The Emperor and the Temple

In the evening after her meeting with the Emperor, Lady Beshara invited Kailyn to her mansion in Ephirum. There they had wine and a fine meal before retiring to her candlelit bedchamber where two boys awaited them, naked and kneeling.

"Remove your gown Kailyn," said Beshara. "These two will rub our bodies with exotic scented oils while we continue to talk."

Two narrow couches were arranged in an arrow form in the center of the room, allowing the ladies' heads to remain close while the boys had room to work around their bodies.

"You always look after me so well," said Kailyn as she slipped her gown from her shoulders and positioned herself face down on one of the couches. "You are my favorite aunt."

"Indeed, I am your only aunt. But your words are appreciated. Here, smell the oils as your boy holds them to you. Choose your favorite!"

"This one," said Kailyn to the slave, pointing at one of the jars. "And what is your name?"

"Jak, Mistress."

"Well, Jak, you are a pretty one indeed. You may begin!" she said and then turned her head to her aunt and mouthed "Ahirik?"

Beshara nodded, "And my boy is named Semil."

Kailyn reached out a hand and placed it on Semil's rump, checking the firmness, and causing him to stiffen and glance at Lady Beshara in alarm.

"He is magnificent, Aunt."

"Remove your hand, Kailyn!" said Beshara, curtly.

"I am sorry!" she replied, shocked.

"I do not share this one," said Beshara, and then added softly, as if in explanation, "Semil has been with me for some years. He was Ahirik's first graduate. But do as you wish with Jak; he is yours for the night."

Beshara removed her clothing and took position on the second couch. She was the plumper of the two women, older but not yet elderly, and her skin appeared smooth and lightly tanned in the flickering candle light. Kailyn noticed that Semil gently lifted his Mistress's hair and kissed her lovingly on the neck before beginning the massage. 'Ah, there is a closeness there,' she thought to herself. 'Perhaps even more than I had with my Javi and Han.'

The two women relaxed for a few moments, enjoying the sensation of the oils being applied to their bodies.

"I hear that Kamhet has not returned from the west." said Beshara.

"No. I do miss him, Aunt. I worry about him."

"His comrades believe him to be safe enough. Simply delayed as the winter weather arrived. He will stay in Osta's realm and be there to greet our armies when they arrive."

"I had a strange dream about him, Aunt. He...." Kailyn blushed, unable to finish.

"Tell me!" said Beshara. "Sometimes dreams can hold meaning."

"Well, I saw him in the house of a great Lady of the west, and he was serving her, just as.....well, just as these two boys now serve us."

Beshara laughed, "Ha! Well, that doesn't sound like Kamhet! Although he was always chivalrous with the gentler sex, so who knows? Perhaps we should send him to Ahirik when he returns."

"Aunt!" said Kailyn, "Stop! This is my brother we are discussing. Your nephew!"

"Well, my dear, it is you that had the strange dream! Semil, move lower! You can return to my back later."

"Aunt," said Kailyn, "What am I going to do without Javi and Han?"

"I suppose you will do what other young ladies of the Empire do. Find a suitable young man and allow him to court you. Perhaps, if you are lucky, he will know one end of a woman's body from the other."

"But how can that possibly compare to....well, to this!" said Kailyn, waving her hand in Jak's general direction. "I don't want some spotty youth from Ephirum grunting and twitching over me, no matter how respected his family."

Beshara sighed, "Well my dear, you can come stay the night with me from time to time and I will provide for you. But your father has spoken. You will not own another pleasure slave - not until you are an older lady like myself; wealthy, widowed and beyond the influence of prejudice and gossip."

The two women lay in silence for a while, enjoying the fingers of their boys, working the oil over every inch of their bodies. Jak asked for permission before moving his attention to Kailyn's rump and thighs, and she gladly assented.

"Beshara, what do you know of the City of the Goddess and of the Book of the Prophet?" said Kailyn.

"I know a little of the City - from spies who have returned from those lands. Of the book I know nothing. Is it their religious text?"

"Yes Aunt. A translation was made by the Emperor's scribes, and I happened to see it recently. But then the strangest thing happened. It seemed that my boy Javi was already familiar with it."

Beshara considered this for a few moments before replying, "Ah, Kailyn. It all starts to make sense now. I think when your father removed the boys, it was not only done to punish you, although he would like you to think that it was. The boy Javi - I'll warrant he went to the foreign legion. And the slaver, Musa, tonight hangs in chains by the East Gate....yes, it all makes sense now. Artur, the boy of the west who leads the Legion; he will be well pleased to receive Javi, if I am not mistaken."

"What are you talking about Aunt?" said Kailyn, confused.

"Some of the boys taken to Ahirik may have been misappropriated, my dear. Including Javi, and perhaps Han. It was no fault of mine and the matter has been addressed. I have no wish to discuss it further."

"And I have no wish to hear it, Aunt. Javi is my property; that is that! And I will have him back one day."

"Hush, Kailyn! You will forget your boys soon enough. But it is good to hear the fire and determination in your voice. Your father thinks you are weak. He considers taking you west this summer but has not yet decided."

"What!?" replied Kailyn, greatly surprised. "I am a better rider than many in his cavalry, and I can run from Ephirum to Mazya in a morning, without stopping. I speak several languages, I have sat with the great men of science, and I have studied the art of war. Why would he hesitate?"

"You wish to go then?"

"Oh, yes Aunt! For the experience! For the adventure!"

Beshara sighed, "By 'weak' he means soft. Your father is not a cruel man, Kailyn; he does not revel in the suffering of others. But he well understands the means by which an empire is maintained. And he has the strength to do what is necessary. I think he feels that you do not."

"I have seen men flogged, Aunt. Crucified even. And I did not flinch."

"Easy enough when it is the work of others, my dear. But could you order it? Could you even participate in it?"

Kailyn considered this, but made no reply.

"He has asked for my opinion on the matter." said Beshara.

"And what did you say?"

"I reserved judgement. But I must answer him soon," she said, and flipped herself onto her back. "Semil, put your face between my legs now!"

"Aunt! Really?" said Kailyn sharply.

"What, my dear? We are both women of the world are we not? It offends you to watch me pleasured? Well, perhaps you are right; we should look to our dignity. I will retire to the next room with my boy while you stay here and continue with Jak. Everything you might possibly need is here. And Kailyn...."

She gestured to her niece to come closer so that she could whisper, "If I were to see tomorrow that the boy has been, shall we say, 'well used', I would not be angry. Do I make myself clear? Help me decide what to say to your father!"

"I think I understand your meaning, Aunt."

Lady Beshara rose, threw on her gown and quickly left the room, Semil following her, two steps behind. Kailyn also covered herself and moved to a chair while her boy busied himself clearing the couches from the center of the room and tidying, fussing over every detail. He took a flower from an arrangement and placed it on a pillow of the grand bed, where Kailyn's head would lie.

'Oh poor boy,' she thought to herself. 'He has no idea what must happen now. I wish he would not be so sweet.'

She called to him, "Jak, the room is tidy enough. Come to me!"

He kneeled before her and she raised his head with her hand, 'What am I doing?' she thought. 'Don't look into his eyes! It will only make things harder.'

"Eyes down, Jak! Tell me, what does Lady Beshara like you to do for her in the evenings?"

The boy hesitated, clearly discomforted by her question.

"Come Jak. Don't be bashful! Lady Beshara will not mind you telling me."

"She likes her boys to kiss and lick her, Mistress."

"Whereabouts?"

Again, Jak hesitated.

"Here? And here?" asked Kailyn, pointing to parts of her own body.

The boy nodded, "Yes Mistress."

"And what about penetration?"

Again, he nodded, shifting on his knees in discomfort.

"Show me!" commanded Kailyn.

Without moving from his knees, Jak reached for a chest of drawers by Kailyn's chair. He opened the second draw and took out an ivory phallus, smooth and shiny in the candlelight. At its base, it was attached to a leather harness.

"Give!" Kailyn instructed.

She examined the object in her hands, admiring the craftsmanship. It was somewhat larger than the ones she had used in the past with Javi and Han.

"Does it hurt, Jak?"

"Sometimes. It depends upon my Mistress's mood. There is slippery cream in the jar there_____"

Kailyn leaned forward very quickly and pinched the boy's nostrils with one hand, pushing the phallus deep into his mouth with the other. His eyes widened in alarm and he began to gag, but she held it there a few moments longer before finally releasing him. He gasped and looked at her briefly, shocked, and there was a flash of reproachment in his gaze before he remembered himself and lowered his eyes.

'He did not expect that.' Kailyn thought to herself. 'The poor poor boy!' But now her attention was drawn to the punishment frame in the corner of the room.

"Jak, by the frame there, in the tall basket there are several canes. Bring me the long one."

He obeyed, fetching the rattan stick and handing it to her, his hands trembling as he did so. She threw the ivory phallus onto the bed as she took the cane and examined it carefully. It was about four feet in length and approximately the width of her thumb. She had seen such implements used to ghastly effect on thieves in the market square of Ephirum, and for a moment she balked at the task ahead. 'Be strong, Kailyn, be strong!' she muttered under her breath.

"Does your Lady use this on you?" she asked.

"Never, Mistress."

"Not even if you are disobedient?"

"I have not been disobedient, Mistress. When she is displeased with me, I am punished, but never has she used that cane. Mistress, have I offended you? Was the massage not to your liking?"

"Answer only the question that is put to you Jak! Otherwise speak only when spoken to! But in answer to your question; no, you have not offended me and yes, your hands on my body were pleasing. I am afraid you are indeed going to be beaten, Jak, and very severely so. I cannot give you the reason other than to tell you that it pleases me. That should be enough for you. But you can help me by being brave. Will you do that for me, Jak?"

He nodded, tears appearing in his eyes, "I'll try Mistress."

"Good boy! Now, go and take your position on the frame! I will come over presently and apply the restraints."

She watched the boy fold himself over the padded apex of the frame, ankles and wrists off the floor, hanging close to the iron rings to which they would be secured. His whole body was visibly trembling now, most notable in the flesh of his raised rump, pale in the candlelight. As she approached he ventured a final 'please Mistress!', but it was ignored, save for a gentle 'shush' from her lips. She attached the leather restraints, finishing with two thick leather straps, one across each thigh, designed to ensure he would barely move as the strokes landed, no matter the pain.

Taking her place behind him, she swished the cane in the air twice and then, raising it high, she brought it down onto his upturned cheeks as hard and fast as she could. The boy screamed as he tensed, so suddenly and so rigidly that she thought the frame would surely break. But it held of course. She imagined her aunt in the next room, perhaps with her boy already at his task between her thighs. She would listen and know that, while not cruel, her niece is strong enough to do what needs to be done. 'I shall go west' said Kailyn to herself, as she applied the second stroke to the sobbing boy, every bit as hard as the first. He screamed again and called out the name of an eastern god, causing her to walk to the front of the frame, and grab his hair to raise his face.

"Your false god cannot help you. Only I can decide when your torment will end. Perhaps if you call out to me I will look more favorably on you!"

And so he did, until he started to weaken and his screams upon each stroke were replaced by a constant moan of terror and pain which barely subsided when she finally stopped and cast the cane aside. But by then she had lost count of the strokes. She ran her fingers along his rump, feeling the ridges of the red and purple welts. What had she done? Well, she would likely do worse before the summer was over. Her father has an empire to maintain, does he not? It is not a game! She saw this now, the enormity of it apparent to her for the first time. And now she wanted to prove her readiness, to herself as much as her aunt. She released Jak's restraints and he crumbled to the floor at her feet, lacking the strength to stand.

"Go to the bed, Jak!" she commanded.

He tried to raise himself, but struggled. She crossed her arms and frowned down at him.

"I asked you to do something for me, Jak. Why do you not obey? Should you go back on the frame?"

With supreme effort he pushed himself up - to his knees at least - and began crawling across the room. She followed.

"All fours on the bed, Jak. Good boy! Now, press your face to the pillow, cross your wrists behind your back!"

Taking cords from a table by the bed, she bound his wrists and then loosely tied each ankle to a ring at the adjacent corner, so that he could not bring his legs together.

"There, that will make it easier for me to control you." she said, picking up the phallus and stepping into its harness. She found the cream he had spoken of earlier and applied it liberally to the smooth ivory and then, using her finger, she worked it deep into him. Kneeling on the bed behind him, she pushed the white tip of the phallus between the cheeks of his rump, seeking his opening and trying not to be repulsed by the vivid welts on either side. For a moment he seemed to resist, but she threatened him with the frame once more and his muscle gave way, as much in a spasm of shock and fear as in any conscious desire to obey. She slid easily into him, and he gasped in submission as she reached for his hips to hold him to her. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "You have done well tonight, pet. Just a little while more and it will be over."