PART 11
A Visit to The Sultan's Harem
Bagoas reclined on the silken cushions as the decorated cart jounced along on its journey. He was a personage of power in his world, but his world was about to change drastically. The first ten chapters of this story tell of the power of Bagoas, Overseer of the Harem of Governor Glaouri in the desert oasis of Ouarazate. His life was good and his position enviable. In his domain, what he ordered got done immediately. He had the respect of the servants and also of his master. All that he did, he did well, and that pleased the Governor.
With Bagoas in the cart was Hamid, his eighteen year old assistant and protege. Of course, since both of them had access to the Governor's inner Harem chambers, they were both eunuchs. Bagoas had lost his manhood so long ago that it was only a hazy recollection to him now. His life was that of an eunuch, and rising to his high position was, in the way of his kind, some compensation for what he had never experienced. For Hamid too, although the pain was sharper in his mind, the present and the reality were more important, and he rejoiced in the favor of this important eunuch and his future prospects if he performed his duties well. Both of them, then, accepted their lot, and sought only to preserve and improve it.
Bagoas thoughts now turned on how best to do so in the new situation which presented itself. The Harem at Ouarazate was not large. It consisted only of three slave girls, all of them well trained and of great renown among the rulers of all the oases in the desert, for Governor Glaouri was hospitable and often entertained his peers. Sharing of the harem slaves was the fitting end to his entertainment. The girls were accepting of their position and the good treatment they received, and peace normally reigned in Ouarazate's harem. That was the way Bagoas liked it.
But now in the matter of the other room of the harem, the room of the Governor's wife, there had been no such peace. As told in Chapter 8 of this story, the Governor had stunned everyone in the Southern desert, including Bagoas, when he summarily divorced his wife, Durrah the Pearl, and packed her off back to her father. Even more stunning was the news that Governor Glaouri had been honored by the Sultan with one of that royal majesty's own daughters in marriage. Before he really had time to grasp all the implications, Bagoas found himself in the harem wagon, on his way to Rabat to pick up this eighteen year old virgin.
It had been years since Durrah came to the harem. Bagoas flinched as he remembered the task of preparing her for her duties as the Governor's wife. While he was well used to training slave girls, a virgin bride was a whole different matter. Bagoas knew that some aged crone from the royal harem would be chosen as the virgin's chaperone, and that everything would pass through her. He was determined to hit the right note with that woman, enlisting her help instead of her opposition.
To this end, he had departed for the capital some days before the day appointed for the virgin to be received. Bagoas planned to strike up a friendship with the Grand Overseer of the Royal Harem, and learn from him what palace politics he needed to know. He was well aware that life in a harem of over 200 women was far different from the small harem rooms at Ouarazate.
Soon enough they were at the palace at Rabat. Bagoas presented his letters of authority and was directed to the harem. They walked through many chambers. Bagoas maintained his dignity, but Hamid could not control his amazement as he saw the variety of women and girls lounging about. Of course all the women ignored a couple more eunuchs. Most of them were nude, many were bathing in the numerous fountains, others were anointing their breasts or bellies or nether flowers with scents. Hamid was amazed to see several chained to the wall, completely nude and with their arms outspread. He wondered what they had done to be punished thus.
Bagoas sought the chambers of the Grand Overseer, but that official was far to busy to deal with a mere provincial eunuch. However, recognizing the prestige of a virgin daughter of the Sultan, even one of the many, Bagoas was placed in the care of the Second Overseer, an eunuch of great presence and great ego. Bagoas promptly offered a gift, myrhh of the finest the desert could produce. He also offered to buy a flask of exotic fruit juices and expensive ice brought down from the mountains. Enjoying this treat, Mahmed the Second Overseer warmed to Bagoas and soon they were rolling dice like old friends.
"Bagoas, my friend," said Mahmad, "I have heard you are a Harem Master of great abilities. Reports from his majesty's agents say that although small, your harem contains slave girls of the greatest talent, whether it be in belly dancing naked, showing off their flowers to best advantage, rubbing their glorious breasts on a man's lips, in practicing the art of Firsheah, mouth congress, or in riding hard on the upright shaft of a man. It is said you have trained them well. It is also said that peace reigns in your harem and you seldom need to punish your slaves. Alas, here it is not so. Among my duties are maintaining discipline in the harem. Would you like to see the difficulties I face?"
Bagoas murmured his assent. Hamid, sitting quiet as a mouse on the floor, was very interested in this new area of harem management. In Ouarzate, he had never seen slaves disciplined except on the one notable occasion that Durrah's temper burst out. Since Bagoas had quickly sent him from the room, this area of his training he felt was neglected. If he was to become a harem master some day, he was full of curiosity about punishing unruly slaves. He had heard of restraints,whipping and worse. Would he now be permitted to observe it?
"Come, Bagoas, and I will show you what must be done to keep order in a large harem," said Mahmed. They went to a side room, long and narrow. Bagoas observed several girls chained to the wall, all of them naked. One was a fine Abyssinian who reminded him of Saiesha from his own harem. Her arms were tied to a hook high over her head, thrusting her large black boobs forward. Her rounded belly and high shaved pubic mound rolled down to the dark lips of her pussy. She looked at him pleadingly. Mahmed regarded her with disdain. "She is slow to obey the orders of the junior eunuchs," he said. "Stretched like this from dawn to dusk with no food nor water gives her time to think better of her haughty ways." Bagoas said nothing. This was not the way he ran his harem.
The next girl was an Arab beauty. Her hands were bound with rope and she hung so that her feet were several inches off the floor. Her long black hair flowed down over her shoulders, and her dark pointed tits with large nipples were pulled upward by her position. She was straining, trying to get her feet to touch the floor to relieve her agony, and as she did her pussy lips were pulled open showing dark pink inside. Try as she could, she could not touch the floor. Mahmed merely said, "She will learn not to talk sharply to a senior eunuch after she has hung this way while the water bowl fills." Bagoas knew that the pierced bowl which floated in a basin of water would take the time between two prayer calls to fill, almost half the morning.
