The Palace Pt. 08

I looked Bishkur in the eye the whole time I was speaking. It's what he would have done. And if I was in deep trouble, I wanted to know it.

Bishkur turned away, and picked up a scroll.

- "Thank you, Carrach. That's enough for today. I have some ... reading to do." he said.

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Yasina let me go home for another night, but brought me back to the Palace, even though she did not summon me, or send me a concubine, for two more days. Was Bishkur meeting with a virgin? Or virgins?

I began to wonder, also, why Yasina did not let me stay at home for all three nights. Was she afraid that I would talk to friends? Or maybe she worried that I would encounter someone who had met the Emperor - if they saw me, that could lead to awkward gossip.

She had to know that I would never reveal the secret. Not willingly, at least. But I came to the conclusion that she was right: the risk that I might meet someone who could recognize the Emperor - however slight - was not worth taking.

Eventually, I was summoned. For some reason, which I couldn't figure out, Notroh and Enpy escorted me to the my former bedroom - with the lattice-work on one wall.

- "You are to wait here." said Notroh.

So I waited. I was becoming quite an expert at whiling away the time. I made a list of the concubines, in the order I would call them - if the choice were up to me. Then I composed a poem - a very bad poem. And I thought of Minika.

I heard a door open - in the next room. And then I heard voices. It wasn't difficult, because they were speaking very loudly.

- "In here? Why?" said a voice, which I recognized as Yasina's.

- "Because I am comfortable here. And because I do not believe that we should be shouting our ... private concerns in the hallway." The second voice was even easier to recognize: it was Bishkur.

The next words were softer - harder to distinguish.

So I moved, gingerly, closer to the wall. I did it for two simple reasons. First, I wanted to hear what they would say to each other.

And second - whichever one of them had summoned mewantedme to hear what they said to each other.

Whether it was the proximity, or because they were raising their voices again, I could hear more clearly.

- "I gave you Carrach's report to read." said Yasina. "It sounded like a good approach to me. Why didn't you follow it?"

- "There was no need to read it." said Bishkur. "I remembered everything he ... suggested. And it was a good strategy. I simply failed to execute it properly."

- "You don't sound upset." she replied. "You should be. This iscrucial, Bishkur!"The last words were uttered through clenched teeth, from the sound of it.

- "I am well aware of the seriousness of the ... matter, Mother." said the Emperor.

- "It damn well doesn'tsoundthat way!" said the Empress. "What are we going to do about this? I can't keep sending them away. That'stwicenow!"

- "I am very sorry." said Bishkur.

- "No, you're not." said his mother. "I know that tone of voice. Stop avoiding the issue, and help me find a solution."

- "I am certain that whatever course you suggest will be the proper one." he replied. Now, I recognized that tone: it reminded me of the way my second brother had answered my father - especially when he was in the wrong. It was a mixture of sarcasm and petulance. Bishkur's version was more muted, more subtle than my brother's had been.

Yasina didn't pick up on it. "Well, I know where we can start." she said. "I'll have Carrach do the seducing, and you canwatch!" Even in the next room, I cringed at the way she twisted that word. It was meant to hurt.

But Bishkur gave no sign that it had found his target. "That may indeed be the best way for me to ... learn." he said.

- "Bishkur." she said, in a more moderate tone of voice. "This is very important. For both of us."

- "I know." he said. "I agree."

That was all I heard, because they lowered their voices, and then left the room. Notroh came to get me shortly after that.

Yasina sent for me the next morning.

- "You're well rested, I take it?" she asked.

- "I am, Highness. Thank you."

- "Good. Because tonight, I need you at your best. You'll have the opportunity to put your own strategy into practice. I'm sending you one of the new girls. A virgin."

- "Very well, Highness." I said.

- "She's a daughter of the Ray of Mankushakk." said Yasina. "Illegitimate, of course. Sired on a concubine. But pretty. Her name is Elseya."

Our conversation was quite brief. I was glad of it, because I was suddenly very nervous. For one thing, I had never slept with a virgin. It is considerably easier to talk about a thing than to actually do it yourself.

But I was also apprehensive because Yasina gave no sign that she had put me in that room yesterday. If I was correct, she had no idea that I had heard that exchange with her son.

That left me with a troubling question: why hadBishkurwanted me to hear it?

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Elseyawasvery pretty. She had long brown hair, with reddish tinges, and large, dark-brown eyes. Her eyebrows were trimmed down to fine lines. She had pale, unblemished skin, and a plump lower lip just begging to be bitten or kissed.

First, the girl will likely be nervous, or even afraid. She will have heard stories, that it will be painful. You should try to put her at ease. Talk to her, have a drink of wine with her - or possibly two. You want her relaxed - but not inebriated.

That's what I told Bishkur. But I couldn't tell who was more nervous - her, or me.

So I offered Elseya a drink - only to find that she was an Old Believer. They were a minority in Mankushakk, but they clung to their rituals tenaciously. Among their most faithfully-observed tenets was the proscription against alcohol or intoxicants of any kind.

She did accept a glass of juice.

- "You don't mind if I do, do you?" I asked. I felt the urgent need for a drink - or two. Then I invited Elseya to sit next to me on the divan. She avoided eye contact.

Don't talk to her. Get her to talk. Treat her like a lover. Would you not be curious about her? Ask her questions: where she's from, her family, her impressions of the Palace. Compliment her - her eyes, her skin, her hair. Sit her down next to you, with a glass of wine. This could be your ... opportunity to learn about the life of a concubine.

That was my advice to Bishkur. So I tried it.

- "So ... you're from Mankushakk?" I asked. "Tell me about your home."

- "Is kingdom." she said. "Father is Ray. King."

Elseya was lovely. But her accent was several degrees worse than Nanka's.

- "How is your family?" I asked.

- "Father is Ray. King." she said.

No one had warned me. Elseya had a very limited vocabulary in Zamarkan. Plan B then.

- "You have beautiful eyes." I told her. "So dark - and so deep. And you hair is lovely, too."

- "Eyes." she said, raising a hand and pointing at her eyes. Then she took hold of several long strands of her hair. "Hair." she said.

The concubines have been trained to dance. Ask her to dance for you. Fully clothed. If she likes to dance, it will relax her even more. If she is good at it, she will become more aware of her body, of her beauty. She will gain confidence, and feel more ... sensual.

When I suggested that she dance, Elseya smiled, shyly, and shook her head. I could have kicked myself.

- "Old Believer." I said.

She nodded, and pointed to herself. "Old Believer." she said. Of course, another of their taboos was dancing - probably on the grounds that it would lead to hand-holding, the decay of morals, and the eventual collapse of civilization.

Then you should have her sit beside you. Now you can caress her, kiss her - gently.

That's what I had said to Bishkur. What a moron. Me, that is - not the Emperor. Elseya had her hands in her lap, and was studying the floor as if her life depended on it.

What was I supposed to do? How do you seduce a shy virgin when you cannot even speak to her? And yet she was so lovely ...

she will become more aware of her body, of her beauty. She will gain confidence, and feel more ... sensual.

Maybe that wasn't such a stupid idea. I stood, and offered Elseya my hand. She rose from the divan.

I began to take my clothes off. Halfway through, I stopped, and looked her over, from head to toe. Elseya blushed, but she got the message. Apparently Old Believers have no strict objection against nudity, because she followed my lead.

I left my trousers on, and then sat down as she continued to strip. Of course, I heard Nanka's voice saying "Sturrip", and that caused me to smile.

Elseya returned my smile, shyly. She was of average height - perhaps 5'5". As she stripped, she revealed a slender, small-chested, but surprisingly attractive body. Though her breasts were small, almost one quarter of their surface was taken up by her large, dark areolae.

She watched me the whole time as she removed her clothing. If she was seeking approval, I tried to show it with my eyes. When she took off the last article, I saw that her privates were shaved clean, like a baby's. I would not have expected that to be appealing, but on Elseya it was supremely erotic.

I held out my hand, and drew her onto the divan next to me.

- "Beautiful." I said. She may not have understood many Zamarkan words, but that one she knew. Besides, there was no mistaking my tone. I touched her chin, ever so gently, and turned her face towards mine. I kissed her softly.

Elseya was the worst kisser ever. She held her lips rigid, tightly pressed together.

But these are mere feints, to test the fortress' defences. Don't press home your attack just yet. A kiss here, a caress there - and then withdraw. Ask her another question, then - or two.

Who was the idiot that gave that advice?

Relax, I told myself. Elseya knew why she was here, and she hadn't run from the room screaming - yet. She was sitting there naked, only a foot away.

Talk to her, compliment her beauty, even as you caress her. Arms and hands, feet and legs, first. Slowly, and gradually, before you approach her most sensitive areas.

I tried. I caressed her, and stroked her, all the while murmuring endearments which she couldn't understand. She didn't resist at all. But nor did she participate. She sat upright, stiff, taut as a bowstring. It was impossible to tell where the Old Believer ended and the frightened young woman began.

Just to get her blood flowing, I had her stand, and led her to the bed. Somehow I got us both arranged, lying side by side. When I removed my trousers, Elseya glanced briefly at my semi-erect member.

Maybe that would get her started. I took her hand, and gently drew it to my penis. Elseya knew what I wanted, and dutifully took hold of my shaft, which began to swell a bit more.

She began to jack my cock, jerking her hand up and down. But her movements were mechanical, as if she was churning butter, or stripping the rust from an old metal tool. Her grip on my erection was so firm, it actually hurt. I removed her hand.

It is rather like a siege.I had been right about that, at least. So I withdrew my forces, re-grouped, and started over. Kisses, light caresses, gentle stroking of her less sensitive areas ... I don't know if it was doing anything for her, but I had to restrain my impatience.

Finally, I thought I detected a slight catch in her breathing, and her nipples began to stiffen, jutting upwards from the large, dark areolae of her little breasts.

And then the oral sex?

Apparently not. Elseya dutifully let me part her legs, and allowed me to kiss my way from her ankle to her knee. But the moment I got higher than that, her hands flew to her crotch, covering it completely.

I couldn't tell if her resistance was on religious grounds, or for aesthetic reasons. Perhaps her Gods had some sort of objection to a man pleasing a woman orally. I had no desire to find out if the reverse was also true. Quite frankly, I was afraid to put my penis anywhere near Elseya's mouth.

So I retreated, and started all over. It was a shame, really. Elseya had a lovely face, and a beautiful body. She was prepared to do her duty, but her body was less willing, and her religious compunctions weren't helping, either.

Then I reached a conclusion - or maybe it just popped into my head, unbidden. I rose from the bed. With a soft silken sheet, I covered Elseya. I kissed her on the cheek, and whispered "Wait." Hopefully it was a word she knew.

I had known all along that Bishkur, and perhaps Yasina, would be watching, as she had done many times before. Since the room to the right was my sleeping chamber, that meant any spy hole or observation point had to be on the wall to my left.

So I strode over to the side of the bathing pool, facing that wall. With an exaggerated motion, I pointed to my bedchamber. And then I walked through the connecting door, leaving Elseya alone. I pulled on a light robe, and waited.

The Emperor arrived shortly thereafter. He left his guards at the door, and came in alone. "What is it?" he asked.

- "I was wrong." I said. "It's not a siege. That was a terrible analogy. This isn't a battle that I'm trying to win. If there was a city that resisted your army, I would agree that you could not leave it unassailed."

"But this isn't a matter of Imperial prestige, or of opposition to your rule. It's just a frightened girl. She wants to do her duty, but her body resists, and her religious taboos aren't helping."

"I didn't prepare properly. I didn't know about her beliefs. But it doesn't really matter: no amount of preparation would make enough of a difference."

- "You don't want to go through with it." said Bishkur.

- "No, Highness, I don't. It will only be painful and humiliating for her, and I'm not going to enjoy it at all. I don't see the benefit of continuing."

The Emperor didn't move. He simply observed me for a few moments. Then he said: "What if I ordered you to ... continue?"

The answer came to me instantly. "You wouldn't."

Bishkur's lip curled into a half-smile. "No - I wouldn't."

- "What will happen to her?" I asked.

- "She'll be married off, I suppose. There is probably a good solution for ... all concerned."

- "The Empress?"

- "She will be angry." said Bishkur. "But you can leave that to me. It was my decision, after all. You were right to consult me, Carrach."

- "Thank you. And Highness? May I ask one more question? Why did you have me listen to your conversation the other day?"

Bishkur's half-smile vanished.

- "We are not going to ... discuss that, Carrach. That way, there will be nothing for you to report to the Empress about it."

Somehow, I got the impression that I had been tested. I just didn't know if I had passed.

***************************

Yasina was less than pleased.

- "You are too soft-hearted, Carrach." she told me. "I sent a virgin to you, to be deflowered, and now I have another girl I can't use."

Her last word struck me. That was Yasina's prime concern. What would happen if she could no longer 'use' me?

- "I'm sorry, Highness." I said.

- "No, you're not." she said. "You'd do it again."

- "Highness - may I ask: what will happen to Elseya?"

- "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to punish her, if that's what you're afraid of. If anyone's to blame, it's Gaelava, for missing all of this in the girls' training."

"We'll find her a husband. Someone who will value her status, or maybe an older man who won't care so much about bedding her. I'll take care of it." said Yasina.

- "Thank you, Highness." I said, fully aware that she wasn't doing it for my sake, or Elseya's.

- "Now, I have something for you to do ..." she said.

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