Love in a Harem

Ayisha receives a reply to her letter to Ibrahim. It is full of loving sentiments and is the first love letter of her adult life. However, he does that tell her that the Dowager Emira lives a very comfortable life and apart from her official companions and servants, the custom is that the Dowager Emira's household lives in seclusion and any contact with anyone outside her household is not permitted. He does explain one reason that he has knowledge of, i.e. malevolent parties that might oppose the Emirate, will find no benefit in trying to reach and somehow place pressure on the Emirate by means of threat against the wife of the former Emir. Ayisha is horrified, particularly considering that she will, like her Ummi, find herself in the equivalent of internal exile if she survives Ibrahim. She decides that there is no possible benefit in pursuing the matter further and even if she did, she would more than likely anger, and possibly alienate, her husband.

(During her pregnancy, the new accommodation for the eunuchs is completed to the same specification and high standard as for the Royal Concubines and a state of the art Medical Centre constructed & equipped according to the specification of Asiya, the Head of Medical Services and Rashid, the architect and Head of Infrastructure. Ayisha delivers Ibrahim a healthy baby boy. He names their firstborn & heir, Salman after his father. A year later she delivers him twins, a beautiful baby girl and a healthy baby boy. Ibrahim names the girl Shamina after his mother and the boy Rashid after his father. Having presented Ibrahim with both an heir and a spare, her initial duty as Emira to safeguard the future of the dynasty has been completed. By the time of her menopause, Ayisha has delivered Ibrahim a further 2 beautiful baby girls and 3 lovely healthy baby boys. A total of 8 children in all. She has completed her duty of sustaining the dynasty and now concentrates on nurturing her family so they all can assume their rightful places with honour.)

Ayisha isn't surprised when Ibrahim starts sending for younger Royal Concubines to be brought to his bed, but it does seem to her to be a signal that the physical side of their relationship has ended. She knows that as Emira her position is secure while Ibrahim is the Emir but she can't help thinking about her Ummi, the Dowager Emira in internal exile.

Ayisha writes to the Emir that she wishes the Royal Harem to have young fertile ladies ready for his pleasure at all times. To achieve that goal she asks his permission to conduct a survey and send the older ladies and those that are no longer fertile to the Royal Dowager Harem to be extra company for his mother and her adoptive Ummi. She ends the letter by sending him her love and the love of his 8 lovely children.

Maryam is seated to one side of Ayisha and Amina to the other when Meher answers a knock at the door, it is the Head Eunuch and the Head of Medical Services. Since they have been summoned by the Emira, she admits them without asking permission. After the formalities are completed, Ayisha asks him to conduct a survey of all the Royal Concubines. The survey to detail for each and every lady, apart from her 3 Official Companions, their place of birth, date of birth, whether they are free or a slave, a fertility assessment, current state of health and details of any on-going ailments.

Ayisha notices that Asiya looks troubled and asks if there is something troubling her. She respectfully reveals that she was trained to keep patient information confidential. Ayisha smiles and says that the Emira is the guardian of every inhabitant of the Royal Harem and as such, has the ultimate responsibility for them all. Asiya looks relieved and thanks the Emira for her clarification. Ayisha asks when she can expect to receive the completed survey and the Head Eunuch asks for 48 hours since it may require individual interviews to collect the information required. Asiya asks for 72 hours as she will have to conduct interviews and tests. Ayisha pauses to think for a moment then thanks them, adding that they make good points and they may work together on the survey. The meeting is concluded when Ayisha asks that she receives the completed survey within a week.

After a few days Ayisha receives a reply from Ibrahim thanking her for thinking about his needs and the needs of his Ummi. He expresses his everlasting love and devotion to his Ayisha and grants her the continuing authority to maintain a younger and more fertile Royal Harem in the manner she suggests. The letter ends with his request to give their children a hug and a kiss from their father.

On the seventh day, the Head Eunuch and the Head of Medical Services request the honour of an audience with the Emira, which she grants. They present her a scroll detailing the results of their survey. Three of the eldest ladies can remember their place of birth but not their age. The Head Eunuch has consulted the records of the Royal Harem and found the date of their admittance to the Royal Harem and their estimated age on admittance. Asiya says that the 3 ladies concerned have no remaining viable eggs, both she and Mehmet estimate them to be in their mid to late forties. Scanning the report she sees another 8 ladies in their forties, all being infertile and 4 others having debilitating age-related ailments.

Ayisha asks about the four ladies with debilitating age-related ailments and Asiya respectfully suggests retirement, if at all possible, is the kindest approach for them. She thanks them for their assistance and making it appear to be an afterthought, have any of the ladies asked about retirement. Mehmet says they haven't asked him and Amina asks permission to approach, which is granted, she points out the names of 15 ladies, i.e. the 11 with no eggs and the 4 with debilitating age-related ailments.

Ayisha asks Mehmet if there is a waiting list of applicants to join the Royal Harem. He replies that there is and that he has it with him. She bids him approach and receives the register. She gasps at the number of ladies that have recently applied to enter the Royal Harem. He explains that it is a great honour for a family to have a daughter in the Royal Harem, not to mention that she will enjoy a comfortable life as a Royal Concubine. He adds that the ladies are only entered in the register after being interviewed by the former Le Maître or himself. None have had a medical check-up prior to having their name included. Ayisha recalls that 38 of the new suites were occupied by Royal Concubines leaving two unoccupied. Mehmet agrees the tally.

Of the 40 Royal Concubine suites, 2 are unoccupied and 15 are occupied by ladies unlikely to be able to give birth for the Emir leaving just 23 Royal Concubines to serve the Emir. Ayisha asks if her summary is correct and Mehmet confirms that it is. She says the 15 ladies are to be retired to the Royal Dowager Harem and asks Mehmet to arrange for their transfer as a priority and for him and Asiya to re-interview those of 18 years or over to find the youngest, prettiest young ladies and, providing Asiya confirms their fertility and health, to select 17 for her approval. She thanks them for their service and they bow and move backward toward the door which Meher opens for them.

Ayisha meets privately with each of the 15 ladies to confirm that they wish to retire. On receiving confirmation she asks each in turn to secretly assure the Dowager Emira of the undying love of her adopted daughter. A few days later the 15 leave the Royal Harem to travel to the Royal Dowager Harem. Ayisha sees them off and hopes they will enjoy their retirement as well as bring more company and joy to her Ummi.

A few days later, the 17 candidates to join the Royal Harem each receive a separate audience with the Emira. Ayisha puts each at ease by asking about her family and the reasons that she wishes to enter the Royal Harem. Ayisha ensures that they know what is ahead of them and that she isn't under duress. Satisfied that each is a true volunteer, she welcomes the applicant with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. Finally, she instructs the Head Eunuch to enter her name in the Register of Royal Concubines.

Having been effectively retired as an active wife, Ayisha embraces her new life as a lesbian enjoying her companions in the knowledge that when she is retired to the Royal Dowager Harem, that they will go with her.