Afsoon awakened in the embrace of her ebony friend and lover Farisa and gazed into her brown eyes filled with adoration.
"Good morning my jewel," Farisa purred and they kissed. Afsoon's eyes were wet as she replied "Good morning, dear one."
When they were together they could almost forget they were harem sex slaves, subject to the whims of the cruel General Risay who used them as he would his hunting falcon or his rifle; as it suited him.
The women had schemed together and finally succeeded in becoming his favorites, submitting humbly to his sometime cruel and bizarre desires in exchange for privileges and luxuries not afforded the other members of his harem. There was resentment among the other women to be sure, but Afsoon and Farisa guarded each other's backs and were more than capable of defending themselves if necessary.
They breakfasted on honey, figs, pomegranates and sweet flatbreads, sipping goblets of goat's milk mixed with wine; then arose and walked hand in hand naked to the baths where they washed each other with loving strokes, then splashed and played as children would in the perfumed waters.
And as they frolicked, smoldering eyes dark with resentment watched from the shadows.
***
Delbar, Mistress of the Harem, tugged open the goatskin pouch her messenger had brought, her hands trembling. There they were, three silver Denarii, along with a rolled piece of parchment tied with a purple ribbon.
Once she had hidden the coins away with the others, she untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment. She instantly recognized the flowing script of none other than the Sultan's most trusted courtier, Mahmood Al-Bezier.
'Delbar', it read, 'The Esteemed One, Azlan Al-Barbakh is desirous of the woman Afsoon to be in his personal service. Make the necessary arrangements for her escape. You will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts.'
It was signed by an impression of Al-Bezier's crescent and star ring in a blob of wax.
Delbar held the paper over a lamp flame until it caught and was reduced to ashes. A handsome reward for her efforts! She could buy her freedom at last! She lay back on the blankets and began making plans.
It would be extremely dangerous to secure Afsoon's freedom and Delbar knew Afsoon would never leave Farisa behind, so the escape would be even more difficult and must be planned to the last detail.
She would have to proceed slowly and carefully for Risay's spies were everywhere. She even suspected some women in the harem.
She was correct.
***
Alliances and friendships in the harem were as shifting as the desert sands, but the most unusual and long lasting of them stood conversing as they watched Afsoon and Farisa in the baths.
Oadira was tall and willowy, with breasts like ripe pears, slim hips and rounded buttocks. Her glossy black hair hung down below her slim waist and her snapping black eyes seemed to burn with an inner fire. She went nude, as did all the harem's women, and her olive skin shone with the sheen of perfumed oils.
Her companion was Ahmed, the Chief Eunuch of the harem, his immense dusky body garbed in a sleeveless vest that failed utterly to span his massive stomach, baggy pantaloons and a sash about his waist that held a gleaming, ivory handled scimitar.
His spherical skull was hairless; his baby face perched on rolls of fat extending downward into thick arms and legs whose bulk belied their speed in a conflict.
