for often captives did not. And as she ate he began to question her.

“What in the name of the Celestial Actuary were you doing all alone out in the middle of nowhere?” he demanded.

“I am an orphan,” Shifra began. “I lived with my old grandmother in a hut in the forest that surrounds the meadow where you took me. She will be alone now and she will surely die.” Shifra began to sob.

“If she is old then perhaps it is her time to die,” Lenya replied sanguinely. “I believe we passed a hut near the forest road as we came. There was an old hag digging in a garden. She was much too decrepit for us to be bothered with, but you are a nice tender little morsel. We shall get a goodly profit in The City for you.”

“That was my grandmother,” Shifra wept. “She will wonder what has happened to me now. Oh, my poor nona!”

Lenya snorted. “Are you a virgin?” he asked her rudely.

Shifra colored at his words and hung her head. “Yes,” she whispered.

“I am going to check,” he told her. “I cannot represent you as something you are not, despite your beauty. If you are a truly a virgin I will get a much higher price for you than if you are not. What is your name?”

“Shifra,” she told him. “I am called Shifra.”

He nodded. The name meant beautiful, and it certainly fit her. Calling to his men he untied her. “Put her on the blanket and two of you secure her arms. The other two of you, spread her legs wide for me,” Lenya said. When his men licked their lips and leered at his instructions Lenya continued. “She says she is a virgin. If she is then she will bring us a much, much higher price at the slave market in The City, you fools. We will make so much coin off of her that you will all be able to spend at least two nights at the Pleasure House of Maeve Scarlet,” he told them with a grin. “Now get the girl on her back so I may examine her.”

“What if she isn’t a virgin?” one of his men asked.

“Then we shall all take pleasures with our little Shifra tonight, my lads, but I hope she has not lied, for the Pleasure Women at Maeve Scarlet’s are exceptionally well trained and always welcoming of a hardworking man.”

As they brought her down onto the blanket Shifra began to struggle wildly, sobbing and begging them not to harm her. But she was a dainty girl and no match for the big men holding her prisoner. They quickly had her secure, both of her arms pinioned to either side and her legs spread wide. The tears pouring from her eyes and her little cries of distress would have moved a stone cliff.

Lenya knelt by the girl. He pulled her skirts up, revealing the snow-white skin beneath and a mound of tight red-gold curls clustered upon her mons. He looked admiringly. No doubt about it, she was prime goods. Now if only she spoke the truth. He pressed a single finger past her plump nether lips. Shifra sobbed and begged him to stop. His finger found her passage and he pushed it slowly into her. Shifra shrieked her distress. Lenya’s finger reached the barrier of her virginity. Quickly he pulled his finger back and out lest he damage that barrier. He looked up smiling broadly at his men. “She is as pure as the driven snow, my lads. Our fortune is made! Now release her,” he said.

Shifra curled herself into a tight little ball, weeping with her shame.

Lenya stood up. “Remember,” he said to his men. “I will cut the balls of any of you who touches her and make you eat them roasted,” he threatened. “Drop another blanket over her. I will be sleeping next to her tonight.”

The other slavers knew their leader well enough to know he was not jesting with them so they said nothing more. Two days later they arrived at The City. Shifra was taken to a public bath to be scrubbed. Lenya left his men there while he went to an open market to seek a more attractive garment in which to display his treasure to the slave master. Presentation was, he knew, half the battle when selling a piece of choice merchandise. Finding what he sought, he returned to the bath to find Shifra almost ready. He gave the garment to the bath mistress. “For the girl Shifra,” he told her.

“She’s a real beauty, Lenya,” the bath mistress told him. “Where did you find her? I’ve done an extraspecial job with her. I hope you’ll remember me when you get your price.” And she smiled, showing several broken and blackened teeth.

“Have I ever forgotten you?” he replied.

“Aiiii, but this girl is truly valuable,” the bath mistress said.

“I will not forget you,” he repeated. “Now finish up. I am in a hurry to get to the slave market. The auctions begin at noon. I’ve been looking forward to an evening or two at Maeve Scarlet’s.”

The bath mistress cackled and then disappeared back into the baths. She returned a short while later with Shifra, who was now garbed in a pale green gown of sheerest silk through which her lush and rosy body could be just faintly seen. The skirt of the gown was narrow. One of her beautiful rounded shoulders was bare as were her arms. Her long red-gold hair had been washed and now flowed loose down her back to her buttocks. Her feet were shod in a pair of simple sandals.

“Here she is,” the bath mistress said, pleased. “You have an eye for the right costume, Lenya.” Then she lowered her voice. “I have given her a cup of Razi so that she will not be so frightened or struggle.”

Lenya pressed double the amount he would have usually paid the bath mistress into her hand. “And there will be more later,” he told her.

“You are generous beyond measure, but come back before you and your men go to Maeve Scarlet’s,” she chuckled.

“I will,” he responded with a grin. Then he took Shifra by the hand. “Come now, my beauty, and let us see the excitement you will cause.” He led her to a waiting litter, for he would not walk her to the slave market now that she was ready. He followed along as the two bearers hurried through The City’s crowded and noisy streets. Finally they gained the slave market and Lenya hurried to find the slave master who, seeing him first, called out to the slaver.

“Lenya! Rumor has it that you have found a treasure for me to auction today. You are in luck, my friend! If the girl is what she is said to be I will sell her in the private chamber rather than here in the open market. I get a much better clientele for choice merchandise there,” the slave master explained. He walked to the litter and drawing back the curtains, was stunned by the violet eyes that looked back at him. Reaching into the litter he handed the girl out, then slowly walked about her nodding. “I have not had anything this fine in years,” he said admiringly. “Where did you find her? And are there more of them?”

“I doubt it,” Lenya said with a chuckle. “We came upon her picking flowers in an open meadow on the forest’s edge. We had passed a hut where an old woman lived. Shifra said it was her home and her grandmother.”

“In the forest?” the slave master said. “But she has not the look of Forest Folk.”

“She is probably Midlands born, but the hut was poor, which means the farm from which the old woman came was probably bought up or confiscated by the emperor some years ago. She says she’s an orphan. Do you really care?” Lenya asked.

“Is it too much to ask if she is a virgin?” the slave master said hopefully.

Lenya grinned. “I verified it myself. The maiden’s barrier is there. I did not damage it, knowing its value.”

The slave master reached out to squeeze one of Shifra’s breasts. Gasping, the girl drew back like a scalded cat, her eyes wide with shock. The man chortled. “I shall want a thirty per cent commission,” he said.

“Do not be greedy,” Lenya scolded him. “This maid will sell in less than five minutes and the only reason it will take that long will be because the bidding will be hot and heavy. I will give you ten percent.”

“Twenty,” the slave master replied.

“Fifteen and not a coin more,” Lenya responded.

“Agreed!” the slave master said. “And you are just in time, for the private auction is beginning first. Come in and you may view the proceedings. I will sell the girl last, however, in order to get a fair price for the rest of my merchandise but do not fear. There are only five others. Top quality is difficult to come by these days.”

Lenya saw Shifra led away and he settled down to watch the auction. Two girls were quickly auctioned off to Pleasure Houses. A third to a wealthy magnate. There was a faint stirring in the audience behind him but Lenya did not bother to turn about. The remaining two slave girls were sold. Then the slave master stepped forward.

“My lords,” he said. “I have less than an hour ago received for sale a virgin of such incomparable beauty that it will be many years before I receive such a slave again.” He clapped his hands and Shifra was led out to be placed in the center of a small raised dais. “Young, my lords. Untouched. Rare.”

“And expensive,” said a voice in a group of men to appreciative laughter.

The slave master joined in their laughter. “Aye, my lords, expensive.”

“Let us see what it is you really offer,” another voice called.

The slave master nodded to Shifra and reaching up she undid her gown, letting it fall to her feet. Slowly, carefully she pirouetted about as she had been told to do and she heard the whispering sighs from the men gazing up at her. They admired the small round breasts with the berry nipples. They admired her lush thighs and her plump buttocks.

The slave master allowed them to look their fill and then he said, “What am I bid for this piece of perfection, my lords?”

Lenya held his breath waiting. Would he gain five thousand coins for her? Six?

“I bid fifty thousand gold cubits,” a voice called from the audience.

“Fifty thousand,” the slave master said as if it were a mere opening bid. His heart was hammering against his rib cage. “I am bid fifty thousand. Who will bid sixty?” He looked about the chamber. “Come my lords, will no one else bid for this rare beauty?”

The room remained silent and so the slave master brought down his small gavel. “Fifty thousand gold. The slave girl Shifra is sold to our gracious and glorious emperor, Gaius Prospero, for fifty thousand gold cubits.” The gavel hit the slave master’s podium with a loud thunk. “Done for fifty thousand gold cubits!”

It was only then that Lenya dared to turn about. And there was the emperor himself. He was staring intently at Shifra. No wonder no one else had dared to bid against him, he thought. But then, had the emperor not bid, neither he nor the slave master would now be rich men. He almost laughed aloud. He was done with slaving, he decided in that moment. After today nothing he did would compare with this.

A servant of the emperor made his way to the slave master and gave him a scrip with the emperor’s seal upon it. “Bring this to the treasury at your convenience. You will be paid there. Send the girl to the emperor’s home in the Golden District at once.”

Then he turned and departed.

“We do not have the gold?” Lenya said nervously.

“I will put today’s open auction in the hands of my son,” the slave master said. “You and I shall go immediately to the treasury, my friend, and collect our payment. I trust no one, especially not the emperor. The girl shall not leave this place until we have our coin.”

Lenya nodded and together the two men hurried to the large treasury building, a new structure located just inside the gates of the Golden District. Showing the scrip with the emperor’s seal they were permitted entry. An officious clerk peered suspiciously at the paper and then without a word called for his superior who in turn called for the assistant treasurer who looked at the scrip.

Then he said, “How do you wish this paid out, sir?”

“In a lump sum,” the slave master said.

“No,” Lenya interjected. “Pay him his seven thousand five hundred coins. The remainder you will transfer immediately to Avram the Goldsmith in my name.”

“You bank with Avram?” The slave master was surprised.

The assistant treasurer turned to the slave master. “Sir?”

“Do as he says,” the slave master told him. “He is Lenya the Slaver. The merchandise was his. I will take my commission and go.”

“Have my monies transferred now,” Lenya told the assistant treasurer. “I am going to Avram to get the coin I will need to pay my men.”

“I am curious,” the slave master said while the paperwork for the transfer was prepared. “What do you pay your men?”

“They will each get five percent of my profit,” Lenya answered. “It is usually two percent of our sales. But I have never before gotten such a sum for a bevy of slaves, let alone one girl. I’m not a greedy man. My men have all been loyal and with me a long time. I shall retire to a small villa in the Coastal Kingdom now and take a wife.”

“Here is your record of the transfer of funds,” the assistant treasurer said, handing the papers to Lenya.

“Good day to you then,” Lenya told them and he was gone from the treasury.

“What did you sell for him?” the assistant treasurer asked the auctioneer, curious.

“A slave girl—an extraordinarily beautiful slave girl. The emperor purchased her,” the slave master said. “Fifty thousand gold coins. Not even the legendary Lara earned that sum for Gaius Prospero.”

The treasurer handed the slave master a heavy bag of coins. “You shall have an escort back to your establishment,” he said. “Courtesy of the emperor, sir.”

“Thank you,” the slave master nodded. He must be quick. The slave girl Shifra must be delivered immediately now that she had been paid for in full. He hurried from the treasury with the two armed mercenaries. When he returned he discovered that a litter had been sent from the emperor for his new purchase. His assistant, afraid to refuse a royal transport, had already sent the girl along. The slave master did not chide the man. He was actually relieved to be rid of Shifra now. Someone that beautiful was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

* * *

SHIFRA WATCHED curiously as the litter carrying her passed through the streets of The City. She had been created for loving, Prince Kaliq had told her. She was meant for only a great man. Certainly the emperor was a great man. Did he not rule all of Hetar? She smiled, remembering how she had awakened one day to find the Shadow Princes standing over her. They had tended her lovingly and taught her all about passion and pleasures without once disturbing her virginity, which they assured her was for a great man alone. Who was she, she asked them? An orphan, they told her, raised by her grandmother and when they told her that, her memories of Nona were suddenly there. She had become lost in the forest and they had found her and healed her. Now she must return to her grandmother and let her fate play out. And because she had trusted the princes she had done as they bid her. And now she was to be rewarded. Gaius Prospero, the princes told Shifra, was going to fall in love with her. She had but to follow her instincts with him.

The litter bearers hurried through the gates of the Golden District. The girl within looked out and saw a beautiful park surrounding the great marble mansions that dotted the landscape. They passed through another set of gates guarded by men-at-arms in elegant dark blue-and-gold uniforms. Shifra heard gravel crunching beneath the sandals of the bearers, and then they came to a stop. The litter was set down, the curtain was opened and a hand reached in to help her out.

“I am Tania, Lady Shifra, and I have been assigned to care for you,” the owner of the hand said. “If you will please follow me I will take you to the quarters that have been arranged for you.” She moved quickly away and Shifra had to run to keep up.

They walked through a beautiful rotunda. At its center was a rectangular fountain decorated with a boy riding a bronze dolphin that spouted water from its mouth. There were water hyacinths floating in the pool and benches upon which to sit. Shifra had never seen anything like it and thought it was wonderful.

“It is a very big house,” she ventured softly.

“It is,” Tania agreed. “And since the master became emperor it has gotten even bigger. The northern wing, which was once used for housing my master’s special merchandise, has been rebuilt and enlarged. There is now a throne room, a great room for entertaining, a new dining room for feeding guests and, of course, the emperor’s right hand, Lord Jonah, has his offices and living quarters there. Such a man for work, Lord Jonah! Nowadays he spends several months a year in Terah as the emperor’s ambassador, as well. He is probably the only person in Hetar that our emperor trusts.”

“Where are we going?” Shifra asked.

“You are to be housed in the west wing,” Tania replied.

“Does anyone else live there?” the girl queried.

“Indeed. The emperor’s wives, Lady Vilia and Lady Anora, live in the west wing. I will be frank with you, Lady Shifra. Neither will be pleased to know you. They are most jealous of their positions and have squabbled ever since my master became emperor over who should be empress, for neither has been appointed to that position.”

“Oh,” Shifra said. This was something she would consider carefully.

Ahead of them were tall twin doors covered in gold leaf. On either side of the doors stood a man-at-arms. As they reached them the two guards snapped to attention and the doors sprang magically open for the two women to pass through.

“Come this way,” Tania said to Shifra, leading her down a corridor.

“Tania! Stop!” an imperious voice called out.

“Aye, do not go a step farther,” another voice said.

“Be silent,” Tania hissed to Shifra as she turned about. “Yes, my ladies?”

“Is this the slave girl Gaius paid such a ridiculous sum for this afternoon?” came the query.

“Yes, my lady Vilia, it is,” Tania replied politely.

“Turn around, girl!” Lady Vilia said. “What is your name?”

Shifra turned slowly, her eyes lowered. She bowed servilely, and responded in a soft little voice, “My name is Shifra, great lady.” Her eyes remained lowered.

“Let me see your face, girl,” the lady Vilia said sharply. Her hand yanked Shifra’s head up roughly. She stared, displeased, but then she said, “I see nothing special in this girl that would have caused Gaius to waste so much coin. He must surely be entering his dotage. What do you think, Anora?”

The other woman, younger and more beautiful than the first, looked Shifra over slowly and carefully. “She has very fair skin, Vilia. I expect the merest cut of my whip would break it. But then I expect we shall soon see, for Gaius needs not only to be whipped, but to whip in order to raise his cock to perform.” She ran a nail down the side of Shifra’s cheek, laughing softly at the faint weal it raised. “Oh yes, she will mark nicely and easily. Have you ever been whipped, girl? Your master is an expert at it.”

“He will not whip me,” Shifra startled them by answering. “And he will need no whip to coax his cock to perform with me.”

Anora laughed. “Gracious, the little slave girl has a bit of spirit. How amusing, and how intriguing, eh, Vilia?”

“You will speak to me with respect, girl,” Vilia said sharply.

“Yes, my lady empress,” Shifra said softly.

“I am not the empress,” Vilia replied. She was not certain whether the girl was insulting her or not.

“You are the emperor’s first wife, my lady, are you not?” Shifra said.

“I am,” Vilia answered slowly.

“Then you should be the empress,” Shifra told Vilia.

“Well, I am not,” Vilia answered. Now she was truly confused. Was the girl mocking her or was she attempting to ingratiate herself? She smiled at the sour look on Anora’s pretty face, and decided that Shifra was being polite. “Take her along to her rooms, Tania,” she said.

“You are a bold thing,” Tania said softly as they went along.

“Why isn’t she empress if she is his first wife?” Shifra wanted to know.

“Because he is afraid to make a choice between them,” Tania said. “The lady Vilia rarely graces his bed any longer but she is the mother of his children. He will not publicly show her any disrespect for while he has managed to make himself emperor, he still fears the common people. The lady Vilia is well liked for her many charities. The lady Anora, however, gives him relief as no other has been able to for several years since he was cursed by a faerie woman. He no longer enjoys pleasures.” She flung open the door at the end of the corridor they had been traversing. “Here we are,” she said.

“You know a great deal about this house,” Shifra said low.

“I have been a slave here for many, many years,” Tania answered. “I serve only Gaius Prospero and my allegiance has never wavered. It never will. I have his trust because I have earned his trust. If I speak candidly to you, my child, it is so you will successfully make your way here. He obviously saw something in you that caused him to spend more money than he has ever expended on anything. And he put you in my charge. It is therefore up to me to see you do not disappoint the emperor. Do you understand me, Shifra? I will guide you and you will follow.”

Their eyes met and Shifra nodded slowly. “You will lead me, and I will follow you, Tania. I would be a fool not to and you will find I am not a fool.”

Tania smiled. “I did not think you were, my child,” she said. “Now tell me when you last were bathed? The emperor will visit you later tonight and you will want to make every effort to please him at your first private meeting.”

“They bathed me this morning in the slave merchant’s house before I was displayed for sale,” Shifra answered.

“It will have been a hurried affair and the luxuries lacking,” Tania told her young companion. “We will begin again.” And for the next several hours she personally worked with the bath mistress and her assistants to perfect Shifra’s beauty. There was something about the girl, Tania thought, that reminded her of the fabled Lara and yet what it was she could not quite put her finger on. Because she knew him well, she suspected that something was what had caused Gaius Prospero to purchase the slave girl.

Tania questioned Shifra gently as she worked. It was important that she know everything about the girl that she could if she was to help her succeed with the emperor and Tania realized that she wanted the girl to succeed. Her master needed a beautiful young wife to present to the people as his empress. And as she had told Shifra, Gaius Prospero could not choose between Vilia and Anora.

Lady Vilia was intelligent, attractive, the mother of the emperor’s children, but ambitious. The empress should not aspire to have her own power. And Tania knew that once Vilia held that kind of power, she would compete with her husband. As for the lady Anora, she was a venal woman whose excesses were beginning to show upon her pretty face. Because she could sexually gratify Gaius Prospero now, when no other woman could, she believed she was superior to other women and considered herself the lady Vilia’s equal. What one had, the other wanted. And Anora might have overcome Vilia’s influence except that she had been unable to have children.

The emperor had not visited the Pleasure Houses of The City for several years now. He did not want his inability to perform as a man publicly known. There were several houses that specialized in pain, but Gaius Prospero was a proud man. An emperor should show no weakness. So Tania was amazed that her master had bought a slave girl for such an outrageous sum. Why had he done it? Shifra’s confidence in her own sensuality was also surprising given her youth and the certificate of virginity she had carried with her. Something exciting, something different, was about to happen. Tania sensed it. If this girl could indeed pleasure the emperor and keep his favor, he might, induced by his humble and longtime slave, make Shifra his empress. Tania secretly loved Gaius Prospero, and always had. She would always seek to further his best interests.

After several hours, she led Shifra from the baths. The girl’s skin was like the finest white silk. Her tiny hands and dainty feet had not a rough patch on them. Her long, thick red-gold hair fell in rippling waves down her back. Her plump mons was plucked and as smooth as marble, its slit faintly shadowed. Her small round breasts would just fit in a man’s hand. Could she pleasure the emperor without resorting to pain? Tonight would tell the tale, Tania thought.

Shifra was fed a light but nourishing meal. Her teeth and mouth were cleansed and then she was put to bed to rest until her master was ready to avail himself of her. Tania left the new slave sleeping and hurried to find her master in his own quarters. Entering, she knelt before the emperor and said, “Shifra is ready to receive you, my lord. She but awaits your convenience.”

“What do you think of her, Tania?” Gaius Prospero asked. “Is she not exquisite?”

“She is indeed, my lord. Your eye was flawless and had Shifra been purchased by a Pleasure House she would have surely become famous. Should she please you well, my lord, a virgin of such great beauty would certainly be eligible for higher rank eventually, would she not? Or do I speak out of turn?” Tania’s eyes were lowered.

“As always, Tania, you look to my best interests,” Gaius Prospero chuckled. “I think of all my servants, you are the most loyal to me, no matter I sometimes speak harshly to you. You are a perfect example of fidelity.”

“I am the most loyal to you of any in Hetar,” Tania replied boldly. “I will never leave your side, my lord, though I be but a woman and your slave.”

“I should free you,” the emperor said softly. “You are worthy of freedom like my good right hand, Jonah.”

“Do not, I beg you!” Tania answered him. “I am content as I am.”

“I could make you Jonah’s wife, Tania. Then I should have both my most faithful servants always by my side,” Gaius Prospero said.

“I am more loyal to you than any,” Tania repeated. “And if you would reward me then allow me to always be your slave. I want no other master but you and a husband is master of his wife. I could not divide my loyalties, my lord, and surely Jonah is worthy of a wife whose sole interests were for him and not another.”

Gaius Prospero reached out and patted Tania’s bowed head as he would a dog’s. “You shall have what you desire, my good Tania,” he told her. And then, “Tania, tell me, do you think I can be a real man with Shifra? Without the whip?”

“My lord, I am no soothsayer, but you must try. I know that the faerie woman Lara cursed you, but since then you have not even tried one of your women without the whip. Shifra is a virgin but she has a look about her that tells me she knows how to pleasure a man. Let her try and if she cannot then you may resort to the whip. But I believe that lovely girl will pleasure you well.”

“I do, too!” Gaius Prospero said excitedly. “It is a feeling I got the moment I looked at her, which is why I bid such a ridiculous sum. I did not want to lose her, Tania.”

“You were wise to act as you did, my lord. Now you have had a long day. Eat, then go and bathe so you may come to Shifra. Shall I ask your wives to remain in their own apartments tonight?”

“Yes! And they are not to go near Shifra. I do not want her spoiled and it would be like Anora to do so out of spite. She is such a jealous creature. It is no wonder she needs regular whipping,” the emperor said, licking his lips.

Tania arose from her knees. “I will deliver your message, my lord, and then I shall sleep by Shifra’s bed until you are ready to join her.” She bowed her way from the chamber, hurrying back to the women’s section of the emperor’s house.

The lady Vilia nodded wearily in response to her husband’s message.

“Of course. He will want to play with his new toy,” she said. “Perhaps I shall visit my villa in the Outlands for a few days. Do you think he would mind, Tania?”

“I think, my lady, you are as always gracious and understanding,” Tania murmured. “I am certain our good lord would fully approve your decision.”

Vilia smiled at the response. She was more than aware of how devoted the slave woman was to the emperor. And with luck Jonah would join her for a few nights. It was perfect. He had been spending so much time in Terah of late and she was eager for his talented cock. Gaius rarely, if ever, visited her bed any longer, and Jonah was a far better lover than Gaius had ever been. It amazed Vilia that she had been able to keep the secret of their illicit affair for several years now. But then, they were always careful.

The lady Anora was not as understanding of the emperor’s decision. “What do you mean I am to remain in my apartments and away from the slave girl? He will need me to ply my whip on his fat bottom if he is to have any success with her. And this Shifra will need a taste of discipline, too, if she is to pleasure him.”

“He says you are to remain here and away from Shifra, lady. I am but the bearer of the emperor’s message. The lady Vilia is going to her villa for a few days. Perhaps you would enjoy visiting yours. The Outlands are lovely this time of year, I am told.”

“I will remain. When he finds he cannot perform he will want me to come and assist him,” Anora said stubbornly.

Tania bowed her way out of Anora’s apartments and hurried back to Shifra. She pulled a mat from beneath the sleeping girl’s bed and slept, awakening only when the emperor touched her with his slipper. Tania scrambled up and gently shook Shifra by her delicate shoulder. “Waken, my child. Your master has come to be with you.” Then Tania hurried from the bedchamber.

Shifra had been sleeping on her side. She rolled onto her back, stretching herself like a young cat. Her violet eyes opened and she smiled slowly as she held out her arms to Gaius Prospero. “Come, my lord, and let me give you comfort,” she purred at him. She reached up to draw him down to her.

Mesmerized, the emperor let her lead the way. She settled him in a half-seated position, plumping up the pillows about him. Then seating herself upon his thick and hairy thighs, she leaned forward to kiss him. The touch of her bottom against him caused his eyes to dilate. Her small sweet mouth on his was incredible. She ran a pointed little tongue over his fleshy lips, teasing them open and then her tongue slid into his mouth to play with his tongue. Gaius Prospero’s head spun dizzily. Reaching out he grasped her two small round breasts in his pudgy hands and fondled them.

She broke off the kiss murmuring softly, then leaning forward, her teeth began to nibble at his ear. Her tongue traced the shape of it, darting into it as she whispered to him, “Do you want to suck my nipples, my lord?” Then she nipped his earlobe with sharp little teeth. “Do you?”

“Aye, my beautiful Shifra, I do,” he groaned.

“I am your slave, my dear lord,” she told him. “I live to please you.” Then she knelt with her legs on either side of his thighs and lifting a breast pushed the nipple into his mouth. With her other hand she took his hand and encouraged his fingers to play between her nether lips. Then Shifra closed her eyes so she might enjoy the sensations of his lovemaking.

Gaius Prospero suckled upon the sentient flesh of her breast. He was startled to taste a liquid sweetness flowing from it into his mouth. It was delicious! He sucked harder and harder until there was no more of the honeyed taste and he whimpered a protest.

“No, my dear lord,” she whispered to him. “The other breast is full for you. Take it. It is yours.” She invited him. “My body is yours. Only for your delight.”

His mouth eagerly closed over the other breast while his fingers played frantically with her. When he had drained the second breast she pulled his fingers away and pushed them into his mouth. The taste was the same, and he licked them clean. As he did he realized that his cock was hard and ready for her. Shifra slid beneath him and kissing him again, smiled as he began to enter her. Her virgin shield was his only impediment. He thrust through it fiercely as she cried out.

Gaius Prospero could hardly contain himself. He could scarce restrain his excitement as he plowed her depths. Shifra wrapped her slender legs about him and whispered little words of encouragement along with her cries of delight. Her arms were tight about his neck. The emperor could not believe what was happening to him. His cock was performing as it had never before done. And he could feel the pleasures welling up in preparation to flow through him until he was weak and replete with satisfaction. The girl beneath him begged him to continue on. And he was able to do so!

And then she sobbed, “My lord! My lord! Ohh, I die!” Her supple body shuddered as she reached the peak of pleasures.

With a groan of delight he followed her down the path, his juices coming in great spurts as Gaius Prospero realized that for the first time in years, for the first time since Lara had cursed him, he was enjoying a woman to the fullest degree. He had not needed Anora’s whip turning his buttocks red and hot to perform. He had not needed to give the exquisite girl in his arms pain to raise his lust. She alone had made it happen. He rolled off her lest he crush her with his weight and gathered her into his arms.

Shifra laid her head against his shoulder for a brief moment. “Oh, my lord, you gave me such delight. Thank you for permitting me to share pleasures with you.” She sat herself up against the pillows and drew him into her embrace. “Now you must rest yourself, my lord, for ruling such a varied realm such as Hetar cannot be easy for you.”

She stroked his thinning hair, kissing the top of his head.

“I will want you again tonight,” he growled at her.

“I am here for you, my dear lord,” Shifra told him. “But catch your ease for a short time and then we shall take pleasures again. To have your body joined with mine is so wonderful. I never dreamed I should find such happiness when I was taken into slavery, but in your arms all things are possible for me, my dear lord.”

Gaius Prospero was overwhelmed by her words. She had been torn from her family, roughly handled and sold as a slave, yet she thanked him. “My darling Shifra,” he said softly, “you are my treasure.” And he meant it. This petite and beautiful girl with her flowing hair was unlike any he had ever known. She was not strong and practical like Vilia. Nor was she cruel and greedy like Anora. She was grateful for his attentions and it was obvious that she cared for him, for his well-being.

Shifra looked down into his face and the emperor thought he would drown in the violet depths of her eyes. “Would I ever be permitted to love you, my lord?” she shyly asked him. “Could one day I be allowed to admit to such feelings, my dear lord?”

“Gaius,” he said to her. “You may call me your lord Gaius.” Reaching up he stroked her pale cheek, marveling at the soft texture.

“But may I be granted the right to love you, my dear lord Gaius?” Shifra asked sweetly. The smile she offered him now was tremulous and bespoke a vulnerability that made the emperor want to protect this girl from anyone or anything who would seek to harm her.

“Aye, my beautiful and sweet treasure, you may love me,” he responded. “I do not believe any woman since my mother has ever loved me.”

“Surely that is not so, my lord Gaius! You have two beautiful wives who certainly love you.”

“Vilia and Anora?” The emperor laughed harshly. “Vilia likes the power that comes with being my first wife and the mother of my children. If she could gain more power, she would. As for Anora, our relationship began in lust and what little is left of it is still no more than that. Neither of them loves me.”

“Then I will love you, my dear lord Gaius,” Shifra said ingenuously. “You are my world now. I want no more than to be in your heart and in your arms.”

“In the most trying time I have ever faced, the Celestial Actuary has rewarded me by sending you to me, my treasure. It is surely a sign that my endeavors will continue to prosper. The moment I looked at you, Shifra, you had my heart. Treat it gently.”

“I am yours,” Shifra told him. “Everything I do will be for you, to please you. Only for you, my dear lord Gaius.”

And the emperor of Hetar smiled a smile that none before had ever seen.