Alesander

"You can be kind, caring, loving and tender; you have the ability to cradle us in your hand and take care of us, and you do. Yet you are not soft. You are a man of the desert, a man of these lands. Your sun darkened skin, your sun-bleached hair, hard muscles earned by years of fighting for a kingdom that you believed in. And you are angry, aggressive, passionately violent."

"Passionate almost to the point of madness..."

"So much better than a beast..."

"So much more than a simple man..."

Aleksander woke with those words ringing in his head for the fourth time in as many days.

Every day since he had heard them, those words haunted him.

He glanced to his right, at the strange and exotic woman who occupied the other portion of his enormous bed. As horrifying as those metal piercings had seemed to him upon his initial impression, he couldn't picture Saavedra without them, or the compilation of tattoos that seemed to accompany them.

He moved from the bed to his writing desk, as his did every morning, and began the slow process of recording his thoughts and dreams.

I am haunted now by a vision of that first night with Saavedra. Her words have opened a channel within me that I do not understand. I dream strange dreams now, of another city on the far side of the desert where terrible things are happening.

I dream of war.

I ride at the head of an army, my hair longer, and a terrible scar upon one side of my face... To my right is Durgan, the tribal horse-master. To my left is Lukas Far, one of my father's trusted lieutenants and one of my staunchest supporters since taking the thrown.

I cannot see the opposing army, only shadows and dust riding into battle on steeds of sand.

Never before in my life have I felt such fear...

And each time, I hear her voice, whispering those words to me, telling me that I have the potential to be so much more than I am... to be so much more than a simple man.

Aleksander closed the leather bound journal and sat for a moment, staring into nothingness. It wasn't until he felt the manicured nails of his bed-mate that he stirred from the memory of his dream and began to think other thoughts... darker thoughts.

With a flick his wrist he seized hold of Saavedra and pulled her to her knees in front of him. A gasp escaped her and her brown eyes flared with sexual excitement.

As he untied the lightweight sleeping robe, she reached forward and seized his cock in her hand. "Good morning, Master Aleksander." Her voice was demure, and still just as breathy as always, but there was something more to it this morning. A tinge of tonality that he hadn't heard before... a hint of joking, perhaps?

She leaned forward and took his steeled member deep into her mouth, swirling her tongue along the shaft as she pushed herself further down. A quick moment passed before Saavedra pulled herself away, allowing a string of saliva to extend from her tongue to the purple head of his cock.

Exaggerating the motion for his benefit, she lifted her hand to her lips and licked her palm, wetting its entire length before using it to grab hold of his rigid pole. Slick now with her own lubrication, she went back to working, licking, sucking and stroking her way down his cock, until there was nothing left but his balls hanging just below her lips.

Aleksander cried out as he felt his orgasm beginning to rise. Even after four nights of sampling this exotic beauty's talents, she still amazed him with every new trick that she used upon him. Though he loathed the practice of keeping bed-slaves; it amounted to little more than rape, in his mind, he couldn't argue the benefits that some of the other members of the Twenty great families had argued before. Not when her delicious mouth was wrapped around his cock like this.

Saavedra let his cock slide out of her throat and began the ascent up his shaft. As soon as it cleared her mouth, Aleksander lunged out of the chair and grabbed her, pushing her face down across the bed as he mounted her from behind.

"Yes, Master!" She cried out, her words echoing in the large chamber. "Please, fuck me, Master Aleksand...."

Her words were lost as he shoved his cock deep inside her, bottoming out against her back wall with a single stroke. She shook and grabbed the bed sheets in her fist as her body started to convulse with her first orgasm. "Oh, Gods ABOVE!" Her scream was ripped from her body, the breathy whisper raising in pitch until it went beyond the range of his hearing.

Aleksander grabbed her small body by the hips and gave himself over to the moment, pounding his long cock deep into her cunt on every single stroke. She cried out over and over again, thrusting herself back into him, trying to increase the force of his strokes even more.

Tired of not being able to see her face or hear her screams right in his ear, Aleksander pulled his cock out of her dripping pussy and spun her around.

She lay back onto the bed, legs spread wide with one hand diddling her clit, watching him approach. Her eyes widened as he crawled between her legs and hitched her legs up over his shoulders.

"Master... Please..." Saavedra's words took on a begging tone. "Fuck me... please, Master Aleksander... Let yourself go..."

Aleksander dipped his head down between her smooth thighs and ran his tongue straight from her puckered rosebud all the way up and over to her clit. He dove down again, spearing her asshole with his tongue, teasing her clit with his fingers as he began to make a slower and gentler circuit around her pussy.

Using his hands and mouth to explore every inch of her dripping wet snatch, Aleksander took his time and enjoyed himself. Saavedra might beg and plead with him to fuck her, might demand that he think only of his own needs, but he would have none of that. This was something he enjoyed just as much.

Nor could Saavedra deny the effect that his explorations had upon her body. The first orgasm had rocked her world to its foundation, and now, aftershocks and tremors rand through her body constantly under his assault. Writhing back and forth upon the bed, she mewled her pleasure out softly now, rather than screaming it to the high heavens above.

Finally, Aleksander found what he'd been looking for. Hooking two fingers against the wall of her pussy, Aleksander found the sweet spot, the one spot that would drive her insane, no matter what he had visited upon her before that moment.

Saavedra exploded. Her eyes shot open and her hands seized Aleksander by the hair, pulling him hard into her pussy as it expelled load after load of delicious cum into his mouth and onto his face. Her shook uncontrollably now, holding onto him for support as much as to prolong her own pleasure.

When it finally passed, and Saavedra lay back on the bed again, Aleksander moved his body until his cock lay even with her mouth.

"Slow and gentle now, Saavedra, I'm in no great hurry this morning."

"Of course, Master Aleksander..." She cuddled her head against the strong muscles of his leg. "Thank you, for that, Master... it was... magnificent."

Aleksander laughed. "I think we're going to have to teach you other words for that. You use magnificent a little too often."

A warm laugh floated up from between his legs, and a tongue snaked out to caress his balls. "We'll just have to trade then, you teach me the finer points of languages, and I'll teach you... other things." She grinned, and for a moment, Aleksander was lost.

No more was there a bed-slave between his legs. Just a woman, exotic and beautiful, with some of the strangest ideas he had ever heard. She laughed and loved, she lived and breathed... In that moment, he was tempted to demand that she give up service as his bed-slave and simply become him lover... but she seemed determined to keep that position, seemed to truly

want

to be a slave, no matter how hard he tried to convince her otherwise.

And then she deep-throated his cock in a single stroke, and Aleksander forgot every thought that he'd had within the past two years.

For the next twenty minutes or so, he lay there, propped up on one elbow enjoying a long, luxurious cock-sucking from the beautiful creature between his legs. He could feel his orgasm building now, threatening like the clouds of the summer storms.

"Saavedra..." His voice was a whisper now, raspy from disuse.

Her hand doubled its speed stroking him to further and further heights of passion.

"Saavedra..." He tried to cry out, but the pressure was building too quickly.

All of a sudden, he felt his cock slip past the ring of muscles, into her throat. And then the explosion began.

Lights flared behind his eyes, like something from the Illuminators night-flowers. He could feel his body pumping jet after jet of his seed down Saavedra's gullet and into her stomach.

When he regained control of his voice, he let loose a roar which surely would've woken anyone still sleeping in the palace. It dragged on and on, until his orgasm finally thundered one last time and subsided.

Saavedra was a moment in recovering. A small rivulet of his seed had escaped her talented lips and ran down her chin. On impulse, he leaned forward and licked it from her chin and then kissed her full force on the mouth.

The taste was unusual, given that it was a combination of her lips and his, her sex, and his, all thrown together as their tongues wrestled briefly.

She gasped as he broke the kiss, he entire body flush with sexual desire. "That..."

"What?" Aleksander looked at her, a small smirk on his face.

"You do not know it, Master Aleksander, but what you have just done is considered a great honor, by many... Masters do not normally share their concubines love of their seed. Many are repulsed at the very idea of kissing their bed-slave, much less one who has just had it in their mouth. And to clean my face that way... You've no idea the compliment you've given me..." She bowed, knees apart head all the way to the bed, in the most subservient position he'd ever seen.

Aleksander looked poleaved. His jaw dropped and he simply could not find the words to start speaking.

Thankfully he was saved by a knock at the door.

Saavedra slid from the bed and pulled her sleeping gown from the corner post. Only Marcus would knock upon the door at this hour, and the man simply could not get used to her answer the door completely nude. So, she had taken to keeping a sleeping robe nearby in case of just such a situation.

Aleksander lay back on the bed as they conversed at the door. He tried to listen, but their words were hushed and they made no effort to speak up for his behalf. Surely Saavedra would tell him in just a few moments what it was all about.

In truth it was less than that. No sooner had the thought trekked across his brain but she came back to the bed and helped him to his feet.

"Merius Drakestone is here and requesting an immediate audience, my Lord. I've taken the liberty of having Marcus draw you a bath and lay out some clothes for you."

"Drakestone?" Aleksander tried to fit all the details of the man together. One of his strongest opponents among the Heged, the Twenty great families. Drakestone hated everything that Aleksander stood for. He had evaded countless demands for face-to-face meetings in the past, why in the gods names would he seek one now?

"I don't know, my Lord, though I suspect it is no small matter if it bring your enemy to your doorstep."

Aleksander nodded. "Lead me to this bath then, Saavedra. Much though I would love to leave him waiting for eternity, as he has done to me in the past, I must not."

Two attendants waited within the bath chamber to help him disrobe and clean himself, but Aleksander found himself growing frustrated with their clumsy hands.

"Gentlemen, if you will excuse us, the lady will attend me for this morning. Go about your other duties."

The two men looked shocked for a moment, and then bowed, leaving through the small door at the back of the room.

Immersing himself completely within the scalding hot water, Aleksander heaved a huge sigh of relief. Saavedra knelt behind him, just outside the massive brass tub, and began to work her magic upon the muscle in his shoulders.

"You are truly blessed, Saavedra. The gods have given you many, many gifts."

"Thank you, Master. I do try."

Aleksander laughed. "You succeed admirably, I assure you."

He lay his head back and allowed the hot water to penetrate his muscles to the deepest core. Saavedra prompted him now and again to take deep breaths, and to relax even further into her grip. And so he did.

"Aleksander..."

The words caused him to open his eyes, instantly aware of everything around him. It was only the second time she'd ever spoke his birth-name without a title of some sort attached to it.

"What is it, Saavedra?"

"Master, I have a bad feeling about this meeting. Something is not right."

Aleksander slumped down into the tub again, relaxing back into her grip. "I can understand the thought, but I'll be surrounded by guards, and so will he. Nothing could possibly happen."

"I feel as though something terrible is going to happen, Master. I can just feel it."

Aleksander sighed and began scrubbing himself with the rough cloth that the gentlemen had left, scraping the sweat from his skin. "Will it make you feel better if you're there?"

He felt her nod behind him, still digging into his muscles.

"You can not, obviously, be on the floor, for the meeting, but if you want you can stand hidden on the balcony... You'd have to be under guard... but if it will make you feel better, I could arrange it."

With those words, Aleksander realized that he was in over his head. And as Saavedra leaned forward to wrap her arms around him, he came to the conclusion that he really didn't care.

"Thank you, Aleksander..."

* * * * *

It was nearly half an hour later that he found himself seated at a low table, waiting for Marcus to show the man in. Cushions had been heaped generously around the table for any retainers he might have brought, and there was of course,

Orusko

; a very potent tea which was brewed and served cold during informal meetings such as this one.

Aleksander surveyed the room and himself one more time in an effort to make sure that everything was as it should be. Ten guards stood with their backs to the great columns that held up the balcony, with two more guarding Saavedra's position upon it. She was well hidden among the shadows of the upper floor, aided by the dampened lamps of that particular hallway.

He'd chosen his own outfit to be something slightly more impressive and yet far more casual than what Marcus had chosen for him, much to the servant's dismay. Instead of his formal white robes, Aleksander had chosen a pair of loose fitting white trousers topped with a vividly blue sleeveless tunic. It showed off his warriors build to the best degree out of all his clothing, and was still nice enough to be seen as worthy of the company he was receiving.

No sooner than he had finished scanning the room again, came the knock announcing Marcus' return with their guest.

It had been nearly two years since he had last seen Merius. His eldest son had come of age and been inducted formally into the ranks of the Heged, an event which even Merius, with his determined hatred of Aleksander, could not find a reasonable method to avoid.

He looked much the same as he had then. No new battle scars graced his features, and he was, as ever, dressed resplendently in the dark green and silver of his family. Clean shaven with a deeply creased face, tanned permanently by the desert son, he carried himself with the air of a man who thought he should be the King.

Aleksander stood to greet him, and bestowed upon him a friendly smile. "Merius, old man, it has been far too long since you have graced this table. Please, sit, drink, and let us forget for a time the heat of the day."

Merius laughed lightly at the greeting. It was a bastardized version of the formal and informal greetings, meant to show respect and familiarity, but not necessarily the bonds that the two men should have held.

"My King, it has indeed been a long time. Family business has kept me from your table, just as Kingly business has kept you from mine."

The two shook hands briefly, each measuring the other before Aleksander pulled away and indicated the cushions he'd arranged for the man.

"Sit, and let us get down to business."

"Ahhh, Aleksander, a man after my own heart." He sat, throwing himself unceremoniously down on the cushions. "Would you care to pour the

orusko

?"

Aleksander did, and for a moment the two sat in silence. Pouring the tea was a ceremony unto itself, a ritual rife with tradition and laden with hidden meanings. If he poured less for himself than his guest, it would mean that he felt that Merius was his superior, if he poured more for himself, that the man was his inferior. And that was only the beginning.

Satisfied that he'd not been slighted too terribly, Merius picked up his cup and took a deep drink of the tea.

"Ahhh... let it never be said that our King does not possess excellent taste, yes?"

Aleksander's patience was running thin. "Indeed, though it should also not be said that he is lazy, and prone to sitting around with guests all day. So perhaps you could tell me, Merius, why after avoiding me for two years, you have sought me out so suddenly this morning?"

The older man looked as though he'd been slapped. "You know, Aleksander, you are not your father. You don't have half the charisma and bearing that he had. As I have always said, you are far too soft."

"Get to the point, Merius."

"Raids,

Lord

Aleksander, along the borders of the desert. Men flying a black flag with some sort of beast upon it. I lost nearly a hundred men in a raid upon one of my supply trains last week, and it is not the first time."

"Why have I not heard of this before?"

"You seemed to be too busy making public spectacles in slave markets to be bothered with such petty news about the security of your kingdom."

"You'd best watch your tongue, Merius. I might not be my father, but I am easily twice your better as a warrior, and you well know it."

"Why you arrogant little-"

Merius was cut off by a ruckus outside the door. Marcus shouted something indistinct, and then there were sounds of a fight, clashing weapons, so near that Aleksander could almost feel the crash of the blades.

"ALEKSANDER, LOOK OUT!"

The shout had come from the balcony, from Saavedra's position, hidden amongst the pillars. He turned to look towards her almost before the message got to his brain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of movement too fast to follow.

Pain seared through his body and his vision blurred. Something inside of him snapped, and he let loose a roar as he grabbed for the knife that Merius held in his hands. Hands reached for him, too many hands to fight...

He came to quickly, to find his arms pinned down beside him. "Hold him down!" The words were shouted somewhere behind him.

Merius' face came into his line of sight, and his head was held in place by another pair of hands.

"You are nothing! You were born as nothing, you've lived as nothing and you will die as nothing! Broken and ashamed, the Kingdomless King, wandering the desert alone until its dark sands claim whatever life I leave to you."

The smell of hot iron penetrated his nostrils, but he couldn't move his eyes enough to locate the source.

"Here lies the Slave King!" Merius' voice was triumphant. "Let all see him for what he really is!"

The smell of burning flesh came before the pain... Then, there was the pain. Crisp, clear, and beyond anything he had every experienced.