Rashid & kira, the returning
For weeks, Rashid had been away, in the desert, in the villages, the towns, the far cities of Damascus & Cairo, in service of the Sultan. He had ridden many hundreds of leagues, had counsel, kept secrets, made decisions, and stayed lonely. He had seen houris of all sizes and shapes, descriptions, talents, colors. He had been offered slave girls to satisfy His hungers. He had witnessed the agonies of girls who were whipped, punished, and then taken by their Masters. Through it all He had remained chaste, had withheld Himself, though His hungers were enormous. He dreamt of kira, His slave, saw her dancing before Him, heard her moans in place of the beaten slaves, heard her whimpers in their voices. Yet He steeled Himself, reminded Himself of the pledge He had made to the Sultan before leaving. The price must be paid before He would truly, completely, own kira for Himself.
So, He pushed on, until the three months were complete and He could fly back to the Harem, back to her, to His reward for faithful service. He beat His mounts, going through three strong stallions. He rode through the nights, sleeping in the oases during the heat of the day, taking little refreshment as He went. He was dust covered, road weary, yet exhilarated, for every second, every league, He was closer to His kira...to her coal black eyes, her luminous skin, her dusky pink nipples, her cleft flowing with honey...So He rode, enchanted, unaware of the miles, the exhaustion, the tedium of the journey.
Finally, He arrived in Aleppo, full a thousand miles from His last city. As He entered the gates, He noted the heads mounted on pikes...two of them...both courtiers He had known and despised for their vile habits and rapacious greed. He smiled at them as He rode beneath their new stations, smiling the rictus of death from the city walls. He rode through the market, ignoring the beggars and merchants. He had no time to waste.
He slowed as He entered the gates of the stronghold. Servants appeared to help Him dismount and to assume charge of His mount. The horse would be fed, watered, bathed, and curried -- better treatment than Rashid could expect this day. He was shown, briskly, to the Sultan's chamber. He bridled at the abrupt, almost rude treatment He was receiving, but He held His tongue, knowing that patience was the key. He had been sent on this mission, one that a eunuch could have performed just as well, to teach Him a lesson. He knew that He was still being tested and He was certain the test would not end until He had reported all and been judged by His Master, the Sultan.
He entered the antechamber and saw a line of courtiers waiting. He sighed and sat. All these perfumed jacks, in their silks and satins, looked down their noses at Him. 'A vulgar fellow," they thought, "though tall and well-built. But His clothing...a robe better suited to the desert, and His turban, dusty from the road." They looked at Him, smelled Him, for He had not had the opportunity to bathe before being brought here. Rashid knew He appeared foul, but He laughed inside. These "men" were probably sodomites who would recoil at the sight of a true warrior in splendor. As it was, He would wait, biting His tongue at the soft, murmured insults being tossed at Him.
Hours seemed to pass before the last clown entered the Sultan's presence. He left just as quickly, with the Sultan's lashing still in His ears. Rashid had heard His Master's wrath before, but never had He heard the Sultan explode in curses as He had when the silken sod had spoke disparagingly of the traveling fool in the anteroom. The courtier shot Rashid a withering look as He sped away. The chief eunuch ordered Rashid into the presence.
Rashid strode into the chamber. The walls were lined in silk tapestries; the light of a thousand candles filled the huge room. There were three guards, all very alert as Rashid, their former commander, entered. They saluted Him and He returned the salute, proud of their loyalty. Various servants were standing along the walls, awaiting their Sultan's commands. At the head of the room was the Sultan Himself, seated in His carved ivory throne, surrounded by five girls, all naked from the waist up, all completely attentive to their Master's least desires. Rashid strode forward, then knelt before His Master, silent, eyes bowed. His mind swum with one question: "Where was HIS slave?"
He glanced to the left and caught a glimpse of two shapely legs. He looked up and saw on a platform, for all to see, a slave girl, naked, bound and gagged. Her arms were pinioned behind her back; her legs spread wide, the ankles chained to the sides of the platform. The platform was slowly turned by a eunuch who worked a wheel. As she turned, kira...HIS kira....was steadily flogged on the ass and back by the largest strongest slavemaster in the court. Welts stood out on her ass and sweat poured from her. Her mouth was gagged, but He could hear the moans He knew so well. Her breasts rose and fell, as her breathing grew more and more ragged. Rashid met her eyes and saw the look of fear, pain, and pure unadulterated passion there. His anger rose, His face grew ruddy.
Yet He stayed silent, knowing what was expected now. The Sultan laughed. "Well met, good Rashid. You have brought me missives?" The servants moved quickly, producing the ten rolls of parchment that Rashid had brought with Him from various cities. The sultan perused each, stopping to read and re-read passages. He smiled again. "According to these reports, you have acquitted yourself with grace & loyalty to me. You have followed every direction to the letter." He snapped His fingers and a eunuch brought forth the silent, bound slave girl. She shuffled, her ankles joined by a short length of chain. She was forced to her knees before the Sultan. Rashid looked in her eyes, furtively. She was frightened, hurt, and on fire. He knew the look...kira aroused was a fiery animal, a creature of lust.
"Now," the Sultan continued, whispering, "to your personal conduct." He motioned and another servant came forward with scrolls Rashid had not seen before. He knew every missive He had brought back on sight, having checked them & their seals every day. But these were not familiar to Him. His blood boiled. The old Bastard had spied on Him. He felt His face grow beet red as the Sultan quoted long passages. One that galled Him was chortled over by the entire court:
"This messenger is unfailingly polite and courteous, it is true. But is He a man? He has refused to take any of the harem girls to His bed. He has not sought out their pleasures, even after He was told directly by the sheik that any girl was His. He watches the girls perform their dances and little "plays" -- in which they stroke and embrace one another quite aggressively and passionately -- and does not react. My lord & Master, I believe you have sent a eunuch by mistake!"
This drew a gale of derision from the courtiers, but kira looked at Him and her eyes showed she knew better. She understood His loyalty to her and His Master. The Sultan signaled for silence. He ordered Rashid to stand.
The warrior rose to His feet and bowed His neck to His Sultan. The old man chuckled. "You have proven your obedience to my words & orders, your patience, your loyalty to me. And it is time to reward you." He handed Him the keys to shackles and manacles. "I know you are a Man in every way, and I know your anger and lust burn in you. I also know you have done this, all of this, for your personal motive. And so, I give her to you...untouched, unharmed, save for the bonds you see on her and the just punishment she has received. Take her, for she is yours. She fought off two fools...whose faces you saw grimacing at you from the battlements today. There was little left of them after her dagger finished with them, but they were still alive when the headsman got to them."
Rashid bowed to His Master and turned. He pulled kira to her feet. She looked at Him in a mixture of fear and passion. Rashid hoisted the girl, flung her over His shoulder and turned. He strode from the room, marking three other monkeys for death, very soon, as their eyes lingered on her ass too long. He whispered to His kira, "I am home, my love, and we will never part again. Tonight, you shall feel my lordship over you, my strong hand and quick temper, but also my undying love. I promise you that."
.........................................................
When they reached His chambers, Rashid put her down on her belly, still bound hand & foot. He looked at His slave, His girl, His pet, and grinned. He took the keys from His belt and unlocked her manacles. He forced her mouth open and removed the leather gag that had stopped her tongue. Rashid straddled her waist, knees on either side of her, holding her in place on her stomach. He whispered to her, "Did you miss my touch sweet pet? Did you miss my attentions?" He chafed her wrists and ankles, bringing the blood back into them. Then He kissed her neck and shoulders as His hands roamed over her lush body. They stopped at her waist and He scooted back to expose her perfect ass to His hands. He touched her there, eliciting a moan. He noted that the cheeks were red and marked.
"Have you been a bad slave?" He queried. She protested that she had always been good, doing as she was told. Rashid chuckled, "I know my Master. He must have had cause. And so do I." His voice suddenly gained steel. "Kneel before you Lord & Master, kira, and answer the questions properly."
She knelt, trembling, her nipples now hard, her breasts taut, her belly quivering. She rested her ass back against her heels, then lifted it, trying to ease the pain of the recent flogging. She knew she had been a willful girl, defying the slave master's orders, but she was loath to admit it to Him. Rashid pushed her back, forcing her butt against her heels and held her there. His eyes bored into hers as He questioned her.
"Who flogged you, kira?"
