The Emperor and the Temple

Nikah and Taneric, still joyous after viewing Fris's weapons of war, ran around the walls of The City of The Goddess as Zantina arrived at the East Gate. High Priestess Ashala was already there, having received advance warning of the Queen's arrival, and she shooed Taneric away as he approached, eager that they should all engage in council at the first opportunity.

"Leave the poor Queen alone Tak!" she said. "Can you not see that she is weary from her travels? I will take you to the Temple, Your Majesty, where you may rest. And your men will be accommodated in our fine city taverns."

Reluctantly, Tak agreed, as he embraced Zantina warmly.

"Thank you High Priestess," said the Queen. "I am glad to finally make your acquaintance. You are well known in the East as in the North. And Prince Taneric, it is good to see you once again. Your visit to my realm was sadly short, but I believe that we will soon make up for lost time."

As Ashala led Queen Zantina in the direction of the Temple, Nikah placed his hand on Taneric's shoulder.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Her army is....limited," said Taneric.

"And yet, even though she is small in body, she bears herself with great majesty. There is a strength to her."

"Indeed," replied Taneric. "Come Nikah, Peto and Princess Kasmine have also arrived in the City this day. I would have you properly meet them."

****

Zantina was installed in a pleasant chamber within the Temple compound. There was a grand bed within, and alongside it a large bathtub, and food had been placed in the room for her, along with a jug of wine. But no sooner had she settled on the bed, than there was a knock on her door and, reluctant to rise, she shouted "Come!".

A young man entered the chamber and, without a word, removed his tunic and knelt naked in the centre of the room, his thighs spread.

Zantina raised herself to her elbows and stared at him. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Samon. I am a boy of the Temple."

"And why are you here Samon?"

"High Priestess Ashala sent me to make sure you are comfortable, Mistress. And that all your needs are satisfied."

"I am fine, Samon. I intend only to bathe and then to sleep. I am weary from my journey."

"Then I shall prepare your bath, Mistress, with your permission."

Zantiina sighed and rose from the bed. She walked over to the boy, for the first time running her eyes over his body. He was large, she noticed, like Harl; well muscled and capable looking. As she stood over him, hands on hips, his sex twitched involuntarily, betraying the early stages of arousal. She dropped to her haunches and, placing a hand under his chin, raised his eyes to hers.

"Samon, I am pleased with you, but you must return to Ashala and let her know that I have everything I need."

She waited for him to rise, but he did not move.

"Look, Samon, in my land slavery is a great sin. I cannot allow you to serve me. Do you understand?"

He hesitated and then said, "But if I return to High Priestess Ashala so soon she will beat me!"

Zantina looked at him in shock for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Oh Samon, I think we both know that is not true."

Samon smiled too, unable to maintain the pretence.

"Stay if you wish Samon. Of your own free will. But please do not call me Mistress!"

"Thank you. Should I call you Majesty?"

She considered his question for a few moments before replying, "Great lords call me Majesty. But it would amuse me if you simply call me Zantina, and act as my equal. Do you think you can do that for me, Samon?"

"I will try Mistress....I mean Zantina."

"Very well. And you may put on your tunic if it pleases you."

"I have no particular wish to be clothed, Zantina. Here, let me fill the bathtub and help remove your garments.

He removed the heavy, dusty road clothes from her body so that they both stood naked next to the tub which he had filled with warm water.

"You are beautiful, Zantina," said Samon. He gestured for her to climb in and she did, enjoying the feeling of the water on her skin.

"The tub is large, Samon. Join me!" she said, forgetting herself before adding, "If you would like to." But the boy was already climbing into the tub with her.

"I will wash you," he said, reaching for a soap bar. "If you will allow it. It is not customary for a boy to lay hands upon a priestess."

"But I am not a Priestess, and you are not my slave."

She turned and nestled backwards into him, resting her head on his chest as he reached around to soap and caress her breasts and thighs. She felt instantly close to this boy, relaxed and safe, appreciative of his power and inherent kindness. 'It is hard for a woman,' she thought to herself, 'to be so quickly immersed in a boy, to feel so immediately at one with him. It is different for a man, of course, but a woman needs more. And this Samon is very special.' She wondered if Tak would be like this and knew immediately that he would be.

"Tell me Samon, were you good friends with Tak when he was a boy of the Temple?"

"No Mist....No Zantina. I came to the Temple after he was taken away. I think I was his replacement. Priestess Ashala purchased me at the market just a few moons ago."

"She has good taste," said Zantina, half turning and reaching a hand up to caress his face. "But where were you before that?"

"I was raised as a fighting slave. In the pits of Carconne. In the south."

"What? I have heard of these pits, where slaves are matched against each other for the pleasure of an audience, the losers beaten half to death. It is barbaric! But you survived Samon?"

"For long enough. One day a great lady of the City, Adjutant of the Guard, came to the pits, to satisfy her curiosity. She placed a large bet on me and I was fortunate to prevail. With her winnings she purchased me and took me to her home, to be her plaything, her pleasure slave. Better than the pits, although she could be cruel enough when the whim took her."

"And it was she that sold you to the Temple? But why? If you were mine I think I would be inclined to keep you."

"She took a third husband. A lady of the City might keep pleasure slaves alongside one husband, or even two, but it is not considered seemly when a third is taken."

"My my!" smirked Zantina. "Even the City of The Goddess has standards of propriety. I would never have guessed."

"It is perhaps a practical matter Zantina. There are only so many suitable boys to go around. Especially since the Sons of The North took back their own. And now they say that you will do the same for the East."

"Perhaps," she said, rather dreamily, for he had gently moved her hair to one side and was adorning her neck with light kisses.

"You are gentle Zantina, and kind. I had heard that you were a warrior queen, harsh with your enemies."

"And you think that I am not? Believe me Samon, powerful men, lords, warriors, wealthy merchants; they all quake in my presence. But why would I be harsh with a poor boy of the Temple? Such behaviour would make me no better than a common bully."

She felt the pressure of his sex on her back now, and reached behind to grasp him momentarily, intended more as a gesture of reassurance than an invitation. But his hands moved up her thighs to her core and she did not stop him, instead spreading herself as much as she could to welcome his expert touch, her knees pressing against the sides of the tub. He moved his legs over and inside hers, clamping them, so that she could not have closed herself to him, even if she wanted to. Within minutes she began to spasm, tensing against him, stiff as a board, ever more conscious of the physical power difference between them. She screamed in ecstasy but still he did not release her until, finally, she subsided, relaxing her body and sinking once again into him, thanking him and reaching a hand behind her again, this time seeking his face. Finally, exhausted, she fell asleep, cradled by Samon in the tub, but when she eventually woke she realised he had moved her gently to the bed, dried her and dressed her in a nightgown, all without waking her.

****

It was dark in the room, night having fallen outside. Zantina reached an arm across the shadows on the bed, seeking Samon, but she was disappointed to find he was not beside her. 'No doubt it is not customary for boys of the Temple to snuggle in their Mistress's beds,' she told herself. She sensed a movement in the room, a human form, a shadow against yet darker shadows. 'Samon seeking the chamber pot,' she thought. But suddenly there was a cold glint of steel in the sparse light from the window, a blade being raised above her, and she drew in her breath to scream!

What happened next was not clear, but Zantina had the sense of a huge impact above her, of one shadow moving at incredible speed hitting another so that both flew across the room, ending together in the pale light cast by the window on the floor. There were anguished cries and the blade went flying against the bathtub. Then she saw that one of the figures was Samon and the other, beneath him on the floor, was a stranger, his face contorted into an expression of sheer terror. Samon brought back his fist and smashed it into the man's face with sickening force, breaking his nose and spattering blood on the floor of the bedchamber. Zantina rushed over to help, kicking at the man's prone body with her bare feet.

Samon laughed, "Stop Zantina! It is not necessary, he is subdued."

But she did not want to stop, and kept kicking until the door was flung open and half a dozen Temple boys rushed in, along with Ashala, Taneric and Peto.

"What has happened here?" shouted Taneric!

"An assassin," said Ashala. "We have heard rumours that they are abroad. Working at the behest of King Osta."

"Ashala, I see now why you sent me your fighting slave from the pits. And to think that I almost sent him away." Zantina gave the assassin one last kick and moved to Samon's side, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.

"I knew that he would keep you safe," replied Ashala. "I am glad that he proved to be of service."

"In more ways than one," said Zantina, smiling and tightening her embrace of the still-naked Samon.

Taneric reddened and quickly sought to change the subject, "Peto, let us take this fellow and extract his story."

"I have a man with the necessary skills," replied Peto.

"Boys! Stop!" shouted Ashala. "We are not animals! I am sure Ruta still has a small amount of the new suf herb hidden away somewhere. We will use that."

Taneric moved to Ashala and took her two hands in his, raising them to his lips and kissing them.

"Oh, my beloved High Priestess. May The Goddess forgive me, but I am not the boy who left this Temple just a few short moons ago. What would you have my enemies say of me? That if you defy Prince Taneric he will hand you over to a beautiful priestess who will hold you in her arms and enchant you with potions and kisses? No, that will not do. Peto, make him suffer in the City square and when you are done, whether he lives or not, hang him in chains at the Besan crossroads!